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Developing Problem Solving Skills in Children by Learning Checkers and Chess

Published

john

on June 13, 2009

in Articles, For Parents & Teachers and Tips

When young children discover the games of checkers and chess they have a head-start in developing their critical thinking and problem solving skills. Problem solving games like checkers and chess have many advantages over other types of games since they are very socially interactive (unlike video computer games that are especially popular these days.)

Having children play problem solving games like checkers and chess is a fantastic way for them to have a closer look at how their decision making determines the outcome of the game.

To convince children that they should try playing the games of checkers and chess, you might want to encourage them by suggesting that these games are a form of combat, instead of just simple game pieces and a checkered board.

The “Stop and Think” strategy of seeing things should be implemented at an early age so that children at all developmental levels can build the foundation for a lifetime of positive problem solving and critical thinking developmental skills.

Critical thinking and problem solving skills are vital at any age, and many family therapists would agree, if more people used the stop and think principal, fewer marriages would end in divorce.

A useful strategy for teaching your children problem solving skills includes the following five steps:

1. Identify the problem and have them finish the sentence; “The problem that I’m having is …..”
2. Consider 3 possible ways to remedies the problems with solutions.
3. Spent one minute for each of these options and decided if they are good or bad decisions.
4. Out of the three possible solutions, decide which one is your best option.
5. Employ your chosen option to the situation and see if it is successful.

A simple way to teach the five step strategy to young children is to apply it to the game of checkers. That way the decisions that they make in regard to the checker moves will in no way have any consequence in the real world.

The following exercise of allowing the young student to actually make the entire checker board moves for instance, before any opponent can make a counter move. Instill in them to always refer back to the old adage; “Consider all of your options.” that type of play can prove to be beneficial by removing any anxiety they my face in a real game or real life situation.

• The first move for the young player to consider will be to choose one move after considering three potential ones.
• Make that chosen move. Once they have committed to that move have them ask allowed; “Was that a smart move or not the best choice?” If the decision is made that it was not the best choice, have them make another move.
• Once again, make that chosen move, only this time have them ask themselves; “Now that I have committed to this move, what are the options that my opponent has to counter my move?”

Its best to have the kids think in terms of considering all of their options and to slow down and really think about the consequences of these moves, feeling free to go ahead change that initial move to one that they feel is more beneficial.

A suggestion to parents might be try this critical thinking exercise with your children at home by playing the game of checkers with them and allowing them the freedom of changing their moves even after they’ve taken their hand off of the checker game piece. This training exercise is best employed if the child is age 6 or older so the full grasp the concept of critical decision making. After each game if you closely observe, you’ll see the child’s decision making skills develop and become more refined.

Now the next step is to bridge the gap between the game of checkers and real-world scenarios using the terminology from the game, Like asking; “Is this the best option or maybe we should re-think our options.”

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Mancala A.K.A (Wari)

Published

on March 19, 2009

in For Parents & Teachers, Games & Activities and Indoor Games

Mancala A.K.A (Wari) Manala is a very interesting board game which roots lay in ancient Egyptian culture and is still popular to this day. Throughout the African continent this game is known by many as Wari. The game is also known to have close associations to traditional tribal rituals in that part of the world. This game is a duel between two players and the action takes place on a rectangular game board which consists of two rows of six squares with additional squares placed at end for a total of 14 squares. Along with the game board, forty-eight game pieces are used.

The action begins with the players sitting opposite each other with the game board placed in the middle. All 48 game pieces are placed within the twelve adjacent squares providing four in each square.

Once it has been determined who will begin the game, this lucky first player will start by removing any four of his game pieces from any of his squares on his side of the table and divides them up evenly in the next squares in a counter-clockwise direction. The player is also permitted to invade his opponents square on the other side if the game board in the first two of the opponent’s squares, with your goal to gain as many of your opponent’s pieces in the hole’s of your opponent’s squares.

The action begins with each player moving all of his game pieces, on by one from one hole to the next. Once the last moved piece has ended up in an opponent’s square which contains only two or three pieces game pieces, those game pieces become captured and removed from the game. As the game pieces are captured, they are placed in the end hole to the player’s right.

When a player captures an opponent’s game piece, the consecutive pieces in order situated in an opponent’s row are also captured during the same turn. When a hole is left vacant, the hole is jumped and will be filled on the following turn by his opponent during the following turn. When a player finds that all the holes in his row are vacant and it is his turn, the game is over and.

The winner is determined when all the pieces remaining on the game board are added up and the pieces placed aside are added to the count as well. The player with the most pieces is the decided winner.

Mancala is a difficult game to understand but with practice and patience become more interesting as you develop more detailed strategies in this fast-paced and complex game. When considering strategy, you must always keep in mind the positioning of the filled holes of your opponent, with special attention paid to holes that have 2 or 3 game pieces. If you are able to threaten more of your opponent’s holes in order to keep him on the defense that is a huge advantage.

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Ludo

Published

Downloadble board games category. Free Download!

on March 19, 2009

in For Parents & Teachers, Games & Activities and Indoor Games

Ludo Ludo is a game of East-Indian origin and has roots in the game of Pachisi. Once this game was introduced to England, the rules were simplified and the game was changed slightly to move at a faster pace. Ludo is still very popular today and is popular among the sailors of the Royal British Navy.

This game can be played by between two and four players and requires a game board that has a playing area which is in the shape of a cross and squares in each corner. There are four sets of four game pieces with each set being of a different color and one standard six-sided playing die. Play begins with each participant placing his game piece in the starting position of the bottom left corner of the game board. Participants take turns rolling the die to determine who begins the game first. The first player can move either one or two pieces depending on the number that he rolls and each player’s ultimate goal is to get all four of his game pieces home to the center square.

To start a game piece in play, you must first roll either a one or a six. If a one is rolled, the player will start by placing a game piece on the first square but if a six is rolled, he can place two game pieces on the first square or one on the sixth house which is the sixth square in order from the start square.

The roll of the dice will determine the number of square in which a player’s piece will be advanced and a player can move however many spaces or pieces he see fit depending on the number that is rolled on the die. If a player rolls a six he automatically rolls the die again once he’s made his move. It is allowable for a player to have 2 or more of his game pieces on the same space but he is only allowed to move them one at a time.

You can eliminate the opposing player’s pieces by landing on a square in which they occupy. By doing this, you will send your opponent’s game piece back to the starting square, whereby he must again roll either a 1 or a 6 to get back in the game. If there are two or more pieces occupying one square these pieces are safe from attack other pieces are not allowed to land there.

In the final phase of the game, all players will be in the process of moving their game pieces along the central track towards the Home Square. To reach the home square the die must roll the exact number to land on the home square. The first player to get all of his game pieces to the home square is the winner

A player can attempt to employ some strategy by placing two or more of his game pieces within the same square near the end of the track. By doing this, his game pieces are protected from being sent to “square one” by an opponent landing on his square.

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The Fox & The Geese

Published

on March 18, 2009

in For Parents & Teachers, Games & Activities and Indoor Games

Fox & Geese Game This ancient game was the creation of early Nordic hunters and was enjoyed by many once it gained widespread popularity in Italy during the medieval period, eventually reached England in the fifteenth Century and was met with much popularity and in fact it was one of Queen Victoria’s favorite pastimes.

This game requires two players, a game board made in the shape of a cross with lines of many directions creating thirty-three intersecting points. Game pieces include seventeen pieces which symbolize the geese and one piece symbolizing the fox. Once it has been decided who gets to play the fox and who plays the geese, the geese are arranged on the board accordingly and then the fox has the option of being placed anywhere he wishes on the game board.

The geese can prevail in this game by surrounding the fox and blocking all of his potential escape routes. The fox on the other hand, will is successful by eliminating twelve of geese since it would require more than five geese to halt his progress.

The fox always begins the game with the first move and can move in any direction forward or backwards to an open space. The geese on the other hand can move in any direction aside from backwards. The fox will eat a goose when he is able to jump it and land on an empty space and once a goose has been eaten it is removed from the game. As in the game of checkers, multiple jumps are possible as long as there are empty spaces to accommodate the landings.

Turns of each player must be taken and not skipped, even if this puts a player in an undesirable position. It might prove interesting to change the rule a bit and allow the geese to move backwards as well or even play the game with only thirteen pieces as in an earlier version of this game that was popular prior to the Seventeenth Century.

Making the jumps of the fox compulsory can add a whole new element to the game and can force an opponent to retreat to a previous position. The player playing the role of the geese has the ability to keep the fox in check by making sure he has made only the allowable moves.

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The House of Fortune

Published

on March 18, 2009

in For Parents & Teachers, Games & Activities and Indoor Games

Similar to the Royal Game of Goose and Roulette, The House of Fortune is a game of Nordic origin and was made popular during the medieval time period. It is still played to this day in Switzerland and Austria. Players are awarded points and penalized depending on the square in which they land.

This game is played by two or more players and requires a game board, which is made up of ten squares that are numbered from two to twelve and the number four is left out. There are two standard, six-sided dice and playing chips for wagering used in this game.

The game begins with some sort of value being attached to the playing chips, once decided, the players are given a certain number of chips to start the game with, the object of the game to win as many chips as possible. The player that starts the game rolls the dice once and all the players have gathered around the playing table and then pass the dice to the player on his immediate left. On a player’s roll, he will put his chip the corresponding square to the number he rolled with his dice. If that square already has chips, he then takes those chips and then leaves one of his own.

If a four is rolled, then no chips are placed on the table with that roll and if a two is rolled he is allowed to move to the square of the “lucky pig” and collect all the chips on the table with the exception of the chips in the number seven square. The player moves to the square of “matrimony” should he roll a number seven, any chips on this square cannot be taken.

The player who rolls a twelve goes directly to that square which is known as the “King.” In this event, the player rolling the 12 stakes claim to all the chips on the table this also includes all the chips in square number seven.

As a player runs out of chips, he is out of the game and must leave the table and play continues until the winner is decided when a player ends up with all game chips and should there be any game chips at the end of the game, the last remaining player end up with these chips as well.

Your success in this game is purely luck with the roll of the dice and in no way can this be influenced by any factor. One way in which to make this game more interesting is to place the amount of chips that correspond the square in which you should land, for example; land on square 9, place 9 chips in that square.

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Alquerque (or Windmill)

Published

on March 18, 2009

in For Parents & Teachers, Games & Activities and Indoor Games

Alquerque (or Windmill) An illustration of this game dating back to1400 B.C. was discovered in an Egyptian temple and many consider this game an ancestral version of modern checkers. Alfonso X wrote about it in the “Book of Games” in the late 13th Century and from that point forward gained in popularity throughout Europe. Alquerque was met with great appreciation, similar to that of Chess due to its level of sophistication and the level of intelligence and skill required for success in this game of anchient origin.

Two players are required in this game as well as a game board which is square in shape and has a total of 16 squares printed on it, two sets of twelve game pieces with both sets being of a different color. The game begins once both players have put their pieces on the intersecting points of the game board. The center of the board is left empty to accommodate the first move which is always made by the white piece.

Your goal in this game is basically the same as in the game of checkers in that you win by eliminating all of your opponent’s game pieces. The game pieces can be moved diagonally, horizontally or vertically to another intersecting point on the game board. If there is an opponent’s game piece next to yours and there is a space open on the other side of it, it is required to jump that piece. If for what ever reason you do not make the jump and take the piece, your piece will be “huffed” in other words removed from play. Jumping multiple spaces is completely acceptable in this game.

In this game it is an advantage to be the player to go second and if players should be at the same level, it would only be fair that player’s alternate who starts first. It is possible for this game to end in a draw, where in which both players are unable to make any more moves. In an earlier version of this game, it was allowed for players to move their pieces in a backwards direction to make the game more interesting.

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Halma

Published

on March 18, 2009

in For Parents & Teachers, Games & Activities and Indoor Games

Halma Starting in the last century, this game was met with quite a lot of popularity in England and in modern times is widely played by the Swiss and Germans. The word ’Halma’ is of Greek origin and means “jump.”

Halma can be played alone or with up to four players and is played on a square game board having 16 squares on both sides. A game board is used which is broken down into sixteen squares on both sides and in each corner thirteen squares are marked off. A total of four different colored game pieces are used with two of the sets having 19 pieces and the other two sets being 13 pieces. If the game is played solo then the game is started with nineteen pieces in the special section of the board. With two players involved in the game each player will receive 19 game pieces lined up opposite one another and should the game involve three or four players then each player receives 13 pieces. You can play this game as teams of two if there are four players involved.

The goal in this game is to get all of your own pieces into the opposite corner from where you start. There are two kinds of moves in this game; the pass move and the jump move. In the pass move you move you’re your piece into any adjacent square, in any direction of your choice. With a jump move you basically jump your game piece over any piece including your own. These game pieces that you jump never get eliminate during this move and jumping is not compulsory even if the opportunity should arise. You are allowed to stop at any point in your jumping even if there are more jumps possible. You have to choose between jumping or passing in a move but you are forbidden from doing both.

The order of rotation is clockwise when the game is played by three or four players. When the game is played in teams of two, if a player is unable move one of his pieces, it is allowed for him to move one of his teammates. In order for a solo player to win at this game he must be able to get all of his nineteen pieces to the opposite corner in the least number of moves.

Since this is a game with such simple rules there are so many possible ways in which to win and one way in which to benefit is to form as many obstructions as possible for your opponent thereby preventing their movment or forcing them to retreat.

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The Royal Game of Ur (Twenty Squares)

Published

on March 18, 2009

in For Parents & Teachers, Games & Activities and Indoor Games

The Royal Game of Ur (Twenty Squares) This is a game of Mesopotamian origin dating back 4,500 years and was popular among the nobility of that time. These game were very near and dear to the people that played them and as a testament to this, when ancient grave were exhume from this area, some of the tombs had this game board placed in them. The British Museum has a well preserved example of one of these game boards which is really a work of art for its time.

This game requires two players, a game board which has been divided into twenty spaces. Two sets of seven different colored game pieces. Six dice shaped like pyramids, each die having two corners that are marked and two that are unmarked.

Once it has been decided who will begin the game, play begins with rolling the three dice in an attempt to get your piece on the board. Once you get you game piece on the board, your goal is to move around the entire board and then remove your pieces from the board.

With the three specially marked dice the score are as follows with marks touching the table:

- Five points for Three marked corners
- Four points for three un-marked corners
- One point for two marked corners
- Zero points for two un-marked corners

The action begins with game pieces being placed on the board one at a time and advance accordingly but only after all game pieces are on the board. Once on the board, your goal is to race your opponent to the end of the board until reaching the exit square. The entrance onto the board is only allowed with a dice score of one or five at the rosettes, located in the lower portion of the board.

You are free from the attack of your opponent if at the exit square or you are on one of five rosettes on the board; there are two at the top of the board and three at the bottom. If pieces are in the upper path or section they are vulnerable to attack by the opposition. If they are attacked, while sitting on an un-safe square, the game piece will be sent back to the beginning. Game pieces that are face down can only attack other pieces that are face down and face up pieces can only take pieces that are face up.

Once a player has one or more game pieces taken out of the game, he must re-enter all of his game pieces before moving any other pieces on the board.; this done by rolling either ones or fives.

You remove your game piece from the table if your piece is on an exit square and you roll exactly four. If there are multiple pieces on the same square they all leave on that roll. If you are near exiting the game board and you roll more than the amount required to exit the board, you count off the points to the end and then back onto the board.

An effective strategy in this game is to try to get as many pieces onto the exit squares as possible, so that when you roll a four they can all be removed together.

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The Royal Game of Goose

Published

on March 18, 2009

in For Parents & Teachers, Games & Activities and Indoor Games

The Royal Game of Goose This is a game of Italian origin and received international recognition when it was presented as a gift to the king of Spain from the king of Italy in the late 1500’s and continued to be played by the royal courts of many European countries. The game board itself is quite a sight to behold, with many versions are finely detailed and elaborately decorated.

This game is played by two or more players and requires a game board which is divided up into sixty-three squares, two standard six-sided game dice as well as a place card for each player.

Once it has been decided which player will begin the game, the participants will each place their card just outside the number one square and play continues in a clockwise direction. Your ultimate goal in this game is to make it through the entire game board, all sixty-three squares, before any of your opponents do the same.

The action begins with a roll of the dice by each player and with them advancing that corresponding number of squares; players can share the same square. Once the dice have been rolled and the game is in play, the square the player lands on has instructions that the player must follow.

Some common instructions that a game space might present would be; roll the dice one more time and move the corresponding number of spaces. On occasion the instructions relate to the goose symbol and on other spaces, are only decorations. If the instructions should read; stop for 1 or more turns, you are ‘imprisoned’ for that amount of time. In some versions of this game, you can be freed by another player landing on your square.

In the standard version of this game, you return to your original square or go back a pre-established number of spaces once the dice have been rolled. You will move forward a pre-determined number of spaces if that is what it calls for. Regardless of direction, you must follow the directions which the game space calls for. If instructions are given to reach a certain square with a reward waiting there, then the player would need to land on that square to win the prize. If he should land on the prize square without first landing on the instruction square, then the prize is not valid.

To win at this game, you must be able to land on square number sixty-three with a precise roll of the dice. If the player does not land exactly on the 63 square, he must move in a backwards direction the number of spaces by which exceeded square 63.

The Royal Game of Goose is truly a game of chance and does not require a great deal of strategy since the outcome is determined by your success in the roll of the dice.

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