Board Games for Learning While They Play
While video games, and apps have their place, nothing quite compares to gathering around the table to play a good old fashioned board game with family and friends. Board games are a great way to laugh and connect with one another, and when you can incorporate learning – even better.
Many of the most popular games developed over the past 50 years require strategic or critical thinking, quick recall, or a good grasp of language, but because they’re so fun, we barely notice the mental challenge at all. We may even overlook games as an easy way to level-up learning at home, but board games can be an excellent way to:
- Teach young children how to take turns or help them develop fine motor skills.
- Fine tune older kids’ skills of problem solving and strategy
- Provide kids of all ages with opportunities to practice good sportsmanship and regulating their emotions.
Here are some fun games focused on learning:
Ages 4+
Battleship - Logic, working memory, and strategy
Ticket to Ride the First Journey - Geography, strategy, counting
Quirkle - Color, pattern and shape recognition, problem solving, math
Sight Words Bingo - Reading and visual tracking
Yeti in my Spaghetti - Problem solving and visual spatial, recommended by speech language pathologists
Monopoly Junior - Addition, subtraction, and budgeting concepts
Ages 8+
Gravity Maze - STEM, abstract thinking, logic
Scrimish - Forethought, self-regulation, rule following
Adsumudi - Division, addition, and subtraction. Three levels to make it compatible with a variety of ages.
Guess in 10 - Strategy
Ages 12+
Trekking Through History - Strategy, history
Catan Histories - Strategy, history
Word on the Street - English and spelling
Ages 14+
Last Word - Quick thinking, English
Escape Room in a Box - Cooperation, problem solving
Trivial Pursuit Family Edition - General knowledge
The Awkward Storyteller -Creative story telling