Foxmind Games

Remember my love for logic? Well, here I am again talking about incorporating more logic into your homeschool – this time through games!

I’m teaching a logic and critical thinking class at co-op this year and needed some activities that were both fun and challenging.  I hit the jackpot with Foxmind Games!

• Each of the games below can be played by one person or a group of kids – it doesn’t matter.
• They can be used with younger/beginning logic kids all the way up to adults.  Seriously.  Each game includes cards of varying skills.  The earlier cards are easier and require less critical thinking ability.  Each card as you go through the deck builds in logical intensity.
• All the games use manipulatives, making them very hands-on and good for tactile learners.  But, they don’t have too many pieces to try to keep up with.
• They are colorful and inviting.
• All directions are concise and easy-to-implement.

ZooLogic requires you to arrange animals on a grid so that all the animals are peaceful.  In other words, no animal can be placed next to its rival or beside its favorite food.  A simple, illustrated chart supplies you with a quick-reference about who and what can/can’t be placed next to each animal.

My four-year-old is able to complete the earlier puzzles and loves the colorful animal pieces.  He had no trouble at all catching on to the rules.  Conversely, my middle school logic class gets a kick out of the game, too.  Obviously, they work more towards the middle and end of the spiral bound deck of 60 cards, but they can’t get enough.

Meta-Forms includes a simple 3×3 grid as the playing board, with nine attribute blocks as the playing pieces.  At first, the directions make the game seem as if the puzzles are nothing more than merely looking at a clue and placing an attribute block on the appropriate square.  Very quickly, though, the clues get harder and there is nothing extremely easy about placing nine shapes on the board.

My middle and high school logic classes have already spent many moments pondering the clues and working (then reworking) the pieces to try to find the correct configurations.  Each of the 80 puzzles (also in a spiral bound deck) in supposed to take only 5 minutes.  Tell that to my high school students.

Equilibro offers a spiral-bound deck of 50 cards on which 2-dimensional figures are pictured.  At the bottom of each card, you are given specific 3-diensional shapes you must pull out from the supplied set of blocks.  Using the photograph, you are to build a 3-dimentional structure with the blocks.

Again, the directions sound easy enough, right?  Again, the puzzles are only supposed to take 5 minutes each, right?  Again, tell that to my high school students!  The earlier puzzles are easy enough for 1st graders, but they quickly become more complicated and require much more critical thinking.  (Don’t worry, answer keys are provided for each of the games! )

What’s super-cool about Equilibro?  You can purchase other guides in their Brain Builder series which will utilize the same blocks from Equilibro, but focus on different structural concepts!

• Architechto
• Clicko
• Tangramino

I’m new to Foxmind Games, but I’m in love!

-Written by Cindy, eclectically Charlotte Mason mom of three – 9th grade, 6th grade and K4 – living in Central KY.  You can find Cindy blogging at Our Journey Westward and find her NaturExplorers studies and other creative curricula at Shining Dawn Books.

Cindy was provided review copies of these games upon her request.  Her opinions are always her own.