Archive for the ‘Train Your Brain’ Category
Kids at play are happy kids and group games (or sports) can really be great educational activities for your children.
Group games ask players a personal participation and at the same time involve groups’ dynamics and interpersonal relationship. When kids play group games, they create and interact in a climate of cooperation and fun. In group games, every child is an important member of the team and determines the success of the group. Group games can be organized in outdoor open spaces or indoor, and are great during children parties and kids’ birthdays. The number of children and participants in the game can vary. Read the rest of this entry »
Thirty years ago, a Hungarian professor named Erno Rubik invented one of the most famous brain teaser of the world: the Rubik cube. Last February was released the successor of the popular cubic puzzle game: it’s called Rubik 360 and it is a Sphere!
The mythical Rubik Cube became a symbol of the 80s with millions of puzzles sold worldwide (one of the best-selling toy in history) and millions of hardcore players challenging themselves in leagues and tournaments.
One sphere, six balls and only one possible solution make the new Rubik puzzle game quite different from its cubic father.
So The Hungarian architect Erno Rubik tried to tease again millions of people with this apparently innocuous spherical puzzle game, trying to repeat the success of his previous brain teaser.
The Rubik 360 is a sphere within a sphere within a sphere, really simple to play but very difficult to solve.
The object of the game is to get the small coloured balls from within the central sphere into the matching colour holes of the external sphere (it’s easy to say, but less easy to do).
Read the rest of this entry »
Gomoku (五目並べ) is a Japanese traditional logic board game, related with the game of Gobang (which uses the same board and pieces), and it’s also know in English countries as Five in a Row.
The rules of the game of Gomoku are in fact different and much simpler than the Gobang game and for this reason it’s a board game played mainly by children. But despite its simples rulres Gomoku is a strategy and logic board game more complex and difficult than Tic Tac Toe (also called Nine Mens Morris) and the modern Connect Four. Read the rest of this entry »
Ridley Scott announced his commitment into a new movie based on the Monopoly board game.
The script is not ready yet, so we can’t give you an overview of the plot, but we can tell you about the real story behind the invention of Monopoly.
A story of money, success, plagiarism and legal fights revealed to the pubblic only in the eighties after the so called Monopolygate: Read the rest of this entry »
Games and toys in ancient Rome
Posted August 11, 2009
on:- In: History | toys | Train Your Brain
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Games and toys such as dolls, hobbyhorses, balls, hand-carts, and many others playthings characterized all the playing and recreational activities in Ancient Rome.
The hedonistic lifestyle and the enjoyment of life was one of the most important aspect of this ancient Roman culture and every occasion was good to play games.
A lot of finds in many archaeological sites around Rome and central Italy help researchers to piece together all games and amusements played in the roman empire from toys for children to skill games, gambling and sports games.
Like modern times even ancient Rome games where a stress relief moment and the best way to evade with the fantasy and don’t think to the harshness of the life.
A lot of ancient games were popular among children and adults, with the difference that adults utilized those same games to gamble. This is the case of dives games and of the Astragalus game, played with small animal bones.
Other gambling games were animal fights, permitted only during the Saturnalias, the ancient roman carnival festivity; other popular games where coin flip, and the tic-tac-toe game practised on rudimental game boards, often engraved on the public sidewalk. There was also a game called ludus latrunculorum (soldiers’ game) which represents a primitive version of chess and checkers; In this ancient board game all the pawns of the board were moved like an army during a battle.
Last but not the least the ball game, played by people of all ages wit balls created with plumes, cloths and sand.
Life skills games
Posted July 29, 2009
on:When a parent is looking for a gift for his kid, he should find one of those clever games that will help him build his logical and creative mind.
Parent’s favourite choice in this sense has to be a life skill game such as an educational board game, a quiz game or a construction toy.
Kids love playing with construction and create new shapes with the same pieces and above of all they love playing a board game or a quiz game to learn unknown things.
All those kind of games have something in common: they help the kid to discover something new about himself and our society. When kids play these clever games, they start to use their capabilities and their knowledge to challenge the others in a competitive situation. This is the typical situation that everyone of us has experienced many times in his life;competition it’s the secret of the personal success, we compete for everything, a car park, a better job, or a faster car.
In this sense old fashion board games and educational toys are more modern and innovative than any kind of hi-tech toy because they can teach the essence of those deep and fundamental human relationship of our modern society that we call life skills.
These life lessons sometimes are more effective than many others teaching methods because kids love playing games more than attend boring lessons at school.
Education and games, it’s seems the perfect winning combination for an happy childhood.
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