PLAYBOOKS: FOR THE INTERNET

Trilinks

In “Trilinks,” kids will try to connect all endblobs together with their corresponding color blobs. Players will need to create novel strategies and inhibit some of their responses in order to be successful.

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: PC Internet
Other Requirements : Adobe Flash Player
LWK Recommended Age: 6+

 

 

This Game is Good for Kids Who Need Help With:

• Completing step-by-step problems (planning)
• Considering directions before jumping into activities (planning)
• Considering the future (sustained attention)
• Taking time to think before acting (response inhibition)

What You Need to Know About the Game:

Quick facts:
Game type: puzzle
Platform/Console: PC Internet
Other Requirements: Macromedia Flash Player
LW recommended age: 6+

How to find it:
Trilinks can be found at: http://www.tonypa.pri.ee/start.html. Click on the letters that spell “TRILINKS” (they extend from the end of second to the beginning of the third line).

Game basics and instructions:
The object of “Trilinks” is to connect colored dots with as few steps as possible, using controlled motions of the mouse. Since much of the game action is based on mouse motion and not clicking, “Trilinks” demands that the player carefully consider each action that he/she might have considered “mindless” in other circumstances.

This Game Helps Your Kids With Planning:

This game is good for kids who display difficulty with completing step-by-step problems, considering directions before jumping into activities, and considering the future, because they must:

• Create well-planned strategies for placing color blobs. Each of the endblobs needs to be connected by corresponding color blobs, and this thread cannot be interrupted by any other colors.   Since the player has only a limited amount of moves to make, he/she must be sure to take a look at the game board and create a solid strategy before making any moves. When the player runs out of these moves, the game ends and he/she will have to start from level one. For example: Three blue endblobs must be connected by a continuous thread of blue color blobs. If the blue thread is interrupted by a pink color blob, the player will need to rethink his/her moves and reconnect the blue endblobs while keeping the pink endblobs connected to each other, as well. Taking too many moves to do this will end the game.

Talking Points: 

• When did you need to look forward and anticipate something in the game before making a decision?

• How did planning help you successfully connect the endblobs and complete the level?

•  How is creating strategies in “Trilinks” like being able to look ahead and plan when your parents or teachers give you an unexpected task?

Making it Real:

• Encourage planning for a family trip. Check weather forecasts with your child in order to think about what type of clothing he/she might want to bring on the trip. Have him/her generate a list of clothing, toys, books, and other materials that he/she would like to have with him/her during the family trip. Ask him/her to think about how much money he/she would like to have and perhaps find a way to earn the money prior to going on the trip. Encourage him/her to talk about the materials and things that are most important for him/her to take with him/her on the trip.

• Construct lists of the steps necessary to complete activities. Many children have difficulty in conceptualizing the multiple steps it may take to complete an activity such as completing a book report, making and cleaning up after a meal, creating a Facebook or MySpace Page, or getting ready for a family vacation.

This Game Helps Your Child With Response Inhibition:

This game is good for kids who display difficulty with taking time to think before acting, because they must:

• Be cautious of where they place the color blobs. If the player acts without thinking, they may end up overlapping one thread of color blobs with another. The player will then need to reconnect the first thread to its corresponding end blobs without running out of steps. If player does run out, the game will end and the player will need to start over at the first level. Reconnecting threads can be much more difficult than it sounds, especially when players progress to later levels with many different colored endblobs.

Talking Points: 

• When did you need to look forward to anticipate something in the game before making a move?

• How did slowing down your responses help you to avoid overlapping different color blobs?

•  How can being careful in this way help you to think about showing caution while preparing hot food, using scissors, or doing something that may be risky?

Making it Real:

• 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.”

• For impulsive children, teach problem-solving strategies in which children are strongly encouraged always to consider more than one possible plan before starting a task. This will serve to delay actions. For example, when children are doing basic mathematics, encourage them always to ask themselves what type of operation (addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division) is used before choosing what to do.