SAT game for dummies

Board game preps students for SAT, but it’s not easy

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

By Virginia Linn, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

SAT Game For Dummies provides 500 question cards, representing five SAT question categories — sentence completion, math multiple choice, math student-produced response, writing skills and critical reading.

The SATs are looming in May and June or, for some, next fall.

The lucky high schoolers no doubt are cramming on the definitions of a zillion obscure vocabulary words such as sesquipedalianism. Or they’re heavy into the Kaplan SAT prep courses or the Princeton Review.

Playing a game sounds like a lot more fun, or at least that’s what the creators of the new SAT Game For Dummies hope.

It was introduced at the recent Toy Fair ’08, and provides 500 question cards, representing five SAT question categories — sentence completion, math multiple choice, math student-produced response, writing skills and critical reading.

The trivia-style board game comes with an hourglass timer to ensure players get prepped at the SAT test pace.

Here’s how it works: At each turn, a player rolls the die, moves and is asked a question in a SAT category that corresponds with the color of the square. A player must answer correctly to continue his or her turn.

A player collects a diploma for correctly answering a question in an exam room. The winner is the first player to collect diplomas in all five SAT question categories and return to start.

Spicing up play is the chance to challenge other players.

Players are encouraged to try to work through all questions, even those directed at their opponents. But if you’re expecting a fun Trivial Pursuit game experience with rapid play, it’s not that quick or easy.

These are SAT-difficult questions, and my 16-year-old daughter, who tested the game with friends, said the critical reading questions really bogged down play because the passages were long (and they had to pay attention).

The math questions, of course, have to be worked out, especially the ones that don’t provide multiple-choice answers.

Still, the game provided a chance for group study and a welcome diversion from the drudgery faced by many who prep for the tests, she said.

Game creator BE Innovative Group Inc. joined with Wiley Publishing, (makers of the For Dummies series) to launch the game.

It costs $39.99 and is available at Amazon.com and http://www.satgamefordummies. com.

Virginia Linn can be reached at vlinn@post-gazette.com or  412… .

First published on April 16, 2008 at 12:00 am source: post-gazette.com