This Game is Good for Kids Who Need Help With:

Planning

Developing a systematic approach for setting and achieving goals.

Planning out strategies is very important in this game, as players need to think several steps ahead in order to defeat the enemy. At first, players can only buy a few towers, making the initial choices in the game very important. Towers eventually should be used to channel enemies into winding roads, allowing more time to attack and deplete their numbers. Defeating enemies earns money, which players then use to buy more towers and upgrade existing ones. Choosing which towers to upgrade is also important, as each tower has unique characteristics -- some are better for taking out ground troops, while some can deal with airborne foes, like helicopters. Players who don't plan ahead will have trouble dealing with the increasing strength of enemy troops, while those who plan out tower placement in advance can keep the enemy winding around the map long enough to defeat them.

Organization

Arranging and coordinating materials in order to complete a task.

Properly organizing towers is essential to players' success. There are a variety of towers that players can buy, each with a different function. Machine gun towers fire rapidly, slowly wearing down enemy armor. "Goo" towers slow the pace of fast moving enemies, and artillery towers inflict the most damage and can attack airborne foes. If players only use machine guns and artillery, stronger and faster enemies will easily make it across the map to the exit. Players therefore must organize a balanced strategy, placing towers that impede movement within pockets of machine gun and artillery towers. This way, tough enemies are slowed down and damage is maximized. Players should try to conceptualize how they will organize their units from the beginning of the game, buying new towers and upgrades to achieve their plan. Logically organizing complimentary towers and creating a maze is an efficient way of making enemies cover the most surface area before leaving the map, maximizing the amount of damage they receive. If players place their towers about the map ion an unorganized fashion, the enemy can easily escape.

Time Management

Being efficient and aware of our use of time and effort. Estimating time and meeting deadlines.

Although there is no visual game clock in Fieldrunners, but players are still under the constraints of time. Enemies attack in waves, with large groups of foes rushing into the map intermittently. This gives players short respite where they can re-assess their situation, buy new towers and re-organize the battlefield. If they spend too much time thinking out a strategy, however, more foes will appear before they can implement it. Players must also be aware of the time it takes to defeat the various enemy types. Strong, slow enemies are best defeated with heavy firepower off the bat, while faster enemies must be slowed down in order to be defeated. Players have to acknowledge the immediate threat of quick enemies, while balancing their defense to ensure the slower, more powerful foes are eliminated as well. Time Management skills are particularly important here, as players must prioritize their actions and determine which enemy poses the most imminent threat.