by Wendy R.

Created on: April 23, 2009

Board games have always been somewhat educational, depending on the game. Many of them still are, and new ones are coming out all the time. One such board game is Great States, a game which targets 7-10 year olds. This game can be played right on a board of the United States, or the cards (Fact, Find and Figure) can be used as flashcards, to help a child study.

This is a good educational game where the child can have fun while learning facts about the United States at the same time. Kids can learn state capitals, and other facts about each state. They can also learn about distance, as questions relate one state to another. Children will learn a lot of interesting state facts and they can find information on the game board itself, if they need to look them up. I think that this game can be a good learning experience, particularly since it doesn't seem like schools focus much on this type of information.

Another fun board game which can be educational is Brain Quest. Brain Quest is recommended for ages 6-12. In Brain Quest, players move around the game board, which resembles a school playground, answering questions as they go. By playing this game, children can learn Math, English, Social Studies and Science. This is a particularly good game for the inquisitive child who likes to challenge themselves and is not too worried about the "fun" aspect of playing.

One of our family's favorite games has been Guess Who? Guess Who is a game which is recommended for ages 6-12, although me children still liked this one when they were in their early teens. Guess Who has a pretty simple premise. There are 24 mystery cards and 48 face cards with different people's pictures on them. Each player (this game is for 2 players at a time) has a "mystery person" of their own and they try to guess who the mystery person is that their opponent has. They do this by asking questions about their opponent's mystery person that can be answered by a simple yes or no. For example: Does your person wear glasses?

This game helps with children's deductive skills and strategies. As they become more proficient at playing, their strategies tend to change. The only problem with this game is that once the children get really good at figuring out who the mystery person is that their opponent has, they may start to lose interest and find the game boring.

These are my recommendations for educational board games. I'm sure that there are numerous more. The best bet is to find something that interests your child and hopefully there will be an age appropriate educational game out there for them.

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