Bastion
LQ: 9.15
Recommended Age: 10+
Skills Used: Planning, Working Memory, Mathematics, Reading
Blocks is a physics/puzzle game with over 100 levels. The concept is simple: drag blocks using the mouse to organize them in color coordinated groups of three or more. To start, there are only a handful of blocks with two total colors. As players get further into the game the total number of blocks increases as new colors are introduced to make things more difficult. In later levels, the patterns and logic won’t be as clear either. Some levels will requires quite a few tries before players earn a star. Players also have a certain number of moves to solve the puzzle. If players solve the puzzle without using the final “star” move, they earn a star on the level. Because it’s so easy to pick up and play and humorous (each block has a pair of moving eyes), we recommend Blocks for players 4 and up.
THIS GAME IS GOOD FOR KIDS WHO NEED HELP WITH:
Planning
Players who fail to develop a strategy prior to moving their first block will usually run into some trouble - especially when playing some of the more difficult levels. Players are urged to analyze the position of each block in the stack. It might be clear after a few second where certain blocks are supposed to go. Remember, connecting three or more blocks causes them to disappear. However, players should not be too hasty. If there are 6 gray blocks, and players match and connect a set of four, they will be unable to eliminate all gray blocks and ultimately unable to solve the puzzle. This is just one example of how planning plays an important role in the elimination of blocks. In order to be precise and limit the number of wasted moves, players need a plan of attack -- or at the very least, an accurate first move.
Flexibility
After level 30, things start to get a little more difficult. It's not so clear where blocks go, and players may have to employ new tactics as more and more blocks appear on the screen. Earning a star on after level 30 is very hard, and often each level will take a few tries. Here is where the flexibility thinking skill comes into play. Players will have to employ new strategies, likely products of trial and error play. No longer will players be dragging one block up, one left, then one right to solve a puzzle. Instead, they must experiment by dropping blocks from the top of the structure to the bottom, or moving one block two, maybe three times. New plans and strategic methods are required to solve the harder puzzles, as well as a strong flexibility thinking skill.
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