This is an auto-generated report from SuperFRED regarding an event that Jennifer Kolodner has submitted. http://rabbits.looneylabs.com/?RabbitUserID=JKolodner ======== Title: Beachcomber Mini-Exp Location: Blue Bell, PA Date: 9/5/05 Mad Lab Rabbit Event Report Date: September 5, 2005 Location: Beachcomber Swim Club, Blue Bell, PA (www.beachcomberswimclub.org) On September 5, Michael Kolodner, Linda Lee and myself presented a Mini-Experiment at Beachcomber Swim Club in Blue Bell, PA. This is a wonderful swim club that Michael?s grandparents help to found in the 1950?s; it has a cooperative spirit and is completely family and kid friendly, so we thought it would be an ideal place to demo some Looney games. At the height of the experiment, we had three packed picnic tables going with all sorts of games. In fact, everything was so busy that Michael didn?t end up having enough prizes for those players who played three different games and had to take names for I.O.U.?s. Luckily, we know almost all of these folks personally, so they didn?t mind much since they know we?re good for it. At my table, I had 6 girls between the ages of 5 and 11, and at least 2 parents in and out. They started off playing Fluxx, followed by Aquarius and then Nanofictionary. Here are my impressions of each: ? Fluxx- While they really liked Fluxx, it was simply too hard for many of them. The vocabulary explaining the rules was too challenging, even with adults helping them to interpret the rules. (None of this is surprising since Fluxx is a challenging game for adults.) The constant change itself was difficult for them to get their heads around. Obviously, some rules that involve higher math (X=X+1) was simply over their heads. They were resistant to the idea that this was too hard for them, however, and wanted to keep going. They really liked and understood the Keepers and the Goals that were keeper oriented. When one girl won by having the right keepers for the goal, all the girls said ?Oh, if the goal hadn?t changed, I could have won already, ?? so they really understood and enjoyed that portion of the game. They?re excited to see Family Fluxx. I am concerned though that the pictures and rules have to been self-explanatory for this age group to be able to play without si! gnificant adult oversight. ? Aquarius- This game was a lot easier for the girls to catch on to. They liked the colors and symbols a lot. Only trouble was that the rules were too difficult for them to make sense of themselves. I would highly recommend adding a simplified rules card into each pack so kids can get themselves started. I found that for these girls, the Action cards didn?t add to the game. During one game, we just took those out and they were able to play a fun dominos game without the confusion of the full game. ? Nanofictionary- This was definitely the big hit for this table. The girls really understood how to make up stories and had a good time of it. Some played alone and others as teams and both were successful. Some of the vocabulary was TOTALLY over their heads (incognito?) but once it was explained to them, they made up stories that really used the definitions in their stories. (E.g., I explained what incognito meant, and the 8 year old girl said ?Nobody knew who the man was because he was wearing a disguise, but he was the captain?? They gladly told their stories at the end, some of which were very good. The adults came up with some decent ones too. We all voted for stories and they didn?t all vote for themselves, although some did. They definitely enjoyed the concept and the adults were impressed by the educational side to the game. Overall, I think the only outstanding problem with the games for this age group was the reading level of the rules and cards. For these kids to pick up these games, they?ll need an adult around to explain the rules and key words. This is not terrible since it encourages family play. But it could be a limitation for kids who are used to playing without adults around who may feel frustrated or may not feel the games make sense to them when noone is there to help. Overall very successful. Michael?s going to send you some pix of the event. -Jennifer Kolodner