Winning Moves Games Brainspin Creativity Game
Mindprint Rating
Tags
Skills
Mindprint Expert Review
Pros
- Truly covers creative, novel thinking by rewarding players for seeing things that no one else does.
- The drawings are clear and simple, providing the opportunity for creative thinking without being "led" to an answer.
- Easy to play a single round in one minute or multiple rounds, depending on the group's interest.
Considerations
- Students with weaker attention might easily struggle to look at the simple shapes for a minute, though players could agree to shorter rounds.
- There are only 54 cards in the deck, so once players are familiar with all the cards, there is limited replay value.
- Players could easily disagree on what is a legitimate answer.
Mindprint Expert Review
This quick card game can be a great way to encourage creative and flexible thinking. Each card has a simple, boldly drawn shape that is placed face up in the middle of a group of players. Everyone has one minute to write down all the possibilities that the drawing could be. For example, a large stand-alone X could be the letter X, railroad crossing, or two straws lying across each other. When time is up, players take turns reading off their answers. Points are rewarded only for ideas that only one person has said, provided the group agrees it is a legitimate response. This game encourages visual creative thinking and rewards students for thinking entirely differently from their peers. Students who struggle with flexible thinking, abstract reasoning, or spatial perception might feel uncomfortable with the ambiguity and need to look at shapes from different perspectives. However, if played with the right adult support, this game can be an excellent way to encourage those students to view visual problems in new ways. Note that the game does not come with the timer or writing pads, so you will need to have them available.
Academic Benefits
Improves academic skills
- Provides sufficient and varied types of practice problems to maximize understanding and generalization of the targeted skill/concept
- Manufacturer claims alignment with Common Core/Known Standards
- Presents educational concepts accurately
- Explains answers so students can learn from mistakes
- Better for teaching the skill to new or struggling learners
- Better for practicing or refreshing the skill
- Skills are practiced through authentic, meaningful problems (not just rote practice)
Fun
Engaging for the Mindprint recommended age range
- Appropriate for a broad age range to use and enjoy
- Visually appealing to children in the target age range
- Adults would enjoy playing with a child
- For electronic games, gives positive or encouraging feedback
- Offers ongoing, progressive challenge
- Overall - Enjoyable. Given the option, students would choose this option
Easy to Use
Understandable for children in the Mindprint recommended age range
- Provides teaching guidance for adults to support the child and set appropriate goals
- Student should be able to use independently after first use
- Student graduates to the next level or topic only after meeting a benchmark
- Can effectively understand and monitor student's progress (email report or in product)
- Does not require excessive set-up time after first time use
- Can be fun as a single player game
- Multi-player game which fosters collaboration or cooperation
- Well-made for the cost
- For electronic games, can play without sound
- For electronic games, allows user to save work
- For electronic games, voice/sounds are appealing and pronounces words properly
- Provides options to play in languages other than English/Good for ELL
- Presents information in multiple formats (voice over, pictures and text, etc.)
- Overall - Easy to use
Cognitive Concerns
May not be advisable for students with the following cognitive needs
- Attention
- Problems or examples are not interesting for the target age range
Manufacturer Description
A Great ice-breaker and creativity game. You'll be delighted to discover what's right there in front of you!.