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Board games offer more than just some friendly competition and fun nights in—they have educational value, too. Due to the strategic nature of board games, they can be educational tools for all ages. From cognitive development to improving social skills, educational board games have benefits that can extend beyond the board into the real world. Here are the top educational board games and the benefits they provide, with recommendations from parents and child development specialists.
Popular Educational Board Games To Try
Sneaky Snacky Squirrel
In Sneaky Snacky Squirrel, players try to be the first ones to fill their log with acorns. To do this, they use their squirrel squeezer to pick up the colored acorn that the spinner landed on. This game is best suited for preschoolers, ages 3 and up. As children pick up the specific acorns, they are learning color recognition, hand-eye coordination, dexterity and matching skills.
Outfoxed
Players work together in Outfoxed to find Mrs. Plumpert’s missing pot pie. They move around the board to find clues and use the special evidence scanner to rule out suspects. The tricky part is you have a guilty fox trying to escape—complete the investigation before the fox gets away. This is a cooperative and deduction game that challenges kids, ages 5 and up, to estimate probability and pay attention to detail. The teamwork aspect teaches players valuable collaboration skills.
Scrabble
The classic word game, Scrabble, is a great educational board game that helps players sharpen their vocabulary and improve spelling. Each turn, players use their tiles to form words on the board that take the best advantage of letter values and premium squares. Words can be horizontal and vertical, creating a series of interlocking words that are like a crossword. The winner is whoever has the highest score.
Ticket to Ride
Players can learn geography through forming trail routes connecting cities across North America in Ticket to Ride. Players gain points through gold tickets and completed routes, which is done by strategically collecting colored train cards. Based in the early 20th century, this competitive game teaches both geography and history while being entertaining for ages 8 and up.
Wingspan
Wingspan focuses on wildlife and conservation efforts through its engine-building board game suited for ages 10 and older. Players assume the roles of bird enthusiasts: researchers, bird watchers, ornithologists and collectors. The goal is to discover birds and attract them to your network of wildlife preserves. Each bird triggers actions, such as gaining food tokens, laying eggs and drawing unique bird cards. As players grow their preserves, they gain points. The player with the most points after four rounds wins.
Prime Climb
Prime Climb is ideal for players, ages 10 and up, looking to sharpen their math skills, specifically multiplication and division. Players strive to get their pawns to 101 exactly by rolling dice, moving their pawns, bumping pawns or drawing cards. Depending on the number players roll, they can either add, subtract, multiply or divide that value by the number their pawn is on. It’s a fast-paced game that combines strategy and luck.
Totally Gross: The Game of Science
The name speaks for itself: Players navigate a series of subjectively gross questions and activities that cover more than 15 areas of science. The objective is for players to stretch their slime to 10 spaces and complete a lab experiment, winning the game. This game teaches science in a fun and quirky way for ages 8 and up.
What Are Educational Board Games?
Educational board games are specifically designed with learning tools and elements, such as mechanics that require math, memory and word-building. They are games that combine real-world skills and scenarios into fun, interactive board games that help children and even adults improve their knowledge and logical thinking.
Though all board games are educational in one way or another, educational board games focus more on mechanics than storylines. They are heavily based on counting, logical reasoning and strategy. Combined with foundational aspects of board games, such as collaboration and problem-solving, educational board games can be an effective teaching tool for all ages and equip players with skills for their personal lives.
Read More: Best Board Games
As players take turns, make strategy-driven decisions and learn educational themes through board games, they are improving and gaining real-life skills. Educational board games offer a wide range of benefits, including:
- Cognitive development: Mechanics of board games require players to employ pattern recognition, solve puzzles and think strategically. This helps improve problem-solving and logical thinking skills. Additionally, educational games might engage arithmetic and math skills and use reading and writing, improving math and language skills.
- Attention span and concentration: Though some board games are fast-paced, most educational board games involve turn-taking, teaching children patience and improving focus. Players slow down to think strategically and analyze the game while tuning out distractions, improving concentration and attention span.
- Social skills. Through turn-taking, collaboration and friendly competition, players learn how to interact with others. They learn patience and how to handle both wins and losses.
- Academic skills: Educational board games cover the spectrum of academic topics, from anatomy to zoology. Through engaging gameplay, players learn these topics in a laid-back and entertaining way. Children can learn new concepts and make connections, beneficial in both the classroom and everyday life.
“As a speech therapist, one of the things I really want to highlight is that board games can open the door to so many learning opportunities,” says Amy Zembriski, pediatric speech-language pathologist. “Parents can model new language, practice counting out loud together, describe their own actions, or encourage their children to reflect on what they are doing to support problem-solving skills.”
Types of Educational Board Games
Educational board games are designed to teach new concepts, make connections with existing ones and foster strategic thinking. To do this, there are a variety of educational board games targeting different academic topics and needs. Here are the types of educational board games:
Math and STEM Games
Math games involve counting, addition, subtraction, sequencing and more arithmetic skills. There are introductory math games, such as Uncle Beary’s Bedtime, that just involve counting spaces. Then, there are more complex math board games, such as Pop Belly and Cross Lanes, that deal with probability and sequencing.
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. STEM board games combine real-life scenarios with STEM premises to challenge players. For instance, the educational board game Ocean Limbo involves physics to manipulate sea creature-shaped pieces.
Reading and Language Arts Games
Through letter recognition, spelling, conversation and phonics, reading and language arts board games help players improve their reading, writing and speech. Classic games like Scrabble and Bananagrams challenge players to improve their vocabulary. Sequence Letters is good for an early education board game to help preschoolers sound out letters and connect them to pictures. Storytelling games like Pickles’ Pig Tales help to string together basic language skills into more complex sentences.
Thinking Skills Games
Board games are strategic in nature, making them great tools for players to sharpen critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Thinking skills games utilize logic and deduction skills to improve critical thinking. For instance, Mastermind challenges players to break codes using logic and deduction. Battleship, the classic seek-and-destroy naval combat game, is a thinking skills game that requires players to use strategy to find the opponent’s ships.
Social Sciences and Studies Games
Educational board games can incorporate themes of geography, history and the economy to teach kids about social studies. They help players learn context and give meaning to places in the world and events in history. Ticket to Ride teaches players iconic locations around North America while simultaneously teaching them transportation methods. Trekking Through History will take players through history as they explore legendary people.
Educational Board Games by Age Group
There are educational board games for all age levels. They offer different mechanics depending on what age group they are meant for. Here are ways educational board games differentiate between age groups:
- Preschoolers (ages 3 to 5): Educational board games suited for preschoolers are tools to introduce this age group to learning concepts and help them grasp social skills, such as turn-taking and handling losses. Early education board games like First Orchard, HiHo Cherry-O and Sneaky Snacky Squirrel are perfect for preschoolers because they are simple yet teach color recognition and counting.
- Elementary school-age children (ages 6 to 10): Board games for older kids build upon introductory concepts and involve more complex skills, such as deduction, logical reasoning, dexterity, resource strategy and memory. Outfoxed is suitable for school-age kids, ages 5 and up, utilizing probability and attention to detail to solve a mystery. My First Stone Age teaches children how to manage resources, plan and trade through collecting resources to redeem huts.
- Tweens and teens: At this age range, the pool of games kids can play increases. Tweens and teens are able to understand more complex concepts and instructions, so board games are more intertwined with themes and interactive mechanics. Sequence is a strategy-driven game where players place chips on a game board depending on the cards they play from their hand. It requires planning as well as understanding more advanced rules, ideal for tweens and older.
How To Pick the Right Educational Board Game
Choosing the right board game depends on age, educational value, interests and flexibility. If buying an educational board game for your child, make sure you’re choosing one that fits the developmental stage they are in. Mechanics that are too simple might bore them, while complex games might overwhelm them.
Zembriski recommends that parents look at their child’s interests as one of the first steps. There are so many age-appropriate games, but they will lose effectiveness if your child becomes uninterested while playing. “If the rules start to become confusing, if they are bored and want to do their own thing…let them,” explains Zembriski. “Sometimes the best play happens when we bend the rules or even just make them up; this helps develop imagination, creativity and flexible thinking skills.”
Though educational board games might be geared toward specific ages, it’s important to purchase based on learning needs, too, because every child is different. If your child is struggling in a certain subject, opt for a game that is more focused on that topic, such as math or science.
Player counts affect the gaming experience. Whether you’re looking for solo games or group activities, educational board games differ in player count. Choose a board game that accommodates your ideal player count to ensure you’re maximizing fun. Flexible and versatile games work best.
Tips for Making Learning Fun With Board Games
Board games are a chance to break away from typical learning processes and engage kids in fun educational opportunities. You can make an educational board game more enticing by having regularly scheduled game nights. This builds excitement and allows some space between episodes of learning so kids have a chance to digest the information.
We all want to be winners at heart, so add a challenge to a board game, such as making gameplay tournament-style or giving a prize to the winner. Kids might be more inclined to try harder and understand the rules better if there’s a reward at the end of it—even if it’s just bragging rights.
Another way to get kids engaged, especially if they are reluctant to play, is to give them the chance to choose the game. By giving them autonomy, you’re allowing them to learn self-expression and explore their interests. Additionally, it might be helpful to rotate games. This will maintain attention and keep the gameplay exciting.
“The most effective educational board games are the ones that feel like play rather than lessons. When children are laughing, competing or cooperating with friends and family, they are often learning without even noticing it,” says Dr. Amanda Gummer, child development research psychologist and founder of Good Toy Guide, a free resource for people looking for play ideas.
Where To Buy Educational Board Games
Purchasing educational board games is easy due to the wide network of retailers and stores that hold them. There are online retailers and publishers that specialize in educational board games, such as Simply Fun, Genius Games, GMT Games, Fort Circle Games and Academy Games.
Child learning and development companies, like Lakeshore Learning and Learning Resources, often have educational board games available. If you’re looking for easily accessible stores, big-box retailers like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Target and Walmart carry educational board games.
Educational Board Games Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What skills can children develop through educational board games?
Educational board games improve cognitive, social and emotional skills. These skills include: problem-solving, strategic thinking, pattern recognition, patience, teamwork and concentration.
Are educational board games suitable for classroom use?
Yes. They teach students cognitive skills, such as problem-solving and logical reasoning, and social skills like patience and collaboration. Board games are a great tool to make learning in the classroom engaging and hands-on. Just make sure the contents of the game are appropriate for the school environment.
Can older kids or teens enjoy educational board games?
Yes. Educational board games for older kids and teens heavily involve strategy, making board games engaging and competitive, and aiding in brain development.
How do I know if a board game is truly educational?
Educational board games draw on curriculum topics, such as reading, math and language skills. They should be applicable to what the children are learning currently in the classroom.
Are there educational games designed for solo play?
Games like Kanoodle, Solitaire Chess and Rush Hour incorporate puzzles and critical thinking suitable for individual play.
How often should kids play educational games to benefit from them?
Gummer believes there is no strict rule about how often children should play educational board games, but regular exposure is where the benefits really show. One or two games a week can support key skills and bring families together. It’s more about variety rather than the number of hours—your kids should have balanced play, such as both active and social play.
What are some screen-free educational game alternatives for homeschooling?
Language games like Sequence Letters and Zingo teach kids how to sound out letters and word recognition. Prime Climb and I Sea 10 are math games that utilize addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Games that involve sequential reasoning and problem-solving, such as Hoppers and IQ Circuit, are great for improving logic. Lastly, children can learn science through ecology-based games like Tree Bingo, and they can learn geography through location-based games like Trekking the National Parks.