Carnegie Mellon University
Jeremy Doo
"Battle-pults":
Description:
"Battle-pults" is played by one to four teams, with one player on each team. Each team gets two catapults, one with wheels and one without, and a set of three different mass counter-weights and two different ramps. The warriors and blocks with which a fort will be built are divided up equally among the teams. While the connection the blocks make to each other will be tight enough to build a fort that will support itself, they will also be loose enough to be knocked apart fairly easily by the two in diameter, hard plastic "rocks" the catapults shoot. Each player builds a fort which will protect their men, and then the destruction begins. The players will take turns attacking their opponents' forts with both catapults using different counter-weights with the different catapults, and different ramps to set their non-wheeled catapult on. This will allow for the attacker to achieve different speeds and arcs with which the catapults shoots and, as a result, different distances and power. The object of the game is not necessarily to destroy the opponents' forts, but to knock over all of their men.
Priniciple:
The catapults will teach the physics of how a counterweight and lever works, while the resulting impact of the attack will teach both about sturdiness of structures and the effect angles of impact has on force. The wheeled catapult will show the effect of allowing the counterwieght to drop more directly downward on the energy the catapult unleashes.
Cost:
"Battle-pults" would be on the more costly end of childs toys, with the catapults being pricey. The blocks and warriors would be cheap to produce, however, as they would be pretty cheap plastic.
Durabilty:
This toy is not a young childs toy, probably better for the eight to twelve year old range. The catapults would be sturdy, but throwing them off a wall or stepping on them would probably not be good for them. However, the catapults would have to be heavy enough to support the counter weight and launch the "rocks," so should be able to take a fair amoung of abuse.
Safety:
The major concern would be a child swallowing the warriors. The "rocks" would be too large to swallow and the catapults would not shoot hard enough to ever hurt someone. A warning would be put on the box to keep the warriors away from small children.
Other Toys by Jeremy Doo: