My Very First Games: Animal upon Animal
My Very First Games: Animal upon Animal Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Before the First Game
Before the first game please remove the sleeve and carefully press the game pieces out of the punchboard. The sleeve and the two cardboard frames should be disposed of for safety reasons. They are not needed for the game.
Game Components
- 8 sun tiles (with animals on the back)
- 1 die
- 1 green meadow
- 1 blue waterhole
- 2 shoreline tiles
- 8 animals: crab, snake, gorilla, crocodile, llama, fox, tiger, dog
Free Play and Details Discovery
Let your child engage with the game components during some free play. Play along! Explore the illustrations on the game components together. Look closely at all the animals. Which animals are pictured? You can also talk to your child about which of the animals you've seen at the zoo or in a picture book. What are they called? If your child doesn't know the name of an animal yet, say it clearly and encourage your child to repeat the name by asking appropriate questions. For example, you could say "Look, it's a tiger. What's this animal called?"
You can also encourage your child to engage in their first role playing with the wooden figures. For example you can move the tiger to the waterhole and pretend that it is drinking water, or that the crab is playing in the water.
You can also stack the animals together with your child. Which combinations are easy and which ones are more difficult to stack?
Game 1: Stacking Animal Tower
A first stacking game for little animal tamers.
Before Starting
Sit around the meadow with the children and distribute the eight animals around it. Shuffle the sun tiles and lay these out with the sun facing up. The waterhole, the die and the two shoreline tiles are not needed for this game and can be returned to the box.
Now Let's Get Started
Play in a clockwise direction, taking turns. Has anyone seen a cat today? That player can start and turns over one of the sun tiles.
Ask: Which animal does the tile show? Can you find the same animal among the wooden animals?
Encourage the child whose turn it is to take the wooden figure with the pictured animal and place it on the meadow. The child can decide for themselves how they want to place the animal. They can stand it up, lay it down or even place it on its head. If there is already an animal in the meadow, the new animal should be stacked on top of it.
If a child is only just starting to stack irregular shapes then they will find it easier to initially stack the figures on their sides. Once they have mastered this early stacking, the next challenge is to stack the animals upright or even on their heads.
After stacking, check whether they were successful.
Ask: Did one or more animals fall down?
- No? Fantastic! You may take the sun tile as a reward. The child places the tile in front of them, sun-side up.
- Yes? What a pity! Put the animals that fell down back around the meadow. The sun tile is placed back into the box. Any animals that did not fall down stay in the stack in the meadow.
Then it is the next player's turn to flip over one of the sun tiles.
End of the Game
The game ends when all the sun tiles have been flipped over. Each player stacks up the sun tiles they have collected. The player with the highest stack wins. In the event of a tie, the tied players win together.
Children that are a little older and already familiar with the game components can also be asked to name the animals. Ask the child directly which animal is shown on the tile. If the child isn't completely sure then you can use simple words to explain a few more details about the animal, such as where it usually lives, what it eats, or what other animals also live in the same habitat.
Game 2: Colorful Raft Stack
A fun animal stacking game for expert animal climbers. Will all the animals make it into one of the two animal towers?
Before Starting
Arrange the meadow and the waterhole according to the image. Distribute the eight animals and the sun tiles around them with the sun facing up. Keep the die handy. The two shoreline tiles are not needed for this game and can be returned to the box.
Now Let's Get Started
Take turns playing in a clockwise direction. Who can roar like a lion the loudest? This player starts and rolls the die.
Ask: What does the die show?
- Green? Take one of the animals and place it in the meadow. If there is already another animal there, stack it on top.
- Blue? Take one of the animals and place it onto the raft in the waterhole. If there is already another animal there, stack it on top.
- The sun? Great! You can decide whether you want to put the animal of your choice on the meadow stack or onto the raft stack in the waterhole.
But be careful; did one or more animals fall down during your stacking?
- No? Fantastic! As a reward you may take one sun tile. The child places the tile in front of them.
- Yes? What a pity! Put the animals that fell down around the meadow or waterhole once again. Unfortunately you are not allowed to take a sun tile. Any animals that did not fall down stay in their stack.
End of the Game
The game ends when all of the sun tiles have been claimed. Now each player stacks their sun tiles. The player with the highest stack wins. In the event of a tie, the tied players share the win.
Children learn to independently make simple game moves by practicing. Support their actions with simple, calm sentences and let the children roll the die or take and turn over the tiles themselves. This allows them to quickly learn the simple game moves and have a lot of fun.
Game 3: Race Carl the Crab!
A cooperative race against the crab. Carl the crab bets he can make it all the way along the path of suns, to the end with the snail, before the other animals manage to stack on top of each other.
Before Starting
Use the round sun tiles to create a pathway for Carl the crab as pictured. The shoreline tile with the stone is the starting tile. The end tile is the shoreline tile with the snail. Place the crab on the starting tile. The meadow and waterhole are placed next to the path with some space between them. Distribute the other seven animals around the meadow and waterhole. Keep the die handy.
Now Let's Get Started
Take turns playing in a clockwise direction. Who of you can crow like a rooster for the longest? This child starts and rolls the die.
Ask: What does the die show?
- Green? Take one of the animals and place it in the meadow. If there is already another animal there, stack it on top.
- Blue? Take one of the animals and place it onto the raft in the waterhole. If there is already another animal there, stack it on top.
- The sun? Carl the crab is on the move and crawls one sun tile further towards the snail. The child takes the crab and places it onto the next sun tile closer to the snail.
If one or more animals falls down, the child simply places them near the sun tiles again. Then it's the next child's turn to roll the die.
End of the Game
If the children manage to stack all the animals before Carl the crab reaches the snail, the animals and the children win. If Carl the crab moves past the last sun tile and onto the snail first though, the animals and children lose together. Why don't you try again right away?
Note: The game is a little easier if you play with fewer animals or a little more difficult if you leave out some of the sun tiles.
Cooperative games are good for children's development. Everyone can contribute their own skills to the group and thus strengthen their self-confidence. If the children win and celebrate together then this encourages social skills. The same naturally applies if they lose together. Learning how to deal with defeat is an important experience that is easier to handle together. And playing again naturally means that there's another opportunity to do better!