Music Blocks: Audio-augmented Block Games for Play-Based Cognitive Assessment

Music Blocks are audio and musical games that use sensor-embedded cube blocks designed for play-based cognitive and motor skill assessments. Music Blocks allow the user to customize the sensory feedback, such as audio, visual, tactile, or a combination of any two or more, within the game design. Three Music Games were designed for preliminary evaluation: Direction Blocks, MineSweeper, and Password Blocks. New algorithms to support real-time game administration and data collection for these three games were also developed. For preliminary evaluation of technical function and usability, the games were tested on a small group of 17 participants. As a baseline cognitive assessment, three subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV: Block Design, Digit Span, and Matrix Reasoning) were also administered to all participants. Preliminary results showed that audio and visual stimuli have equal participant digit span performance in the Password Game (50%/50%), and audio portrays information well in tangible games (e.g. MineSweeper No-Visual Completion Rate: 64.7%). Individual Music Blocks games correlated with the WAIS-IV subtests.