PLAYBOOKS: FOR THE PC

Puzzle Pirates

Team up with other adventurers, or play alone in a pirate-themed massive multi-player universe. Play a variety of charming mini-games to earn gold, which can be spent on a variety of items. Once players have a little pirating experience, they can take to the high seas and explore uncharted islands or battle other ships.

Game play alone results in modest improvements in real-world executive skills. Please refer to our Playbook Tutorial, general coaching and comprehensive guides to transfer game skills to sustainable real-life behaviors.

QUICK FACTS

Game Type: Massive Multiplayer Online Game (MMORPG)
Platform/Console: PC and Mac.
Number of Players: There can be thousands of players online at once.
ESRB Rating: No ESRB rating, but the company recommends 13+
LWK Recommended Age: 9+
Play Now: puzzlepirates.com

This Game is Good for Kids Who Need Help With:

• Making plans to accomplish larger goals (planning)
• Making new friends (social thinking)
• Working out compromises concerning toys, computer time, etc (social thinking)
• Staying focused on a task (sustained attention)
• Taking initiative to improve their situation (task initiation)
• Thinking before making quick decisions (response inhibition)

What You Need to Know About the Game:

This game does require some reading ability in order to navigate menus and converse with players. However, there are plenty of pictures and the menus are very intuitive so children who experience some reading difficulties can still navigate the menus.

Since this is an online game, the company cannot control what other players say. Be mindful that your child may encounter hurtful or abusive language from other players (although this is very rare). The game employs a language filter so parents should not worry about their child being exposed to foul language. The game may seem daunting at first, but different tutorials are offered to get the player acclimated and playing like a pro in no time. Also, players may choose to pay a subscription fee in order to unlock additional advanced features, none of which are covered in this guide.

Controls, game basics, and instructions:
In Puzzle Pirates, players earn money by playing different minigames and joining crews of other players to pillage other ships. Movement in the game is “click to move”. The player clicks on a spot onscreen and his or her pirate will walk to that spot. Detailed controls and instructions can be found at http://yppedia.puzzlepirates.com/Main_Page.

Solutions:

The Puzzle Pirates provides a Wikipedia-like database containing game basics and puzzle guides. It is located at http://yppedia.puzzlepirates.com/Main_Page.

This Game Helps Your Kids With Planning:

This game is good for kids who display difficulty with making plans to accomplish larger goals because they must:

• Use quick-thinking planning during many of the mini-games (“bilging”, “carpentry”, “sword fighting”, “sailing”, and “rumble”) in order to generate combos, which generate more points thus getting the player more in game currency. During these mini-games, the player must fill targets with the appropriate pieces, or knock pieces off the game board by connecting 3 or more pieces of the same type together. Players can sometimes get by just by making single connections, but the game is much more rewarding when the player sets off a chain reaction of connections or fills in a target perfectly through the use of planning. On the left, a player just generated a combo by using careful planning.

Talking Points:

• When were you able to generate a large combo or get a perfect rating for filling in a target?
• How did planning ahead help you to generate combos?
• How is planning ahead to generate combos like planning the different aspects of a school project so that when you begin the project, everything comes together to make a pleasing product?

Making It Real:

• Use hands-on building tasks with blocks, Legos, or building materials such as bricks or lumber to complete a paper-based design. In addition, creative artwork with geometric forms often requires foresight, planning, building, and breaking down a design. Many toys beyond simple blocks or Legos, such as Geomix, Hexabits and Connex require planning and visualization skills. Engage in both free play (in which there is a particular design in mind) and tasks in which you use completely pre-designed models. Compare and contrast your approaches and planning.

This Game Helps Your Kids With Social Thinking:

This game is good for kids who display difficulty with making new friends, and working out compromises because they must:

• Use social skills to ask players for advice, join and interact with player-run crews, or to simply have a conversation with a fellow player. Below, you can see four players gathered in a circle having a conversation.
• Work out trades with other players so that both parties are happy. Trades can only occur successfully if both players agree on the terms.

Talking Points - Making New Friends:

• When were you able to join a crew?
• How did you use your knowledge of other people's feelings to have meaningful interactions with other players who were part of the crew?
• How is interacting with the unknown players in the crew like breaking the ice with a new group of friends?

Talking Points - Working Out Compromises

• When did you have to make trade compromises in order to satisfy the other player as well as yourself?
• How did you and the other player come to a compromise? Was it quick? Did you two argue a lot?
• How is using social skills to compromise with other pirates online like working out compromises with your real life friends and family?

Making it Real - Making New Friends:

• It may be useful to conduct brief role-playing with children prior to introducing them to a new situation. For example, if children are to meet a group of children they do not know, it may be helpful to practice introducing themselves and learning to ask one or two appropriate questions of their peers. As the child becomes more familiar with these skills, simply prompt him/her prior to entering a new situation. Be sure to praise him/her for efforts and successes.

Making It Real - Working Out Compromises:

• Teach listening skills to children. Do so by engaging in conversation with children when you have ample time to listen with full attention. Utilize active listening skills, at times simply restating the last thing children have said, to ensure they understand that you are listening to them. Recognize feelings. Reassure children that you are concerned in order to enhance that their communications are important to you. Help your child practice simple listening skills by repeating/rewording what you have said. Prompt him/her to attend to feelings and tone, as well as to the actual stated words.