The Climbing Knights

Explore

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players explore the castle in Climbing Knights by looking around walls for safe paths to move their Knights.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
There are many factors that will effect where a child moves their Knight. Remind children to think about ledges, where the Guards are moving, and where other players are located to help them explore more carefully.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Playing Climbing Knights helps children develop spatial reasoning skills, as well as planning and prediction as they map out a safe path to the top of the castle. There are many factors that will effect where a child moves their Knight. Remind children to think about ledges, where the Guards are moving, and where other players are located to help them explore more carefully.

Determine

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players determine where to move in relationship to the location and likely movements of Guards and other players.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
To help children develop more thoughtful decision-making, parents can ask them to justify before they make a decision. Ask questions like, "How will moving your Knight there help you reach your goal?"

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Climbing Knights helps children develop thoughtful decision-making. Ask children to justify choices before they make a decision. Ask questions like, "How will moving your Knight there help you reach your goal?"

Compare

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players will compare different options for moving their Knights and the paths they are trying to make up the castle. They will also compare the location of other Knights and the Guards.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
In order help children to reduce impulsivity, parents can encourage children to talk about different possible results based on varying choices for moving their Knight.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Educators can assist in developing spatial reasoning by encouraging children to talk about different moves for their Knight to travel, including moving down, not moving or moving fewer than the number on the die, prior to deciding which to play. This will also help reduce impulsivity.

Predict

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Climbing Knights involves a some prediction as players try to determine the probability of Guards moving or sleeping.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
Parents can remind children that Guards can only move up to 2 spots in a turn and that they cannot look backwards. Additionally, ask children to think about where the other Knights are located and might be trying to move.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Children can increase their ability to predict if they concentrate, compare options and look at the Guards and other Knights, rather than choosing a move impulsively. Help children by asking them to "Wait. Look. Think." Using such cues can give children a model for future play.

Plan

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Planning is a major element of Climbing Knights as players try to create a path to the top of the castle without getting seen by a Guard.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
To be successful in this game requires thinking about consequences beyond a player's immediate move. This type of long-term, sequential thinking is important beyond the game for activities such as building forts, making art, successfully completing schoolwork on time and launching a new business from a lemonade stand to a company later on in life.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Planning is an important skill for developing strategic thinking, persistence and reaching a goal. Encourage the children to discuss the goal for the game and how they might play their pieces to reach the goal. Additionally, to be successful in this game requires thinking about consequences beyond a player's immediate move. This type of long-term, sequential thinking is important beyond the game for activities such as building forts, making art, successfully completing schoolwork on time and launching a new business from a lemonade stand to a company later on in life.

Experiment

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Climbing Knights allows players to try out different strategies that are more defensive or offensive.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
Climbing Knights is good for experimenting with strategy and tactics. Discuss different strategies such as defensive (which involves more hiding) or offensive (which involves trying to race up the castle) prior to starting the game and encourage the child to select one. Play the game and discuss. Then, play again with the child trying a different strategy. Discuss again and compare the advantages and disadvantages

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Climbing Knights is good for experimenting with strategy and tactics. Discuss different strategies such as defensive (which involves more hiding) or offensive (which involves trying to race up the castle) prior to starting the game and encourage the child to select one. Play the game and discuss. Then, play again with the child trying a different strategy. Discuss again and compare the advantages and disadvantages.

Solve

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players attempt to solve and win the game by adapting to the moves of Guards and other Knights in order to retrieve their Coat of Arms first.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
Parents can talk to children about alternative approaches and help them think about choices. It is important for parents to not create the approaches, but help the children come to their own conclusions. Parents can encourage both offensive and defensive game strategy.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Educators can talk to children about alternative approaches and help them think about choices. It is important for adults to not create the approaches, but help the children come to their own conclusions. Adults can encourage both offensive and defensive game strategy.

Cognitive

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Children with cognitive delays may have difficulty understanding the abstract concepts related to the Guards line of sight the ability of the Guards to "see" or "not see" the Knights. The climbing magnets, however, will be lots of fun to move. Simplify the rules so that their is only one Guard and the Guard can see anyone on the side he is standing. This will enable the players to move to a non-visible side. Remind the child to watch the Guard and anticipate where he is moving, so they can plan their moves.
Keep the same rules, but play in teams. This way, the child has a coach to help them think about each move and the position of the Guards.

Communication

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Players do not need to communicate to play the game, but children can be encouraged to talk about their moves and what their Knight is thinking about.
If the child has difficulty comprehending language, demonstrate each step of the directions. Use gestures and physical movements (ex: pretend to look over a ledge and down) to show the actions of the Knights. Visual dramatization helps children pair words and actions with meaning.

Sensorimotor

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Although players need to move their Knight, the pieces slide easily on the wall. Moving the Guards requires more fine motor skill, but players can assist each other, making the game more cooperative.

Social Emotional/Behavioral

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
If a Knight is seen by a Guard, the player falls to the bottom of the level below. This may be frustrating for children who don't tolerate setbacks well. To make this aspect of the game a little easier to handle, change the rules so that if the Knight is seen, he just falls 3 spaces. Build up tolerance by adding a space to the fall after several rounds.
Play in pairs to build cooperation skills.

Vision

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
As is, Climbing Knights is not recommended for children with low vision, as the pattern for movement is not high contrast and is thus hard for these children to see.
The game could be modified by using bright markers of different colors to color in the squares and mark "ledges" so children with low vision can see their options.

Hearing

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Climbing Knights can be played without talking, but players will need to read or use visual skills to learn the directions.
Part of the fun of the game is communicating during the game, encourage players to use sign and gestures to communicate.

*Data compiled from CCSSI ELA Standards, WA Science Standards, and Washington Social Studies Standards

Extra Ways to Play the Game
With current rules Knights cannot land on windows. Modify the rules so that Knights can land on a window, but if they do the player needs to tell a short story of what is happening inside the castle when the Knight looks in the window.

Materials Needed
No additional materials needed.

Developmental Benefits
Being able to land on a window is an advantage for the Knight's movement. To gain this advantage, however, players need to add an imaginative element by telling a brief story of what is happening inside the castle. This adds a narrative element which builds communication and story telling skills.

Extra Ways to Play the Game
Use the castle, Guards and Knights for dramatic play. Encourage children to make up stories involving the characters. Add other toys to increase imaginative ideas.

Materials Needed
No materials are needed, but adding additional toys and props will expand the dramatic play options.

Developmental Benefits
Dramatic play allows children to play different characters, make up stories, and insert dialogue. This helps develop creative thinking, narrative skills, social interaction, communication, and problem solving.