BUFFALO TWP — Garrie Davies, the Freeport High School varsity boys basketball coach, knows what it takes to motivate youths.

So when Davies was thinking about prepping his English students to take the SATs in the 1990s, he decided an innovative approach was needed.

Davies opted for having high school juniors adapt board games, using SAT information on the English portion of the standardized test for questions.

He said the process requires interaction among the students, who form small groups that create new games.

"There's intermixing socially of all ilk," Davies said.

The groups are formed randomly and much of the work in developing the games is done out of school, requiring the students to spend time at each others' homes.

The students come up with their own sets of rules and make presentations to the class.

Davies said each new class of students never fails to come up with new twists to games such as Scrabble, Sorry and Monopoly.

There's even a variation of Twister called SATwister.

"They enjoy coming up with new ideas," Davies said about the students.

And those ideas aren't restricted to existing games.

Student Hayley Mowatt, 16, of Freeport was part of a group that created an SAT game using the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium as a setting.

Called SAT Aquarium, the game uses pictures of animals with players trying to navigate through the zoo.

Hayley prefers Davies' approach to taking the traditional route of classroom lecture.

Karlee Kocon, 17, of South Buffalo Township agrees.

"It's a lot better than studying out of a book," she said.

Hayley said students are better prepared for college by developing these games because most of the work is done outside of school.

Among the new versions of old favorites are Kerflunk, based on Kerplunk, a game in which wrong answers lead to more plastic pieces being removed and more marbles dropping into a tray.

Don't Break the Flake is a takeoff of Don't Break the Ice, a game in which the player tries not to be the one to let the game piece fall in the water.

Hope Thompson, 16, of Freeport explains the Flake represents a school dropout.

"If you drop out of high school, you're a flake," she said.

However, some of the makeshift games are not appealing to every student.

Dan Brickeen, 17, of Buffalo Township wasn't too pleased his group was playing a variation of Pretty Pretty Princess, a dress-up board game.

"I didn't want to play this," he said, grimacing.

Kamri Brestensky, 17, of Freeport said the nature of games provides more motivation to learn the subject matter.

"It's competitive," she said. "You want to beat your classmates."

Davies' more recent students have kept up with technology, developing computer games along with the ones played on a board

Davies, 63, who has been a high school teacher for 41 years, has worked in the Freeport School District for 30 of those years.

The Buffalo Township resident has been using the board game method for 15 years.

Although Davies' technique is a hit with students, it hasn't supplanted traditional SAT preparation classes offered after school.

Davies stressed the importance of students doing well on the SATs, which colleges consider in accepting applicants.

"It's a gateway to higher education," he said.

Games spawned by previous classes adorn the ledge in Davies' classroom.Just walking into Davies' classroom, one sees evidence of his take on teaching.Instead of rows of seats facing one way, they are formed in a U-shape.Davies said the configuration of chairs ensures eye contact."It's very interactive," he said.Davies' students don't just favor the board game approach to learning, they're just as enamored with their instructor."I think he's interesting," said Cheyenne Conrad, 17, of Buffalo Township. "It was just fun deviating from the norm."Joey Sadecky, 17, of Buffalo Township agrees."I like Mr. Davies," Joey said. "He's one of my favorites."Joey doesn't recommend Davies' class for everyone, though."It challenges you," he said. "You have to be willing to work."Kevin Keppel, 16, of Buffalo Township said Davies' class isn't dull."I'd say he's the most enthusiastic person I know," Kevin said. "He's always ready to go. There's never a dull moment in his class."Tyler Holbein, 17, of Buffalo Township also enjoys Davies' teaching methods."Mr. Davies and I do have our differences, but I like this class," Tyler said.