100 Educational Games for Homeschooling

During my workshops about creative homeschooling and living math, I often talk about incorporating games into the school schedule. If your family has an established game night, you probably already know how educational many board and card games really are. 

Math, language, history, science, logic and so much more can be practiced without your kiddos ever catching on that real learning is taking place!

Games for Homeschooling

We take games seriously in our homeschool and use them at least a few times a week!  To get fidgety minds focused, we might play a brain training game like Blink.  To review US geography, we might play 10 Days in the USA.  Or, to quiz recollection of animal groups, we might play a quick game of QuickPix Animals.

Using games is way more fun than flashcards or worksheets!  And, as a bonus, most games require at least the skills of strategy and/or speed, too.

Homeschooling is funschooling when you open the game closet!

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Games Make Great Gifts

We buy games for Christmas and birthdays for our own children – so often that they look forward to the next game we will add to our collection.  We also tend to buy games for friends when invited to birthday parties. 

Giving games allows our gifts to be put to good use for years to come – and games pull families together.  We consider it a good bang for our buck.

Our Favorite Educational Games

The question that always follows is, “Which games are your top picks for each subject?” So, I’m posting some of my favorite games for homeschooling for various academic subjects.

You’ll definitely want to make it all the way to the end of the post where I’ve linked other gameschooling posts I’ve written, too!

Bible and Character Building Games

We love to play these on family games nights.  Several of them are great when company is over, too.

The Life of ChristTaliCor Cactus Games Bible BlurtBible Brainstorm. A Game That Uses All Your God-Given Gifts (2001)Armor of God Board gameBible TabooTaliCor Cactus Games Outburst-Bible EditionCactus Games Guesstures: Bible EditionUniversity Games Bible Kids On Stage Charades

 

Logic and Critical Thinking Games

The games in this set are great for waking brains up in the morning before jumping into book work.  They are also appropriate to use as part of living math or logic lessons.

Qwirkle Board GameBattleship GameChess/Checkers/Backgammon SetHasbro Connect 4 GameBlokus GameSET: The Family Game of Visual PerceptionSequence GameMattel Games Blink - The World's Fastest Game!Mastermind Game : The Strategy Game of Codemaker vs. Codebreaker (Packaging May Vary)Mancala - Real  Wood Folding SetJenga Classic GameFoxMind Games Zoologic Logic Puzzle GameFat Brain Toys AnimaLogicFoxMind Equilibrio GameGuess Who? Board GameLogic Links Puzzle Box Critical Thinking Game

 

Math Games

These games can even be used as math lessons occasionally.  They work well for practicing a large variety of math skills.

Chutes and Ladders Game: Retro Series 1978 EditionDutch BlitzGame Of LifeMonopoly Classic GameMonopoly Ultimate Banking Board GamePhase 10 Card Game Styles May VaryPressman Toy Rummikub Rummy Tile GameSequence NumbersCardinal Double 91 Color Dot Dominoes in Collectors Tin (Styles May Vary)Enginuity Games Doubles WildThinkFun Math Dice Junior Game for Boys and Girls Age 6 and Up - Teachers Favorite and Toy of the Year NomineeWinning Moves Games Pass The PigsWinning Moves Games Pay Day, The Classic EditionHasbro Gaming Perfection GameSKIP BO Card GameLearning Resources Sum Swamp Game, Addition/Subtraction, Early Math Skills, 8 Pieces, Ages 5+Mattel Games: The Official Uno Tin [Amazon Exclusive]Five Crowns by The Green Board Game Co.FarkleLearning Resources Pizza Fraction Fun Game, 13 Fraction Pizzas, 16 Piece Game, Ages 6+Melon Rind Clumsy Thief Money Game - Adding to 100 Card Game for Kids (Ages 8 and up)

 

Language Arts Games

Spelling, vocabulary and sentence structure are reinforced using the games in this set.

Mattel Games Apples to Apples Junior - The Game of Crazy Comparisons (Packaging May Vary)Scattergories GameScrabble GameHL Games AmuseAmazeScrabble Slam Card GameYou've Been SentencedQuiddler Word GameEternal Hearts Rummy RootsBananagramsWinning Moves Games Super Big BoggleMini In A Pickle Card Game

 

Science Games

Science games can help teach everything from classification and body systems to electrical circuitry and food chains.

TaliCor Quick Pix AnimalsHerd Your Horses Board GameSomebody Board GameAmpersand Press Into the Forest, Nature's Food Chain GameAnimal Tracks GameBrainBox: Science and NatureAC/DC**The Exciting Electric Circuit Game (A Card Game To Electrify You!)Melissa & Doug Suspend Family Game - The Original (Classic Games, Exciting Balancing Game, Develops Hand-Eye Coordination, Great Gift for Girls and Boys - Best for 8, 9, 10 Year Olds and Up)Clue Game

 

History Games

After learning about wonderful events in history, the games in this group are perfect for review.

Made for TradeMummy RummyOld Masters Memory GameEducational Trivia Card Game - Professor Noggin's Civil WarBrainBox for Kids - The USA Card GameBrainBox for Kids - World History Card GameCatan Histories: Settlers of AmericaWay Back When in HistoryOutset Media Trivia Game - American Trivia Family Edition - The America Themed Family Board Game

 

Geography Games

My children have learned U.S. and world geography mostly through the use of these games.  Of course we complete maps and read literature as part of our studies, but the memorization of states, countries and locations has grown almost solely via games.

Gamewright The Scrambled States of America GameGame Zone Great States Geography Board GameTalicor Where In The World10 Days in The USA Board GameUSA Edition Borderline Card GameFlag Frenzy! Educational Geography Card Game by GeotoysTaliCor Quick Pix GeographyMindWare Destination USAOut of the Box 10 Days in Europe Game

 

Even More Games

I’m always finding new games to use in our homeschool, so I keep writing new posts about gameschooling. As I write new posts, you’ll find them right here!

xxxxxxxxxGames to Teach History

 

47 Comments

  1. WE LOVE GAMES!!! Would love to win the giveaway. It is one of the (few) we don’t have yet! LOL Thanks for the chance.

  2. Kortney Garrison says:

    We are just beginning to play games together. In fact I wrote it down as one of my goals for the rest of the calendar year: play more games! Thanks for this list.

  3. Blokus is our favorite

  4. Dominos are a favorite here!

  5. Stephanie S says:

    Thank you for the great ideas for now and later! I pinned this to look to in the future since most of these are still for children older than ours (6 and 8).

  6. Love this list! We love Set. There were quite a few on your list that I am not familiar with and want to check out. Thanks for posting this.

  7. Jessica B. says:

    We like mancala and blokus.

  8. I love this list of games! My goal for the rest of the year is to play more games with my older girls. My 5 year old and I like to play Zingo!

  9. Rebekah F says:

    My kids like UNO.

  10. Qwirkle is one game that even my not game liking daughter will sit down and play as a family. Blokus is a lot of fun too.

  11. Joscelyne H says:

    Settlers of Catan.

  12. How to pick just one favorite?! Qwirkle, Scattergories, Animalogic, Rush Hour, Blink…

  13. We are just starting to build our game cupboard. Right now we are playing Monopoly Jr which is great for my 5 and 8 year old to play together without adults to be present. Checkers is another good one.

  14. Cristy S. says:

    Hands down, Apples to Apples and Monopoly! We get our whole family involved …

  15. What a fun list of games!! Some of these I hadn’t heard of before.

  16. These are FANTASTIC! We love games in our house and I’ll have to pick some of these up!

  17. Our family loves Settlers of Catan and Monopoly Deal!

  18. We love games & picking a favorite is hard, but Settlers of Catan is always a hit.

  19. I love these games! My daughter just wrote ‘games” down on a Christmas list. Right now, we’re at the age where we play uno and connect 4 a lot. I’d like to expand.

  20. I have and love most of the games listed above. Difficult to pick a favorite. The Brain Box ones are great to use with a class. And Rush Hour is great for kids who need a challenge to work on by themselves. I use the 10 Days ones in my Geography Class. And our family likes playing Bananagrams on vacations.

  21. Crystal Pullen says:

    We love Speed, checkers and Dinopoly. My daughter is turning a standard monopoly game into a dragon version as well

  22. Some of Our favorite games are, Rummikub, Domnioes, Apples to Apples….

  23. Scrabble is my favorite.

  24. Michelle R. says:

    I grew up playing a lot of games for our schooling… so now I am starting the same tradition with my kids! Right now they are really into a plain ol’ deck of cards : )

  25. UNO and Monopoly are our favorites. I couldn’t name just one.

  26. We play Can’t Stop – an old game, but really great for learning addition. And truly fun.

  27. My husband is a board game designer. Our family loves games almost as much as we love books. Lots of favorites on this list!

    Here are a few more strategy Euro-type games our kids enjoy: Carcassonne, The Little Prince, Forbidden Island.

    My husband is actually teaching a game design class for our homeschool co-op and our daughter has made and sold her own game, which a game company will be releasing (hopefully soon!). There are so many great ways to learn with games, whether making them or playing them. 🙂

  28. Karen, how exciting about a game company picking up your daughter’s game!! Carcassonne is a new favorite of ours. We just love it! I’ll have to give The Little Prince and Forbidden Island a try. Thanks for the suggestions!

  29. Jessica C. says:

    I know this is a few years old, but I just came across this list — thank you! We have and enjoy some you’ve listed, and haven’t heard of others but I’ll keep an eye out at thrift stores! I love the out-of-print 1975 Klondike board game by Gamma Two Games (haven’t played in a long time, but from what I remember it’s well worth seeking out a used copy, which I plan to do), and 1984’s Play on Words — that one is definitely a great travel game since there’s only the little pencils that can be lost! I’ve never played Settlers of Catan but recently bought a used copy of Settlers of Canaan. We haven’t played it yet but I’ve also bought a used copy of the Camp board game. I love the idea of it being a true family game, for kids age 4 on up to adults. Wildcraft! An Herbal Adventure Game sounds like another good one for ages 4+. Tenzi is a fun dice game that can be played in different ways. We also like Rory’s Story Cubes, and Imagidice, and I am intrigued by the Once Upon a Time storytelling card game I’ve recently found out about. I think Spot It! Alphabet, Numbers & Shapes, Words, and Jr. will be great for younger kids. Pictionary was a favorite growing up, but I haven’t played it in years.

  30. Ooh, I haven’t heard of a few of those, Jessica! Looking forward to checking them out. I noticed the other day that our library has board games now – and a lot of those were new to me. I <3 games!

  31. Chris James says:

    Great read!!! Thanks for sharing such a great blog, Keep sharing such great blog.

  32. Heya.

    I’m new here. As a young active mom who does homeschooling full time year round non stop in order to teach basic skills I love to use math games. One classic one we play is Rummikub the one made for Kids. Best wishes. Over the years I’ve found this to be true.

    It is great for teaching them simple math skills. I love that as well. The actual game in question offers them a chance to practice turn taking too. Seriously. I have always recommended it to my close family members and local friends at the same time. Technique counts for a great deal here. No lie either. If you have the technique you will win.

    It beats the boring workbooks for sure. Over the past few years I’ve come up with a safe original technique to help them to win at least. They are allowed five minutes to think of two good moves they can do within that time limit. This method applies during the entire game. Each practice round follows the same method. I time all rounds with a plastic cheap egg timer or a clock. Practice makes perfect I say to them whenever we play.

  33. Rummikub is a great option for math practice! 🙂

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