A collection of educational games with suggestions and hints
for stimulating sensory development.

Instructions

Copyright Haba Spiele Bad Rodach 2008

Sensory planet – touch

for 2-4 players ages 4-99.

Authors: Editorial staff HABA, Illustrations: Dorothea Cüppers
Length of the game: approx. 20 minutes.
Accompanied by Suzy Velvet Paw, the little sensory explorer,
the players set off on an exciting journey and learn a lot
about their powers of perception, and in particular the sense of touch.

Contents
1 play figure Suzy Velvet Paw
1 game board
20 tactile cards
2 jigsaws each consisting of 4 parts (one with red, one with blue on
the back)
1 little bag
1 blindfold
20 wooden animals (4 hedgehogs, frogs, fishes, cows, wolves each)
1 die
1 poster “Planet Sensory”
Set of game instructions
Leaflet with information about “Our senses”

Dear Parents, Educators and Therapists
This game offers your child the chance to develop their powers of
perception. It will also involve you in helping them learn how to
find by touch the different game figures or arrange a jigsaw
blindfolded.
We have collected some specific background information in the
enclosed leaflet “Our senses“. We wish you lots of fun on this
“exciting sensory journey”.
Yours sincerely,
The inventors of playthings

Game Idea

You will encounter many tactile challenges on this sensory journey! Once
you have solved a problem you can reach inside the little bag and find by
touch any of the five wooden figures, then keep it in front of you. Who will
make good use of their senses and be the first to collect five different
wooden animals?

Preparation of the Game

Put the game board in the center of the table and place the play figure
Suzy on any activity square.
Put the 20 animals into the little bag and the remaining game material
next to the game board.

How to Play

Play in a clockwise direction. The youngest sensory explorer starts and rolls
the die:
• If you rolled a number of dots, move Suzy the same number of squares
in a clockwise direction.
• If you rolled the symbol of the planets, you may place Suzy on any of
the activity squares.
What type of activity is shown on the square where Suzy is?

Speedy tactile expert

• The player who rolled the die is the tactile expert and puts on the
blindfold.
• The other players place the four jigsaw pieces with the red back in front
of the expert, picture side face-up.
• The expert now tries, as quickly as possible, to do the jigsaw purely by
touch.
• In the meantime the other players, one by one, throw the die and try to
roll the symbol of the planet five times as quickly as they can. They
count out loud the number of times the symbol is rolled.
• If the expert manages to finish the jigsaw before the other players have
rolled the symbol five times, he can pull a wooden animal out of the
bag.
• If not and the other players have already rolled the symbol five times,
he cannot not pull out any animal.

Tactile cards Memory

• Distribute the 20 tactile cards face-down next to the game board. The
cards should be within easy reach for everybody and must not overlap.
• All players take part and can collect a wooden animal
• A player gives the starting signal “Touching, ready, go!” Now all players
try to find just by touch two identical cards and uncover them. To do so
they lift the cards slightly and touch them underneath. Important:
while touching the cards, they may not be turned over totally or looked at.
• The player who thinks he has found two identical cards, yells “Stop!”
and places both cards face-up in front of him.
• If the two cards match, the player can take a wooden animal from the
bag as a reward.
• If the two cards do not match they remain face-up and the other
players go on searching.
Guessing expert and tracer
• The player who rolled the die is the guessing expert and places the
poster in front of him.
• Another player has to be chosen to do the tracing:
Whoever has collected the fewest wooden animals is the tracer
for this round. If there are various players with the least amount
of animals, the guesser chooses.
• The tracer decides on a motif shown on the poster and draws it on the
back of the guessing expert without saying a word. If the expert wishes,
the drawing can be repeated.
Watch out: this motif should not be repeated in the following
rounds.
• Now the guessing expert looks for the motif on the poster.
• If he guesses right, both tracer and expert pull a wooden animal from the bag.

Jigsaw detective

• The player who rolled the die is the jigsaw detective and puts on the
blindfold.
• The other players take the four jigsaw pieces with the red back and
place them face-up in front of the detective.
• Then they do the jigsaw of the pieces with the blue back, take one piece
off and then place it in front of the detective.
• The detective now tries to find by touch which part is missing from the
blue jigsaw.
• He first feels the outline of the blue jigsaw. Then he feels the pieces of
the red jigsaw one by one and decides on one. After that he takes off
the blindfold.
• If the detective has chosen the right piece he may pull an animal out of
the bag.

Tactile detective

• The player who rolled the die is the tactile detective and puts on the
blindfold.
• The other players choose five of the ten tactile cards and place them in
a row face-up in front of the detective.
• The detective is given a blue tactile card to feel its material. Then he
reaches out and touches the different materials of the five cards.
• He then states whether the material of the blue card is identical with
one of the yellow cards.
• If he is right, the turn is repeated with a second and third blue tactile
card. If the answer is wrong, his turn is over.
• If the detective has assigned three blue cards correctly, he can take an
animal out of the bag.
The reward: a wooden animal
A player who successfully solves a problem may pull an animal out of the
bag and place it in front of him or her, but only if it is not there yet. If they
have it already, they have to return it back into the bag.
Then it's the turn of the next player in a clockwise direction to roll the die.

End of the game

The game ends as soon as the first sensory explorer has five different
animals thus winning the game. If two sensory explorers do so at the same
time, they win together.