THIS GAME IS GOOD FOR KIDS WHO NEED HELP WITH:

Flexibility

Adapting and adjusting to changing conditions and expectations.

While many goals are entirely determined by players, their character's basic needs for food, sleep, and shelter must be met. The character's happiness, energy, and environment are rated for players and each category slowly decays over time. Players must be able to achieve these primary objectives while working toward alternative objectives like crafting new clothing, stylizing their living space, or crafting new helpful tools. Upgrading tools and creating increasingly useful items requires players to both survive new environments and seek out new resources. With goals, environments, and health factors constantly changing, players must be able to adapt and strategize accordingly. As objectives and priorities change players must be able to shift their attention and resources toward achieving these goals quickly and efficiently.

Planning

Developing a systematic approach for setting and achieving goals.

Achieving goals in The Blockheads requires a fair amount of planning from players who must collect resources, make upgrades, and continue to maintain their character's health and happiness. For example, being able to create clothing to shield a character from the elements requires players to create a "tailor's work bench," collect flax, and create linen. Working toward this objective can take some time and players must be able to maintain other important goals like collecting food, creating tools, and improving their character's shelter. By determining a limited number of specific goals and working to achieve those goals before moving on, players greatly increase their chances of success.

Time Management

Being efficient and aware of our use of time and effort.

Working toward achieving objectives requires players to balance their time between maintaining their character's health and happiness and acquiring and developing resources. Players must also be aware of their environment as their character will become less happy and work slower as night sets in. Character's also become fatigued as they navigate the world or work on crafting new items. Successfully achieving goals requires players to balance and prioritize their time between a number of simultaneous goals while working against their characters constantly decaying hunger and energy, as well as the daylight.

Organization

Arranging and coordinating materials in order to complete a task.

Part of working toward increasingly complex goals and achievements in The Blockheads, is managing an enormous and perpetually growing inventory. Players must decide between carrying essential items with them in a limited number of inventory spaces, or storing items in a secondary location. Items include everything from building and mining materials, to food, clothing, and tools. For example, when mining deep underground, players must carry adequate tools, food, ladders, and torches or risk needing to return to the surface too often, wasting time and energy. While mining it is also beneficial to have a place to store the raw materials acquired, such as dirt, stone, and valuable metals. Each of these material components can help players further their other goals by creating new tools and other valuable items from their inventory, making them essential to store and keep organized.