Primary Category: Physical/Sensory Motor Development
Subcategories: Academics, Fine Motor Skills, Emotional Regulation, Hand Strengthening
Description of how the game can be used to fit the categories: The game Trouble is a fun game for players to practice a variety of skills that can help them in their daily lives. Academics can be practiced by playing this game when the player rolls the dice. The player practices number recognition and counting because they must read the number on the dice and then move their game piece the appropriate number of spots forward. Color identification could also be incorporated into this activity by having the player identify all of the colors of the game pieces and then have the player pick their favorite color. Fine motor skills are incorporated into this game when the players must advance their game pieces on the board. The tiny game pieces require finger dexterity and coordination to move and then place back on the board. Emotional regulation can be practiced when playing this game because if a player lands on a spot that another player already has a game piece on, the player who was there first has their game piece moved back home. This can be frustrating or even upsetting, but the player must control their emotions and continue to play the game without quitting. The player also must roll the exact number of spaces when getting their game piece to the middle of the board to win. If the player is having a difficult time rolling this number, it may be frustrating because the player is so close to winning. This requires the player to regulate their emotions and control their frustration so they can continue playing the game. Hand strengthening can be incorporated into this game when the player has to push down on the dice bubble in order to roll the dice. This takes a good amount of force to get the dice bubble to pop the dice and roll it. This can practice hand strength which is important for the child in other daily activities as well.