Educational games for families
The Best Educational Board Games in 2023 (that we play ALL the time)
Inside: These are, in our opinion, the 17 best educational board games for kids. We own each game on the list and play them all on a regular basis. Learn basic game rules, the educational focuses of each game, and things to be aware of before purchasing.
If you don’t play educational board games in your homeschool, I only have one question for you.
Why the heck NOT?!
Board games are one of the easiest (and funnest) ways to fit in learning naturally. You get to connect with your kids, learn, have fun. What’s not to love?!
(Unless of course you hate board games, in which case pick the quick game options on the list. Maybe you’ll learn to love them?)
Why learn something the boring way when you can learn it the fun way?
We play games 2-3 times a week in our homeschool. I consider them an essential part of our homeschool week because there is just so much learning jam packed into each and every game, no matter which one you choose.
Related: 30+ Best Science Board Games for Kids
Building an Educational Board Game Collection Takes Time (& yes, $$$)
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Certain board games can be expensive, I know.
Forty or fifty bucks for a game you aren’t even sure you’re going to like and play regularly? It can feel like a big risk depending on your budget.
But for our family, investing in board games is a priority. We spend FAR more on educational board games, experiences (like museums) and interest-led learning than we do on curriculum.
To save money on building a board game collection, look at thrift stores – they’re a gold mine – and eBay is another great source.
Card and dice games (yep, I cheated and called them all board games, you caught me) are often cheaper, less than $20 new.
Use the Honey extension on your browser to see how low the price goes on Amazon and wait for that price (or add to your cart and get price updates when it goes lower).
Add games to your Christmas wish list.
See if you can “try out” games via awesome homeschool friends before you buy them.
Ultimately, it’s a risk, which is why I hope to mitigate some of that risk by telling you what OUR favorite educational board games are (we own upwards of 40 games).
We own and love every single educational board game on this list, and the majority of them are under $20!
Not every game on this list will probably end up being your favorite, but again, start with the cheaper ones to work your way up to those bigger game purchases.
(P.S. In case you’re wondering why Money Bags is pictured when it’s not listed here, it got cut at the last minute because we don’t play it now that the kids are older. But it was a favorite when my kids were small!)
Related: 20+ Best Math Board Games for Kids
Best Educational Board Games for Kids
Many of these board games do require reading skills, but there are a few that can be played without knowing how to read.
Those particular games are noted in the description.
For reference, we play these regularly with an 11, 9, and 7-year-old.
You Might Also Like: 20+ Best Games for Family Game Night (According to Parents)
1. Ticket to Ride
This is by far one of our favorite educational board games!
We own both the original version and the Europe version. Both are fun, but the Europe version is a bit more complicated. Definitely start with the original!
Ticket to Ride is a great way to practice/learn reading skills, addition, strategy, and central North American geography (most of the cities are in the United States, with a few in southern Canada).
At the beginning of the game, each player chooses three route cards to start. Each route card lists two specific cities you need to connect with your tracks, and each route is worth different amounts depending on how far apart the cities are.
You can choose to keep all three routes, but you must keep at least two. If you complete your routes, you can use a turn to pick up more routes later in the game.
The game continues with each player choosing only one of three actions each turn:
- Build a track (must have the required number of cards)
- Pick up new train cards
- Pick up new route cards
Game play takes around 60 minutes, and you can play with 2-5 players. The player with the most points at the end of the game (complete routes + points from tracks + longest route) wins.
Purchase Ticket to Ride on Amazon HERE.
2. Chess
If you don’t have a Chess set in your educational board game collection, get a copy right now!
There’s nothing like this classic game to teach logic and strategy, thinking ahead through multiple different play options in your head, and consistently dealing with new, unanticipated problems.
If you’re unfamiliar with Chess, each piece is allowed different moves, whether it be the Bishop, which can only be moved diagonally, or the Queen who is free to move in any single direction.
The ultimate goal is to “trap” your opponent’s King in checkmate, blocking off any means of escape.
If your child develops a strong interest in chess, you can always purchase a strategy book like THIS one that teaches various play combinations used by professional chess players.
Children as young as 4-years-old can learn to play Chess.
This two-player game can take anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours to play, depending on the skill level of the players.
Purchase Chess on Amazon HERE.
3. Scrambled States
All of the board games on this list are favorites, but we play Scrambled States frequently because it’s quick and easy to play. If you have toddlers in your homeschool, having a stash of quick and easy games in your collection is a MUST.
Learn and practice United States geography (each player gets their own United States map). Brush up on state capitols and state nicknames.
The game also builds in language arts with references to vowels, consonants and syllables on the play cards.
Each player is dealt five state cards at the start of the game, with a stack of “play cards” sitting in the center of the table. As each card is flipped, you check to see if you have any state cards in your hand that match what is stated on the card.
For example, the card might say “Has 3 Vowels in the State Capitol.” If you have a state whose capitol has three vowels, you get to put that state in your “win” pile. If you have multiple cards that match the play card description, you can only choose one to put in your “win” pile.
When the play card pile is used up, the game ends, and the player with the most states in their “win” pile wins!
Purchase Scrambled States on Amazon HERE.
4. Mystic Market
I’m pretty sure I love this game more than my kids, but that’s o.k.
Mystic Market develops reading skills (as almost all games do), learning very low level economics as the potion ingredients constantly shift in value, and balance different strategies for earning the most money by the time the ingredient deck runs out.
Players start the game with a handful of potion ingredient cards. Potion vials sit on a sloped rack, and their position indicates how much they are currently worth.
Each potion ingredient requires a certain number of the same cards in order to sell. Determining when to sell is key as the values are constantly shifting based on supply shift cards and when someone else sells a potion ingredient.
When an ingredient is sold, that ingredient’s value automatically shifts to the lowest spot on the rack (therefore increasing the value of every other ingredient).
On each turn, players can craft as many potions as they want and do only one of the following:
- Buy 1 or 2 ingredient cards from the “market” (ingredient cards are shown face up) or the deck
- Swap 1 or 2 ingredient cards from the market only
- Sell ingredient cards
When the ingredient deck runs out, each player gets one last turn, and whoever has the most money wins.
You can find Mystic Market on Amazon HERE.
5. Settlers of Catan
Primarily a strategy/logic board game with a dose of math via dice roll probability, Settlers of Catan is designed for ages 10 and up, but my 7-year-old plays with us and wins half the time, sooo…
The original version allows for up to four players, but the expansion pack that we have increases the number of players to six. This game takes about two hours to play.
Catan is a world filled with hexagonal tiles, which represent five individual resources: grain, wood, brick, ore, and sheep. These resources – in various combinations allow you to build things and buy development cards.
Each resource has a number tile in the center; those tiles are marked with dots indicating higher probability numbers (e.g. 6 & 8 have three dots because besides a 7, they are most likely numbers to be rolled). When the dice is rolled, any players with settlements or cities on the corresponding resource gets to collect that particular resource.
If you happen to choose resources whose numbers are rarely rolled, you have a difficult time progressing in the game because you will have no resources to work with.
The aim of this board game is to reach ten points first.
You gain points through any combination of settlements, cities, roads and development cards. Longest road and biggest army offer additional bonus points.
You can find Settlers of Cataan on Amazon HERE.
6. Ecosystem
Update: This game seems to be (hopefully temporarily) unavailable at the moment. Ecologies was created by a science teacher and is a similar card game with the same themes. And it’s even better for learning about ecosystems!
This game was gifted to us by Board Game Geek, and it quickly became a family favorite.
It lightly touches on ecosystem basics, math skills for scoring at the end, and like most games requires developing a unique strategy in order to win.
Ecosystem is quick and easy to play once you learn the rules.
We usually finish games in around twenty minutes.
The game’s creator states the target ages as 14 and up, but we easily play with kids as young as 7.
You don’t necessarily need to be able to read to play, as someone else can score your hand for you. You do need a verbal explanation and solid understanding of the scoring rules behind each card.
The goal of the game is to build an Ecosystem in an ecosystem, which consists of a 4×5 grid of cards.
Players play from their hand, and then pass their hands to the left for the first ten rounds of play. They then receive a new set of ten cards and pass their hands to the right.
Scoring is based on how diverse your ecosystem is, and where you chose to place your cards (next to certain ones, farther away from others, etc.). The player with the most points wins.
Purchase Ecosystem on Amazon HERE.
7. Sequence: States & Capitols
Another geography board game, Sequence States & Capitols is the only version of Sequence we have.
I figured, if there’s an educational version, why not buy that one?
The game rules are the same as regular sequence, but the board is populated with states, and the cards in your hand are the matching capitols. The cards have the state picture, so you could play even with children who can’t read yet.
The point of the game is to get 1 (or 2) “five in a row’s”. 2-12 players can play. If you choose more than two players, you need an even number of players in order to play on equal teams.
Unfortunately, Sequence States & Capitols seems to be out of stock at a lot of major retailers. You can check this Walmart listing to see if it comes back into stock, see if it’s available on eBay, OR there are a few sellers on Amazon HERE.
I hope this comes back into production soon because it’s a great educational board game!
8. Boggle
Another older classic game, Boggle is a great way to work on spelling, vocabulary and word familiarity. At the end of each round, I make sure to point out each of my words to younger players who I know are working on spelling.
A timer is included, or you can use your own timer.
Boggle is set up as a 4×4 grid of letter cubes. Each letter cube has 6 different letters total, one on each side. A lid is included so the letter cubes can be shaken and reconfigured each round of play.
The goal of the game is to find as many words as possible, in any arrangement possible (straight, diagonal, etc.) in the time allotted. The letters do need to touch in order – corner to corner or side to side – for the word to count.
I know there are formal rules for this game. The words you find are scored according to length, with longer words earning more points. Players cross off words that other players also found, scoring only their unique finds.
However, I’ve found that this game is much better played informally.
If you need another non-competitive, board probably won’t be flipped, kind of game to add to your game rotation, this one can fit the bill with some modifications.
We still cross off words found by other players. We simply tally the number of words found each round and declare a “winner” per round.
If older players set the tone as a fun and non-competitive game, younger players will feel comfortable participating, even if they only find 2-3 words each round.
Purchase Boggle on Amazon HERE.
9. Election Night
This one was an obvious purchase last year with the 2020 election happening. We really enjoyed this game…but with a caveat that I’ll get to.
Election Night helps kids (and adults) understand the complicated American Electoral College system, learn U.S. Geography and practice math facts – addition and multiplication – at the same time.
The dry-erase gameboard contains a United States map with all 50 states. Along the sides are groups of states assigned to a number.
Each state has a shape, and depending on how many electoral votes that state contains, the shape is divided into wedges.
The more electoral votes, the more “wedges” in that state’s shape, so it is more difficult to win states with more electoral votes.
Players divide into two teams, one side is the Republicans, and the other is Democrat.
For the addition side of the same, on each turn, four 12-sided dice are rolled simultaneously. Players make two different combinations with the dice (e.g. 8+9 & 7+5; OR 8+7 & 9+5), and then choose which combination they want to go with.
The combination they choose determines which group of states they can choose a state from to “put a stake in”.
If the state has only a single circle, they take the state and win all of that states electoral votes. If the state has multiple wedges, they can color in one wedge (a.k.a. put a stake in). Once they has the majority of wedges in a state, they win that state’s electoral votes.
The goal of the game is naturally to get 270 electoral votes or more, first.
You can play the addition side or the multiplication side (uses 2 different 12-sided dice).
Unfortunately the multiplication side was too complicated for us to enjoy playing the game. I really wanted it to work because theoretically, it would have been a great way to practice multiplication tables, but the system was too complex for my kids (ages 7-11).
The game’s suggested ages are 8 and up, and game play takes around 60 minutes.
Purchase Election Night on Amazon HERE.
10. Check the Fridge
This fast-paced card math game help solidify addition facts, specifically combinations of 3 numbers that adds up to 25.
Each player is dealt five cards to start. These cards are one of six card types:
- eggplant
- cauliflower
- carrots
- peas
- radishes
- stinky cheese
Every card except the stinky cheese (which counts against your final score if you get stuck with it) also has a number, and every vegetable type has a predictable set of three numbers.
So for example, eggplant cards can only have three numbers: 6, 14, and 5.
Together, they are a “set” and equal 25.
Stinky cheese cards count against you, and you want to get rid of them if you can. And you especially don’t want other people to know that you have a stinky cheese card.
The player with the highest score wins.
Purchase Check the Fridge on Amazon HERE.
11. Oregon Trail
I won’t lie to you: this one caused some tears the other day. We still love it…but yes, tears.
In short, the age recommendation (13 and up) means what it says. We choose to play with younger players, but it’s a complex and mentally challenging game.
And historically speaking, not everyone made it to Willamette Valley…so if you have a sensitive kiddo in your homeschool – one who agonizes over everybody in the wagon needing to make it (and not die) – this is not the game for you.
If I had to choose one educational focus for this board game besides U.S. history, it would be decision-making.
Players will be repeatedly forced to choose from two not so amazing outcomes (e.g. lose health points on a winter store tile with no winter clothes or risk not getting a gun and starve).
All players start out at Independence with a driver and four wagon members each at “5” health. Each player also starts with two trail tiles and $200.
Each turn, players do the following:
- choose a Calamity card (can good things or have bad things happen)
- play trail tiles
- take 3 actions, and try to resolve your calamity
- feed your family (if you can’t, they lose one health point each)
As you follow the trail, you face river crossings, needing to buy supplies, hunting itself and picking up hitchhikers. When family members die, you “bury them” on the side of the trail, and the closer you are to Willamette Valley when they die, the less you have to deduct for their loss at the end of the game.
The goal of the game is, of course, to make it Willamette Valley with the most money leftover.
The more people you keep alive and the more supplies you have at the end of the game, the more likely you are to win.
(We will likely try the card game in the future to see if it’s a bit less complex. I will be sure to update the post when we do!)
Purchase Oregon Trail on Amazon HERE.
12. Pay Day
Oh Pay Day, teaching the realities of good old life, where the mail mostly contains bills (sad, but true), and you need to fork over a ton of money for groceries.
Sounds pretty realistic to me.
The board is a calendar, and most days, something happens when you land on it – you get bills in the mail, surprise birthday money, an investment opportunity, or the lottery to play (or not to play), etc.
Like Monopoly (decidedly NOT one of our favorite games), players start out with a set amount of money at the beginning of the month.
The beauty of this game is that you get to decide in advance how many months to play. You can play as many months as you want really, from one up.
(We usually choose to play two months.)
Everyone plays to the end of the month, when bills get paid (and hopefully loans paid back). Then everyone starts the next month together.
The player with the most money at the end of the game wins.
Purchase Pay Day on Amazon HERE.
13. Clue
The classic game of logic and deduction, Clue is a must-have for any family – homeschool or not.
Players learn how to deduce which cards are in the secret envelope through a process of elimination, and paying close attention to the questions their opponents are asking along the way.
Before the game begins, the cards are separated into three piles:
- rooms
- players
- weapons
With each pile facing down, someone selects a card from each pile and places the three cards in the secret envelope. The remaining cards are dealt evenly to the players. Each player has a paper to mark off the various elements – people, weapons and rooms – that they know are NOT in the envelope.
Players roll the dice and make their way to various rooms, where they make an accusation: “Miss Scarlett, with the wrench, in the Ballroom.”
The player to their left offers the accuser proof that this accusation is false by revealing one of the cards stated in the accusation.
When a player thinks he/she knows which three cards, he states the three cards he believes to be in the secret envelope and checks to see if he is correct.
If the player is wrong, he is out of the game, and the remaining players continue game play. If he is right, he wins.
The version we have speeds up game play using Clue cards and a special die.
Purchase the classic version of Clue on Amazon HERE.
14. Catch Phrase
This is another game we choose not play traditionally. In fact, we often just use the disc-changer and play informally, not counting the score.
Catch Phrase is a great game for building vocabulary, developing fast word recall and verbal skills and learning common cultural knowledge and idioms.
In our informal version, we usually play as one team. We all take turns giving the clues while the rest of us guess. The continues until the clue-giver gets tired…or someone else begs for a turn.
If you’re playing classic rules, players divide into two teams, and one team plays at a time.
Each team rotates between one player who gives clues about the word on the card (our ancient card version is a thing of the past now, apparently – it’s all electronic), and the rest of the team guesses the word. There’s usually a one minute (two minutes?) timer and a board or paper to keep score.
The team with the most points wins.
Purchase the updated version of Catch Phrase on Amazon HERE.
15. Yahtzee
Another classic dice game, we love Yahtzee for working on math skills. There is also some calculated strategy and decision-making involved when choosing whether or not to try for a certain dice combination.
Each player gets a scoring sheet with blank spots for each dice combination, including (but not limited to) poker-related hands like a full house, large straight and small straight.
A Yahtzee is five of a kind.
On each turn, players roll five dice simultaneously. They can choose to keep all five dice as is or reroll anywhere from one to all five dice again.
After three rolls, the player needs to decide which spot to “fit” the dice into.
For example, if there are three two’s, a player could use the “2’s” spot OR the “three of a kind” spot. If there are no available spots left where the roll can fit, the player is forced to choose where to put a “0”.
Play continues until all players have filled every blank. Players score according to the card directions, and the player with the highest score wins.
Purchase Yahtzee on Amazon HERE.
16. Quixx
A new addition to our educational board game collection, Quixx quickly became a family favorite.
The game includes Quixx scoring sheets (each player gets one per game) and six dice (2 white, 1 red, 1 blue, 1 green, 1 yellow).
The main skill required in this game is strategy, deciding which number(s) to cross off on your scoring sheet, and in which color, to give you the best chance of getting the most “X’s”.
You need to chose carefully because once you cross off a number, you can no longer cross off numbers to the left of your furthest right “X” in that color row. That also means you can no longer earn points from those numbers.
The game ends when any one player marks off their third “penalty” box. Players cross off a penalty box when they have no legitimate play based on the dice rolled.
Each player’s score sheet tells you how to score, making it easy for players to score their own sheet. The more X’s you get, the more your score exponentially increases. Each penalty box counts negatively towards the overall score.
The player with the highest score wins.
Purchase Quixx on Amazon HERE.
17. Pandemic
We bought this game to pass the time during lockdown in March 2020. It seemed like a fitting educational board game purchase for last year.
This game focuses on world geography, science and cooperation.
A cooperative game, Pandemic requires players to work together to eradicate four different viruses before the epidemic beats you.
Each player is assigned a role, with each role having special abilities that when used properly, make beating the virus easier. While a player can do what he wants during a turn, the game works better when everyone discusses the best options per turn, keeping in mind the special role abilities of that turn’s player.
Each turn, players choose new city cards. They are allotted four moves, in which they can move to a city, remove a virus cube, build a research center, exchange cards or cure a disease.
At the end of each turn, city cards are chosen from a deck, and virus cubes are added to those cities based on the current infection rate. Players collect colored city cards in hopes of curing one of the four diseases, while simultaneously stopping the spread with various strategies.
If an epidemic card is drawn from the deck (instead of a city card), the spread of the virus speeds up, along with the infection rate. You’re in a race against the deck.
The game can be modified for difficulty by choosing how many epidemic cards go into the city deck at the start of the game.
If you “cure” a disease, those virus cubes can no longer be added to the game. Cure all four before the pandemic reaches a “7”, and you win.
Purchase Pandemic on Amazon HERE.
18. Wingspan
We purchased Wingspan for Christmas last year, and it’s become my personal favorite!
It is a fairly intricate game with layers of strategy to it. My 8-year-old can play it with support, but keep the age limits (14+) in mind.
Let’s start with the absolutely beautiful bird cards. There are 170 unique cards, which include where the bird lives and a fun fact about each bird.
You can also download the Wingsong app and play each unique bird call (our favorite part).
Players build up their bird sanctuary by carefully playing cards in each type of habitat. Each habitat corresponds to a unique action:
- Getting Food
- Laying Eggs
- Getting Cards
You need birds in each type of habitat to progress in the game.
The more birds you have in each habitat, the more effective each turn will be (e.g. if you have 4 bird cards in the forest, your “get food” turn will yield more food than if you only have one).
There are so many different features to the game that earn you more points, but you’ll just have to see for yourself! If you love board games, I don’t know how you won’t love this one.
Purchase Wingspan on Amazon HERE.
What Makes a Board Game “Educational” Anyway?
I hoped you’d ask. And the answer is…
Not much.
There, I said it: all games have educational value.
I mean, if you want to look at these games primarily through the lens of “school”, these particular ones are “educational” because they develop and practice skills that schools highly value.
Math. Spelling. Logic. Reading.
But most games do this (including the evil video games).
What about other just as valuable skills? Like compassion and empathy and reading people.
For example, in Check the Fridge? Players practice reading people’s faces, trying to find out who’s hiding the Stinky Cheese.
But it’s rarely the skill people talk about when they praise Check the Fridge – they talk about the MATH. Duh.
Because somehow math is more valuable than learning to read people?
If we are literally ALWAYS learning, then it’s time to stop separating out educational activities from non-educational activities.
We need to stop putting skills on a scale of most valuable to least valuable, and see ALL learning as valuable. We need to stop segmenting educational activities from non-educational activities in our minds.
Really, truly ALL games are educational. Just like all movies are educational, and all activities are educational.
Life is learning.
So enjoy ANY old board game in your homeschool – your kids are learning from it. Trust me.
Do you have favorite educational board games that aren’t listed here? Tell us in the comments!
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10 Awesome Family Games for Fun and (Secret) Learning
As the cold weather brings families indoors, now is the perfect time to dust off those board games and have a family game night.
But just because it’s play time doesn’t mean you can’t sneak in some learning, too. These 10 games are perfect for making game night fun and secretly educational!
1. Exploding Kittens
Type: card game
Number of players: 2–5 players
Recommended ages: 7 and older
Playing time: 15 minutes
Skills to learn: strategy
A favorite among families, Exploding Kittens is a game where players draw cards from a deck while attempting to avoid the dreaded exploding kitten cards. Players can play cards in their hand to diffuse the exploding kittens or invoke actions on other players.
Exploding Kittens is a terrific way to teach strategic planning. Seattle mom, Annette de Soto, and her daughter, Arya, both love Exploding Kittens’ “strange card drawings" and they also “relish its weirdness.”
2. Sushi Go!
Type: card game
Number of players: 2–5 players
Recommended ages: 8 and older
Playing time: 15 minutes
Skills to learn: math and strategy
Sushi Go! is a pick-and-pass card game where players build combinations of sushi to score points.
Players must choose cards in their hand to play, then pass their hand to the next player.
Megan Kamakura, a mom of two from Buckley, Wash., loves using Sushi Go! as a math learning tool. “It’s a game that requires some strategy while also helping our kids with their speed math skills,” she says.
3. Stack The Scoops
Type: card game
Number of players: 2–6 players
Recommended ages: 5–10
Playing time: 15–45 minutes
Skills to learn: addition and multiplication
Another game that reinforces math skills is Stack The Scoops, an ice-cream-themed game where players create sets of ice cream to earn points. Sets consist of a base, a scoop and a topping card. Players can double or triple their points with double or triple scoop cards. Stack The Scoops was created by local game publisher, ViBuGo, which, in full disclosure, is co-owned by this author.
4. Space Team
Type: card game
Number of players: 3–6 players
Recommended ages: 10 and older
Playing time: 5 minutes
Skills to learn: communication
Fans of raucous games will enjoy Space Team, a cooperative game where players must work together to build a spaceship while solving problems using tool cards distributed among the players.
Space Team is a fantastic game for developing communication skills as players must talk to each other — shouting phrases like “I need a Depthgrater!” or “where’s the Holospindle!” — to gather the tools they need.
5. Finders Seekers
Type: activity pack
Number of players: 1–8 players
Recommended ages: 10 and older
Playing time: at least 30 minutes
Skills to learn: problem-solving
Another exciting problem-solving game is Finders Seekers, a mystery game that families can do at home. In Finders Seekers, players collaborate to solve a mystery set in another country.
Becca Campbell, a mom from Lacey, Wash., loves how Finders Seekers encourages out-of-the-box thinking. “Our kid’s brain is differently wired,” she explains, “and it’s fun to see how he solves the puzzles.”
6. Azul
Type: board game
Number of players: 2–4 players
Recommended ages: 8 and older
Playing time: 30–45 minutes
Skills to learn: spatial awareness and patterns
Creative-minded families will love Azul, where players must arrange wall tiles for the Royal Palace of Evora in Portugal.
The tile designs are inspired by the Moorish architecture of southern Spain. Players earn points by creating various tile arrangements, and the player with the most points wins. Azul is perfect for reinforcing skills in spatial awareness and pattern recognition.
7. Cascadia
Type: board game
Number of players: 1–4 players
Recommended ages: 10 and older
Playing time: 30–45 minutes
Skills to learn: Pacific Northwest nature knowledge
A new game set in the Pacific Northwest is Cascadia, created by local game designers Flatout Games. In Cascadia, players create habitats for wildlife found within the region. Players earn points based on the spatial arrangement of wildlife, as well as combinations of habitats.
This game is a wonderful way to introduce kids to the Pacific Northwest. Additionally, it inspires families to explore the natural diversity of the region.
8.
EvolutionType: board game
Number of players: 2–6 players
Recommended ages: 12 and older
Playing time: at least 60 minutes
Skills to learn: evolutionary concepts
A fun game for science lovers is Evolution, where players create animals using traits that will help them survive. Players can choose traits for their animal, such as a protective shell, the ability to jump, speed or scavenging behavior.
Evolution is an excellent way to help children understand evolutionary concepts. This game encourages them to see how animals naturally evolve based on surrounding predators and prey.
9. Mariposas
Type: board game
Number of players: 2–5 players
Recommended ages: 14 and older
Playing time: 45–75 minutes
Skills to learn: monarch butterfly migrations
Another creature-themed game is Mariposas, by the designer of Wingspan.
In Mariposas, players migrate butterflies from Michoacan, Mexico, to Canada and back within four seasons. Players earn points by visiting checkpoints or hatching new butterfly generations.
Mariposas beautifully introduces kids to monarch butterflies and helps them learn about migration patterns.
10. Ravine
Type: card game
Number of players: 3–6 players
Recommended ages: 10 and older
Playing time: 20 minutes
Skills to learn: cooperation and negotiation
Cooperation is a useful skill for kids to learn, and Ravine is perfect for teaching it. In Ravine, players are survivors of a plane crash and must work together to forage for food, build a fire and establish shelter.
“Our kids really enjoy negotiating and bartering with each other to see what moves they should make,” says Seattle dad Karol Szygorski. For his kids, playing Ravine helps instill important teamwork and decision-making skills.
For your next family game night do more than just play with your kids. Learn with them, too!
Board games for the whole family
Memonomics
We continue to hype
Hit
The Wizard of Oz
One of the best family games in Europe
1 490 ₽
Evolution nine0003
How a hamster grew into a mammoth and ate a whale
1 390 ₽
Zombies in the house. Infection
Why are the floorboards creaking so loudly?
2 990 ₽
Gardens of Sydney
extraterrestrial beauty nine0003
2 490 ₽
Broken phone
Cinderella was surprised when the carriage turned into.
..
1 790 ₽
Hit
Chiefs Day
Children's party at home
1 490 ₽ nine0003
Insidious Fox
Detective on cards
1 190 ₽
Streets
Roll sausage
2 490 ₽
Everdell
Magical animals are getting ready for winter
5 990 ₽
Big Adventure
On the path from the unpredictable.
..
1 890 ₽
Rot your line
We went to the bottom, we lit the fires
1 490 ₽ nine0003
New
Walking with dogs
This is education!
3 990 ₽
Who stole the turnip?
Look for who benefits
eggplant
Both that, and another - it is possible without bread nine0003
Spoiler
What Freken Bock does in retirement
1 490 ₽
witch circle
Wunshpunsh
2 990 ₽
Carcassonne.
big box
Our forests and fields are spread out
5 990 ₽
Taco, cat, goat, cheese, pizza
Well what can I say
Tick Tock Boom
Hand over the armed bomb!
2 490 ₽
nine0002 wild spaceThrough thorns
1 490 ₽
Takeoff allowed
Airplane ticket with a silver wing
2 990 ₽
Crocodile AnythingDifferent
Compact Crocodile
Equivoki.
For the whole family
Even easier and more fun to explain words
2 490 ₽
Forest secrets
Ancient Gifts
1 990 ₽
7 by 9
Quick
roof-breakerHit
Red 7
Oh, here the rules change along the way!
Dino Island
The volcano seems to be awakening
1 290 ₽
Hit
Loonacy nine0003
Play the card first
Option
Imaginarium Prime Time
Memes, series and life
Sleeping queens
Get up, Your Majesty!
Gift Evolution
Fascinating genetic engineering
289$0
Game set "Ticket to Ride: Europe + addition.
..
Galloping through Europe
5 763 ₽
6 780 ₽
The most interesting educational games worth playing with the whole family
A long weekend in the country is the best time to snatch a child from the embrace of gadgets and computers and play something with the whole family. Gazeta.Ru has chosen 5 board games that will not only keep adults from getting bored, but will also teach their children good things. nine0003
"Evolution"
What is it. The best way to explain Darwin's theory to children is if you agree with it, of course. "Evolution" was invented by Dmitry Knorre, a graduate of the Faculty of Biology of Moscow State University, a researcher at the Research Institute of Physical and Chemical Biology and an enthusiastic popularizer of sciences.
The rules are very easy to understand, but at the same time they have tremendous strategic depth.
At the start of the game, each player is given several "creature" cards. If you put them upside down, then they will be the simplest creatures without skills and abilities. But on the back of each card, a certain property is depicted - for example, the ability to fly, accumulate fat reserves (oh, this joke of nature!), Vulture, hide from predators, or attack other animals. nine0003
As a result, before the first round of the game, each participant already has a small army, which can consist of either a flock of simple creatures or one or two advanced creatures.
Next comes the feeding phase: a certain amount of food appears randomly on the board. If there is a lot of it, then all creatures will feed, give offspring and receive new cards. If there are not enough resources or one of the players decides to fight, then natural selection will begin.
Predators will attack herbivores, vultures will take food from slow animals, and starvation awaits the most vulnerable segments of the population.
The game lasts several cycles, and lasts, depending on the number of participants and their meticulousness, 20–40 minutes. nine0003
The winner is the one who was able to grow the most numerous and developed biological species.
Why the whole family will love it. The competence of "Evolution" as a teaching aid has been confirmed at the international level: in particular, the game was included in the introductory biology course of the American Minot University.
"Evolution" is fun to draw and clearly written so kids can quickly understand terms like "mimicry", "symbiosis" and other "reproductions". nine0003
In addition, it develops mindfulness and teaches you to quickly respond to the challenges of the environment.
For example, an opponent added the "predator" property to one of his creatures. How to avoid an attack? You can hide your main creature under water or in a hole.
But what if the predator itself becomes waterfowl in the next turn? Passions at the table boil no worse than poker ones.
But without money. At the same time, "Evolution" teaches you how to manage any, but a portfolio of assets.
The number of cards is always limited, so you need to form a tribe wisely. You can bet on one super creature - but it will be difficult to feed it. The second option is to rely on a bunch of simple creatures that, if they suddenly survive, will give a huge offspring. nine0003
As a result, players, without knowing it, are engaged in what serious uncles call "risk management".
Hollywood
What is it. Movie studio simulator. Each player starts his journey to the billions with seven aces up his sleeve - cards with movie scripts, a couple of unknown actors, specialists like a sound engineer and cameraman.
It's too early to rejoice at a successful hand (or grieve over a bad one): at the beginning of the game, all participants take turns giving part of the cards to their opponents, and those to them. As a result, everyone gets approximately equal decks, from which it is already possible to build some kind of movie.
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Minimum requirements to make a film (or several films): script card, director and actor or actress. In order for the movie to earn more money, you need to try to lure as many stars and specialists in various fields as possible into the team - make-up artists, special effects masters, and so on.
Famous actors and directors are capricious, so you have to fight for them at closed auctions: celebrities go to those who offer a larger fee.
In addition, the stars are capricious: Tom Cruise, for example, will not star in a horror movie, and James Cameron for some reason does not like comedies (have the authors of the game not seen "True Lies"?). nine0003
But if they can still be lured to the set, they will bring considerable bonuses to the box office and increase the chances of an Oscar.
Why the whole family will love it. First, Hollywood is a good way to introduce kids to decent movies: the cards feature people like Robert De Niro and Jack Nicholson, who are much nicer to watch than The Avengers and Transformers.
Secondly, the game gives rise to the illusion of a grandiose and responsible business. Each participant manages a complex project involving a bunch of specialists. nine0003
In order for a film to be made in an elementary way, many nuances must be taken into account. The scriptwriter, director and actors must be able to work in the same genre. Enemy agents must be kept away from the stars. And the cost of fees should not be higher than the profit from the project, which is calculated according to a rather complicated scheme.
Alas, the game lasts only three rounds (15-30 minutes each), so it's impossible to build a long-term strategy. But if the participants agree to play longer, then everyone will eventually have their own market niche. nine0003
Someone will bet on auteur films that collect little money but win gold statuettes. Someone will try to release a super blockbuster a year. And someone will start stamping cheap comedies according to the Russian model. If a sufficiently liberated company gathers at the table, then you can dream together about the plot of each of the films.
Dreaming is not bad.
Dobble
What is it. Compact and durable Dobble tin contains 55 round cards. On each - eight unrelated pictures of various sizes. Dinosaurs, needles, apples, dragons, pencils, ghosts, chess pieces. nine0003
The mockery of the player here lies in the fact that any two cards have only one common picture, and it is not easy to find it even in a calm environment.
And when five more people fidget nearby, who keep shouting “Dinosaur!” and pull the card out from under your nose, it becomes quite difficult to concentrate.
Dobble has at least five scenarios. In one, the winner is the one who took the most cards from the table. In the other, the one who quickly threw off all the cards from his hand. In other scenarios, you need to interact with neighbors - that is, control the entire field at once! nine0003
Why the whole family will love it. "Dobble" does not need any cubes, no pens with pieces of paper, no extra space: you can play enough of it in the back seat of the car, and in the train, and on the grass.
In this case, the party will take no more than five minutes. And the benefits of Dobble are so many that the authors should apply for some kind of grant from their Ministry of Education.
Firstly, the game teaches to concentrate and quickly organize information. Secondly, without composure and the ability to control oneself, one cannot win in it: it is worth relaxing a little or despairing because of a losing streak - they will eat it, bypass it. nine0003
Thirdly, with the help of "Dobble" you can understand how trusting the child is and whether he is prone to petty cheating in order to win.
It happens that the player shouts "Dinosaur!" and confidently grabs a map on which there was no dinosaur in sight. And it happens that someone, on the contrary, seeks to double-check the moves of opponents, how much in vain. Fourth, in this game you can always pretend to be old and sick and start to give in a little to cheer up the little champions.
"Monopoly 80 years"
What is it.
Everyone knows the "Monopoly", but spectacularly decorated on the occasion of the anniversary. Instead of cheap and nondescript figurines, there are talismans that you immediately want to hang on a bunch of keys. The set includes the famous cannon, a locomotive, a rider and a cast-iron bathtub; The only thing missing is the classic iron.
The new edition of money looks more like bright euros than the same white papers that Russian players usually get.
And real estate upgrades now symbolize cute wooden houses, like in Agricola. On the occasion of the anniversary, each cell of the field is dedicated to a different city - the capitals of the Old World and the growing centers of the global economy of the future. The trend, of course, is South Asia, America and Africa, but Moscow has not been forgotten. Thank you. nine0003
Why the whole family will love it. For 80 years, Monopoly has been one of the first links between children and the world of money; only grandmothers who send their grandchildren to the store for bread are ahead of her.
Parents thus have the opportunity to observe this important acquaintance from the outside. And if you also appoint a child as a treasurer, then his performance in mathematics will certainly grow up. The main thing is to avoid high-profile corruption processes.
Dixit
What is it. "Dixit" is the fruit of a joint fantasy of pediatrician Jean-Louis Rubira and artist Marie Cardo. When designing the game, they came to the same conclusion as Borges and Campbell: there are an infinite number of stories and a limited number of plots in the world. Therefore, the tales of different peoples are so similar, and the Persian flying carpet is quite an appropriate vehicle for the Norwegian trolls.
As a result, Cardo drew a deck of cards, each of which does not have a word, but there is a stunning picture that calls for wandering. And Rubira came up with ingenious rules. nine0003
The leading player must place one of his cards face down on the table and say the words he associates with it.
Or sing, or depict with gestures - you can describe the picture as you like. All other players must choose from their own deck a card as close as possible to this description and place them side by side.
After that, the cards on the table are shuffled, opened, and the participants try to guess which one belongs to the leader. This is done by secret ballot. nine0003
The facilitator's task is to formulate the association rather difficultly so that as few opponents as possible can understand it. But you shouldn’t confuse them too much: if no one understands the presenter, then he will be fined. The task of other players is to throw such a card for which others will mistakenly vote.
The role of the host passes in a circle, and multi-colored hares jump around the playing field. Whoever scores 30 points first wins.
Why the whole family will love it. "Dixit" is the champion among board games in humanism: you will not find such touching, deep and human stories as on his cards anywhere else (with the exception of state museums).
