Before I tell you what the game is, please just take a moment to indulge in the creativity of The Champion of the Wildβs cover art.
I play a lot of games, and very rarely does the art of a game keep putting a smile on my face every time I look at it. Among many other things, The Champion of the Wild IS that game. The cover art asks so many questions: How is the meerkat standing toe to toe against a gorilla? Is the emperor penguin or falcon faster in a 100m race? How the heck did they dig trenches in an athletics track?
This small box, the art, and the storytelling will be beyond your wildest dreams.
Overview
Age: 6+ years
Skill Level:
Persuasion: 6+ years
Creative thinking: 6+ years
Story telling: 6+ years
Players: 3-8 (best with 4-6)
Duration: 15-60 mins (depending on player count and how long you allow the discussions to go)
How to Play
The Champion of the Wild is a very simple game, hereβs how to play it:
Every player has a handful of animals (with gorgeous art and fun facts) and voting tokens.
Three events from different categories will be chosen, here are some of my favourites:
Each player chooses an animal from their hand to compete in ALL three events, then all players reveal them together.
Each player takes a turn in an open discussion to plead their case; state how their animal will best others in the events, provide specific coaching instructions, and answer questions from other players.
When over half of the players are ready to vote, each player votes in secret on how they expect the animals will place (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etcβ¦)
You collect and count up all the tokens on the animals, and see which one is the new Champion of the Wild! π
Yup, you have just learnt the entire game. And here is a quick reference guide.
Click here to download the full rules if you fancy a read. There are additional rules and play modes in the rulebook, but honestly, if you paid attention in the last 2 minutes of reading, you are ready to play the game. Come back to the rulebook later if you want to play extra modes.
If you really, really want to, I guess you could watch a video of the designer teaching you how to play Champion of the Wild.
How to use this game
Tell the story
Here we prepare a script for you to tell the story and set the scene, making you the greatest storyteller in your kidsβ eyes!
We were born with a special gift - the ability to communicate with animals!
This gift helped us to discover a large community of aspiring animal athletes, all with the ambitious dream of glory on the world stage. We decided to become a professional animal coach and help our teams realise this dream!
As the coach, we will need to help our team compete against others. We will plan our line-up carefully, and teach our animals strategies to best their rivals. Other coaches will have the opportunities to ask us questions, but donβt be deterred! The discussion will help you shape the best strategies. If you can think quickly and communicate well, you will earn othersβ respect and win their vote of approval.
Are you ready to talk your animals to success? Letβs play The Champion of the Wild!
Learning Points
The Champion of the Wild is a competitive game, in the sense that there will be a winner at the end. However, no one should really care too much about who wins at the end, because the open discussion is the best part. This game will get people excited, adoring cute animals, laughing, and occasionally heatedly debating (not always in this order).
If you have been following our Communication is tricky series, your kids have been practising both verbal and non-verbal skills in Five Rounds, listening attentively in Decrypto, and negotiating trades in Bohnanza.
In The Champion of the Wild, you and your kids will learn how to put all of the above together: you will be doing mini-presentations, answering questions, and trying to be as persuasive as possible.
In the game, the scores you ultimately win come from other players. That means quick thinking is needed to pick the best animal for the competition, and then it has to be backed up by good presentation skills to persuade others WHY your animal should indeed stand out from the rest (hint: yelling has the opposite effect).
So, Champion of the Wild is a great game to practise presentation skills. The topic (animals!) is light and playful, the stakes are low, creativity is encouraged, and parents can help guide the presentations.
Presenting Our Ideas
Just like all other skills, presentation skills need to be taught, learnt, and practised. If your kids are a little younger, like 6 to 8 years old, or if they are a little shy to talk in social situations, you could help by asking some open-ended guiding questions, such as:
Luke, please tell us why is your meerkat going to win the β100m sprintβ?
Penny, how would your sharks perform against the elks in the volleyball game?
Ted, what strategies would you tell your sloth before entering βTime without Foodβ event?
Tracy, tell us more about the octopus competing in βEgg and Spoonβ event?
Accepting Shortcomings
Very soon you and your kids will find that there is no single animal that would be the best in all three events.
Sure, your dolphins will be great in βSynchronised Swimmingβ, but how are they going to perform well in βDemolish a Shedβ?
Great, your bald eagle has βTagβ in the bag, but what is your plan during βAnimal Stackingβ?
These fun dilemmas are going to help your kids accept each of their animal has its strengths and weaknesses, and encourage them to find creative ways to solve problems.
Other times, we can learn to accept that we simply canβt win it all. πΌ
Encouraging the Effort
Parents, this is where you shine. When there is something we want our kids to do more of, we encourage the effort they put in. We cannot guarantee positive outcomes even after we put in the effort, but for sure it wonβt be a great outcome when we put in no effort.
In this case, it is the communication we are encouraging. So parents, please try to put your expert knowledge of physic aside, and remember that in this game you are the coach who could communicate effectively with a team of animals that are competing in Animal Olympics (where logistic and realism are not exactly essential).
When your kids give you a creative solution to a problem, or an out-of-the-box strategy to an event, or a well-crafted presentation for their age, I encourage you to encourage exactly these.
Try not to give generic feedback, but more specific ones so that your kids know exactly what to do more of:
Instead of saying βWowβ, try sayingβ¦
βWow I didnβt think that crocodile stood a chance, but after hearing your creative plan, I am convinced.β
Instead of saying βGood idea!β, try sayingβ¦
βThatβs a really good idea for the grasshopper to hop on to the cheetah so it could come 2nd in the 100m sprint!β
Instead of saying βWell done!β, try sayingβ¦
βI really like how you presented by looking at your animalβs strengths and weaknesses!β
Instead of saying βGreat job", trying sayingβ¦
βI am really impressed with how you kept calm and answered those tough questions.β
Where to get it
I hope I have convinced you to give this game a go (please rate my presentation skills below π).
It is designed by an independent and small publisher (our favourite kind) Big Imagination Games, and you can buy the game directly from their website.
At the time of this Newsletter, the game is on sale for $37 AUD/USD/CAD.
Before you go
We hope you enjoyed our fourth game recommendation in the communication series!
Game & Learn is a passion project and it doesnβt generate any profit. If our newsletter is adding some value to your life, please let us know by giving us a thumbs-up and leaving us feedback below. We would love it even more if you share our newsletter with your friends and families!
Otherwise, if you have any questions or any suggestions on what educational skills youβd like to teach your kids, send us an email.
We will be back in a few weeks for another game recommendation!
Until next time, game and learn with The Champion of the Wild!
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