Game Type: Educational, Puzzle
ESRB Rating: N/A
Platform/Console: iPad, iPhone, iPod, Online
LWK Recommended Age: 6+
Thinking Skills Used: Organization, Planning, Self-Awareness
Get it Now: iTunes / Chrome / Kongregate
Cargo Bridge is a creative puzzle game that tasks players with constructing bridges strong and stable enough to support the weight of workers and their heavy cargo. Bridges must be built over gaps and around other environmental obstacles, with players using a limited amount of money to buy construction materials. The less money players use to build a working bridge, the higher they score. There is no inappropriate content in this game, but due to the moderate difficulty, Cargo Bridge is recommended for players age 7 and older.
LearningWorks for Kids recommends that you set aside approximately one hour for each session, allowing for 30-45 minutes of gameplay, and 15-30 minutes of discussion.
Step 1: Discuss.
Take a minute to talk to your students about the thinking skills used in this game, and why they are important for success at school (see resources below). Have students choose at least 2 or 3 gameplay goals before starting to play. The gameplay goals ensure that the student is playing the game in an engaged and active way that will require use of the Planning skill for success.
Skills Used in Cargo Bridge:
Planning: Developing a systematic approach for setting and achieving goals.
Cargo Bridge is helpful for kids who have trouble thinking ahead, as players must use a limited amount of money to purchase the construction materials needed to build their bridges. They must also anticipate the weight of the cargo to be moved and the number of workers, so that the bridge can be built strong enough to hold them. Each piece of construction material costs money, so players must plan the use of their limited funds effectively. Higher scores are given for less money spent, so players should try to buy only the supplies they need.
Organization: Arranging and coordinating materials in order to complete a task.
Good organizational skills are needed to build working bridges in the game with as little material as possible. In order to support the workers and the weight of the cargo, players need to create logical constructions that evenly disperse weight and won’t crack under pressure. This means properly spacing out each support beam and gently pitching inclines over gaps. Players that throw together materials haphazardly will have little success in the game, as sloppy constructions are likely to collapse the instant they are tested.
Self-Awareness: Understanding and articulating our own thoughts and feelings.
In Cargo Bridge, players will inevitably make mistakes and build bridges that collapse. When this happens, they must reflect back on their previous attempt to understand what might have gone wrong, and how they might change their thought processes to build a better bridge on their next attempt. If players are not able to learn from their mistakes and estimate the outcome of their construction, they will find themselves having to completely scrap their design and start over.
Gameplay Goals for Cargo Bridge:
Cargo Bridge is a single player game, so in order to play with your child you will have to each take turns. However, the lengthy construction process makes it easy for you to collaborate on ideas for your bridges together. Note the gameplay goals below, then team up with your child to see if you can complete each one.
Gameplay Goals:
- Beat the first level.
- Have at least $250 left over after you beat the second level.
- Complete all four levels in the “Lite” version of the game.
- Finish the “Lite” version of the game with a total score of over $2000.
Discussion Resources:
Step 2: Play.
Give students a set amount of time to play the game. Usually, 30 – 45 minutes is a good timeframe, but you can adjust this to meet the needs of your students. Make sure to remind them to pay attention to their Gameplay Goals, and think about the skills they are utilizing while playing.
Play Resources:
Step 3: Reflect.
After the set play time has ended, take a few minutes to discuss how the thinking skills were used in the game, and why they were important for success. You can use our Reflect Prompts below, or just talk about your own experience with the game. In either case, make sure to call attention to the ways that using the thinking skills in the game is similar to the way students use the skills at school and at home.
Cargo Bridge Reflect Prompts:
- Talk about the times where you had to plan ahead in the game — like when checking the cargo and amount of workers — and how Planning helped you beat the level faster or have more money left over.
- Relate the type of planning you’re using in Cargo Bridge to real life examples of budgeting for a party, picking out what gifts to buy for a holiday, or simply saving up cash for a big purchase.
- Describe some of the methods you used to build bridges that could support weight, like using numerous support beams. Then, ask the students to describe what they thought was the construction method they came up with in the game.
- Explore some common hobbies that involve similar organization, like constructing a castle with Lego blocks, making a model car, or building a birdhouse. Talk about the organizational elements that all these activities share.
- Help students understand that thinking back to previous situations can help us think of better solutions to use for current predicaments. Discuss the notion of trial and error with by identifying a mistake you made early in the game. How did thinking about mistakes help improve subsequent constructions?
Step 4: Make it Work.
Our Make-it-Work activities are designed to help show students how the skills they use while playing games are similar to the skills they rely on for success at school. Just choose the activities that you think your students would like the most, and schedule them for the same day as their gameplay. After they complete an activity, follow-up with a discussion about how the skills it required were similar to the skills required by the game.
Make it Work Activities:
