Bored, try a board game, or Bingo, or a book! Just a handful of suggestions.

There are thousands of games out there, and obviously I can feature but a handful of them, though I will be working--albeit slowly--at expanding this list (and transferring them to my page dedicated to board games). I wish to highlight some popular games, but most of the games that I find appealing (as fun and, therefore, subtle learning tools for my children) are not always readily available.

The games that I play with my older daughter always have a feature of some kind that appeals to me (if the game is cooperative, or based on history, or has a certain level of strategy, and enables us to imagine scenarios and chat, then I'm enthused about playing, too!). I'm not yet playing board games with my younger daughter, though she does excel at sweeping into the room as we're playing a game and then swaggering off with the necessary pieces, applauding herself for her incredible sniper techniques--she's fast and accurate in aim. This can be frustrating!

HORSE BINGO and other BINGO GAMES by Lucy Hammett (only the Bird Bingo is Prime Eligible)

Here, I am speaking specifically about horse bingo, but as you see, there are many variations. So, without further ado, if you have a child in your family who absolutely adores horses, then this game is likely to be a hit. I purchased this for my daughter shortly before she turned six; she is now closing in on eight, and we are still playing it.

The game is meant for 2-6 players. It comes with plastic chips, 42 information/bingo calling cards, which arrive on a few sheets of a light-weight card stock and have perforated edges that need to be carefully ripped apart, and six picture bingo boards, also made of a light card stock. So, the quality of the materials is not first-rate, but it's not a terribly expensive game either.

The plus side: you do learn a great deal about horses. The front side of each bingo playing card portrays a different breed of horse, or depicts an act or piece associated with horseback riding (like the Western Saddle, or show jumping), while the back of each card gives a brief history of the horse and its attributes, or a definition of an item associated with whatever aspect of horsemanship is being shown. Example: "The Lipizzaner is a breed renowned for its association with the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, Austria. They are intelligent and have docile temperaments. Lipizzaners are usually gray, though some families produce browns and bays."

The game is fast to play, and easy to learn. You can make it as educational as you want: pore over the cards and learn what you can about the horses--even use them as quiz decks, if you so choose--or just have a rollicking horse-themed bingo game.

The colored illustrations (real photography--no cartoon imagery) make it easy for children to learn to distinguish horse breeds even if you don't spend much time discussing the history, etc.

Final note: Lucy Hammett Games have received at least three Parents' Choice Awards over the years, and she has bingo games on many, many topics, including Space Bingo, Reptile Bingo, etc. Lots of choices!



Geo TOYS WORLD GEO BINGO GAME (and a bit more):
As a family, we're all about educational games that are also fun to play. This one is a definite hit with my seven-year-old (and my husband and I enjoy playing it as well). In this game, you receive 50 country cards (constructed of a fairly durable and laminated cardstock), wooden bingo chips, and eight bingo boards. You also have the option of playing more than one bingo board at a time.

As for the chips: they are made of wood--won't break! The boards are fairly durable, but should do well if returned to the box after playing the game. The country cards are sturdy and can be shuffled with ease without them instantly developing creases, etc. A few nice features of the cards, apart from the vivid colors that illustrate the country (and those surrounding it): they mention the capital as well as the general population of the designated country; the top of each card, which labels the country you're searching for, is highlighted in purple, pink, green, or orange--this color categorization "illustrates" the continent on which the country belongs.

The game DOES have some problems, but as we know, we only have 50 country cards, so not every country out there is depicted. One example of an issue that I had with this game: the Americas are designated as one continent, though in English speaking countries (since post World War II), one distinguishes between North and South America. There are similar issues with some of the other countries with respect to their continent associations.

From Worldglobes.com (with free shipping)

SOLUTION (potential): Pull out a map or a globe while playing the game and use it to enhance game play and allow you/your child to get a more definite sense of where each of the countries found in this game are located. While the cards themselves are visually descriptive, the nature of the game does not give you a sense of where you really are. Having a map on hand solves this issue. We actually pulled out another one of our games (the map is decent, but not spectacular on this game, since everything is made small-scale so as to fit on the board) called Name That Country (mentioned below) so that our daughter could get a better sense of where the country was truly located. We are now using a real map, though, as you get better illustrations. Once we started doing this, our daughter immediately began to get a better sense of "where" she was, and is doing better at identifying the countries and their continents.

Essentially, this game can be extremely educational or fairly educational. It all depends on how far you're willing to take it. If you just play Bingo, you'll learn a bit, but if you also take the time to glance at a map, take note of the capitals (and then, on the drive or walk to school or during dinner, do spontaneous, pressure-free quizzes about what continent the country is associated with, the name of its capital, what countries are nearby, etc., it is HIGHLY educational). Another fun thing to do is to talk about the shape of the country and to see if your child can come up with an image that locks the shape of the country in his/her mind. I had done this before, but after reading The Little Man in the Map (link to book is above), which deals exclusively with the United States and attempts to create visual imagery of each of the states (fairly well done, though the rhymed verses help considerably), our family has adopted this strategy. We all remember that Italy is a boot, but Chile could be a snake that's shedding its skin, and inside of Canada is a little bunny with large ears.

Definitely a great, unobtrusive teaching tool where you and your child learn together while having fun. We're learning a lot too, and it's a pleasure to see geography transformed from something daunting and intimidating to something fun and imaginative--a game she wants to play!


Name That Country (above):  
It's one of the easiest games that we've ever played, in context of the very well-written directions. My sole complaint: the map is tiny! But again, this problem can be resolved by purchasing a map to use as a reference. We make this game a lot of fun, and relate the various countries to places we have been, and to places about which we have read. I really try to turn on the humor and cast NO judgement about what my little girl can easily identify or not: the point is to get her engaged and make her think of geography as fun, so we make observations about the size of the country, what the country is shaped like, etc. And, like with some of her other geography games, I later quiz her (informally) about what we have learned. Another strategy: let your kids know when you don't instantly know something, or, how you learned to identify it. I think this is especially important when you have a child who is a perfectionist, and feels that she/he should know something simply because the knowledge is out there, and feels defeated when she/he doesn't.

Made for Trade:
Well, our family loves to play it (pulled out of the game cupboard at least once a week). My daughter is seven, and I've used this game to get her feet wet regarding early American history.

There are many levels of play for this game. To this point, we have played two levels. 1) At the tourist level: if you're able to land on a shop "enter" space, you can enter the shop and, again, if lucky enough to roll the dice and score the number/price for which the object in that shop is being sold, you gain the item--assuming you have enough shillings, but... Ah! There's the rub. Often you don't have enough money/shillings to pay. What do you learn from this? My daughter and I have spoken of how difficult it was to gain items during this period; we've pretended we had a bad harvest, or that England taxed us, etc. True, we're dealing with luck (in the game), but in early times, you were lucky to have the shillings to pay for essentials and had to wait some time to earn them. This level of game play goes fairly fast and no event cards are used. 2) At the Trader level (you start as an indentured servant with NO rights to enter shops unless so directed by an Event card, and become a free citizen. You become a free citizen through luck: rolling certain numbers, drawing an event card that frees you, or by passing the entire board once. What have we learned? On the most basic level, she understands that it was hard to be an indentured servant, and that if you don't have shillings to pay fines, you spend a lot of time in gaol (jail: this led us to how spelling has changed over the centuries). Being in gaol has led us to imagine why, for those times, we were in jail. Once you become a free citizen, you get your 6 shillings, and apart from "harvest day" and one other day, you draw no income unless you get an Event card that gives you some--again, lesson learned is that it was hard to accumulate possessions, even necessities. As a trader, you're given an inventory, based on the character you choose, and you have to accumulate those items. The marketplace and bartering (and math) come into play more at this stage, as does some basic history. For instance, you learn about smallpox, theatrical productions, etc. Very basic, but the game is meant for young children after all, not those who have already studied American History.

Overall, I am pleased with this product. Yes, the issue with how the directions were written has driven me a bit mad, but we've worked through it. When we play, we call each other "Miss, Mr., etc.". We've started listening to music from the period as we play so as to become more familiar with what was then considered popular. The game pieces are sturdy cardboard construction, and if we lose a piece, we can go to early American costume books and find a character that interests us. We can make new inventory lists, we can make new EVENT cards that demonstrate other aspects of early American history. In short, we are turning this into our own game and my daughter is quite taken with the idea of researching to add new Event cards, and looking through costume books to find additional characters so that we can make new inventory cards. So yes, the game has its limitations, but this inadequacy leaves you able to do what you will with it. This game can be incredibly fun: my daughter loves imaging she's from the time and we even try to use language from the period when we are playing the game.

I love the game and all of its possibilities. Yes, it has problems, but with a little imagination... a little imagination goes a long way and leads to this having endless possibilities. I would certainly purchase this game again and am always happy to play it with her. A book that compliments this game fairly well is Independent Dames: What You Never Knew About the Women and Girls of the American Revolution. One of my favorite quotes/insights: "Sybil Ludington was sixteen years old when she rode forty miles though a rainy night to spread the news of a British attack and round of four hundred militiamen to fight back. (Remember Paul Revere? His ride was only sixteen miles long.)" Anyway, the book is a nice addition to any young person's personal library.

CONS About the Game:
Poorly written directions;
Limited Events;
Items are not from one period (but stretch past the Victorian era);
Limited level of strategy.

PROS About the Game:
Sturdy materials (not near a toddler);
If you lose a shilling or a piece, you can use a penny or find your own characters to photocopy;
You can create your own Event cards to teach or enforce certain parts of life;
You can create your own Inventory lists (and add to the inventory);
You can listen to music from the period while playing;
You can role play as if you're from that period.


10 Days in Europe Game:
I have not yet played this game (or any of the others in this series), but was attracted to the concept--10 days to tour Europe or another continent by plane, foot, ship, or train, using your connection and destination tiles, and a bit of luck mixed with some strategy, to get all your destinations locked in before your fellow travelers. I've ordered the one focused on Europe as a Christmas present for my seven-year-old. I'm really looking forward to playing this with her, as the Europe version allows for "ship" travel! But, unlike some of the other games highlighted above, does not allow for rail travel. Apparently, you can also add the individual games together, though I do not yet understand how. I suppose you need a couple of these games to figure it out. We shall see. :)
Everyone of these games has gotten phenomenal reviews by parents (including some who claim it's that much more fun when you're playing with other adults). Each one of these games has won the Parenting Seal of Approval, the Parents Choice Gold Award, the Major Fun Award, the Mensa Award, etc. Hoping it's a winner, but feeling quite confident about it, since I've read a remarkable number of reviews on the entire series, which is why I mention it to you!

I know, I know, it sounds like the only games we play are geography ones! Not true. My daughter, husband, and I play lots of varied board games, and I'm working on showcasing them, but wanted to put this one up so I could wrap it. :)