The Akinlajas with the games they invented
A
chartered accountant, Leke Adesanya, has designed two family- friendly
card games to foster physical interaction among pupils and improve the
quality if indoor entertainment.
During a visit to The PUNCH on Wednesday, Adesanya, said “Giants and Jungle” could be played by any child from age six.
According to him, the educational games appeal to children, teenagers and adults.
“For instance, ‘Jungle’ is themed after
wildlife and has proved to be a favourite among adults while ‘Giants’,
which focuses on history and current affairs, is being adopted as a
learning aid by some schools. Parents would also be happy that their
children are being entertained with games that have educational
attributes,’’ he said.
Adesanya said the desire to invent the
games came early this year, when his wife, Yemi, mooted the idea of
creating a unique and academically rewarding game for pupils.
“We wanted something different from
‘Ludo’ as well as ‘Snake and Ladders’. We always felt we could create
our own entertainment. There has never been a game like this and it is
not a Nigerian version of another game. Prior to now, what you have is a
book of biographies of 200 people
“If we were to inspire young people to
appreciate history, why not make a game out of it? I want my children to
spend more time learning and interacting with each other which is
better than watching television,’’ he said.
Adesanya also referred to local and
international studies, which linked a sedentary life arising from pupils
spending many hours watching television to cardiovascular disease,
obesity and Type 2 diabetes.
In creating ‘Giants’, the couple made a
list of 200 people who have made remarkable contributions in the history
of the world. Some of the characters include Thomas Sankara, Mahatma
Gandhi, King Sunny Ade and Ahmadu Bello. Among others are Michael
Faraday, Bola Ige, Efunroye Tinubu, and Wole Soyinka.
A pack of ‘Giants’, he said, contained 52
cards and a pair of dice. He added, “Pupils learn the history of these
giants of history from a brief portrait at the back of each card. For
‘Jungle’, the concept is to introduce players to the food chain of
animals in an African jungle. Some of the animals included in the card
games are antelope, caracal and the Mongoose, an animal reputed to kill
snakes of different sizes but nearing extinction.”
Highlighting some of the challenges he
encountered during production and how he surmounted them, Adesanya noted
that he had to print the card, the box and its jacket in three
different countries.
“The cost of printing the initial sample
was expensive. It was not printed in Nigeria because if you ask the
printers for a different size from what they are used to, you may not
get it. It was learning process however,’’ he said
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