PLAYBOOKS: FOR THE INTERNET

Tanks

Carefully plan your shots to destroy the enemy tank in as few turns as possible. A wide variety of weapons, "power-ups", and difficulty levels will keep you coming back for more.

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: Strategy
Platform/Console: Internet
Where to Find It: Tank
Other Requirements: Adobe Flash Player
LWK Recommended Age: 5+

 

This Game is Good for Kids Who Need Help With:

• Intricate planning (planning)
  
• Changing a learned strategy or instinct based on changes in their surroundings (flexibility)

What You Need to Know About the Game:

Reading ability is not required except for the instructions.

This game contains mild cartoon violence. It can be played against a computer or a human, but this guide is designed based on the two player game, one human vs. the computer.

How to find it:
http://www.addictinggames.com/tanks.html

Controls, game basics, and instructions:
Move the tank with the left and right arrow keys, adjust the firing angle with the up and down keys, fire with the spacebar, and change weapons using the “o” and ‘”w” keys.

Solutions:

No walkthroughs exist for this game.

This Game Helps Your Kids With Planning:

This game is good for kids who need help with intricate planning, because they must:

• Carefully plan their shot before firing. Many factors influence the path of the player's shot, such as wind speed and direction, tank position, and weapon type. Players must carefully consider all of these factors before firing or they will miss and give the computer another shot at their own tank.

Talking Points:

• How did you successfully hit your opponent’s tank?
• How did considering all of the environmental factors (tank position, wind, etc) in your planning process help you hit your opponent’s tank?
• How is intricately planning your shot in “Tanks” like planning all of the aspects for a family trip?

Making it Real:

• Collaborate on planning for a family trip. Check weather forecasts with your children; think about what type of clothing they might want to pack. Have children generate a list of clothing, toys, books, and other materials they would like to have with them. Ask them to think about how much money they’d like to carry and perhaps find a way to earn the money prior to going on the trip. Encourage them to talk about the things that are most important for them to take with them on the trip.

This Game Helps Your Kids With Flexibility:

This game is good for kids who need help with changing a learned strategy or instinct based on changes in their surroundings, because they must:

• Change their firing strategy based on the positions of their tank and their opponent’s tank. Often, the player’s and/or the opponent’s projectiles will change the environment. If a projectile chips away some land below the player’s tank, it will cause the tank to fall. The player must then adjust the angle of fire to accommodate the new position. Similarly, the player must also adjust if the opponent’s tank moves. In the screenshot, the environment has undergone a very drastic change.

Talking Points:

• When did a projectile force you to change your position or firing angle so that you could still hit your opponent?
• How did being flexible regarding your established firing angle help you to continue to hit your opponent?
• How is being flexible in “Tanks” like adjusting to a new classroom, or a change in your schedule?

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. It is important to apply trial and error learning 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.