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Slower is faster - get to know board games with "Speedy Roll"
Looking back at the year 2020, you have to think about the challenges that this time has brought, but like any other year, valuable lessons have been learned this year, goals have been achieved and cool products have been created. Today for the best board game of 2020 for children - " Speedy Roll " (winner of "Kinderspiel des Jahres", also nominated for "Grand Prix du Jouet" in France).
Roll, hedgehog!
" Speedy Roll " is also known as " Hedgehog Roll " because the rolling hedgehog is basically a tennis ball to which treats such as mushrooms, leaves and apples on the playing field are attached (the game also includes hedgehog and fox figures). Speed is important in two ways - the hedgehog has to escape from the fox, but sometimes slower is faster, because the number of goodies caught along the way determines how many squares the player advances in his turn.
The idea of the game allows everyone to decide for himself what the motive of the game will be - to overtake other players or to strengthen the skill of cooperation . This opens up opportunities to diversify your play experience and allows you to vary, adapting to what brings more joy to the child. Not all of us aspire to be the first, but for others it is very important. Parents will have noticed which children are passionate about scoring and who find joy in other aspects of the game. If there are more children in the family, "Speedy Roll" is definitely one of the games that will give everyone an opportunity to express themselves.
The opportunities to be creative do not end here, because part of the game is the creation of a forest path , arranging the fields to your liking. Also, if you like to play in teams (parents and kids), Speedy Roll has its own additional rules for the big players (ever tried to roll a ball with precision while blindfolded?).
Skills that this game develops : accuracy, fine motor skills, tactical thinking, communication and cooperation .
A great first board game
Asnāte Morozova , a mother of two children, teacher and deputy director, admits that one of the biggest advantages of the game is its structure and, by far, its suitability for young children, even younger than 4 years old, as indicated by the game's creator. "The first time I played the game, I read the rules to my daughter. It is very nice that they have different drawings, and my child, without reading himself, could understand a lot just from them . In terms of rules, the game has a slight downside that can be creatively fixed. Certain situations are not covered by the rules. For example, in order to always have "hedgehog treats" sticking to the ball, players who have 4 of a kind put them back on the game board. We've also had all the treats run out but no one has 4 of a kind, or run out of leaves but no one has accumulated the number specified in the rules. At such moments, we assumed that all players put back all the collected goodies on the game table so that the game can be continued until the end.
Explaining the rules and the complexity of the game is often one of the reasons why parents delay introducing their children to board games. Speedy Roll solves that. "This is definitely a great game to choose to start playing board games with your child. My advice to adults is to be sensitive and patient when introducing a child to board games. It is not always easy for the little ones to accept the fact that things don't work out. Talk to your child before and after the game about the fact that someone always wins and someone always loses. When the child is calm and ready to hear you, tell him what you liked about playing together, emphasizing the time spent together and the fact that you noticed that the little one has learned something new, which was far from easy. Also talk about your feelings and what you do with them when you lose the game, so that the child can take it over and the game nights will be nice and fun time spent together!"
"My advice to adults is to be sensitive and patient when introducing a child to board games."
Evaluating the design of the game, Asnāte emphasizes that the possibility of matching the fields and the structure of the game are the "key" to the fact that the game is so exciting. "Unlike classic board games, in this one, for the player to go forward through the squares, he rolls the ball so that the hedgehog treats stick to it, which is a great motor training for the child . For bigger players, on the other hand, it is an opportunity to become more agile and strategically try to hit the ball on exactly the treats you need to make the most successful move possible. To encourage creativity and not to get bored quickly, there is a playing field consisting of several parts. Players can make their own playing field as complex as they want. Not all parts can be used, which also changes the length of the game. For a smaller child, patience is enough to play the game to the end. It should be mentioned here that these parts of the field unfortunately do not fasten together and less agile players have to push them out, so the field has to be rearranged several times so that the paths can be seen clearly. In time, we solved this snag by using a rubber pad, and nothing moved anymore."
Overall, in Asnāte's view, the game "Speedy Roll" is an exciting adventure for both young and old players . "It's based on the idea that the hedgehog has to get home either by competing with other hedgehogs or running away from the fox. As a mother of small, emotional girls, the collaborative version is especially pleasing (the daughter also rated this version as the best). In it, everyone works together to move one hedgehog to get home as quickly as possible, escaping from the fox (the fox moves by itself, not any of the players). In this way, the child can easily understand the course of the game and, already playing, parents can explain rule by rule, tell and show at the same time . The rules were clear to all of us in the first half of the game. The co-op version of the game is especially useful for young players who are just starting to play board games and need to learn not only that everyone has a turn, but also that someone loses and someone wins. By changing the playing options, you don't have to learn everything at once and it seems that the children's joy in playing only grows ," says Asnāte.
The co-op version of the game is especially useful for young players who are just starting to play board games and need to learn not only that everyone has a turn, but also that someone loses and someone wins.
A game for evening relaxation
Viktorija Ozola , a mother of five children and the creator of the Montessori blog " Espats.lv " admits that this game is a good evening entertainment when you want to spend exciting time together after a long day (also in Asnāte's family, the game hedgehog rolled for the first time right after a long day at work and in kindergarten). .
"The game "Speedy Roll" is perfectly suitable for the middle stage, when children's games are already too simple, but they cannot yet engage in complex ones . This seems to be the first game that our four-year-old daughter was really excited about. You don't have to be able to count, you don't have to know numbers, but you can participate with excitement. A great moment of interest is rolling a ball to which leaves, mushrooms and apples stick . It's always interesting, a bit unpredictable and definitely at least something sticks, so there's no disappointment. Next, moving the figure along the squares of the respective symbols continues - this is easy to understand even for preschool children . I also like the fact that this game does not require much time or deep thinking, which is important in the evenings when family games are most often played - it can be picked up quickly, played and put down with fun and excitement . The game can also be slightly increased in difficulty by adding new rules if the most basic way is already bored or seems too easy. Another nice thing about it is the cute drawings.
Learn step by step
The already mentioned aspect that the rules can be learned while playing the game, and the game design creates a very favorable and unhurried game environment . First , the child can touch, arrange and look at the game fields and figures . Roll out the hedgehog before the game starts. Build your own forest path. Thus, the beginning of the game has a relaxedness that is not so typical of board games, especially at the start of the game. In a sense, the game even motivates " free play ", which, in turn, develops creativity. Parents should be ready to get involved and not encourage to immediately assemble the playground if the child is interested in exploring, because this experience will be the first positive emotions associated with playing board games.
Giving the child and the family the opportunity to gradually start the game, in a sense, imitates the process of new discovery , similar to going for a walk in the forest for the first time or getting to know water in the summer. In addition, children already have an interest in a rolling object, which is a very well-known part of play, making the game familiar even before it is played.
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