What It Is
The StoryPlay Game is part of Briarpatch's PlayPlay line of collaborative games designed to encourage creative and imaginative thinking. There are three ways to play StoryPlay.
The object of the first game, Let's StoryPlay!, is to work together to create a collaborative story collage. Take turns creating sentences using as many of the six randomly drawn letter tiles as you can. The tiles include a range of words and pictures, and they also have point values for scoring each sentence. You can add a word, picture, or punctuation marks by drawing directly onto the write & wipe board. To play cooperatively, the game ends when the notebook is filled. Write a title for the story and take turns reading it out loud. To play competitively, each player will earn points based on how many tiles they used and if they drew anything on the board. The player with the most points wins.
The object of Name It & Draw It! is to create funny drawings based on randomly selected tiles. Draw a picture based on the three random tiles you drew. The game continues until the sketchbook is filled up.
The object of Totem Pole! is to create a totem pole drawing based on randomly selected tiles. Pick one tile and illustrated the word you picked. The next player selects a tile and draws an image directly on top of the first player's drawing. Play ends when you reach the top of the game board. Name your totem.
The game comes with 125 double-sided tiles, a write & wipe game board, and a write & wipe pen. StoryPlay is for two to four players.
Is It Fun?
PlayPlay StoryPlay has a noble objective, which is to get kids working together to tell stories. The game is designed to encourage language development, creativity and imagination, and cooperation. We like that there is a way to play the game competitively as older players tend to be more attracted to games where there is a clear winner and some level of competition to define the play. However, it may feel a little bit like school to some kids.
Who It’s For
PlayPlay StoryPlay is for ages 7 and up.
This will appeal most to kids who like to imagine and make up stories and have good verbal skills.
It can help other kids enhance verbal skills, but it may not be as appealing to those children.
What To Be Aware Of
You can also use washable markers on the write & wipe game board.
This is the kind of game that will require adults to encourage children to play. Even with the competitive option, this is still much more of an activity than a game.