Tangicons 3.0: An Educational Non-competitive Collaborative Game

In this paper we present Tangicons 3.0, an educational game for children between the ages of 6 and 9. Tangicons foster algorithmic construction and reasoning as well as discussions among the players. In contradiction to other collaborative educational games Tangicons intend to avoid competition between children in favor for a strictly collaborative process. Children learn to solve problems together by manipulating physical objects that communicate with each other in order to move virtual characters on a map. This requires a high degree of abstraction. To sustain concentration and motivation, the game also includes playful elements as well as fine and gross motor activity. The focus of the investigation, however, will be the logical-abstract thinking of children. This new version of Tangicons is build with Sifteo cubes as the base technology and a computer for the output on a larger display and sound.