Dish 'em Out

Explore

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players need to closely look at their diner boards throughout the game in order to plan and make decisions.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
To help children examine more closely, encourage them to think about implications of picking one type of food or another.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
As children examine their diner boards in order to determine which food tiles to take and which orders to fill, they will be building spatial reasoning, logical reasoning, analysis, probability, and risk/reward thinking skills.
To help children examine more closely, encourage them to think about implications of picking one type of food or another. This can help with mental modeling and planning, which in turn can help them make optimal choices.

Determine

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players make multiple determinations throughout Dish 'em Out, including which food tiles to pick, when to allow tiles to fall into trash, which orders to fill and which customer order cards to give to each player.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
Because Dish 'em Out involves so much decision making, it may help to encourage children to "Wait. Look. Think." This will help them spend time enough time considering options and implications of different possible decisions.
This will also help with impulsivity and planning. Using such verbal cues can give children a model for approaching future play as well as complex life choices.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Because Dish 'em Out involves so much decision making, reasoning and risk/reward analysis, it may help to encourage children to "Wait. Look. Think." This will help them spend time enough time considering options and implications of different possible decisions.

Compare

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players will compare food tile choices to the cooking times for each and their pending customer orders, as well as the possible penalties for food tiles falling into the trash or fulfilling partial orders.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
Comparing options and determining what actions to take are performed simultaneously while playing Dish 'em Out. Consequently, it may help to encourage children to "Wait. Look. Think." This will help them spend time enough time considering options and implications of different possible decisions.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Comparing options and determining what actions to take are performed simultaneously while playing Dish 'em Out. Consequently, it may help to encourage children to "Wait. Look. Think." This will help them spend time enough time considering options and implications of different possible decisions.

Plan

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Dish 'em Out is all about great planning as players select food tiles strategically in an effort to fulfill orders before the tiles fall into the trash.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
As with other skills used in Dish 'em Out, parents can assist children by reminding them to take their time to examine their diner boards closely and think about what might happen if they pick different food tiles.
Also, to be successful in Dish 'em Out requires thinking about consequences beyond a player's immediate move. This type of long-term, sequential thinking is important beyond the game for activities such as building forts, making art, successfully completing schoolwork on time and launching a new business from a lemonade stand to a company later on in life.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Dish 'em Out is an excellent game for building complex planning skills which incorporate spatial reasoning relative to time, risk/reward analysis, adaptability and resilience. Additionally, to be successful in Dish 'em Out requires thinking about consequences beyond a player's immediate move.
Educators may want to explore children's thinking by asking them to explain why they made certain choices and to evaluate the consequences of those choices. This can help children develop stronger logic, analytical and reasoning skills more quickly.

Experiment

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players will likely experiment with different approaches to playing the game the more they play the game. These experiments may include selecting higher or lower value cards, picking more or fewer food tiles in a round, fulfilling partial orders or wait to fill entire order, and choosing different types of food tiles.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
Dish 'em Out is good for experimenting with planning strategy and tactics. Discuss different approaches prior to starting the game and encourage the child to select one. Play the game and discuss. Then, play again with the child trying a different approach. Discuss again and compare the advantages and disadvantages.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Dish 'em Out is good for experimenting with planning strategy and tactics. Discuss different approaches prior to starting the game and encourage the child to select one. Play the game and discuss. Then, play again with the child trying a different approach. Discuss again and compare the advantages and disadvantages.

Practice

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Like chess and many card games, Dish 'em Out has many levels of implicit mastery. This means that players learn and hone strategic thinking, planning and reasoning skills every time they play.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
If you see a child becoming frustrated or overly challenged with making a decision, encourage them to make a choice and then examine the results. Whether children make the "correct" choice, they will learn the consequences of the choice which will help them make better choices next time. As the old adage goes, "practice makes perfect."

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Dish 'em Out is an excellent game for building complex planning skills which incorporate spatial reasoning relative to time, risk/reward analysis, adaptability and resilience. Additionally, to be successful in Dish 'em Out requires thinking about consequences beyond a player's immediate move. Children advance towards mastery of these skills each time they play the game.
Educators may want to children to play "practice" rounds where they to discuss the outcomes of each round together. This can help children verbalize their thinking and learn about different strategies and tactics of others.

Solve

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Dish 'em Out involves many intermediate solutions (e.g. selecting food tiles) and a long term solution (i.e. having the most points at the end of the game). As the game progresses, players may change strategies and adapt tactics as they fulfill or receive new customer orders.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
As the game is being learned, children may select food tiles strategically. If you see this, ask the child to explain their thinking and discuss what they might do differently next time.
After children have mastered basic rules and implications of food tile choices, they learn new information constantly during game play. This information directly effects how children strategize an approach to pick food tiles, fulfill orders and allow food tiles to fall into the trash.
The ability to shift strategies based on new information can help children cope with the stresses of change in other areas of their life.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Dish 'em Out involves uses of sophisticated planning, spatial and logical reasoning, analysis and if/then problem solving.
After children have mastered basic rules and implications of food tile choices, they learn new information constantly during game play. This information directly effects how children strategize an approach to pick food tiles, fulfill orders and allow food tiles to fall into the trash.
Educators may want to explore children's thinking by asking them to explain why they made certain choices and to evaluate the consequences of those choices. This can help children develop stronger logic, analytical and reasoning skills more quickly.

Cognitive

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Dish 'em Out is too difficult for children with cognitive challenges. It requires a high level of planning and reasoning.

Communication

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
The directions for Dish 'em Out are complex. Demonstration of the sequence of game play will be necessary for children with comprehension concerns. Players will want to discuss their options and problems with each other, however. Children with communication concerns may need some prompting by asking simple questions, such as, "It looks like you chose the items that will take the longest to cook. What are you thinking will happen?"

Sensorimotor

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Dish 'em Out requires the manipulation of small food tiles. If the child has fine motor concerns, this may be challenging. Other players may be able to pick up and manipulate the tiles, once the child has selected them.

Social Emotional/Behavioral

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Because of the requirement for advance planning and ongoing reasoning about cause-and-effect, children who have challenges with low frustration tolerance or impulsivity may find that Dish 'em Out raises uncomfortable emotions. Playing with a partner will help the child take their time, discuss options, and make moves with more intentionality.

Vision

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Children with low vision may have difficulty distinguishing some of the items on the food tiles. They can play with the assistance of other players, who can point to and label the different items in Kitchen caddy. If players cannot recognize the items by shape, color, or configuration, then Dish 'em Out is not a good match.

Hearing

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Children with hearing impairments should be able to play Dish 'em Out without assistance. It will be necessary, however, to carefully demonstrate each step of the game play.

*Data compiled from CCSSI ELA Standards, WA Science Standards, and Washington Social Studies Standards