When to use:
- warm up or cool down activity
- team building activity
- kids groups
Benefits:
This activity will challenge executive processes such as planning, organizing, logic updating and inhibition.
Equipment:
- 1 plate stack per athlete/group, comprised of 45lb on bottom, 35lb, 25lb, 10lb and 5lb or 2.5lb
- chalk for making circles on the floor (optional)
How to play:
The athlete lifts and carries the weighted plates to each circle.
The distance between circles will depend on the amount of available space in your facility, but use the same distance each time.
Draw three circles an equal distance apart. Stack the plates from heaviest to lightest, choosing weights based on the individual’s ability, on the first circle. The number of plates in the puzzle must start at four and can be as high as six. The goal is to move all the plates to another circle by only moving one plate at a time.
Rules
- A heavier plate may never be placed on top of a lighter plate.
- Plates cannot be ‘switched’ while stacked.
- Only one plate may be carried at a time.
Scoring:
Record the time the athlete completed the puzzle. For a tie breaker, record the time each stack was made:
Stack of 2 ______
Stack of 3 ______
Stack of 4 ______
Variations
- Use more plates to make the activity harder, or fewer plates to make it easier.
- Assign a ‘time cap’
- Assign one point for every ‘stack’ that created. A stack consists of two or more plates in one circle that are in the correct order.
References
Celeration of Executive Functioning while Solving the Tower of Hanoi: Two Single Case
Studies Using Protocol Analysis, Gwenny T.L. Janssen *1,2, Hubert R.A. De Mey Jos I.M. Egger and Cilia L.M. Witteman.