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Getting Creative With Kwikord
When it comes to spelling, grammar, math and games of this sort of orientation today, for many of them the learning curve is too steep, they're flat out boring, or are simply missing that magic ingredient that makes them exciting and useful. As was referenced earlier, Do you like Scrabble®, but get frustrated waiting for your turn? Do you like crosswords, but want the involvement of others? Do you like the challenge of forming/finding/creating words? This game has it all.
Kwikord is easy to use, has plenty of FunFactor™, players retain what they learn, skill improvement increases upon application of what's learned, and it is a game which everybody over 8 years of age can play. Whether young or of the more mature level in age, Kwikord is an excellent game to play. There is so much that can be learned, even for us older folks.
Kwikord Illustrated
 | Playing is as easy as 1,2,3. Everyone uses the 9 letters as shown in the illustration at left. Create words from the letters and place them on YOUR grid. Try and fill your grid and reach the green corner squares.
Multiply your word subtotal by the number of green squares reached to greatly increase your score. Don't err, as everyone gets to review an opponent's sheet for spelling errors etc., and gain challenge points. See the rules booklet for more details. The person with the highest score after 3 rounds is the WINNER.
"Pride Cometh Before A Fall"
As stated earlier you have got to be careful with your playing Kwikord because everyone gets to review an opponent's sheet for spelling errors etc., and gain challenge points. You can bet on it that if an error can happen, it WILL happen. This is especially so if you have an issue with becoming too proud of how well you are doing.
There is no question about it, if you drop your guard and allow that pride to creep in, one of your opponents is going to pick up on it and pick up some challenge points because of it. This is part of what makes this game so much fun, the challenge to think fast, use your brain, and keep your mind straight.
Playing Kwikord can be a very easy as well as enjoyable game to play yet at the same time you have to remember, pride cometh before a fall.
With our staff alone playing Kwikord in-house, there was never a dull moment. It was amazing how such a simple and inexpensive game could be so much fun and create such a strong amount of competition between our own staff. This is the kind of Play we enjoy experiencing in the evaluation of a game.
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 Independent Evaluator Reports
Obtaining An Independent Perspective...
In this section we will cover the "Kwikord" from the perspectives of qualified individuals in the specific field associated with the product being evaluated. To accomplish that task we have called upon the assistance of two top level industry professionals who know their stuff and have the credentials to prove it.
Our professional and independent evaluators have formed their own opinions from extensive analysis and produced detailed, in-depth reports connected with their study and evaluation of "Kwikord". The information to follow is comprised of excerpts from those same reports which have been paraphrased so that the information being conveyed by these professionals is more easily read. This approach provides a completely independent perspective in the evaluation of the "Kwikord".
PLEASE NOTE: The names of our independent evaluators are not disclosed to protect the privacy of these individuals upon their request. Their labors are provided at no charge to assist us in providing a well-balanced and qualified product evaluation summary. Their title is provided to clarify for our readers the specific type of specialist from which the information provided has been included in each product evaluation summary.
Board Certified Curriculum Content Specialist
Most games on the average, pose the presentation of a constant battle of balancing the visual fancies with the actual game play content. The developers of Kwikord have chosen to break the norm and ignore the trend of maintaining a balance. With this game, the content is the primary focus, not the visual appeal. I assume this is why it was submitted to me for evaluation. The challenge in this evaluation scenario is to determine if the content is of sufficient value and functionality to quantify the reasoning for not following the norm.
Considering the fact of Kwikord being uncommon in its design, I chose to break away from my own method of evaluation and venture into an entirely new procedure in evaluation for this game. Kwikord was put to the test under my own personal evaluation in game play with some of my closest colleagues while at the same time having a group of teachers from 6 different public schools participate in a separate study.
From a content focused standpoint, Kwikord is a simple, fast play game where you are dealing with taking letters and creating words, as many as possible, while trying to fill the board AND reach as many of the green corner squares as possible with your words within a fixed period of time. In every game which my colleagues and myself played, an intense level of competition developed, even to the point where we couldn't wait until our opponents were completed with their turn so we had an immediate opportunity to check their sheet for any errors in spelling.
The game took on entirely new value to us with the first of us making a spelling error. The rest of us were making jest of how she had made an error while she was in debate of our claim. That single detail in the game play is the deciding factor which defines why Kwikord is a game which not only sharpens your spelling and logical thinking skills, but brings fierce competition into the scenario. Strategy and quick thinking are brought into play with Kwikord, yet an immediate desire to compete again in what drives anyone who plays this game. I dare anyone to stop with just one game and never play it again!
From A Teachers Point Of View
While my colleagues and myself were won over with this outstanding game, now I needed a balance from outside, independent, game play which cannot be influenced by my own judgment / personal opinion. I called upon the assistance of 6 public school teachers in the area who I had never spoken to before, and asked them to participate in my evaluation of this game. All they had to do was play the game one time, fill out a feedback form on the game, and return to normal daily routine.
The teachers came to the university campus, ready and appeared to be somewhat eager to play the game. The key factor to consider in the portion of my evaluation is that these teachers came to the campus on their lunch hours. The objective of this part of my evaluation had two functions; a) To see how productive the game was within a 30 minute time frame with 15 minutes allotted for filling out my survey, b) obtain feedback from the teachers as to what they saw in the game from an educational standpoint and compare it with my own findings. The teachers would leave their survey sheets in my office on the way out as they were returning to their schools.
At the end of the 45 minute period I had affixed for the play and survey period I waited for the teachers to arrive at my office, eager to read their survey sheets...None of the teachers arrived. Another 10 minutes passed yet still, none of the teachers had arrived. This had me somewhat disconcerted so I proceeded to go to the room where the teachers had had been taken for the evaluation, expecting some of them to cross my path as I neared the room. I still did not see any of the teachers.
By this point I was very concerned because the teachers were on their lunch hour and I didn't care to have them be late from participation in evaluation of this game. I finally came around the corner of the hall and was about to reach for the door when I hear a strong level of laughing and talking coming from the room. To my unexpected surprise, here were all 6 teachers, still in the room with 3 of the teachers playing the game! I was about to speak up and remind the teachers of their lunch hour being expired, yet before I even opened my mouth to speak, one of the teachers spoke up and said...'Shhhh, they're still playing the game!'
It turns out that teachers were absolutely delighted with the game and had lost track of time. According to one of the teachers, they were '...keeping our eyes on the clock, but just had to play another game.' I reminded the teachers of their being late in getting back to their schools, and they suddenly stopped everything and asked if they could turn in their survey sheets later. I told them no problem, thanked them, and they went on their way after expressing what a 'wonderful experience' they had playing the game.
When I looked over their survey sheets which they dropped off later in the day, I was quite captivated with their comments they had shared. It appears that the feedback on the survey forms concurred with the same findings I had gathered in my evaluation of the game. Not only was the game 'fun and addictive', it provided a very strong stimulation to emotion and skill development. It left the players with '...a greater sense of self-worth from a refreshing of our vocabulary and learning skills.'
After reading the survey sheets from the teachers, and examining the videotapes of the teachers during their game play, I close my report with a final statement; I can give this game a very high recommendation for approval of this portion of your evaluation process.
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 Consumer Hands-On Evaluation
Consumer feedback is like precious gold...literally invaluable. Honest feedback from hands-on evaluation of products we bring to a location or locations, assists us in seeing virtually all sides of the picture when it comes to product evaluation.
For Kwikord we performed consumer hands-on evaluation in a busy public mall in the Los Angeles area, along with 23 other products. Having several products available for consumer evaluation all at once. This provides a more well balanced and unbiased evaluation of the products. Many of them had two or three copies available to provide a larger base of opportunity for consumer evaluation. I am sure you are eager to see the results from the consumers feedback of Kwikord so let's go!
Kwikord was not one of the first and most popular products which consumers went to look at on the tables once we pulled the ropes to the evaluation tables area. You must remember to not be fooled though, by first impression. The beauty of hands-on consumer evaluation is that what you see in the beginning of the evaluation more often than not does not define the results in the end. Kwikord still managed to shine in the seemingly appearance of darkness, despite the lack of initial draw of participants..
For Kwikord, the catalyst to initialize the momentum of participants came from a single child. You see, a child of no more than 10 years of age was looking at Kwikord. She didn't say a solitary word to anyone around her while being a participant other than her mother. The little girl pulled her mom's hand, seeking her attention which seemed rather odd because she wasn't saying anything or showing any sort of emotion at this point.
The little girl's mother bent over so that her daughter could whisper in her ear, then the mother said something to the older boy next to her and all three of them sat down to play Kwikord. The three of them played Kwikord twice, then the mother and the older boy filled out our consumer feedback, (constructed response), form and then went on to other products we had available for evaluation.
What we didn't know was that the mother and her children were with a group of parents who were attending a parental guidance event no more than a block away. At 3pm, we suddenly had a generous number of families all show up at once to participate in our consumer hands-on evaluation. The first words out of the mouths of several of the mothers was, "Where can we find this Kwikord game and...". The names of the other products is not being mentioned because our focus is on Kwikord here.
When we were going over the consumer feedback, (constructed response), forms which were in quite in abundance, we discovered that many of them were all from that group of parents that came at 3pm. It turns out that the mother and children who were so quiet and showed no real visible emotional responses, had come from the parental guidance event during a lunch break and the woman and her children had shared with the rest of the families about how much fun they had with Kwikord and the other products!
Kwikord rivaled many of the other products we had in popularity for our participants. We never imagined such an extra ordinary number of families all at one time examining the products we had brought and seeing Kwikord so popular with many of the parents. Kwikord pulled its weight in this segment of our evaluation.
 A Sampling Of Category Ratings
A small sampling of the individual category titles & rating
scores from the complete product review itself for
this product are featured here. The categories which have been selected to be
featured in this product evaluation summary for public view, specify some of
the primary points of how and why that specific rating score was reached.
- If a product is inducted, a product evaluation summary of the
complete review is published for public view.
- When a score has been assigned to a category rating, it has been through
a thorough validation process to ensure accuracy and no inflection of bias.
- If a product scores an overall category evaluation
rating average of [2] Two Stars or lower from the complete review results,
it fails the evaluation and is not inducted.
- Information for products which do not pass our evaluation is confidential
and is shared only with the company submitting the product.
The Featured Category Ratings for this Product Evaluation
Summary are listed below.
CRITICAL SKILLS DEVELOPMENT: Rating Level - [5] 
When it comes to critical skills development, Kwikord proved its merit a thousand times over. The more the participants were playing the game, the greater the level of stimulation for critical skills development and overall thinking processes.
Creative thought is yet another feature which plays into critical skill development and improvement. Creative thinking is a very strong component of this game. Having to take information from two separate cards which define the parameters of the theme of your lyrics you must write creates a very strong draw and development of creative thinking and skill development. Although critical skill development is already well established for the age group for which this game was designed, there is always a need for further stimulation and improvement. Kwikord contributes substantially in helping players develop and improve analytical processes, stimulating motor & cognitive skills, and improving thought process.
EDUCATIONAL VALUE: Rating Level - [4] 
The educational value for Kwikord was an average score of "5" in this category. Kwikord is quite effective in development and improvement for a number of important developmental skills. The educational value category the scoring was the very best. The scoring for the educational value was reached primarily from the contribution to creative skill development and thought processes. Smash or Trash pulls a perfect score in this category.
* Please note that our educational value guidelines are established from careful evaluation of multiple State and County standards required to be met for passing in a public school facility.
FUNFACTOR™: Rating Level - [5]
FunFactor™ proved to be a a simple task to establish without question. Kwikord is a game which is designed to be "fun" and delivers exactly what it was designed for. The level of excitement which eventually migrates from player to player proves the FunFactor™ is prevalent and there is plenty of it. Every participant who filled out our product evaluation forms was quite clear that the game was of the utmost level of fun.
The level of FunFactor™ has been judged to meet the proper levels required for a perfect score. Combining the facts of every single participant demonstrating a very strong response level in the playing of the game, our videotape evaluation, and the feedback in our product evaluation feedback forms, it was easy to establish that Kwikord pulls a perfect score in this category.
INNOVATION: Rating Level - [4]
Determining the level of innovation in the design of the game was quite simple with Kwikord. Kwikord is of the highest quality in many categories yet falls short just a small pinch in this category.
wikord is quite exciting, fun and so much more, yet it is is similar enough to other games currently available to drop a single digit in this category scoring. The innovative concept of the game is unquestionably there yet just not enough to have a perfect score in this category. Kwikord pulls a score of "4" in this category, well above average in the level of innovative design.
MARKETING VALUE: Rating Level - [5]
The marketing value of Kwikord was another tough one to determine. It is well designed and has an excellent price point. The FunFactor™ of the game was over the tops. The level of popularity was all too apparent from our video tapes, feedback forms, and our own visual impression.
The only real flaw in the mix was the visual appeal of the contents of the game. The contents don't have the visual appeal which would encourage the majority of buyers of this game to jump in and play immediately. Despite the visual appeal flaw, any game player who takes the time to read the box and has an interest in this genre of game products, this is a genuine hit. Simple and encourages a competitive spirit. Best of all it's fun!
Kwikord holds a very high potential in sales. When you combine all of the scores from all of the categories we use to determine the final averaged scoring, Kwikord has a much higher probability of sales than many other games. What you have here is a game which is most unique and innovative, and pulling a perfect score in this category.
VISUAL APPEAL: Rating Level - [3] 
When it comes to visual appeal, Kwikord pulls an average score in this category. The game just made it in the gate as for scoring in this category yet pulled its weight in others. As with anything else we evaluate, nothing is perfect and many products don't even make it through our evaluation process.
The game box design is well above average, yet the visual appeal of the contents of the game just isn't there to bring it above an average score. It draws your attention without a doubt yet just not enough for everyone to grasp the full value of what the game is all about without playing the game.
For a teacher or someone more into the "know" to see the full value of the game from visual perception, Kwikord is an excellent creation. The downside is that not every consumer is a teacher. Kwikord pulls a score of "3" in this category.
| EVALUATION RESULTS - From evaluation for induction into "The Toy Man® Product Guide" | | Overall Rating: 4 | Seal of Approval: Approved | eco-Recognition
Seal: Not Eligible | Award of Excellence: Not Eligible | eChoice Award: Selected |
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THE TOY MAN® SEAL OF APPROVAL
"The first and original Seal of Approval...
designed for product recognition and validation."
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