PLAYBOOKS: FOR THE NINTENDO DS & SONY PSP

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords is a game that combines the game play of popular puzzle game Bejeweled with a fantasy setting that allows players to tailor their characters abilities to their own style of play. 

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: Puzzle
Platform/Console: Nintendo DS, Sony PSP
Number of Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: 10+
LWK Recommended Age: 10+
Buy Now From: Amazon.com (DS), Amazon.com (PSP)

 

This Game is Good for Kids Who Need Help With:

• Varying routines (flexibility)
• Changing behaviors when situations change (flexibility)
• Taking the time to make sure that answers are correct (response inhibition)
• Waiting until questions are completed before giving the answer (response inhibition)
• Completing step-by-step problems (planning)
• Looking ahead and considering the future (planning)

What You Need to Know About the Game:

This puzzle/adventure game requires well-developed reading skills and some basic arithmetic skills.

Controls and technical information:
Controls, technical information, game basics, a short overview, and instructions for Puzzle Quest can be found inside the instruction manual that is included with the game cartridge.

Solutions:
For parents who would like hints and solutions for Puzzle Quest, many great fan-made (and free!) walkthroughs can be found on the internet. We suggest you look here http://www.gamefaqs.com/portable/ds/game/934598.html.

This Game Helps Your Kids With: Response Inhibition

If your kids struggle with any of the behaviors listed in section 1, playing Puzzle Quest may be a fun and engaging way for them to observe, practice, and think about positive behaviors.
After your children finish playing for the day you should review some of the skills they used and try to relate them to real-life behaviors and situations.  Comparing the skills that kids use in games to those used in real-life situations may help them better visualize and understand appropriate behaviors. To help you talk with your kids about the game, some examples of skills used in Puzzle Quest are listed below, along with some real-life illustrations in italics. 

Also, please note that Puzzle Quest is a fairly lengthy and complex game, so not every skill can be discussed in this guide; other executive functioning skills such as goal-directed persistence and metacognition can easily be identified within game play. 

This game is good for kids who display difficulty with taking time to make sure answers are correct and waiting until questions are completed before giving the answer, because they must:

• Not make thoughtless moves based on their superficial, immediate response (an example of such a mistake might occur as follows: the child matches three skulls to do damage when it may have been better to match four yellow gems, get an extra turn, and cast a spell with the yellow magic he/she just received). Rather, to be successful, players should look closely at the game board and think ahead to anticipate the possible consequences of their moves.  

• If they fail to look ahead, players will find themselves failing frequently.The player must be patient and consciously stop him/herself from making "obvious" moves before he/she has seriously considered the implications. It can be easy to fall back into a pattern of reaction rather than considered action; such behavior will lead to loss more often than not.

Talking Points:.

• When in “Puzzle” Quest,” should you stop and think before acting?

• How can inhibiting your response help you to plan out better strategies?

• How is delaying your actions to plan out a strategy such as showing caution when preparing hot food or using scissors?

Making It Real:

• Provide a child with behavioral strategies that might help him/her with delaying impulsive behaviors. Parents and teachers may train him/her to practice putting his/her hands in front of his/her mouth when he/she wants to speak, sitting on his/her hands when he/she wants to get up and move, or keeping his/her hands in his/her pockets while in line to prevent him/her from pushing or shoving others. 

• Teach counting strategies to delay actions. For example, encourage your child to count to 5 or 10 before acting on an impulse or answering questions. Get him/her to practice this routine and reward him/her for using this strategy at home and school.  Verbally model response inhibition by talking out self-control strategies. For example, state, “I’d really like to eat now, but I want to go exercise, and eating will make it more difficult for me to exercise.” Model daily strategies by stating, “Let me think about that for a minute before I answer you.”

This Game Helps Your Kids With: Planning and Organization

This game is good for kids who display difficulty with completing step-by-step problems and looking ahead to consider the future, because:

• The player character's abilities can be customized.If a player doesn't manage to defeat an enemy, he/she can consider the events of the battle, as well as the enemy's powers and abilities.The player can then consider what equipment, spells, and mounts he/she has  access to, or whether he/she feels the need to ignore the enemy for a while and go off to acquire more abilities.He/she can then create a specialized set of abilities for that specific battle to give him/her a better chance of winning.Although many battles are winnable without a special character configuration, planning out a good response to a particular battle before it begins will significantly increase the chances of success.

Talking Points:

• What information did you use to choose your player’s abilities?

• How did planning help you to choose the best abilities for each battle?

• How is planning out and finally choosing your player’s ability like taking in all aspects of a situation and integrating them?

Making It Real:

• Encourage your child to brainstorm and write down possible steps for planning a school project or birthday party, or for buying gifts for others during the holiday season.  Keep a binder of successful plans for future reference. 

This Game Helps Your Kids With: Flexibility

This game is good for kids who display difficulty with varying routines or changing behaviors when situations change, because they must:

• Change their plans in response to changes in the game state. Although Puzzle Quest encourages some long-term planning, especially when preparing for a puzzle, the player can never completely predict what’s going to happen on a given turn. The game boards change and shift as enemies use their abilities or random symbols drop into the game board.

Talking Points:

• What do you need to do if the enemy makes a move you didn’t expect?

• How did being flexible help you to change strategies in the middle of the game?

• How is changing strategies in Puzzle Quest like being able to adapt to a new type of food or restaurant?

Making It Real:

• Practicing trial-and-error learning can be very helpful. This is a common experience in video games where children learn the directions and expectations of the game by making mistakes and then trying out something new. In real-world situations, children are often more reluctant to do this. With trial-and-error learning, it is important to apply it in appropriate situations. For example, seeing if your laptop computer will work after dropping it may not be a good idea, yet on the other hand, trying different furniture configurations in your living room or putting flowers into arrangements would be appropriate for modeling trial-and-error learning. Other activities such as cooking or taking a new route to school can be very helpful. Verbally evaluate your experience of these efforts, pointing out both positive and negative components of the experience.

• Conduct cooking “experiments.”  Make several varieties of chocolate chip cookies, including those with walnuts, orange rind, or other types of flavored chips.  Try substituting ingredients, e.g., low-fat mild for cream, in a recipe.

• Make mistakes.  Demonstrate to your child that you are not afraid of making mistakes.  Show him/her how to laugh at yourself and how to laugh at his/her own errors.  Show him/her how you are able to learn from making a mistake.  This is very easy.  You can make a mistake by going the wrong way to an activity, mixing up ingredients in a recipe, making a hole in the wall while you are hanging a picture, or making an error when trying to complete a crossword puzzle or sudoku.  Encourage your children to verbalize how they are able to learn from making mistakes.