Quandary App – Designed to Teach Kids Problem Solving Skills

My 11-year-ld daughter and I have been playing a different kind of game lately, it’s an app called Quandary.  It’s designed to teach and practice skills…no, not skills like mathematics, reading, social studies, etc.  The Quandary app (and website) is designed to help kids develop critical thinking, decision making, and perspective-taking skills.  The Quandary app and website is a free game aimed at kids 8-14, but as an adult, I enjoyed playing it with my daughter, not only for the entertainment value, but also to gain better insight on how my daughter solves problems and what influences affect her decision-making.

The Quandary App

The story line of Quandary is based on a planet called Braxos, which is 32 light years away from Earth.  Your child is the captain of the colony, which was sent by a 7 person Council on Earth.  There is work to be done, but as with any group of people, various personalities and differences of opinions can make it hard to make a decision.  As the captain, you listen to the various colonists’ points of view, make decisions, and report back to the Council to see whether they ask you to pursue your recommendation or try theirs.

So far, there are three different episodes…

In Episode 1: ‘Lost Sheep’, predators are attacking their sheep but they have some medicinal value that could help fight off disease.

In Episode 2: ‘Water Wars’, the community’s water well gets polluted and consider one of the colonist’s private wells to use, which houses clean water.

In Episode 3: ‘Fashion Faction’, the colony’s tailor uses the color purple to enhance his friends’ uniforms, but the other colonists see this as unfair.

Each story line takes approximately 10 to 30 minutes to work through.  My daughter and I have played all three a couple of times, each time choosing different solutions to see what happens after it is implemented.

Stories are told through engaging cartoons to make it interesting for kids.  You can also touch each sound bubble to have each person’s thoughts read out loud to you.  Hearing each person’s unique voice with their words made the story more interesting.

After reading the cartoon, you separate each of the colonists thoughts into Facts, Solutions, and other Opinion.  Other Opinion in this case would be Guthrie’s saying he’s worried about his sheep drinking dirty water.  Although some kids might say that this is a fact, and that would be OK.

As a part of the process, you touch on each of the colony members to learn their perspective on the two solutions you are considering.  Kids can also present each colonists with different facts to see what their opinion is based on two solutions the captain is considering.

What’s different about the Quandary app and website, than other role-playing games, is that people often try to make decisions based on what they think the game developer is looking for, thus increasing their score.  Quandary isn’t like this at all.  The main premise is the process…not the decision.  By gaining perspectives of the different colonists, the captain can make a better choice, than if acting on his/her own.  It is rare when a group of people ever have the same opinion, as people come to a conflict with different needs, interests, and perspectives.  Quandary brings these things to the light through the characters, helping your child to better understand where people are coming from and why their opinions matter.

After you consider everyone’s point of view on your proposed solution you make a final decision and present it to the 7 person Council on Earth.  But before you make your recommendation to the Council, you first get to make a predication whether each colonist will agree with your plan.  The Council will then approve your decision or ask you to do something else. What I like about Quandary, is that it gives a framework for kids to approach ethical decision-making without telling them what to think.

Once you play all three Quandary story lines, you’ll be wanting to play through more.  Fortunately, the makers behind the Quandary app and website are already working on some new episodes!  Quandary was created by a team of multidisciplinary talents in the fields of child development, social and emotional learning, and game design across a number of universities including Harvard, Tufts University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a MIT non-profit spin-off. Quandary has won a number of awards including an Parents’ Choice Award in 2013 and Games for Change Festival – Game of the Year award in 2013.

To appeal even more to older children, children aged 13 and up access the Character Creator tool on the app and create new colonists…complete with alternate viewpoints in response to new challenges.  There is also a classroom version which would be very interesting for classes as a whole to go through together.

Quandary is available free online at QuandaryGame.org as well as a free Quandary app download from Google Play and Apple App Store.

A Mom’s Perspective

We played all three episodes over a week’s time span.  I loved that, after finishing a episode and seeing what the colony thought of a decision, my daughter wanted to play the same episode again and see what would happen if she chooses another solution.  Her curiosity drove her to learn more, not a drive to “get more points,” and to to end up with a better score.  I believe that the Quandary app has opened my daughter’s eyes to understanding on a deeper level where people are coming from and how a diverse group of people can have such different opinions.

Through Quandary, my daughter is learning to “listen” to others more effectively, seeking people’s’ knowledge, but also their values, attitudes, and possible intentions.  Will this help her in her life as she grows?  Yes.  But Quandary does even more than this.  It opens up an opportunity for my daughter and I to discuss values, attitudes, and intentions of others.  Although all colonists have a common goal, to thrive on the planet of Braxos, not everyone has the same opinion of colony first, individuals second.

A lot of thought, time, and coordinated effort lies behind Quandary.  Quandary appeals to kids through its futuristic and galactic story telling, yet the scenarios are translatable to problems we can face today on earth.  As with our everyday lives, and those in leadership positions, we must often make decisions without knowledge of how our solutions will pan out.  Taking other people’s’ opinions in considerations can be overwhelming, especially those with strong opinions.  But helping kids break down the problems into Facts, Solutions, and Other Opinions can help make solving problems more manageable.

*    This is a sponsored post for QuandaryGame.org.  All opinions and insights are my own.