Overview and Background

I used Tinkercad to create this model. I've seen other games where you roll a regular die and then have a chart corresponding to the pattern blocks. That gave me the idea to create my own pattern block die and my own games to go with it.

I painted my dice to match the typical colors of pattern blocks. I will be looking into better painting tools and methods to clean up the look of my dice.

This is my first model and the games may need some rule edits. I would love to hear your feedback.

Lesson Plan and Activity

Game: Guess What I Made...

3-6 players (recommend having at least 10 shapes per player)

Each player chooses 1 pattern block to start with. Put the remaining blocks in a pile in the middle of the group.

Each player takes turns rolling the die and collecting the shape shown. In between turns, they may try to create a design using the blocks they have. At the beginning of their turn, they may say, “Guess what I made!”. If another player can guess the design they get 1 point and the creator gets 2 points. The player continues their turn as normal, keeping all blocks they have and starting a new design. If all players say “pass”, the game continues with no points awarded.

The game can end in 1 of 3 ways:
(1)When there are not enough pieces to continue (the person with the most points wins)
(2)After a designated amount of time (the person with the most points wins)
(3)Once a player reaches 5 points

In the case of a tie, both players share the victory

Variants:

Players may decide on a “theme” such as animals, plants, toys, etc. All designs must fit within the theme. Disputes are settled by a vote (If there is a tie, the design counts). Designs that do not fit in the theme count as 1 point to the guesser and 0 points to the designer.

If you start running low on pieces, you can switch to trading. Players still roll on their turn, but instead of getting a piece from the pile they must trade that piece (to or from) another willing player. If no players want to make that trade, the turn is over and the next player rolls.

Build it First!

2-4 players

You need some regular pattern block designs to choose from. You can find some online and print them or reference them from your phone/computer.

Each player chooses a pattern. The patterns should have about the same number of pieces (or players can all use the same pattern).
Players take turns rolling the die
They must take 1 block matching the shape they rolled, even if they don’t need it
Once they have 2 extra pieces, they may choose to trade in 2 pieces and take 1 piece of their choosing from the pile. They do NOT get to roll this turn.
The first player to finish their design wins!

Materials Needed

You only need 1 die per group along with some pattern blocks.

The "Guess What I Made" game does not require any other materials.

The "Build it First!" game also requires the typical pattern block sheets or designs for the students to complete. Another option would be to display a design on a computer or smart board for the students to re-create.

Pattern Block Dice (and games!)