Recently I was offered the chance to review a new card game called Mad Moves. It launched on Kickstarter recently and they are slowly reaching their funding goal.
Mad Moves Kickstarter
Not a surprise because Mad Moves is a simple, fun and creative game for the whole family.
However, after playing with it, I wanted to share some alternative ways of interacting with the game. It can maximize the play potential for younger players or those on the Autism Spectrum. You’ll immediately see how many super awesome ways you can play it, showing the benefits and longevity of this Kickstarter funded game.
How to Play Mad Moves.
A player spins the spinner. If the spinner needs lands on a pink dance category, the player picks a category card with that color. Such as, if you land on pink “Tap”, you pick up a pink ‘Animal’ card. Don’t show anyone (The “Person” cards are green and the “Activity” are blue.) Perhaps the pink animal card you picked says “Bunny”. Since you have the Bunny card, and had “Tap” on the spinner, you have to be a tap dancing bunny. Shhh. You cannot make any noises!
The first player to guess tap dancing bunny wins the category card. If no one can guess, then the dancer has get rid of a card in their stash, and gets a Rotten Tomato card! Whoever has the most category cards at the end, wins the game. There are dance offs and Freeze dances to add even more play fun.
Other Ways to Play Mad Moves.
1. Play one color/category. Instead of using the person, animal or activity cards, just play the animal cards. It keeps kids focused on one category for easier playing.
2. Play all the colors on the spinner. Instead of picking a green card when you land on the green Tap classification, pick any card when you land on any spinner square. Mix all the cards together before you start to play. It can help ensure variety when playing, to minimize frustrations.
3. Take out the more complicated cards. You know the players, so if they don’t know what is a runway model or a sumo wrestler, remove those cards from the piles to make it less frustrating for the players.
4. Don’t play Freeze Dance or Dance Battle. Take out the Freeze Dance cards before you play and if your spinner needle lands on Dance Battle, just do any dance! Make it free choice from the other categories: tap, ballet, limbo or twist. Taking out these cards can eliminate who is ‘first’ or who is ‘better’ concepts that can trigger maladaptive behaviors.
5. Play a set number of cards. Instead of using all the cards, pick 5, for example, from each category or ten from one category. This can help kids practice attending when playing the game. Add more cards over time to challenge their focus.
6. Allow noises. While the game discourages noises when being your character, you can allow noises to help certain players guess what you might be. It can minimize frustrations, be a teachable moment (i.e, what does a penguin sound like?), and be more fun for select players.
7. See the cards. In the game, you know what dance category the player up is going to do, but you don’t know what person, animal or activity they are going to be. Alternatively, instead of keeping it a secret, let all players know what the character is. It enables focus on encouraging kids to be imaginative and problem solve together. (e.g. how does a snake do ballet exactly?) Perhaps let them all try to do it together! Maybe vote on who had the best ballet snake! Or just eliminate the winning aspect for less tantrums.
While the game is madly awesome playing as it is intended, you can see all the alternative ways you can play it. For the monetary value, there is huge play value for all members of the family with a variety of social, behavioral or educational needs. Additionally, the game is an opportunity to work on social skills, occupational therapy and other therapeutic benefits for a variety of children.
Help get this game on store shelves by supporting them on Kickstarter so you can start making your own Mad Moves! (Disco Ball optional, but totally cool.)
