- Educational games can be used as a fun and effective teaching tool for children.
- Here I highlight five non-board games—Qwirkle, Uno, Yahtzee, Marble Circuit, and Poetry for Neanderthals—for building skills in math, critical thinking, engineering, and language arts
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As I talked about in my blog My Top 5: Educational Board Games for Early Elementary Students, one of my family’s favorite activities is playing games. We enjoy family game night and like to play a variety of different games. Since my kids love to play, I started using games as a teaching tool when they were very young. This allows my kids to learn certain concepts and ideas in a fun and engaging way. It also allows me to use a fun activity as a way of reinforcing lessons instead of using worksheets or videos. I have used many different games over the years with my three children. Here I have compiled my top 5 favorite non-board games for elementary aged students.
1. Qwirkle
Skills: Colors, Shapes, Strategy, Forward Thinking, Addition
Recommended Ages: 6+
If this is your first time ever hearing about the game Qwirkle, don’t feel bad. I have found that not many people have played this game or even heard of it. However, this is a great game for reinforcing math concepts like color, shapes, and addition while adding in dash of critical thinking skills. It is a tile-based game that shares characteristics with both Dominoes and Scrabble.
In this game there are 108 wooden tiles, each painted with one of six shapes in one of six colors. Each person starts with 7 random tiles, and the goal of the game is to make Qwirkles, a continuous line that has all six colors of one shape, or all six shapes of one color. Each player adds to a line and gets the number of points (number of tiles) that are then in the line, with 6 additional points being awarded for making a Qwirkle. Once a player lays down whatever tiles they are able to they pick replacement tiles out of a bag.
This game has been thoroughly enjoyed by my family, especially by my youngest. It has afforded us many hours of fun while secretly reinforcing math concepts and critical thinking skills.
2. Uno
Skills: Color and Numbers
Recommended Ages: 7+
Uno is a classic color and number matching card game that everyone has played at least once in their lives. While being a game that is entertaining to all age groups, you can use this game with younger children to help reinforce color and number recognition and matching skills.
Originally a card game won by collecting points over several rounds of play, most people play it today as a one round game with the winner being the first person to successfully play all of the cards in their hand. Each person is dealt 7 cards at the beginning of the game, and the additional cards are left in a “draw pile”. The top card of the draw pile is flipped over to become the beginning of the play pile. Players then take turns matching a card in their hand with the number or color of the card show on top of the play pile. When a player is down to their last card they yell “UNO”, hence the name of the game.
All kinds of Uno games have been played in my house, from specialty card packs to Uno Flip to Uno Triple Play. Some games change in only the visual aspect while others have a slightly different rule set, such as the Uno Triple Play. There are even online uno games and uno games for your phone. No matter which Uno game your family chooses to play, your children are sure to have fun as well as build useful skills.
3. Yahtzee
Skills: Addition, Multiplication, Critical Thinking
Recommended Ages: 8+
If you are looking for a game to help with math lessons, then Yahtzee can’t be beat. It is a dice game with a score sheet that really drills in those addition and multiplication concepts all while having fun.
A game of Yahtzee consists of thirteen (or slightly more) rounds. The objective being to score points by rolling five dice up to 3 times to make certain combinations such as how many 6’s the player can get or if the player can get a full house (2 of one number and 3 of another). Each combination is worth a certain number of points while the individual number categories are scored depending on the value of the dice. A Yahtzee, the namesake of the game, is any five-of-a-kind number and gives a score of 50 points, the highest of any category. The winner of the game is the player who scores the most points once everyone has completed the score card.
While my entire family loves to play this game, it has become a habit to only play at my kids’ great grandmother’s house. She is the one who introduced them to the game and now they insist on only playing when we visit her. So, while this game does help my kids practice their addition and multiplication skills, it has also helped form many happy memories with my grandmother.
4. Marble Circuit
Skills: Engineering, Problem Solving, Cognitive Skills, Spatial Awareness, and Cause and Effect
Recommended Ages: 8+
Marble Circuit is a logic-based game with small metal marbles and squares containing different paths for the marbles to follow. To play, a player draws a challenge card from a deck of 64 cards with each card increasing in difficulty. Each card gives a puzzle for the player to solve, showing where (and how many) marbles should land once the correct path is complete. The player will arrange the squares tiles where they believe will allow the marbles to roll through to get to their assigned place. If the player releases the marbles and they land in the wrong areas, the player must figure out how to fix the puzzle and get the marbles to the right place. This game really encourages your child to solve problems and think ahead to engineer a solution to the puzzles.
I love this game as it serves as a fun way to reinforce STEM concepts. Although there is a limited number of card puzzles that come with the game, you can add in your own puzzles or have your child design their own marble circuit for hours of fun.
5. Poetry for Neanderthals
Skills: ELA, Vocabulary, Syllables
Recommended Ages: 7+
This is a fun little game that not many people that I have talked to know about. It is a word guessing game similar to Taboo or Charades where you give clues to a word or phrase, however, the twist is that you can only use one syllable words.
Since this game is considered a party game, it is made for multiple players but can be played with as little as 2. Players are split into teams and a “poet” (switching each round) from one team will draw their card and give clues in one syllable words in hopes that their teammates (or 2nd player) will guess the word or phrase within a time limit. If the “poet” uses a multi-syllable word, the chosen “judge” (or the other team) gets to hit them gently with a blow-up club known as the No! Stick. They will therefore lose a point and the card they were giving clues to will be null. Points are tallied at the end of the game and the team with the most points wins.
My kids really enjoy this game, especially getting to tap each other with the No! Stick. This is a fun and easy way to get kids to think about vocabulary and counting syllables all while learning good sportsmanship.
I hope this blog encourages you to add some educational games into your teacher’s toolbag. If you found this blog helpful please consider subscribing and liking this post as it will help to grow the community as well as let me know which type of posts are more beneficial for you. If you are looking for some fun indoor activity ideas, check out my My Top 5: Early Elementary Science Journal Entry blog.
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Do you and your family have some favorite educational games that you like to play? Please share your favorites with the community in the comments below.
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