Ways to Play Thumball

Ages: 3 to 100
Number of Players: 1 to 100
Goal: To have the most fun thinking and communicating.

Play Thumball™ anywhere: at home, in the car, at school, work and parties. Enjoy Thumball™ as you would any type of ball: Throw it! Catch it! Now, look under your thumb and react to the word, phrase, or graphic found there.

If your thumb lands on the title space or Shnoogie space select any space to respond to, it’s Your Choice!


For all Thumball Designs, 4 Initials Ways to React:

  1. Respond to the panel under your thumb by answering for yourself.
  2. Respond by asking another player to answer.
  3. Predict the answer another player would give.
  4. Once a group has played together several times you can add the challenge of recalling an answer provided by another player on a previous day.

For More Thumball Fun

Thumball™ can be played in a multitude of ways. Here are several game playing options to choose at the start of the game.

  • Roll, pass, toss, or kick Thumball™ among players.
  • Circulate Thumball™ clockwise, counterclockwise or random direction.
  • Specify right thumb, left thumb or the finger of your choice to play the game.
  • Players can respond to the space themselves or ask another player to respond.
  • Select time limits for responses and length of game.
  • To add competition, players can earn and/or lose points for each response.

THE ORIGINAL THUMBALLS™

Category Mania Thumball - Generate words in categories.

Easy: Name 1 item
Hard: Name 4 items
Difficult: Name 7 items

Each player receives one point for identifying an appropriate word within the category and within the time limit. Winner is first player to reach 50 points or player with the most points when game ends.


Letter Mania Thumball - Have fun using beginning letter/sounds.

Easy: Identify letter and sound
Hard: Name in words in specific categories (Foods, Sports, Places) using that beginning sound
Difficult: Create sentences using only words beginning with that letter/sound.

Earn one point for each correct response within specified time limit. Player with the most points at end of the game wins


The Answer Mania Thumball - A fun experience for asking serious or silly questions and allowing Thumball to provide the answer.

The only rule is to have fun and think of creative questions to ask. Examples include “Will I get an “A” on my history test? Will Joey grow up to be the Queen of England?, Will our football team win tonight’s game?”


Emotion Mania Thumball - Playful approach to discovering feelings and emotions through words and images. Introduces our mascot Shnoogie displaying different facial expressions.

Easy: Read word
Hard: Define word with example
Difficult: Act out feeling and other players guess that emotion (like charades).

Earn one point for each correct response within specified time limit. Player with the most points at end of the game wins.


Who Are You? Thumball - Kid friendly game that allows players to get to know each other in a fun new way.

Easy: Answer for self
Hard: Predict responses of other players
Difficult: Recall other player’s answers.

Receive one point for each accurate response using complete sentences. Player with most points wins. If a space comes up more than once, the player must provide their response to earn a point PLUS recall the other player’s answer previously given to earn a BONUS point.


Ice Breaker Thumball – Great game for Teens and Adults that allows players to interact in a fun new way.

Easy: Answer for self
Hard: Predict responses of other players;
Difficult: Recall other player’s answers.

Earn one point for each correct response within specified time limit. Player with the most points at end of the game wins. If a space comes up more than once, the player must provide their response to earn a point PLUS earn a bonus point if they can recall the other player’s answer previously given.


EARLY LEARNERS THUMBALLS
Catch 12– Series 1

The Early Learners Series encourages
development of basic learning skills.

My ABCs
Thumball

Animals
Thumball

Numbers
Thumball

Shapes
Thumball

Rules to emphasize include:

  • Passing or rolling Thumball to each other kindly
  • Listening to each other’s answers attentively
  • Using appropriate eye contact
  • Correctly identifying the letter, shape, number or animal under their thumb or in front of them.
  • Players are then verbally reinforced such as; “Great job naming that letter, animal, number or shape!”

The player can be given a token as a tangible reinforcer if desired. The Early Learners Thumballs also work well with people having diagnoses of stroke, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease or Traumatic Brain Injury.


COME TOGETHER THUMBALLS SERIES

The Catch Peace Thumball - a great way to promote peace around the world

Easy: Read the words in each of 20 languages.
Hard: Identify the country that speaks that language.
Harder: Locate the country on a map or globe.
Difficult: Learn all 20 words, and test each other.

Earn one point for each correct response within specified time limit. Player with most points at end of the game wins.


The Soccer Mania Thumball is perfect for soccer players to reinforce rules of play in a fun new way.

Easy: Read each word and define.
Hard: Explain each word or demonstrate.
Difficult: Describe your experience in play with that word.

One point for each correct definition of the soccer term and one point for acting out that move. Player with the most points at end of the game wins.


The Love Always Thumball teaches how to say I Love You in ten different languages.

It also has twenty inspirational quotes about love. The only rule is to spread that love to all you know and everyone wins!


VARIATIONS

An extreme version of play: Throw it, catch it, look under your thumb, then throw Thumball as high as possible into the air and provide as many answers as you can before it comes down.

Bonus points for incredible catches can be agreed upon. College students love this style of play.

There are endless ways to enjoy the game.
Please contact us with your own ways of play
and we will post them for others to try!

Your input is greatly appreciated.

Thumball™ Gets Everybody Talking!



©2006 Answers In Motion, L.L.C. • Patents & Copyrights Pending
204 S. Lippincott Ave., Maple Shade, New Jersey, 08052-3251 USA • 732-267-7792 • email





Testimonials

""It really is our son's favorite toy. We play for hours and always think of
something new to try. Thumball gets our family laughing and thinking."

Melissa
Cream Ridge, NJ