Mayhem can be a fun family game that allows a child to work on vocabulary, general knowledge, verbal reasoning and processing speed. However, parents should be sensitive and make appropriate adjustments to the game for students who have weaknesses in any of these skills. A player picks a card and reads the child-friendly topic such as things at the zoo or things you buy at the supermarket. That same player then flips over the first letter tile on the 5x5 board. All players compete to be the first to yell out a word or phrase that begins with the letter and fits in the topic area. Whoever says it first gets the tile and turns over the next letter. Play continues until all 25 tiles on the board are uncovered. This game is great way to encourage children to think fast and creatively without using a timer. The game will not be a good choice for children who would be disturbed by the shouting and may not be willing to compromise whether or not a word "fits the topic". Parents and older children may need to adjust their speed to give more time to younger children or those with weaker verbal and processing speed skills.

• 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

• 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

• Anxiety
• Multi-player activity with a clear 'winner' and 'loser'
• A player's success depends on speed
• Turn or quiz abruptly ends when timer runs out
• Auditory Processing
• Has auditory distractions that cannot be silenced (background music, players shout answers, etc.)
• A player's success depends on speed
• Turn or quiz abruptly ends when timer runs out
• Self-regulation
• Multi-player activity that requires cooperation or has potential for disagreements
• Multi-player activity with a clear 'winner' and 'loser'
• A player's success depends on speed
• Turn or quiz abruptly ends when timer runs out

It's the new family game that's a scream! Call out (loudly!) words that fit the category on the card. Collect your tokens and after 10 rounds the player with the most, wins. It's a race to have your words count... that's total Mayhem!