Guardians of Ancora helps kids practice and improve the following skills:

Self-Control

Managing our actions, feelings, and behaviors.

Guardians of Ancora is a game with lots of jumps and hidden areas. Because of this, the player has plenty of opportunities to make mistakes or miss out on stars. When that starts happening, the player has the chance to practice their self-control thinking skills. Each time they fall off a jump instead of completing it, the player has to do a bit of the level all over again. When this happens multiple times in a row, especially on the same jump, it can get discouraging. If the player doesn't manage their anger and frustration, however, they will only get worse. They may end up missing light or scrolls or even be unable to finish a level.

Working Memory

Recalling and retaining information in our minds while working. 

Some of the levels require a player to cover ground more than once if they want to get all three stars for that level. This gives the player a great chance to practice using their working memory skills. As they go through a level, they need to be able to visualize what they are seeing in their mind in order to make a mental map of the level. They then need to keep track of which areas they have explored and which they still need to loop back around to get. If they cannot do this then they will miss out on scrolls and light, which will result in them missing out on unlocking mini-games and leveling up the city of Ancora.

Reading

Each level includes commentary (tips and encouragement) from a sort of guide. These include both on-screen text and voice overs. Each level also includes a section (when the people from the Bible stories are talking) which is done only with speech bubbles. For this second part of the game, the player will need to be able to read at a 9-11 year old level or have the support of an adult or older child.