Human Spanish Conjugator – A Board Game (Beta)

Overview

As a learner of Spanish language, I find it hard to memorize the conjugation of Spanish verbs.  While looking for a fun way to practice conjugation, I have decided to create a little board game to make learning fun.  And I would like to share with you here.  Feel free to pass this link to others whom may find this useful.  I intend to update this page as I have new contents or new ideas.  Feedback is welcome and I will do my best to incorporate.  Just a gentle reminder, please do not upload the attachments to any website without my written consent.  My email address can be found in here.

What Do You Need?

1. A set of game boards → click here.
2. A deck of cards → click here.
3. A set of score sheets → click here.

You may simply print the game board and score sheets out on A4 papers.  That’s what I do.  As for the deck of cards, you may wish to print them on A4, cut them out, and stick them onto blank name cards.  Like I did.

Game Objectives

• Exhaust all the tiles on the game board.
• Score the highest.

This game can be played by 2 players and above.  It can also be played by single person with a slight change in rules.  If you often play with the same group of people, you may also wish to track the group best score over time.

Game Instructions

This is a simple board game.  Feel free to improvise the rule as it deems fit.  The guideline is as follows.

1. Determine the player order (throw a dice, draw a card, or just agree on one).  Shuffle the deck of cards.  Turn the cards face down.
2. The game starts with the tile on the bottom right corner (marked as “Start”).  If it helps, put a small object on top of the tile.  Imagine it as your group’s spaceship.  You are in it together.
3. The 1st player determines which adjacent tile to move to.  In any of the eight directions.  Again, if it helps, you may move your spaceship onto this new tile, to mark the beginning of a new turn.  Some tiles have special utilities.  Read the printed board for more details.  The board is wrapped in all sides.
4. The 2nd player draws a card from the deck.  Read out the verb to be conjugated by 1st player.
5. The 1st player conjugates the verb with the instruction from the chosen tile.  Write the answer on the score sheet.  The 2nd player’s job is to verify the answer.
6. If 1st player gets the answer correct in first attempt, a score of 6 is awarded.  3 points for getting the answer right on the 2nd attempt.  1 point for the 3rd attempt.  Zero for failing three attempts.  If the verb is irregular, the score is tripled.
7. Once a tile is used, cross it out using your pen.  Return the card to the bottom of the deck.
8. Now it is 2nd player’s turn to determine which adjacent tile to move to.  The only restriction is that you cannot move onto a tile that has been used.  Think of it like a road block.  If you are stuck, you are free to move to any available tile on the board.
9. The game ends when all the tiles are used.  Or when mutually agreed upon.

As you can see, this game can easily be extended to more than 2 players.  You can assign the next player to be the one who draws the card, read the verb out, and verify the answer.  If you are playing this solo, there is only one attempt, for obvious reason.

Using the Deck of Cards

I derive the deck of cards based on the online reference site Verbix.  And also based on the verbs that I am familiar with.  You may add more verbs into this deck.  Or if you wish to refer to online materials at every turn, you may only need to write down the verb.

On how to read the card, the first few words are the verb forms of infinitivo, participio, and gerundio, followed by presente, pretérito imperfecto, pretérito perfecto simple, and futuro.  I follow exactly like Verbix layout.

I have also put an asterisk against the irregular form.  Expect this deck of cards to be expanded when I have time to do it.

More Game Boards?

You bet!  I have found a way to randomly generate these game boards.  Also, bias to certain tenses or persons can be set.  Expect to see a lot more for download in the future.  You may notice a “Map ID” printed on top of the board.  It is mainly used as an internal reference for the input parameters used for the board generator.

Have Fun!

Thank you for trying this game out.  I look forward to hearing from you.  And feel free to share this with your friends!

Revision History

May 3, 2010 – First version.
May 12, 2010 – Modified the rule of one special tile for person switching.  Added 4 new maps with a “read-me” text file.