My Diggy Dog helps kids practice and improve the following skills:

Planning

Developing a systematic approach for setting and achieving goals.

The goal of the game is to find treasures while avoiding obstacles of various types. The player also has to keep their health up and their energy up. That means if the player is going to balance all these elements, the player is going to have to make a plan.   They need to decide how to avoid slugs and other enemies, how to get around un-diggable patches of earth, and when to go back for food (and energy). Without plans for all of these things, the player will get lost in the tunnels and never find the treasure they are looking for.

Self-Awareness

Understanding our own actions, thoughts, and feelings.

There are several elements of “self” that the player must stay aware of in this game. They have to keep track of health, energy, weight being carried, and fear levels. If the player doesn’t keep this stuff in mind, and keep “themselves” healthy, they will fail at the game. They have to use their self-awareness skills to watch their surroundings and their meters and then make the right choices to keep playing. If they don’t, they will end up wasting money (on food) or having to wait 15 minutes while their dog is in the hospital.