Finding a more complicated version of this wooden color sorter

November 28, 2021 2:32 AM

My daughter was absolutely entranced by this game at a shop, the Goki colour and pattern sorting board. She has autism, and loves to sort and make patterns, and the physicality of this is great, but it's meant for 4 year olds, and she is 10. I'd love to get (or make!) a more complicated version of this with more pattern possibility or find similar toys, are there key words to search for, related toys/games, anything?
posted by dorothyisunderwood to Shopping (22 answers total)

Depends on what type of puzzle / sorting but brain teasers is a general category. Might enjoy the 3D block puzzles and such. Here’s a flat puzzle version. ETA a Tetris style one. There are also a variety of styles of jigsaw puzzles including some with color gradients.
posted by Crystalinne at 3:11 AM on November 28, 2021

She might like Qwirkle. It's a game, not a colour sorter, but half the time me and my kids -- some of us on the spectrum -- just end up sorting the pieces (different colours and shapes) on our own and find it soothing and enjoyable. (And the game is fun too! Can be played competitively or cooperatively).
posted by contrapositive at 3:58 AM on November 28, 2021 [2 favorites]

I loved trapezoid mosaics when I was a kid. This set looks nice.
posted by hydropsyche at 4:18 AM on November 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

Like Qwirkle, she may have some off label fun with a deck of Set cards.
posted by phunniemee at 5:04 AM on November 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

Would she enjoy this?
It doesn't have the tactile feel of a wooden toy, but might be visually satisfying!
posted by deadcrow at 5:13 AM on November 28, 2021

Don't know if you're against digital things, but if not, I Love Hue might be appropriate.
posted by dobbs at 7:11 AM on November 28, 2021

Quercetti mosaic game
posted by mai at 7:22 AM on November 28, 2021

Would geometric pattern blocks hold her interest? They are more free form than the set you shared but have a ton of possibilities. There are also lots of pattern cards to follow. I like the tactile feel of the wooden blocks but they are also available in plastic.
posted by leastlikelycowgirl at 7:26 AM on November 28, 2021

Do you know if the way you slide pieces in a groove was a factor in her enjoyment?
posted by trig at 7:32 AM on November 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

The wooden pattern blocks are great....very satisfying to hold and touch and you can make very complex beautiful patterns. Some sets come with large cards with example patterns you can try to build, if that's attractive to her. These get a lot of use in our house.
posted by Ausamor at 7:33 AM on November 28, 2021

On a somewhat different note, I wonder if she might like mancala - on the one hand it's an actual game you can play, and on the other hand if you get a set with good glass stones they can be very satisfying to sort over and over or pour out into the holes and watch color combinations form.
posted by trig at 7:38 AM on November 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

How about Colorku? It’s sodoku with wooden balls, but you can use it however. It’s very satisfying and I love the feel of the pieces. You could just spend time sorting the colors or solve a puzzle. I love it.
posted by biscuits at 7:59 AM on November 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

One up Colorku. My autistic 11 year old just discovered this and loved it.
posted by bq at 8:21 AM on November 28, 2021

Chroma Cube might be in the right ballpark: it is an interesting color puzzle, and is tactile.
posted by adamrice at 8:38 AM on November 28, 2021

Would she like Grapat style loose parts like this? I think they’re also meant for young kids (my 4 year old loves them) but I also love them as an adult.
posted by bananacabana at 9:11 AM on November 28, 2021

We just discovered the IQ 3D puzzles in my house and they are a hit.
posted by victoriab at 1:25 PM on November 28, 2021

Not a game per se... but an abacus has a similar slidy mechanism. Think Fun is a company that makes games / brainteasers that have a physical mechansim (e.g. Rush Hour or Shape Logic.)
posted by oceano at 5:16 PM on November 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

A trip to the craft store could yield interesting things to sort... I'm envisioning beads or "gems."
posted by oceano at 5:28 PM on November 28, 2021

These types of sliding ball puzzles are kind of similar to the toy your daughter liked. They’re interesting to solve and also pretty fun just to play or fidget with.
posted by mbrubeck at 8:10 PM on November 28, 2021

Going away from wooden toys, what about a LiteBrite toy?

posted by CathyG at 9:36 PM on November 28, 2021 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: I appreciate all the links and they look fun! but none of them hit the mark. It's the grooves and the mix of shapes and colours that she wants, that the patterns can only be formed through repetitive fixed motions, not free-style a la tiles.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 5:43 PM on November 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

That's making me think of sliding puzzles and klotski. For the jumbled picture kind, you might be able to get a blank one and use your own stickers or photos on it.

But building her own puzzle along the original lines might actually be really satisfying for her! There are a lot of potential materials she could use, if you don't have access to woodworking tools. When I was a kid I probably would have started out with cardboard and glue. Wrapping scotch tape around the pieces' pegs would make them slide more smoothly.

Mostly unrelated: I came across this peg-and-rubber-band game while searching and it looks pretty cool (and has a lot of potential for expandability with your own patterns/yarns/string).

By the way, I wouldn't get too hung up on the original game being marketed for 4-year-olds. I can think of much less cognitively challenging computer/mobile games for adults, and the problem-solving process reminds me of the Towers of Hanoi game (a staple of first-year computer science classes).
posted by trig at 6:31 PM on November 30, 2021