18 Feb GRABBIN’ DRAGONS
GRABBIN’ DRAGONS
GRABBIN' DRAGONS
EditorInChief
As a therapist, I love this game for its pieces and the creative ways I can alter the intended game play to target my client’s specific goals. However, for the typical family this game does not meet the hype the package claims with respect to engagement.
Meets Expectations
Durability
Versatility
Engagement
The Essentials
I love most classic games for their inherent therapeutic value. Out of curiosity, I tried this game and it did meet my therapeutic expectation. However, from a typical family’s expectations, this game falls flat for engagement and continuous fun. The goal of the game is to attain the most “magical rings” using the dragon tongue and then drawing its neck back, in a cool, acrobatic motion by pulling the tail mechanism.
Once game play begins, the kids are intended to race to attain the rings (one at a time), pull their dragon’s neck back so that the rings drop into the well built-in to the dragons back, and continue this until they collect all of their rings – whoever collects them first wins! Players can try to knock the rings off of their opponents’ dragon tongues, using their dragon’s neck movements.
Hooking the rings and triggering the tail mechanism adequately facilitates increased eye-hand skills, coordination and positive competition. It sounds great, yet the game falls short secondary to the bland repetitive nature with no built in visual or auditory stimulus to keep the game exciting.
Fun Factor
If played strictly as intended, this game is interesting to the average 3 – 4 year olds or for older kids that like low-key, repetitive simple action games.
As the kids get older, the level of engagement starts to falter significantly – it is just too redundant once they are no longer fascinated with the “neck bendin” action.
For children who need to build the skills indicated, therapists and parents are able to engage their patients/children effectively for the short intervals required in therapy and by augmenting the game objectives and building in positive feedback. This game is on my therapy home program recommendation list.
If you have a child needing help with fine motor skills, coordination, and goal directed behavior, consider looking at how to augment the use of this game below and work with your OT should you have one.
Set-Up and Clean-Up
The ability to set-up, clean-up, and store this game is easy if you provide ziplock bags for the “magic rings”. The durability of the actual dragon is excellent for the repeated use.
The IF-THEN’S and the BUT’S
WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD – Small parts. Not for children under 3 years.
HOW TO AUGMENT THE USE OF THIS PRODUCT
When using toys and games, we can facilitate increased general learning and target specific learning areas; enhance creativity and imagination; further foster problem solving and memory; target specific physical (gross and fine motor) skills, social skills, and communication; and we can foster sensory processing and modulation. Learn how to maximize the use of this product for your child, clients, or patients.
NOTE: Not all games lend to a wide variety of alternate strategies. The level and amount of suggestions will vary from game to game and may be added to from time to time.
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