Kids loved Dinosaur Escape as soon as I opened the game board and revealed the mini stegosaurus, brontosaurus and triceratops.. The forest, mountains, canyon and desert habitats invited a little pretend play before the actual game began! Players roll the dice to move any dinosaur and turn over a fern token in one of the three habitats. Hidden under the ferns could be a feather, dragonfly, eggs, lizard or shell but if you turn over a dinosaur picture, that matches the mini animal in the same habitat, you can move him safely to Dinosaur Island to escape the impending erupting volcano! The die also has a picture of the volcano which directs the players to add a puzzle piece to the stacking volcano. Players work cooperatively to save all three dinosaurs before the volcano is complete. As an educator, I really appreciate Peaceable Kingdom’s delightfully fun cooperative games. I encounter too many kids, beginning in preschool who are overly competitive and can’t enjoy the social language learning of playing a game with peers. My little friend started to get upset when he thought he was losing and I said, we are both working together to win. He calmed down and enjoyed talking through our options in play and enjoyed the game. Social language skills are sharpened as players work though solutions–which dinosaur should we move, which direction, or what fern had that picture on it? Everyone feels good working as a team!
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