Interview about Save The Turtle Puzzle, winner of the A' Toys, Games and Hobby Products Design Award 2020
“Save The Turtle” introduces to 4 -to 8 years old children the harmful impact of plastic on the sea and sea creatures simply and entertainingly through a maze puzzle. Children play different quizzes and win by moving the sea turtle through the path until it reaches a safe place. Repeating and solving multiple quizzes encourages children to change their behavior towards the use of plastic and reinforces the idea.
View detailed images, specifications, and award details on A' Design Award & Competition website.
View Design DetailsRepetition is key when it comes to learning a message. We wanted to create a creative tool to repeat a single message. Creating a dynamic puzzle was our answer for that problem. The first step was to acknowledge that play is children's best learning method. The second step was how we could creatively link a message with a game, that isn't only fun, but that can be played multiple times.
Children’s attitudes and bravery to express what is right or wrong is certainly an inspiration to adults. As adults we can often think our actions don’t matter, but seening children sticking to a right/wise decision can generally help us and guide us.
The educational message had to be playful, memorable and creative for children to play. If the core environmental message is wrapped in play, then children will be the ones seeking it. By involving playing in the mixture, we guarantee a balance between both aspects.
Testing revealed that it was hard for children, especially younger ones to identify the pieces of the puzzle, as they all looked blue with white lines; we therefore added more visual clues through the stars and bubbles.
Repeating is a key aspect in this game, so after coming up with a module, it was easy to replicate it & create many puzzle variants. The variants are following the same pattern, yet present a different challenge each time.
The game is designed of natural wood leftovers compressed and cut to create the different shapes.It is challenging to be cost efficient and environmentally friendly at the same time.
The levels target the different age groups. In the first level less parameters were at hand, while in the second level more obstacles had to be put into consideration. However the main message of the game is the same: to save a turtle from the harmful plastic in the sea.
By telling the story of the turtle in the beginning. Children need to know why the turtle is at risk and what we can do to rescue it. We had to do several workshops to test the game with children from different ages and backgrounds to make sure they understand the game and its purpose.
This toy had great testimonies, sales and was replicated on different scales for different entities and organisations. The fact that many children would play it on repeat without losing the main message was a good indicator.
We hope many other toys and industries try to help addressing bigger issues in our world through play. We hope for a world where children find educational games exciting. We are ambitious to create more games and toys that make an impact.
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