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I Hope you enjoy shopping at the Racing Ahead store and that you find what you are looking for. From time to time, new additions will be made to departments so please do come back and look again.
GamesAcademic GamesAcademic Games is a U.S. competition in which players win by out-thinking each other in mathematics, language, arts and social studies. Formal tournaments are organized by local leagues and on a national level by the Academic Games Leagues of America (AGLOA). Member leagues in eight states hold a national tournament every year in which players in five divisions compete in eight different logic-based games . Some turn-based games require a kit consisting of a board and playing cubes, while other games have a central reader announcing questions or clues and each player answering individually.
History of Academic GamesBefore the existence of AGLOA, tournaments were held by the National Academic Games Project founded by the creator of many of the games . Many AGLOA leaders were involved with NAGP. The new league was created partially because of personal conflict with Robert W. Allen. Allen later sued the AGLOA for copyright, trademark and tradename infringement.Academic Games Leagues of America was founded in 1991 to encourage the use of Academic Games as an educational tool and as a scholar competition. Many of the games used in tournaments however were created as early as in the 1960s and 1970s. Neal Golden of New Orleans is the current board president of AGLOA; Larry Liss of Palm Beach, Florida is the current Executive Director. Other board members represent Academic Games leagues in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Academic Games DivisionsAcademic Games players compete with other players in their own age group. These are the five age divisions in the league.
Games become more challenging as a player progresses through the divisions. There are often two variations of the games : basic and adventurous.
Types of Academic Games PlayedSix games are played in official AGLOA tournaments. Some local leagues also play other games ; such as On-Words (a simplified version of LinguiSHTIK) and WFF 'N PROOF (the so-called "Game Of Modern Logic", which teaches symbolic logic and the use of formulas).
Math GamesTwo math games , Equations and On-Sets are played at AGLOA tournaments.Equations : Equations is a mathematics game created in 1965. The game uses a playing mat and 24 cubes, each labeled with numbers and mathematical operations. At the beginning of each "shake" one of two or three players uses up to six cubes to set a "goal." All players must use the remaining cubes to devise a solution that equals the goal. Gameplay can become more complicated through the use of "variations" called on the game. Applicable variations differ by the player's age division. The game progresses with each player moving one cube on their turn or alternatively challenging that they can create a solution with the cubes in play, that a solution was possible on the last turn and the player before had missed it or challenging that it is impossible to create a solution with the cubes available. When a player calls a challenge, it is called against the player who most recently completed their move. In three player games , the indifferent players may choose who they side with in the case of a challenge. A player who correctly challenges another player wins the game. The loser of a game gains two points, the winner six and the sider (if he sided with the winner) gains four or two (if he sided with the loser). Equations games become interesting with the use of factorials, vulgar fractions and even logarithms, in the Senior division. On-Sets On-Sets is a board and cube game that teaches basic logic and set theory. This game also uses a deck of 16 cards that is used to make the "Universe". Each card contains a different combination of colored dots. The cubes contain numbers, colors and logic operators. Players learn logic concepts such as union and intersection and learn to use restrictions such as subset. Variations can be also be used in On-Sets games . A player wins by using the cubes in resources to create a logical statement which equals the goal set using the numeral cubes. Challenges and multiplayer games work in a similar way to Equations.
Language GamesLinguiSHTIK :LinguiSHTIK is a technical game that teaches language arts and linguistics. The game has a playing mat and cubes which are imprinted with the 26 letters of the alphabet. A player has to create a word using the letters available and the word must be used in a sentence that matches the Demands called. A demand specifies something about the sentence or word, such as number of clauses, part of speech, number of letters, etc. Challenges in LinguiSHTIK work in the same way they do in the other cube games . Some concepts taught in LinguiSHTIK include sentence patterns, clauses, grammar and verbs. The game has elements similar to the popular word game Scrabble but adds a different element of play through grammatical demands. Propaganda : In Propaganda, clues are read to all players by a central reader. Each player must decide, from a list, which persuasion technique that clue used. There are several different sections of Propaganda techniques, the reader also specifies which section the persuasion technique is listed in. Different leagues have different scoring methods but the official AGLOA scoring involves a "bold" and "cautious" rating method. If you rate your answer "bold", then you receive four points for a correct answer or you lose two points for an incorrect answer. If you rate your answer "cautious," then you receive two points for a correct answer, however you lose nothing for an incorrect answer. A round consists of nine questions, so the highest score possible per round is 36 points, while the lowest is -18 points.
Social Studies GamesPresidents :A central reader announces three clues about a particular U.S. President. Each player must individually write down which President the clue describes. Players who answer correctly on the earliest clue get more points than players that answer after more clues are given. The first clue is worth 6 points, the second is worth 4 points and the third is worth 2 points. In Michigan and West Virginia, the point system is slightly different. The first clue is worth 3 points, the second is worth 2 points and the third is worth 1 point. In the Elementary and Middle division games , only a portion of presidents are used per season. For those divisions, ranges switch between presidents 1-24 and 25-43 every other year. In Junior and Senior division games however, all the presidents are used every season. During a tournament, players are assisted by a gazetteer which has each presidents name, birthdate, birthplace and other basic information. World Events : This event consists of a "current events" round about events from the past year, both foreign and domestic and a "theme round," which changes yearly. In the current events and lightning round players may wager two, four, or six points after being given a broad category (such as "international politics" or "arts and entertainment"). In theme round, players can use a resource book to assist them in finding the answer. They have 2 minutes and players are allowed to exempt themselves from two response if they are uncertain of the correct answers and thus prevent losing points. The theme round is divided into two portions: A "lightning round," in which no references are permitted and point values are fixed, with questions worth two, four, and six points, and a "reference round." As In current events, games players may wager two, four or six points and are given two minutes to answer a question (generally more difficult than those in the lightning round) with help from prepared sources and may "abstain" themselves for up to two questions. Correct answers gain points, while incorrect answers lose points. Correct and verified page numbers from resources can gain 4 bonus points. Past themes have included the American Civil War, the 1970s, the history of NASA, the Mesoamerican civilizations (Aztecs, Incas, Mayas) and World War I.
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