Tar Trackers
Tar Trackers
2-4 players • 20 min • 6 & up
Focus: Memory
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Help your saber-toothed cat complete a scavenger hunt across the tar pit. Use your memory to avoid the sticky tiles so you can be the fastest tar tracker and win the game.
Skills: Spatial Reasoning, Memory
Game Includes
Game Includes
- 1 Tar Pit Board
- 48 Tar Pit Tiles
- 24 Scavenger Hunt Tokens (#1 - #6 in each set)
- 4 Saber-Toothed Cat Pawns
- 1 Rules Booklet
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How to Play
Educational Standards
Core Standard*: Math
- Math
- Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. : Grade Level 1st, 2nd
- Attend to precision : Grade Level 1st, 2nd
- Standards for Mathematical Practice
Skills
Explore
What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players explore the arrangement of Tar Pit tiles on the game board while trying to recall where magnetic tiles are located. They do this in order to look for potential sequences and options for moving their Saber-Toothed Cat pawn safely to the next Scavenger Hunt Token.
How Parents Can Assist Learning
Parents can remind children to pay close attention to all players' turns and do their best to remember where the magnetic Tar Pit tiles are located.
Learning Implications and Educator Support
As children look for paths to their next Scavenger Hunt Token they are building spatial reasoning and perspective changing skills. It is also great for building focus because the more children pay attention to the moves of other players, the better they will recall where the magnetic tiles are located.
Determine
What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players determine which they believe is the best path that avoids magnetic Tar Pit tiles.
How Parents Can Assist Learning
Tar Trackers involves examining the game board and creating mental models of the consequences of moving your Saber-Toothed Cat pawn. Parents can remind children to pay close attention to all players' turns and do their best to remember where the magnetic Tar Pit tiles are located.
Learning Implications and Educator Support
Tar Trackers involves examining the game board and creating mental models of the consequences of moving your Saber-Toothed Cat pawn. It is also a good game for developing spatial reasoning skills as children figure out the optimal path to take on each turn. Educators can remind children to pay close attention to all players' turns and do their best to remember where the magnetic Tar Pit tiles are located.
Remember
What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players will be more successful if they remember where the magnetic Tar Pits tiles are located.
How Parents Can Assist Learning
Parents can remind children to pay close attention to all players' turns and do their best to remember where the magnetic Tar Pit tiles are located.
Learning Implications and Educator Support
Tar Trackers involves spatial memory and builds focus and attention life skills. Educators can remind children to pay close attention to all players' turns and do their best to remember where the magnetic Tar Pit tiles are located.
Plan
What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players plan out the path for their Saber-Toothed Cat pawn on each turn, trying to get to the next Scavenger Hunt token without landing on a magnetic Tar Pit tile.
How Parents Can Assist Learning
The options for selecting a path are evident, therefore, no special adult support is required. Perhaps, you can remind children that they can jump over other pawns, if you notice that they stop moving their own Saber-Toothed Cat pawn when they move next to someone else's pawn.
Learning Implications and Educator Support
The options for selecting a path are evident, therefore, no special adult support is required. Perhaps, you can remind children that they can jump over other pawns, if you notice that they stop moving their own Saber-Toothed Cat pawn when they move next to someone else's pawn.
Experiment
What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Because it is unlikely that players will discover or remember the location of all magnetic Tar Pit tiles, they are experimenting each turn to learn what works and what tiles catch your pawn in the tar pits.
How Parents Can Assist Learning
No special adult support is required.
Learning Implications and Educator Support
No special adult support is required.
Solve
What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
As players remember the location of tar pit magnetic tiles, they make better decisions for moving their Saber-Toothed Cat pawns.
How Parents Can Assist Learning
Children learn new information constantly during game play. This information directly effects how children strategize an approach for moving their pawns and ultimately solve the game. Encourage children to remain flexible in their approach to the game, adapting to the location of others' pawns and magnetic tiles that are revealed during play.
Learning Implications and Educator Support
This game involves uses of visual spatial problem solving, directionality and if/then problem solving. Children learn new information constantly during game play. This information directly effects how children strategize an approach for moving their pawns and ultimately solve the game. Encourage children to remain flexible in their approach to the game, adapting to the location of others' pawns and magnetic tiles that are revealed during play. Adapting is key to building resilience and creative problem solving.
*Data compiled from CCSSI ELA Standards, WA Science Standards, and Washington Social Studies Standards
Special Needs
Cognitive
Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Players go after number tokens in order. Help children practice "counting on" by asking them what the next number is they need to go after.
If children have difficulty remembering the target number they are heading for, place a marker of some kind (a penny or other small object) next to the target number. Move the marker as each number is gained.
When the child lands on a tar pit, the other players can remark on the location and picture on the tile. This will help all players remember where the tar pit is.
Communication
Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Encourage talking during the game. Players can mention where they are going, what they need to avoid, etc. Encourage use of vocabulary by having players to tell what they are landing on, "mud," "flowers," etc.
Children do not need to speak to play Tar Trackers. If children have little language, encourage them to count or make lion growls as they move.
Ask children to identify the animal that the pieces on the back of their numbers creates.
Sensorimotor
Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Children need to be able to move their pieces from tile to tile in different directions. The spaces are relatively large and the token easy to hold. However, if moving the marker is too challenging, Tar Trackers may not be a good game for the child.
If the child has difficulty using two hands together, another player may help remove the magnetic tile from the marker. Have the child give verbal directions to the helper.
Social Emotional/Behavioral
Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Children may become easily frustrated if they encounter many tar pits in subsequent turns. Encourage them to look at what is on the tile and memorize its location, so they won't have to get stuck again.
Remind players to watch each others' turns so they can remember where the tar pits are when it is their turn. Encourage players to note the type of material on top of the tar pit to help them remember what to avoid.
Vision
Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
The board is visually complex, with many pieces in a small area. This may make it difficult for children with vision impairments to organize and remember patterns for play.
Hearing
Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Hearing should not be an issue for successfully playing the game. Vision and memory are important skills.
*Data compiled from CCSSI ELA Standards, WA Science Standards, and Washington Social Studies Standards
Autism
Autism Strengths & Interests
Short Summary of Strengths & Interests
- Has good visual spatial memory.
- Has good fine motor skills.
- Can sequence numbers to six.
Is good at matching visual items
This game is not appropriate
Has a good memory for sensory details, including visual, touch, taste and smell
Is This Game Appropriate? Yes
Description
Players who have a good memory for visual and spatial details will do well with Tar Tracker. Players can use the pictures on the tiles as well as the location of the tiles to help them remember where the Tar Pits are located, so they can avoid them in subsequent turns.
Has a good memory for words, phrases and dialouge
This game is not appropriate
Has a good memory for pictures, numbers and patterns
Is This Game Appropriate? Yes
Description
Players who have a good memory for visual details will do well with Tar Tracker. Players can use the pictures on the tiles as well as the location of the tiles to help them remember where the Tar Pits are located, so they can avoid them in subsequent turns.
Likes to put things in order or a sequence
Is This Game Appropriate? Yes
Description
Players need to retrieve their Scavenger Hunt tokens in order from one to six. This requires planning how to get from one side of the board to another, which will be enjoyable for children who like putting or finding things in order.
Learns through visualizing or "replaying" actions in their mind
This game is not appropriate
Likes activities with rules, such as math and phonics
This game is not appropriate
Is very concrete and literal
Is This Game Appropriate? Yes
Description
Tar Trackers is very literal. Magnets "capture" the Saber-Toothed Cat telling the player to stop moving. Also, when all the numbers have been retrieved by a player, they can turn the them over which turns them into a puzzle. The player then assembles their puzzle into an animal that lived at the time of the Saber-Toothed Cats.
Learns in small "chunks" (for example, phone numbers are 3 chunks of number xxx-xxx-xxxx that are combined together)
This game is not appropriate
Is good at nonverbal reasoning and logic
Is This Game Appropriate? Yes
Description
Tar Tracker involves figuring out how to get across the board without landing on the Tar Pits that will stop you. Success requires good spatial memory and planning, yet no verbal reasoning is required.
Likes spatial problem solving
Is This Game Appropriate? Yes
Description
Tar Tracker involves figuring out how to get across the board without landing on the Tar Pits that will stop you. Success requires good spatial memory and problem solving.
Can read well with good vocabulary, though may not fully comprehend content
This game is not appropriate
Likes to use and has good fine motor skill
Is This Game Appropriate? Yes
Description
Players get to maneuver their Saber-Toothed Cat across the Tar Pit tiles, jumping from one to another. The pieces are relatively large, so they are easy for children to manipulate.
Likes established routines or set ways of doing things
This game is not appropriate
Likes manipulating, constructing or building things
This game is not appropriate
Likes to use and has good musical abilities
This game is not appropriate
Likes to use and has good drawing skills
This game is not appropriate
Autism Special Considerations
Appears to ignore other's communication and/or has difficulty giving eye contact to a communication partner
Is This Game Appropriate for Child with Characteristic? Yes
Can Child with Characteristic Play Game w/o Modification? Yes
Strategies for Developing Compensatory Skills:
Players do not need to have eye contact with other players to successfully play Tar Trackers.
Has difficulty understanding complex verbal directions
Is This Game Appropriate for Child with Characteristic? Yes
Can Child with Characteristic Play Game w/o Modification? Yes
Strategies for Developing Compensatory Skills:
The directions for Tar Trackers are easy to understand. Players merely need to move across the board to retrieve Scavenger Hunt tokens in a sequence from 1 to 6. When the player's Saber-Toothed Cat lands on a magnetic tile, it has become stuck in a Tar Pit and the turn is over. This provides direct, easy to understand feedback to the moves the child makes.
Uses vocabulary inaccurately or demonstrates echolalia (repeating another's speech)
Is This Game Appropriate for Child with Characteristic? Yes
Can Child with Characteristic Play Game w/o Modification? No
Strategies for Developing Compensatory Skills:
Children who repeat others' comments or questions may be distracting or confusing to other players. Remember that echolalia is the child's way of communicating. Try to figure out what the child wants or is trying to express. Model a phrase that helps the child communicate more appropriately. For example, if the child repeats another player's question, "Whose turn is it?" Provide a model, such as, "It is Jake's turn now."
Gets stuck repeating a verbal topic or physical actions and/or has difficulty attending to others' actions or topic.
Is This Game Appropriate for Child with Characteristic? Yes
Can Child with Characteristic Play Game w/o Modification? No
Strategies for Developing Compensatory Skills:
If the child has repetitive movements or phrases, the other players can encourage him to predict where the magnetic Tar Pits are located. Also, the magnetic Tar Pit tiles may intrigue the child with autism and hold their attention.
Has difficulty producing speech/communication
Is This Game Appropriate for Child with Characteristic? Yes
Can Child with Characteristic Play Game w/o Modification? Yes
Strategies for Developing Compensatory Skills:
Players do not need to talk to each other during Tar Trackers, but discussion should be encouraged. Talk about the pictures on the Tar Pit tiles, the animals on the back of the Scavenger Hunt tokens, etc.
Has difficulty sequencing multi-step actions and/or doing complex abstract tasks
Is This Game Appropriate for Child with Characteristic? Yes
Can Child with Characteristic Play Game w/o Modification? Yes
Strategies for Developing Compensatory Skills:
Playing Tar Trackers involves moving the player's Saber-Toothed Cat across the board to retrieve six Scavenger Hunt numbers in sequence. This is a simple one-step action per turn.
Demonstrates difficulty initiating and maintaining social interactions
Is This Game Appropriate for Child with Characteristic? Yes
Can Child with Characteristic Play Game w/o Modification? Yes
Strategies for Developing Compensatory Skills:
Players of Tar Trackers do not need to talk or maintain social interactions other than turn-taking. This makes the game a good one for children with autism.
Acts out or demonstrates avoidance behaviors when frustrated, overwhelmed, or needs more sensory input.
Is This Game Appropriate for Child with Characteristic? Yes
Can Child with Characteristic Play Game w/o Modification? No
Strategies for Developing Compensatory Skills:
Allow children who need extra sensory input to maintain attention to use a fidget toy or get up to move between moves. If they get overwhelmed, redirect children to the magnetic tiles on the board.
Hold up a magnetic tile with the Saber-Toothed Cat attached. Let the child separate the pieces and place them back on the board.
Has short attention span for non-preferred activities
Is This Game Appropriate for Child with Characteristic? Yes
Can Child with Characteristic Play Game w/o Modification? No
Strategies for Developing Compensatory Skills:
If the child is interested in animals, magnets or history, the game of Tar Trackers may be of interest. In addition, the magnetic tiles may intrigue the child with autism and hold their attention. Have the child place the tiles on the board to increase interest in the game. Encourage them to focus on remembering which tiles are Tar Pits that will stop a Saber-Toothed Cat pawn.
Needs sameness or consistent routines and/or has difficulty with transitions from one activity to another
Is This Game Appropriate for Child with Characteristic? Yes
Can Child with Characteristic Play Game w/o Modification? Yes
Strategies for Developing Compensatory Skills:
Tar Trackers is played in the same way each time. Even though the paths will vary with each turn, the actions are the same. This should make the child feel more secure. Remind the child to avoid tiles that they know are magnetic.
Has difficulty understanding others' feelings, intentions, and the reasons for others' actions.
Is This Game Appropriate for Child with Characteristic? Yes
Can Child with Characteristic Play Game w/o Modification? Yes
Strategies for Developing Compensatory Skills:
Players of Tar Trackers do not need to understand how other players are thinking and feeling, as there is no strategy needed other than memory of where the Tar Pits with magnets are located. Other players moves have minimal impact on the child's moves.
*Data compiled from CCSSI ELA Standards, WA Science Standards, and Washington Social Studies Standards
Extended Play
Extra Ways to Play the Game
Players cannot go more than two tiles without turning in a new direction.
Materials Needed
No additional materials needed.
Developmental Benefits
This modification of Tar Trackers means that players cannot just follow a set path that they know does not have a Tar Pit. They need to take more risks and try new paths. This also forces players to think ahead, knowing they will need to turn in at least two moves forward.
Extra Ways to Play the Game
Encourage players to look up information on tar pits and animals that would have been living during that time period.
Materials Needed
Books or internet sites on the Eocene epoch to the end of the Pleistocene epoch.
Developmental Benefits
Playing Tar Trackers can provide and incentive for players to learn more about the animals and the period in which they lived. They can also learn about tar pits and how they were formed and why they preserved so many animal remains.
Extra Ways to Play the Game
Make new animal tiles out of card board. Saber toothed tigers were not the only animals trapped in tar pits. After doing some research on tar pits and the animals they trapped, players can make their own animal tokens to move on the board.
Materials Needed
Books or internet sites on tar pits. Cardboard pieces, markers, and scissors. Use binder clips to hold the animals, if the game holders don't fit.
Developmental Benefits
This option allows children to use their imagination and creativity to make their own play pieces. These pieces can then be used in the game and in dramatic play. Bringing the animals they read about to life enriches history and motivates interest in paleontology.
*Data compiled from CCSSI ELA Standards, WA Science Standards, and Washington Social Studies Standards
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How to Play Video & Transcript
Today we’re going to go on a scavenger hunt across a sticky tar pit as we learn to play Simply Fun’s Tar Trackers.
Tar Trackers can be played with 2 to 4 players and is best for ages 6 and up.
In Tar Trackers, players will practice:
Spatial reasoning skills, as they plan an efficient path across the tar pit tiles to gather scavenger hunt tokens.
They’ll also sharpen their memory skills as they try to remember which tar pit tiles are magnetized – to avoid getting stuck in the tar!
To set up the game, place the large tar pit board in the center of the table.
Mix up all 48 tar pit tiles and place them randomly on the tar pit board, one tile per space, making sure not to reveal which ones are magnetized!
After the board and tiles are set up, each player will choose one of the four colored saber-tooth cat pawns, along with the set of six scavenger hunt tokens that matches the pawn.
Scavenger hunt tokens have numbers, 1 to 6, on one side, and on the other side, “puzzle” pieces that make up the picture of an animal!
Players then place the scavenger hunt tokens, number face up, on the matching color numbers around the edge of the board.
All saber tooth cat pawns should be placed on the center stone of the board. This is the starting position for all the hunters!
Now we’re ready to play!
The object of the game is to be the first player to collect all scavenger hunt tokens in numerical order without getting stuck in the tar!
To play the game, on each turn, players move their saber-tooth cat pawns as far as they can toward the scavenger hunt token they need to collect.
Remember, tokens must be collected in numerical order, so on each player’s first turn, they will need to move toward the number 1 token, and on subsequent turns, toward the next number token in order.
Players can move vertically or horizontally, but not diagonally, from tile to tile, on their way to their token.
As they move, they must touch each tar pit tile or center stone fully with their saber-tooth cat pawns because some of them are magnetic!
If another saber-tooth cat is blocking the path, players may jump over that tile without touching it to either the next tar pit tile, the center stone or a scavenger hunt token.
If their cat sticks to a magnetic tar pit tile, they are “stuck in the tar” and their turn is over. They cannot move again until their next turn.
When players reach their scavenger hunt tokens, they collect them and place them face down in front of them.
They then place their saber-tooth cat pawn in the space where the token was, and their turn is over.
Play continues with the next player.
The first player to collect all 6 of their scavenger hunt tokens wins the game and immediately arranges the tokens to see which animal they collected.
Sharpen your saber tooth memory skills and don’t get stuck in the tar with Simply Fun’s Tar Trackers!
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