In the break room at my office there’s a little kitchen. A fridge, couple of microwaves, toasters, vending machines, sink…pretty much what you’d expect.  But there’s also a secret stash of board games in one of the cupboards. Believe it or not, a board-gaming club of sorts has evolved, meeting a few times every week [...]

iPhone and iPod touch users, rejoice! An official version of Settlers of Catan has been released on the App Store. Since this game has been mentioned a lot in class this semester, and since it’s one of my favorite board games, I thought it would be worth posting to the blog. I’ve finally found another [...]

I hated this game when I was a teenager and babysat two little preschoolers – they loved to play it and it never seemed to end. The goal of the game is to advance along the path on the board by spinning for a number on your turn. You advance as many spaces as indicated [...]

Backgammon is a game of skill and luck for all ages.  The object of backgammon is for a player to move all his pieces into his homeboard and then to move them off the board.  Players use dice cups to role their dice and then move their pieces according to the two numbers rolled. The [...]

The game Careers, was first introduced to me circa 1979.  Careers is a game where the players control their own victory conditions by setting up a formula for success in the areas of Fame, Happiness, Money, or a combination of all three. The objective was to accumulate a total number of points earned in all [...]

While researching options for our board game design, I purchased the starter kit for Dungeons & Dragons, the classic role-playing board game.  We had planned to use this game as one of the models for our own game.When I opened the box, it initially seemed quite simple.  There were some basic grid tiles, some special [...]

“Go” is an ancient Asian board game. It is frequently compared with chess, as it is played with black and white stones, and each player can make one move at a time. Unlike chess, however, all the black and white stones are identical. Also the stones are placed on the intersections, not in the center, [...]

Who’s the game for: Ages twelve and up. Content: Based on the content and characters from the Arabian Nights. How it’s played: Players choose a character that is paralleled from the story such as Sinbad, or Aladdin. The game board itself is a geographical representation of the area covered in the book which is around [...]

The problem I had with this assignment is that I am familiar with very few games, and even fewer educational ones. I tapped into the experiences of my family for this one, and was able to explore some kid’s games for the purpose of the blog. Kids learn by repetition, so most of the games [...]

Target age: 6-12 years old Objective: to deduce the identity of your opponent’s “mystery person” Gameplay: -Choose a “mystery person” for your opponent to identify – Ask “yes” or “no” questions to narrow the pool of possibilities – Win by being first to eliminate all of the “wrong faces” Content: “Guess Who?” introduces young children [...]

Its about time!   For far too long, the amateur ornithologist has been given the cold shoulder by the board game industry. They’ve been ignored and dismissed.  The everyday bird watcher has had nowhere to turn for good, wholesome, bird related gaming.  But not anymore!  At last, The Great North American Bird Watching Game has birders [...]

Citadels is a card game by Bruno Faidutti that revolves around competing cities. The game requires 2-7 players, recommended ages 10 and up. The ultimate goal of Citadels is to build 8 districts within your city, and for them to be the most valuable. The Components •    There are 66 district cards that are nicely [...]

I wanted to find a game that had nothing to do with mathematics.  I simply googled “educational board games” and leisurely looked through the descriptions, contents, graphics and rules of over a dozen games.  The one that grabbed me the most was the game entitled, “Passport to Culture”.  The learning experience in the game is [...]

I am obsessed with this game. I turn this game into a Charade game because I think it is more fun when you have adults act out different things/condition. Pictionary is a game where two or more teams compete to draw on papers at the same time as their teammates tried to be the first [...]

Rail Baron is a game I played in college and I bought it for my family later when my kids were big enough to play it as well.  The game play is similar to Monopoly: your goal is to own a network of rail lines to use to make trips across the country (gameboard).  Each [...]

So I was looking for a game that was fun and educational and I stumbled upon the game PayDay.  Who doesn’t want to go through the end of the month and have money leftover (especially in these economic times).  So what you do is simply go through the month and get paid and pay your [...]

The recent event of the stock market spinning out of control wasn’t fun, and many experienced huge losses.  However Donald and Betty Lee Deitch, who were in that precarious boat that ended up sinking, decided to shed light on the situation by creating an environment that would allow people to experience the Wall Street game [...]

“While conceiving our baby, “Master of Disaster” Game (which is yet to land in this beautiful world), I went ahead to feed myself with ideas from this game called Ludo, which I still remember playing with my family and siblings almost fourteen years ago. Although this game is different from the game that we are [...]

To have fun while playing a board game in today’s world is rare I think. Often there are many distractions (with one form of media or another) and then to top that off we also live in a world of non-verbal communication (email, texting, and social networking websites.) The last board game I remember playing [...]

I found this game a while back looking at idea’s for our project and just curious about different games besides the selection in the game isle. Being a fan of chess I immediately liked the initial “simplicity” of the game design but the great strategy that came with it. Description of the game What is [...]

Stepping Stones is a board game intended for children ages 7-11. The game was created to help reach out to African children who may be vulnerable to contracting the disease. The goal is to teach about how diseases spread and how to prevent infection. Game Play The concept itself is fairly basic. Players roll dice [...]

Happy Halloween EDTEC 670! Since Halloween is my favorite holiday EVER, I decided it was only fitting to do a review on a scary game (or at least one that tries to be scary). Nightmare is a video board game that I played as a kid and I have very fond memories of it. Through [...]

Candyland has been a classic children’s board game for over 60 years. I remember playing this game as a child, as a babysitter and an aunt. I even have friends who host a human version of the game for children each year as a fundraiser during the holidays. The reason I chose Candyland was not [...]

In my search to find a great education game to share, I couldn’t help but notice that many of the new themes are following a very eco-focused trend, such as carbon tracking and global climate change and other great science-oriented topics. That’s when “Garden Game” caught my eye. It is beautifully illustrated and creatively designed [...]

What I found interesting about this game beside the name was the fact that it has sold four million copies and has been translated in 14 languages even though it doesn’t have a lot of aspects that we normally associate with a good board game.  For example, it is not  a competitive game meaning there [...]

Players and Content The game is intended for players that are twelve years and older.  Players are learning about the election process by pretending to be candidates. Game play Players haggle over who plays the Democratic candidate or the Republican one.  They pick their home states and begin playing by rolling the dice.  Players can [...]

Even though I have been a member of the U.S. Coast Guard for over ten years, I had never heard of the U. S. Coast Guard Monopoly game prior to enrolling in EDTEC 670, from the knowledge that I have gained about educational board games so far, I would have to include this game in [...]

The game I’m interested in is called ACQUIRE, a board game that requires players to strategically invest in certain companies in order to retain a majority of stock. Designed by Sid Sackson, a well-known game designer, ACQUIRE was published in 1962 and has appeared differently under various publishers. Sid Sackson was known for both his [...]

Now, who among us would pass up the chance to save ourselves, especially if it could be done by simply playing “a fun game for the whole family?”  I say, if it’s that easy, let’s stock up with nachos and cider enough for an all night family fun-fest.  When morning comes, we can all watch [...]

When we began our game design for this class components of this game came to mind to increase variability to our game.  Here is a brief synopsis of the game: Cinderella’s glass slipper, the Emperor’s crown and other once-upon-a-time treasures are hidden deep in the forest. Find them for the king and you’ll inherit the [...]

The same reliable gamer that recommended Apples to Apples, was sure I would enjoy Eye to Eye, and she was right. Eye to Eye is a family game for all age players.  The premise of the game is simple: try to guess how another player might respond to a simple category. For example: The starting [...]

Yes! Pay Day! Whew… I needed that money this week. There is a great sense of relief, when you now have money to spend on whatever. Pay Day was one game that my sister and I loved to play. We were always very competitive about money. Allowances just never seemed to go far enough.. and [...]

I know that September was fun month, but this is a great idea.  Sponsored by Volkswagen, it has some examples and a challenge to develop a fun way to do something menial.  Watch the videos and then check out the contest.  http://thefuntheory.com/

No matter how many times I play the game, Don’t Wake Daddy, I still can’t help shrieking and jumping a mile in the air every time I DO wake up “daddy”! This game has been a favorite of my youngest son for many years. At eight years old it’s still pleasurable to Cameron even though [...]

My friend gave me a board game entitled Outdoor Survival.  I think she did this because she knew that I spent 8 years as an Outdoor Education instructor at a 6th grade camp.  I actually taught a survival course, so this might have been a fun way to spend a rainy afternoon with the kids. [...]

As I sat in the doctors office and flipped through the latest edition of AARP I kept wondering when the lady sitting in front of me reading the only Time Magazine in the entire doctors office would put it down so that I could read something interesting. Finally she put the magazine down and I [...]

In doing research for our own ecologically conscious game, Footprint Tracker, I stumbled across another ecologically minded game aimed at late-elementary and middle-school aged children — Let’s Save Our Earth.  I must admit I did not order it to play, but got enough of a sense from the website of how it works that I [...]

History:  The game was developed by Anthony Pratt and launched in 1949 by Waddington Games in England under the original name, Cluedo.  Then, Parker-Brothers obtained the rights to the game and renamed it “Clue”.  Since then, the game has had numerous face lifts and versions, video/dvd, and most recently, the game has gone high tech [...]

  Are ready for a HORSE race?! Long shot is the latest board game from Z-Man Games offering you a fun and interesting way to learn about horse racing. Target audience: Caters to ages 10 and up and good for 3-8 players. What is it about? It’s a horse racing game. Players get to own [...]

That’s right… Who needs friends? Sudoku 5×5 is a single player game designed for anyone at least 8 years of age. It comes in a compact box and includes 48 different game cards ranging from beginner to expert, a magnetic game board, 25 movable tokens, and an instruction guide with solutions. You might be familiar [...]

One of my favorite games is called Blokus. It can be played by 2-4 players, and is branded as an “Educational Insights” and “StrataGems Brain-Building Games”. It is similar to tetris in that you have pieces of varying shapes made of small squares. Each of the 21 pieces in Blokus is different, ranging from one [...]

While looking for different mechanics to incorporate in my game, I recently played the French board game “Les voleurs de Baghdad” or “The Thieves of Baghdad” and I impersonated, Ali Baba. There are 5 other characters from the Arabian Nigths in the game. The game is set in medieval Baghdad, cultural beacon and economical hub [...]

After spending about an hour browsing a variety of educational board games, I decided to post about this game because of it’s title and the very entertaining  family photo on the box (it reminds me of our family picture circa the mid 80′s).  “Mind Your Manners” is something that my grandmother would constantly say to [...]

Watch a video review of Tara, Ireland’s Royal Board Game on Holly’s Hits.  

Once Upon a Castle is a game designed for children ages 4+. The game teaches children to recognize shapes and pictures as well as allowing them to creatively put pieces together to create their own castle. The premise of the game is that a knight and a princess want each want to build castles, but [...]

When my wife and I got married last year, a friend of ours, knowing of my love of board games, gave us Gobblet as a gift. I had never heard of the game, but she was sure that we would love it. I don’t know if I’d say that I “love it” yet, but I [...]

A local TV station ran a “Momtrepreneuers” segment recently featuring games by Simply Fun! This company uses the Tupperware model for selling products at “parties”. The game night featured in the news spot was a regular event at a charter school in theSacramento area. I looked at several of the games featured on the website and [...]

Creating an attention getting, relevant, confidence building, satisfying game is no simple task.  I found an excellent website for purchasing educational games.  I read the rules for several before deciding to write about Cool Cash Bingo Game.  Maybe I am a little sensitive to complexity after trying, and just about failing, to devise an educational [...]

Browsing through hundreds of board games I stumbled upon a product that caught my eye due to the title’s reference to my native homeland the Philippines.   The game is categorized as a strategy game with a Nautical, Transportation, Trading theme that is designed for 3-5 players.  The theme is based on Filipino history during the [...]

The game Life made by Milton Bradley is one of my childhood favorites.  It was actually created in 1860 and was called The Checkered Game of Life which used a modified checkerboard as a game board.   One hundred years later, the game evolved into what we know as the modern version of the game Life [...]