Make it easier:

• Let players work in teams
• Let players trial their move, observe the results, and then decide to keep their move or try again (I recommend having a clear limit on this so that you don’t play forever)
• Cut long pieces of yarn or use an old shoelace to outline paths. Players could outline multiple possibilities and ideas to help them determine the best solution

Make it harder:

• Add a timer to turns. I like to use this with children with ADHD who are working on frustration tolerance as well as visual-motor skills

Target executive functioning:

• (cognitive flexibility / adaptive thinking) Ask each player what they want to do on their next turn and what their back-up plan is if they cannot (if another players moves the board in the opposite direction, for example)
• (planning and prioritizing) Deal out all of the treasure cards before beginning the game. Using quarters, tokens, monopoly money, or any other counting material, randomly assign values to each of the cards. Make sure that each player has the same array of values (for example, treasure cards valued $1, $3, $5, $10, & $20). Before beginning play, provide each player a blank sheet of paper to write out a step-by-step plan for their turns. Ask them to order their steps based on the value (importance) of each task while considering their location on the board and the location of those items to find the most efficient solution. After the game is complete, compare the choices that they made with the choices that they planned for and debrief on what went well, what didn’t, and what they might do differently next time.

Target visual-spatial skills:

• Labyrinth is a significant visual-perceptual challenge without any modifications; one way to increase the challenge is to rotate the entire board every 5 minutes to alter each player’s perspectives

Target motor skills:

• Play the game on a swing or therapy ball
• Play the game as a relay race on a scooter with the child(ren) in prone taking turns riding towards the board and then returning to the waiting player(s) with the new tile
• In-between turns have children complete mazes. Before they can take their next turn, they must complete a maze (of appropriate difficulty). I like to use Krazy Dad because there are lots of options and they are all free!

Target social-emotional skills:

• For each turn, players share or answer a social question (check out my Social Emotional Question Prompts Bundle with questions for all ages!)

Target sensory processing:

• (vestibular, proprioception) Put children in pairs and take turns wearing a blindfold. Set up a clear area free of hazards (like a grassy field or a spacious basement). Have the player not wearing the blindfold state aloud directions such as “forward”, “left”, “right”, etc. to match the path within the maze. The blindfolded player then has to follow the steps (taking one step per direction). If less than 3 mistakes (or whatever limit you decide) are made, the team reaches their destination and switches places, following the remaining game rules as normal
• (vestibular-proprioceptive, self-regulation / modulation) For players needing additional sensory input (sensory seekers) have them complete a specific number of exercises providing additional input between turns (jumps on a trampoline, push-ups, # of times swinging on a swing, etc.) followed by 3-5 deep breaths to improve regulation

Target language skills:

• Have players tell a shared story about each new treasure card. Players can write down the story or share it aloud.
• Vocabulary words can be incorporated into play: each player could try to use both the treasure item and the vocabulary word in a sentence or paragraph – bonus points if you write it all down!
• Read books about fantasy and adventure in dungeons. Some books to try: Where The Wild Things Are (ages 1+), Nobody Likes a Goblin (ages 2-5), The Magic Treehouse  (ages 5-8), The Tale of Despereaux (ages 7+), or the Percy Jackson award-winning series (9+)

Target math skills:

• Use my suggested executive functioning activity (above) for planning & prioritizing to work on budgeting, addition, subtraction, or percentages