Rory’s Story Cubes, created by Rory O’Connor, 2005, Newton, MA: Gamewright. Board game.
Age/Interest Level: 8+ years
Lexile Level: N/A
Awards: Dr. Toy ’10 Best Games’ Award (2009)
Reader Annotation: Rory’s Story Cubes provide hours of entertainment. Roll the dice and think of think of a story based on the images!
Summary: Rory’s Story Cubes take a very simple premise and load it with imagination. Individuals roll nine dice and then construct a story based on the images from each die. The game can be played with a group or solitarily. There are no winners or losers, though players could certainly add their own competitive elements, including time limits.
Critical Evaluation: This is a fantastic product that really expands on the idea of imagination and play. The whole purpose of the game is tell stories, though there are no winners or losers. The premise is simply to share the creativity. The dice themselves are all simple images, which leaves them up for a lot of interpretation. There is a book, which could simply be some book or a very specific book. There’s a question mark and a lightning bolt, but their appearances in the story are at the discretion of the storyteller.
Why Included: It’s a unique game that’s not inherently competitive and promotes storytelling. It requires some quick thinking, so it’s also a game that evolves the more people play it. It aids in the promotion of artistic expression as well as public speaking and storytelling skills.
Age/Interest Level: 8+ years
Lexile Level: N/A
Awards: Dr. Toy ’10 Best Games’ Award (2009)
Reader Annotation: Rory’s Story Cubes provide hours of entertainment. Roll the dice and think of think of a story based on the images!
Summary: Rory’s Story Cubes take a very simple premise and load it with imagination. Individuals roll nine dice and then construct a story based on the images from each die. The game can be played with a group or solitarily. There are no winners or losers, though players could certainly add their own competitive elements, including time limits.
Critical Evaluation: This is a fantastic product that really expands on the idea of imagination and play. The whole purpose of the game is tell stories, though there are no winners or losers. The premise is simply to share the creativity. The dice themselves are all simple images, which leaves them up for a lot of interpretation. There is a book, which could simply be some book or a very specific book. There’s a question mark and a lightning bolt, but their appearances in the story are at the discretion of the storyteller.
Why Included: It’s a unique game that’s not inherently competitive and promotes storytelling. It requires some quick thinking, so it’s also a game that evolves the more people play it. It aids in the promotion of artistic expression as well as public speaking and storytelling skills.