So I was doing my routine check through my 8 year old’s school bag when I found something in his Maths exercise book that caught my attention
My heart skipped a beat
I flipped though and found pages and pages of similar scribblings and drawings
I gasped
So this has to be the much talked about Mathematical Heuristic that schools teach these days
A method unheard of during my generation that have thrown parents with school going kids in disarray and fear
Then I thought, wasn’t it just recently that he was still drawing recognisable shaded boxes to solve maths problem
Model drawing was what he called it
Though still foreign to me, it sure ain’t as intimidating as what I am seeing now
So I got him to explain
And truth be told, this was indeed his Maths exercise book, but it was a used one
In between classes, he scribbled and played a game he invented
A game that took him weeks to come up with during school hours, after he had finished his assigned work
I got him to explain to me how the game was played
It was like a traditional board game with features of some of his iphone games
There were rules, avatars, money, special powers, power upgrades
A marketplace to purchase a wide range of weaponry including exotic ones like shuriken of ice ($5000 by the way)
There were mazes, farms, different battling arena, presumably for practice combat
A mix of warmux, snake and ladder, ninjago, plants war and bits and pieces of other games he played
He explained it with so much gusto, enthusiasm and certainty
Yet I was totally lost and clueless even after a few rounds of explanation
Basically it is a game that he could play on his own, in his head, counting numbers and in silence
It was so complicated that I gave up
I was caught between amusement and amazement
And I wonder whether he had been given too little work in class
Note : This game is still in beta and under development
Each day he would come home and tell me something more that he had added to his game
Gamers who are interested in testing this game, please feel free to contact me
Very interesting! Really keen to know how it is played. Reminds me of the days when I am a kid, I used to create my own board games that nobody else knows or is keen to play. Hah.
It does take quite a bit of patience to play a game as such … and I think many kids still do this …just that not many got found out
Mal might turn out to be the YOUNGEST Millionaire!
I am so happy that you are getting it into beta and under development.
If Mal is talented in this area, support him all the way…
Well Done Mummy!
*thumbs up*
hey Angeline, thanks for informing abt the comment, it somehow ended up in the spam. The game Is in beta and under development as in he’s been working on it … far from being a millionaire
thanks for your encouragement
Wow! So cool! hahahaha… Is it a solo game or he plays it with his friends?
he is currently playing with a girl sitting next to him…apparently she is also doing the same thing, creating her own game… guess that makes it easier for her to understand the ‘rules’ of the game.
SO precious. you have to make a note to show him this when he’s much older.
thanks for the reminder…will probably laminate them when they are finally done…
Wow, I am amazed too because it is very detailed for such a young child – I mean avatars, power upgrades and a market place. Though am not a gamer, I really appreciate the fine details and the thought process. :p How about making it into a family thing and getting it done up in larger and thicker cardstock paper? That would be fun!
hey Alicia, I am not sure how many kids do this…perhaps many, just that they were never got found out … great idea to turn it into a family thing…was thinking of making it into a real computer game…so I can play…currently lots of drawing, writing and erasing to play the game…very messy, complicated and primitive
Woah… this certainly looks very very complicated to me.. this young mind is really something!!
errh Tin thanks…very very complicated also because his handwriting is very bad … and his drawing…worst ! ha
that was totally lost in mind game, but I eagerly want to know how it played, sounds really interesting….