Visual-Spatial Toys: Rush Hour

Back with more visual-spatial goodies.  I used to have a game called Rush Hour that was hands-down the biggest hit in my classroom, whether I was teaching third grade or eighth.  It involved moving cars on a grid in as few moves as possible to free a particular car from the arrangement.  Vehicles could only be moved forward or backward.  This wasn’t a game you could win through brute force, so it gave the thinkers a chance to shine.

It won’t come as much of a surprise that one of my students with Aspergers was an absolute wizard at this game.  I swear Little A could whip through the advanced puzzles in less time than any adult I know!  Once in a while I let him choose a few classmates to have lunch with in the classroom so he could use the game as an opportunity to socialize.

Dr. Mike’s Math Games has a great free online version called Traffic Jam; there are several versions on the web but this seemed to be the least stressful or cluttered.  Dr. Mike is so amazing that he’s actually posted a printable version and many new combinations to try.

If you get the actual game to play at home or on the go, I’d highly suggest photographing the way the game looks before you take it apart, because it must be put back together the same way in order for the cover to fit..  Then you can just print out the photo and keep it in the drawer with the game cards for easy reference.