Knights

Subject: General
Category: Set creation
Ages: 8 and up
# of players: 2 to 6
Time to play: 30 minutes
Mechanics/Game Type: dice roll, card collection

Ratings (1 to 5)

Educational Value: 3
Gaming value: 3
Aesthetic value: 4
Price value: 3 (box could be better)
Ease of play: 3 (easy once you figure it out)
Younger adaptability: 5

My comments: This game is often compared to Yahtzee. Players roll the 6 dice 3 times, like in Yahtzee, and try to collect as many of the same number on each die, but the similarity to Yahtzee ends there. First, 6's get removed when rolled, and second, there's a deck of 56 cards.

The object of the game is to collect a winning combination of cards, or to defeat the king by rolling the dice (there's a card displaying the 3 ways to win on it.) You collect cards, or capture them from you opponent, by rolling the dice. There are 3 types of cards: castles, tournaments, and specials (cards that enhance your options and dice rolls.) You collect or capture castles and specials cards by beating the dice combination shown on each card; opponents can "defend" castles to prevent you from taking them. A tournament card involves all players trying to get the best overall dice combination.

The game is fun, though not always quick depending how the dice are rolling and the cards come up, especially with more people. It is easy enough for younger kids to play with a little urging regarding which cards to try for since the dice rolling is really where the action is.

The specials cards are a bit bland--it's hard to tell front from back by color scheme, and you have to have the instruction booklet by you to look up what the symbol on them mean. Castle and tournament cards are quite colorful. The deck includes some blank cards for you to design your own special; if you have Coloretto (an up-coming review) you may have gotten one or more expansion cards in that deck.

BoardGameGeek.com link to this game: http://boardgamegeek.com/game/1263

Blurt!

Subject: Language Arts
Category: Vocabulary
Ages: 8 and up
# of players: 2 to 4
Time to play: 45 to 60 min
Mechanics/Game Type: word game

Ratings (1 to 5)

Educational Value: 5
Gaming value: 3
Aesthetic value: 3
Price value: 2
Ease of play: 4
Younger adaptability: 5

My comments: Blurt! has a simple design with a 4-color playing board, playing pieces, a die, and a box of cards. One player rolls the die and reads a defunition (as they call it) while the other players try to be the first to blurt out the correct word and move ahead. There are also 1-on-1 challenges that can lead to players switching positions on the board.

The game moves quickly, though the board is long--use two dice instead of one to shorten the playing time. The rules include several variations, including some for younger players. For my 6 year old, I just read him the definition and let him answer without competition from other players.

There's also a Bible Blurt! available at Christian Book Distributors

Blurt! and Bible Blurt! both have card game versions that are less than $10 while the board game will cost anywhere between $25 and $30.

BoardGameGeek.com link to this game: http://boardgamegeek.com/game/1607

Smath

Subject: Math
Category: Arithmetic
Ages: 6 and up
# of players: 2 to 4
Time to play: 60 minutes
Mechanics/Game Type: Tile placement

Ratings (1 to 5)

Educational Value: 5
Gaming value: 3
Aesthetic value: 3
Price value: 3
Ease of play: 5
Younger adaptability: 1 (already adapted)

My comments: This is Scrabble, only you're building equations instead of words. In the game you are allowed unlimited equal signs and parenthesis (great for teaching math order) while randomly choosing from a mix of tiles with numbers from 1 to 12 and +, -, x, or ÷ signs. Remove the multiplication and division tiles for younger players. The board has squares for increasing the values of tiles and equations, just like Scrabble.

While not as colorful or novel as Totally Tut, it seems to play easier to me because you are not necessarily constrained by already having an answer for which you must make the equations. The edition I have, in a somewhat flimsy square box, has a basic board and plastic tiles. I have read about a much more expensive game called Equate based on the same concept. So I think of Smath as Scrabble, and Equate as Scrabble Deluxe.

Unlike Totally Tut, it is limited by having tiles only up to 12, even for answers, and using only the 4 basic arithmetic functions. (If you're really imaginative, you could modify it by letting people place two "2" tiles for 22, for example, and putting in things like squares and square roots.) Still, If you're family is a fan of Scrabble and you like building math equations, then you will get many years of play from this game.

BoardGameGeek.com link to this game: http://boardgamegeek.com/game/9938

Hey, That's My Fish!

Subject: General
Category: n/a
Ages: 8 and up
# of players: 2 to 4
Time to play: 20 minutes
Mechanics/Game Type: Abstract strategy

Ratings (1 to 5)

Educational Value: 3
Gaming value: 4
Aesthetic value: 4
Price value: 4
Ease of play: 5
Younger adaptability: 5

My comments: My kids and I really like this quick strategy game. The game consists of 60 tiles with either 1, 2, or 3 fishes on them that set out to create the board. Each player then has 2 to 4 penguins (depending on the number of players) to place on the board. Each turn consists of moving one penguin in a straight line to another tile of you choice and picking up the tile the penguin started on. The winner is the person with the most number of fishes on his or her collected tiles.

This is a great introduction to abstract strategy games, and abstract strategy leads to better Eurogaming in general. It's quick to set up and play, younger kids can play (my 4 year old loves this), and the tiles/pieces are fun and appealing.

BoardGameGeek.com link to this game: http://boardgamegeek.com/game/8203

Cranium Jam Pack Jam

Subject: Math
Category: Arithmetic/Spacial Relation
Ages: not specified, 3+
# of players: 2 - 4
Time to play: 20 minutes
Mechanics/Game Type: Simulation

Ratings (1 to 5)

Educational Value: 4
Gaming value: 4
Aesthetic value: 3
Price value: 3
Ease of play: 5
Younger adaptability: N/A

My comments: While this should probably not be listed as uncommon, it's made by Cranium so you know you'll see it in all the stores, I just couldn't resist reviewing it. In any event, it's a 2007 game so maybe it is still a bit uncommon.

It's all about getting as much stuff jammed into the trunk of a cool little toy SUV. Cards are dealt and players can choose items from their hand to try and pack into the trunk on their turn. Each round goes by very quickly making this ideal for the young players and the Mommies who are teaching them to play. The game comes with all sorts of odd shaped items to pack such as a guitar, suitcase, rug, aquarium, spare tire and a skate board among other things.

Once a player finishes his turn he tallies up the number of items he was able to fit into the trunk and records it on the score card. I use this as an opportunity for my 5yo to practice writing his numbers and I even let him add up the score after the final round. So while this is not an overtly mathematical game I do still place it in that category for the adding/counting practice as well as the continuous estimating done during the actual packing.

This can easily be converted to a solo game or just a quick 5 minute game by leaving out the score pad.

BoardGameGeek.com link to this game: http://boardgamegeek.com/game/31318

Ark of the Covenant, The

Subject: General
Category: n/a
Ages: 8 and up
# of players: 2 to 5
Time to play: 30 to 45 minutes
Mechanics/Game Type: Tile placement

Ratings (1 to 5)

Educational Value: 4
Gaming value: 5
Aesthetic value: 5
Price value: 5
Ease of play: 3
Younger adaptability: 5

My comments: This is a variation of the award-winning game Carcassonne. Playing the game is simple: pick a tile and place a tile, then maybe place a meeple (mini people). Each tile has part of a castle, road, or landscape on it and the players are creating a city of sorts with the tiles. What makes this game a little challenging is keeping track of the points as you play, for which there is a wonderful scoring board. You "claim" roads, castles, fields, and temples by placing a meeple on it after you place a tile; when that structure is completed you get the points. Only one meeple can be on a structure, but you or someone else can have a meeple on two separate structures that get connected later on and then you get double or split points.

The game then has some added scoring to make things more interesting. Roads get extra points if there are attached oases. Fields are scored by how many sheep are grazing minus the number of wolves in that field. You can place a prophet once during the game on a structure and score double when it is completed. Temples are scored according to whomever has the most followers around it. And The Ark gets placed once a castle has been completed, and then players can move it over themselves (and others) to score additional points for themselves (and others) each turn.

The game ends when all the tiles have been placed. The fields are scored then, and the player with the highest score wins.

There's plenty of opportunity for mental addition here, as well as the wonderful spacial perception when laying tiles. Each tile has 4 sides, and you have to match sides up such that the resulting picture makes sense (you can't put a field in the middle of a castle, for example.)

Play is easy, though scoring is quite challenging. Youngers can play if you score for them, or eliminate some of the bonus score to simplify things. The tiles are thick and colorful, as are the meeples. It comes in a small, thick box making it easily transportable. Overall, this is a wonderful game.

BoardGameGeek.com link to this game: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/6779

Apples to Apples Junior

Subject: General
Category: N/A
Ages: 9 and up
# of players: 4 - 10
Time to play: 30 minutes
Mechanics/Game Type: cards

Ratings (1 to 5)

Educational Value: 2
Gaming value: 4
Aesthetic value: 3
Price value: 3
Ease of play: 4
Younger adaptability: 3

My comments:
Here's how it goes: The dealer of each round lays down a card with a word on it and the other players all put down a card from their own hand, that they think has the most in common with it. The object is for you to get the dealer to choose your card over all the others. Given the right crowd, this game can be hilariously funny. Adults will not mind playing this kids version of Apples to Apples because it is played just like the original however there are no adult topics, names or innuendo.

The drawbacks to this game is that you will not always have the "right" crowd and many times no crowd at all. The game requires at least 4 players! I don't see a big educational value with this game except that maybe your kids will pick up some vocabulary and it does get them thinking about how two things can relate to each other when no obvious similarities stand out.

BoardGameGeek.com link to this game:
http://boardgamegeek.com/game/10681

Mystery Garden

Subject: General
Category: Art/Reasoning
Ages: 4 and up
# of players: 2 - 6
Time to play: 30 minutes
Mechanics/Game Type: Q&A

Ratings (1 to 5)

Educational Value: 4
Gaming value: 4
Aesthetic value: 4
Price value: 3
Ease of play: 4
Younger adaptability: 3

My comments:
Now here is a game that you will enjoy playing with your younger children. Not your run-of-the-mill match your color, count the spaces type of game. Basically this is a game of 20 questions (or 15 as the game suggests) using a darling board with lots of details. One player takes a tile with an item from the board pictured on it. The other players take turns asking yes or no questions, moving the pawn ahead one space for each question, until someone guesses what is on the tile. The player who guesses correctly gets the tile and after a set number of rounds the person with the most tiles wins.

Searching out details on the high quality board is the best part. Interestingly when I did a search for this item I found there are two different boards available, one with a castle scene and another, the one I have with a country house scene. Kris even suggested making a board out of a print of a famous painting that you are studying with your children for art class. Two color copies of the print, one for the "board" and one for the tiles to be cut out. What a brilliant and inexensive game to add to your art study!

Although four is already a good young age for game-playing, you could still make this adaptable to younger children by having them find items that you call out to them or use the board for a game of I Spy.

BoardGameGeek.com link to this game:
http://boardgamegeek.com/game/1216

Through the Desert

Subject: General
Category: Math
Ages: 8 and up
# of players: 2 to 5
Time to play: 30 minutes
Mechanics/Game Type: Tile placement, area enclosure, abstract strategy

Ratings (1 to 5)

Educational Value: 3
Gaming value: 5
Aesthetic value: 5
Price value: 5
Ease of play: 4
Younger adaptability: 2 (small parts!)

My comments: Through the Desert s another wonderful Reiner Knizia game in which players take turn placing pastel-colored camels (cameeples) to create caravans that snake throughout the desert to reach point tiles and oases. You earn points by picking up point tiles, by reaching oases, by having the largest caravan of a particular color, and by sectioning off areas of the board to gain point for entrapped hexagons. As the game gets going, it is reminiscent of Blokus such that one color caravan expands and winds around caravans of other colors.

Like many Euro games, a lot of math skills are involved here even though it is not a "math" game. Skills like addition, spacial relations, and sorting are well-used for this game.

Kids younger than 8 can certainly play this game, but there are a lot of small camels, some with tiny riders placed on them...They are pastel colored, almost like mints in appearance. The game also has palm trees to place on oases, and a hexagon-covered desert board. It comes in a colorful, small, thick box making it very portable. It is definitely a family game to be enjoyed for years.

BoardGameGeek.com link to this game: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/503

Doodle Dice

Subject: General
Category: n/a
Ages: 6 and up
# of players: 2 to 6
Time to play: 30 minutes
Mechanics/Game Type: dice rolling, set collection

Ratings (1 to 5)

Educational Value: 3
Gaming value: 4
Aesthetic value: 5
Price value: 5
Ease of play: 5
Younger adaptability: 5

My comments: This inexpensive game is simple to play and lots of fun. It comes with 6 identical dice, and each side of a die has a different "doodle" on it. These doodles are used to construct the doodles on 60 cards in 6 colors. Orange requires 1 die, red 2 dice, yellow 3dice, green 4dice, blue 5 dice, and purple 6 dice to complete the pattern. You flip cards over from the pile to create a gallery, and then you get 3 rolls of the dice, selecting which dice you want to roll again, to match one of the cards. If you match, you keep it. You win when you collect 1 card of each color. The deck also contains 3 Free Roll cards and 2 Block A Turn cards, plus you have the option of trying to take a card from another player (though this really isn't a necessary option too often.) The game also comes with a bright red cup for rollings and storing the dice.

This game is enjoyed by everyone in my family, from my 4 year old on up. The cards are colorful, the dice are a nice size, and the cup makes it easy for even small hands to roll the dice. This type of doodle matching is great to improve math and art skills as well as imaginative and abstract thinking in general.

BoardGameGeek.com link to this game: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/23334

Knights of Charlemagne

Subject: Math
Category: Matching, sets
Ages: 8 and up
# of players: 2 to 4
Time to play: 20 minutes
Mechanics/Game Type: Card management, tile collection

Ratings (1 to 5)

Educational Value: 2
Gaming value: 3
Aesthetic value: 5
Price value: 4
Ease of play: 5 (easy once you figure out how it plays)
Younger adaptability: 5

My comments: This simple, fast-paying game has a set of 20 tiles set out in 2 rows and 1 cathedral bonus tile at the end. One row has 5 manor tiles numbered 1 to 5 and 5 city tiles of 5 different colors; the other row has all treasure tiles. The cards have both a color and a number. Each player takes turns placing a card to match either the color of the tiles or the number of the tiles. A green 4, for example, can be placed either next to the green tile or the 4 tile. When all the cards are played, whoever played the most cards next a tile keeps it, while the opponent keeps the less-valuable treasure tile. A few more rules not mentioned add more depth to the game. 4 players play as teams; 3 players require an extra space be made among the tiles for that player to place cards.

The tiles and cards are richly colorful; the tiles and box are thick. There's even a touch of geography on the manor and city tiles, as well as the history reference in the title. You do more math than anything in this game, though the skills are those already mastered by kids old enough to play. This is a nice quick game on a busy homeschooling day.

BoardGameGeek.com link to this game: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/182

Iguana Factor, The

Subject: Math
Category: Arithmetic
Ages: 8 and up
# of players: 2 to 4
Time to play: 30 minutes
Mechanics/Game Type: Abstract strategy

Ratings (1 to 5)

Educational Value: 3
Gaming value: 3
Aesthetic value: 5
Price value: 2 (see comment about spinner)
Ease of play: 4
Younger adaptability: 5 (the game doesn't require you actually know any factors.)

My comments: This game is a good one for reciting or familiarizing, rather than drilling, products. It's abstract strategy gives the game some interest, even for older kids and adults.

The colorful, thick board is a multiplication table; the object of the game is to make a path from one side of the board to the other with your chips. You spin the colorful, cardboard, three-layered spinner (see comment below) to create a multiplication problem, then put your chip on the answer on the board. If the space you want to cover is already taken, you can place your chip on any space with that same answer (so if 2 x 3 = 5 and 3 x 2 = 5 are taken, you can put it on the 1 x 5 or 5 x 1 answer space, which reviews different factors for the same product.) If all the spaces with that product are taken then you can bump someone off of it. The abstract strategy is that you can "capture" (put your chips on) blank spaces if two of your chips align in a row, column, or diagonal. You can also turn an opponent's single chip to your color by surrounding it on opposite and adjacent sides. You have 25 chips; if you place them all on the board (and we have) then you must decide which chip to remove in order to cover the new product.

Two things disappointed me about this game. First, it requires no memorization of facts since all answers are revealed on the board. (I'll have to come up with some sort of modification for this.) Second, the eye-catching spinner doesn't spin well. You hold the bottom layer to spin the middle layer, then you hold the middle layer to spin the top layer. In each case the spinner does not make at least one full revolution before stopping. Since the spinners have 1 through 10 plus 2 "pick a factor" spots, I replaced the spinner with two dodecahedra (12-sided) dice, which work just fine. I do, however, like abstract strategy, so that keeps me coming back to play this game.

BoardGameGeek.com link to this game: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/17175

Poison

Subject: Math
Category: Arithmetic
Ages: 8 and up
# of players: 3 to 6
Time to play: 30 minutes
Mechanics/Game Type: Card management

Ratings (1 to 5)

Educational Value: 3
Gaming value: 4
Aesthetic value: 4 (though some may find graphics objectionable)
Price value: 5
Ease of play: 5
Younger adaptability: 5 (so long as kids can hold a lot of cards)

My comments: This game is easy and fast to play. It comes with 50 cards and 3 thick cardboard cauldrons. The colorful cards have flasks filled with red, blue, or purple liquid and a number from 0 to 7, as well as lime green poison bottles. You place cards into cauldrons (only one color is allowed in each cauldron except poison, which can go in any.) If you place a card in the cauldron that puts the sum over 13, then you take all the cards in that cauldron. At the end, whoever has the most of any color card does not have to count that color towards his/her total; otherwise, cards are 1 point and poison cards are 2 points (poison cards are never eliminated from the count!) Whoever has the most points loses.

This is a good game to practice simple addition. Younger kids can certainly play, though holding a lot of cards may be difficult, and they may not fully grasp the strategy (that never stops us from playing.) The box states 10 and up, but I list it as 8 and up and it can be played by younger kids, too.

The box depicts an evil alchemist mixing potions in a cauldron (see boardgamegeek link for pictures.) Check the images to see if you find it appropriate for your home.

BoardGameGeek.com link to this game: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/17025

Totally Tut

Subject: Math
Category: Arithmetic
Ages: 6 and up
# of players: 2 to 4
Time to play: 30 minutes
Mechanics/Game Type: tile placement

Ratings (1 to 5)

Educational Value: 5
Gaming value: 3
Aesthetic value: 4
Price value: 4
Ease of play: 5
Younger adaptability: 1

My comments: Totally Tut is reminiscent of Scrabble in that you pick tiles of numbers that sit in a tray in front of you and you put them on the board to form equations. What is different is that each player randomly picks an answer tile that goes at the top of his/her pyramid, and then you use the tiles to make a 4-number, 3-number, and 2 number equation for the answer on your pyramid.

This game is better for kids that pretty much know their facts and you are trying to reinforce them, or to use in place of a drill sheet. When played with just the +/- tiles, the game is pretty simple and moves right along. When you add in multiplication/division, then the possibilities of creating equations with the desired answer becomes large and the game moves much more slowly. The game is intuitively modifiable to be able to play with just multiplication/division to practice those skills if so desired. the game includes a spinner at the center of the board to add a bit of unpredictability to the game: draw a number, steal a number, trade a number, or no new number.

The board is well-made and very colorful with fun cartoon graphics. The trays are thick folded cardboard that could be a little better made, and have such a low angle that it is hard to keep tiles concealed from other players. The "red" (per instructions) level 2 answer triangles are actually an orange that's just a shade darker than the basic answer tiles; the "pink" (per instructions) tiles are actually purple. The tile sets all came in their own sealing plastic bag, which is a nice touch!

If you are an adult that likes working with numbers in much the same way as Scrabble players do with letters, then your family will not grow out of this game. (You might want to check out the game Equate as well!)

BoardGameGeek.com link to this game: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/11537

Marco Polo Expedition

Subject: History
Category: Geography
Ages: 8 and up
# of players: 2 to 5
Time to play: 45 minutes
Mechanics/Game Type: card management

Ratings (1 to 5)

Educational Value: 3
Gaming value: 5
Aesthetic value: 5
Price value: 5
Ease of play: 4
Younger adaptability: 3 (need to be able to hold cards and match the symbols and colors; no reading required.)

My comments: A game designed by Reiner Knizia and made by Ravensburger is bound to be good, and this one is. Players collect cards to match the color/goods pattern shown on the next open space to advance his/her caravan towards Kantshou then Daidu, collecting gold treasure chests along the way. Whoever has the most gold wins.

The instruction booklet (in 5 languages) has an extended paragraph about Marco Polo's travels. The board is beautiful, and had a little geography in that it shows Hormus, Kantshou, Daidu, Takla Makan, the Himalayas, and the Gobi Desert. The game pieces are merchants leading camels, and the stunning playing cards depict fruits, spices, oil, and silks, and merchants in 5 colors. This is the extent of the History/Geography information. We happen to be reading Marco Polo this year, and this game make a great leisure time adjunct.

Players can pick cards from the stack or 5 cards placed face up in their quest to collect the right combination of cards to advance their camel to the front of the caravan. The first player to reach a space with gold collects the gold. When the first player reached the Kantshou midpoint, all players receive gold in the amount of the space they are on, and then they all get placed on Kantshou. The game then continues through the second half of the board until someone reaches Daidu, when a second valuation occurs and the game ends. The instructions are a bit complicated to figure out, but the game is easy after the first time it's played. My 5 year old plays along with my 8 year old and myself without assistance.


BoardGameGeek.com link to this game: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/9139

Madeline's House

Subject: General
Category: Exploration
Ages: 4 to 8
# of players: 2 to 4
Time to play: 30 minutes
Mechanics/Game Type: Roll and Move

Ratings (1 to 5)

Educational Value: 2
Gaming value: 4
Aesthetic value: 4
Price value: 3
Ease of play: 4
Younger adaptability: N/A

My comments:
Madeline's House reminds me of a cross between Candy Land and Highlights Magazine's Hidden Pictures. You don't know if you are going to move forward or back until you find the hidden object! That's what makes this game exciting for the kiddos and they do enjoy it while they are young enough to play it.

The box, board and components are made of heavy duty cardboard that will last through multiple children.

I tend to be a little tough when evaluating educational value. Does this game teach anything to a four year old that any other game won't? Not really. Color recognition is key but most 4yo's already have their basic colors down. It is a really fun game though and does teach the basics of fair game play, taking turns and following instructions which is so important during the early years of game playing. If you are just looking for something fun to get your kids used to playing games, this is a great choice because it is a bit different than your typical roll and move board games.

BoardGameGeek.com link to this game:
http://boardgamegeek.com/game/11739

Corduroy's Birthday Games

Subject: Preschool
Category: Colors and Shapes
Ages: 3 to 6
# of players: 1 or more
Time to play: 10 minutes
Mechanics/Game Type: Pattern Recognition

Ratings (1 to 5)

Educational Value: 4
Gaming value: 4
Aesthetic value: 4
Price value: 4
Ease of play: 5
Younger adaptability: 3

My comments:
This is such a good quality made game from Ravensburger, I really love it for my wee ones. I have played it with each of my children when they were learning their colors and shapes and the game is still in excellent condition after 7 years of use! There are ten different variations of the game so you can really keep the toddlers coming back to this one.

Ravensburger says this game is for 3 -10 year olds, I have to disagree with that range. A ten year old would not be interested. This is strictly for the preschool/kindergarten crowd so I have adjusted the age range in the description. There are some small tokens that present a choking hazard but you can easily play this with a two year old if you play the non-competitive games which do not use the tokens.


BoardGameGeek.com link to this game:
http://boardgamegeek.com/game/21192

Trans Europa

Subject: Geography
Category: World
Ages: 8 and up
# of players: 2 to 6
Time to play: 30 minutes
Mechanics/Game Type: Track Building

Ratings (1 to 5)

Educational Value: 1
Gaming value: 4
Aesthetic value: 3
Price value: 3
Ease of play: 4
Younger adaptability: 3

My comments:
Trans Europa is a fun game that can be played in rounds because it is so quick to play. My 10yo enjoys playing it often and in fact I imagine any child who is able to read could catch on fairly quickly so don't take the age guide too seriously. To win a round you must build railroad tracks connecting five cities that are randomly dealt out at the beginning of the game. Those who are unable to complete their line must tally points and move their locomotive down the scoring track on the right side of the board.

Unfortunately, if you are buying this game for educational purposes, you will be dissappointed. The board map has little to no detail. It's one redeeming quality is in the cards. Each card has a city and an accompanying landmark pictured on it so you could potentially get some good review in by using the cards as flashcards.

Aside from the lackluster gameboard, TransEuropa is made well, does not have an oversized box (which is one of my personal pet peeves) and best of all it has wooden playing pieces. Gotta love wooden pieces, they just have a quality that you cannot match with manmade materials.

BoardGameGeek.com link to this game:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/16267

BibleMan Adventure Board Game, The

Subject: Math
Category: arithmetic
Ages: 4 to 7, 8 and up
# of players: 2 to 4
Time to play: 30 minutes
Mechanics/Game Type: Roll and move, pick up and deliver

Ratings (1 to 5)

Educational Value: 3
Gaming value: 3
Aesthetic value: 3
Price value: 4
Ease of play: 3
Younger adaptability: 5 (Game has two level design)

My comments: "Why is Bibleman listed under Math?" you ask. Though Christian values are integral to the game as you try to "rescue" kids and bring them to the church, the advanced game teaches great math skills. You roll and move 1 of 4 heroes (Bibleman, BibleGirl, Cypher, or Coats) around the board. When you land on the Docks, School, Refinery, Villain's Lair, Church, or BibleMan's Cave, you choose a villain card and do battle. In the basic game, you simply spin one of two spinners and if you land on the Bible icon you win--you pick an adventure card with a child that you have saved. In the advanced game, each hero and villain has a number next to 5 attributes (faith, love, truth, joy, patience, forgiveness for heroes; doubt, fear, lies, sorrow, rage, bitterness for villains.) You spin the U.N.I.C.E. spinner for the hero and the L.U.C.I. spinner for the villain to determine which attribute and what bonus will be used for the battle. Next you roll a red and blue die to determine the final sum for both the hero and the villain--whichever is higher wins. If the hero wins, s/he picks an adventure card and saves a child or gets armor enhancements for the next battle. You can see where all the math comes in! In either game, after collecting 6 saves, you drop the kids off at the church and then return to the BibleMan cave to win.

What is really great about this game is the 2-level design so that even younger gamers can enjoy it (my 4 y.o. has no trouble with it.) The board has an interesting elevated cardboard center with the spinners around which you place the standard playing board--interesting, yes, but the tabs on it keep the playing board from lying flat. My boys love battling the villains. Minimal reading is involved, and readers can read for non-readers without affecting the game play.

BoardGameGeek.com link to this game: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/19138

Granny's House

Subject: General
Category: N/A
Ages: 4 to 7
# of players: 1 to 6
Time to play: 30 minutes
Mechanics/Game Type: Co-operative Play

Ratings (1 to 5)

Educational Value: 4
Gaming value: 4
Aesthetic value: 3
Price value: 5
Ease of play: 5

My comments:

Should you use the rope to climb over that fence in your way or have the dog dig a hole under it? What about that sleeping bear, maybe we should leave him some candy in case he wakes up?These are things you will discuss and have to agree on with the other players in this wonderful co-operative game. There is only one pawn and everyone has to work together to get to Granny's House.

I estimate an average of 30 minutes for game play however because of the many obstacles, this varies greatly. I have found that when many obstacles send us back to start (making the game last more than 30 minutes) the children lose interest but this only happens rarely.

The 1986 version that we own is still around and kicking although the box is definitely falling apart. I've included a couple of photos because the link to BGG below is for the 1985 version and it looks quite different.

One more thing of note. All picture cards have both English and French words printed on them making this game suitable for readers, non-readers and fun review for those learning one of these as a second language.

BoardGameGeek.com link to this game:

http://boardgamegeek.com/game/7917

Last Word

Subject: Language Arts
Category: Vocabulary
Ages: 8 and up
# of players: 2 to 8
Time to play: 30 minutes
Mechanics/Game Type: Word Based

Ratings (1 to 5)

Educational Value: 4
Gaming value: 3
Aesthetic value: 3
Price value: 2
Ease of play: 3

My comments:
This is one of those speed word games similar to Discovery Toys' Whiz Kids with a small twist. Players are given a letter and subject and have to think of the first word that fits the category starting with the given letter and continue to come up with as many words as they can before the timer goes off. Those who come up with the last word advance around the gameboard. The fun and exciting part of this game is the timer. It goes off randomly so nobody ever knows when it will alarm.

While our family did consider this a fun and challenging game, it got old after a few plays and we had to put it away for a couple months before wanting to play again.

BoardGameGeek.com link to this game:
http://boardgamegeek.com/game/17709

Australian Rails

Subject: Geography
Category: World
Ages: 10 and up
# of players: 2 - 6
Time to play: approximately 2 hours
Mechanics/Game Type: Crayon Rail System

Ratings (1 to 5)

Educational Value: 5
Gaming value: 4
Aesthetic value: 5
Price value: 4
Ease of play: 3

My comments: What started out as a potential never-to-be-used game has quickly become a family favorite. It is certainly not something you can just pick up and start playing right away if you are new to crayon rail games put out by Mayfair Games. It has an extensive instruction booklet and requires extra set up time the first time you use it so that you can put the stickers on all the load chips. Plan plenty of time to learn how to play this game. Better yet, pay a neighbor kid to learn how to play the game and then come over and teach you and the kids:)

That said, once you have played it one time you will get the hang of it and I hope, find it quite enjoyable as we have. The idea is to build a rail system across Australia and ship goods from city to city. What makes this game exciting is this: Strategy is involved in that you want to get your railroad built without spending too much money building across rivers and mountains and be able to start shipping the most valuable goods as soon as possible. When playing with several people it becomes more challenging because only a certain number of tracks can be built into and out of the smaller cities. Lastly there is the disaster element that can happen randomly, like rain season, dust storms and floods causing tracks to be destroyed and shipments to be delayed.

I purchased this game to help my daughter with her geography so I was very particular about how accurate and detailed the map/gameboard was. I am impressed with this one. The board shows the location of many cities and geographic attributes of Australia. From a gaming perspective, I find it very helpful to have the goal and building costs listed right on the board. I will most definitely be purchasing more of the crayon rail games to use in the future!

BoardGameGeek.com link to this game:
http://boardgamegeek.com/game/935

Lewis and Clark Adventure Game, The

Subject: History
Category: US
Ages: 8 to adult
# of players: 2 to 4
Time to play: 90 minutes
Mechanics/Game Type: set collection, roll and move/trivia

Ratings (1 to 5)

Educational Value: 5
Gaming value: 3
Aesthetic value: 4
Price value: 5
Ease of play: 4
Younger adaptability: 5 (Very easy to coach youngers, give token instead of asking question)

My comments: The value of this game is in the board--beautifully drawn and loaded with information about the Lewis and Clark expedition. Even each space has some bit of historic fact along with the action. It also comes with pretty beads for trading (they're small, so watch out with little ones around!) My only complaint is that the front and back of the Skill/Chance cards and Transportation cards look so similar that it is difficult to tell if cards are right-side-up.

Each player is dealt 3 cards; each card is a mode of transportation (moccasin, keel boat, horse, canoe.) You need the correct transportation to progress over certain parts of the board; you can also trade or buy these cards. You roll and move, then do what is stated on the space, including drawing a skill/chance card. If you land on a compass, you spin the spinner (built into the board) to indicate which of 4 questions to read. If you get it right, you get a token for that category. You must collect all 4 tokens and go around the board to win. There's a beginner and an advanced trivia card set.

This game has a lot of great educational information. As a game, it can be quite long if people do not land on the trivia spaces, so you end up going around the board again (see tip below). It involves a little math, too (when you trade in one mode of transportation to buy another and figure out what balance is owed.) As with any trivia game, it's life is limited.

One tip: after a player has gone once around the board, let s/he choose which category of question to answer rather than spinning; otherwise, the game gets excessively LONG as you try to land on a trivia space AND spin the color you need AND answer the question.

BoardGameGeek.com link to this game: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/6970

Chronicles of Narnia--The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe Game

Subject: Language Arts
Category: Literature
Ages: 8 to adult
# of players: 2 to 4
Time to play: 60 to 90 minutes
Mechanics: roll and move

Ratings (1 to 5)

Educational Value: 2
Gaming value: 3
Aesthetic value: 4
Price value: 4
Ease of play: 3
Younger adaptability: 5 (Very easy to coach youngers to play)

My comments: This is the game based on the Disney movie. It includes 4 detailed playing pieces, and a nice board (though you have to annoyingly stick stickers on the dice.) Each player has different special abilities detailed on a well-drawn thick card. Players start at the lamppost and try to go around the board back to it, though you move wolves or the White Witch along with the characters. You also earn Aslan tokens (through rolling or card draw) that will help you use your special abilities, or turned you back from stone.

While this is roll and move, it has more complex movements, like moving the bad guys, and choosing to roll to move or roll to get tokens. You can use your special abilities cooperatively or competitively, so it is not too hard to modify this into a deliberately cooperative game.

Not too much educational value, other than improving gaming skills and hopefully inspiring reading. It is interesting enough that the kids will play it for several years.

BoardGameGeek.com link to this game: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/20028

Blokus Trigon

Subject: Math
Category: Geometry
Ages: 5 to adult
# of players: 2 to 4
Time to play: 20 minutes
Mechanics/Game Type: Abstract strategy

Ratings (1 to 5)

Educational Value: 5
Gaming value: 5
Aesthetic value: 5
Price value: 4 (while board is sturdy and well made, it is still plastic, as well as the piece-holder)
Ease of play: 5
Younger adaptability: 5 (If a child knows same color and point vs. side, s/he can play!)

My comments: I'm starting out with one of my favorite games. Blokus Trigon consists of a hexagon game board into which fit 22 geometric shapes made out of triangles (see BGG link below for pictures.) You take turns placing pieces such that: 1. You must touch your own color, and 2. You must connect to your other pieces using the point of a triangle rather than the side. The object of the game is to place as many pieces as possible on the board. The two-player version requires each person play 2 colors; the three player version eliminates the outer-most ring of the hexagon.

This game builds spacial perception and thinking ahead. The game is easy to set up, easy to play, and the colors and pieces are visually appealing. This game is one that will be enjoyed for many years (so long as you don't lose the smaller pieces!)

BoardGameGeek.com link to this game: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/21550

About our reviews

By uncommon games we mean most anything but "classic games" and other readily available games that are probably owned by you or someone you know.

Be sure to use the search box at the top left corner of the screen to find a game title. Use the list on the right sidebar of the blog to find games by age or subject.

Our game reviews will have the following template:

Subject: Things like math, language arts, and such. Also "General" for games not relating to an academic subject.
Category: Not all subjects have categories. Bible, for example, does not but Math has Arithmetic, Geometry, Time, Money.
Ages: For what ages is the game is appropriate
# of players: As the name implies...
Time to play: How long it takes to play a typical game
Mechanics: This relates to how the game is played (roll and move, bidding, tiles, card draw, and such.)

Ratings (1 to 5) These are the reviewer's opinion--please comment if you disagree! We sometimes don't agree among ourselves. 1 is poor, 3 is average, 5 is excellent.

Educational Value: How much you will learn.
Gaming value: How well is the game designed to play.
Aesthetic value: Colors, graphics, and details
Price value: Quality of the components, and how many potential years of play per child based on the price paid
Ease of play: How quickly you can learn to play and/or set up to play
Younger adaptability: How easily the game can be adapted for younger players

We will follow the above information with our own narratives regarding the game.

BoardGameGeek Link: This is a website of avid gamers that focuses on the gaming aspect only, not the educational aspect. If you really like gaming, click on the link and check out the information here. They also have pictures of the games.

Please let us know what you think--we pray we can bless each other in this endeavor! Check out the link to our companion blog Thoughts About Gaming and Homeschooling

Welcome to Games for Homeschooling

After searching the web in vain for information about using commercial games for homeschooling, I decided to start this blog. Our family loves to play games, and my 3 boys have learned many skills from that--and we've only just begun! I have recruited a few of my game-playing friends to help me write reviews specifically for homeschoolers wanting to incorporate gaming into their home education.

Though this is a modest start, I hope, over time, with each new addition, this blog will grow into a useful database for homeschoolers.

Happy gaming, and God bless your homeschool!