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It feels like it has been raining forever! The result being, we've stayed indoors more and dug through the board games to see what will cheer us up. It’s also my go to tactic when the kids start to squabble and pick fights with each other! Of course it doesn’t mean they won’t fight over who shuffles the cards or who sets up the board – sigh!!
Board games are not only fun but they also help develop a whole bunch of skills like
social skills
spatial awareness
negotiation
problem solving
logic
critical thinking
communication
maths skills
and they’re also just a nice way to connect with each other :-)
I've recently learnt about gameschooling where games are used as an intentional learning tool. This is especially great for learners who are less keen on formal learning. I will be delving deeper into this as it will definitely suit one of mine very well! I'll keep you posted on our journey into this but if you want to know more about gameschooling check out this great blog by The Mulberry Journey.
Here are some of the games we're playing at the moment:
1. Uno
One firm favourite is Uno. If you’ve never played it before is it a colourful card game where, to win, you need to get rid of all your cards. Except your opponents will try to prevent you doing this at every opportunity. It is a great game to introduce the concept of strategy and we’ve enjoyed watching the kids strategic skills develop over the course of the billion or so games we’ve played!! I do enjoy the game a lot, it’s fun, can be quick, however the kids regularly gang up on me to make me lose!
Another favourite is Stomp The Plank. To win, your plank must not topple into the sea. As you play the game you may have to add counters to the end of your plank or move the cute elephant playing piece along the plank – each increasing your topple risk. It is a very entertaining game and subtly teaches about balance, tipping points and risk taking. I like this game as the kids can’t pick on me, it’s all down to the luck of the draw - Ha!
A new one we’ve been playing lately is Monopoly Deal. This is Monopoly turned into a card game. It’s cleverly designed; you still collect properties, add houses and hotels and collect rent. Some strategic skill is required but for us, this game is about coping when the game doesn’t go in your favour. Just like the original board game, it has proven to be emotionally challenging for the kids when something happens and a property is lost or money has to be paid – however, they love it when the game is going in their favour, and they can accumulate a decent pile of Monopoly money!!
4. Kersplatt
We were given Kersplatt for Christmas – think Ludo with added playdoh! You make your own playing pieces with the playdoh provided and work your way around the board to get to your home base. If someone draws a Kersplatt card then you are at risk of getting squashed! The player with the Kersplatt card can take their hand, hold it over your beautifully crafted playdoh piece and with a hefty amount of glee flatten your playdoh. Obviously, in an attempt to role model good sportsmanship, I shrug off the squashing with a chuckle and reach for the playdoh to craft a new work of art. However when the tables turn and I, the parent, get to flatten one of the kids pieces they object – where’s the fun, eh?! By the end the board is a devastation of my playdoh and the kids smugly declaring they’ve won!!
Pass The Pigs. It’s simply, you ‘roll’ the two pigs and score points depending on their landing position. The kids have a lot of laughs over the various positions and combinations of positions. They could just roll the pigs and not bother with the scoring; that is entertainment enough. However, if we do start to write down the score, I have to leave it completely in their hands. If I write down the scores and then, out of habit, say something like “oh what is 15 plus 7”, they immediately cotton on to my opportunistic maths and complain that I’m making them do school - Doh!! Another problem comes when there is debate over how to score a particular roll; this squabble is usually the signal that we need move onto a different game!
6. IQ Puzzler
Lastly, IQ Puzzler is fun, challenging, frustrating, infuriating and satisfying! It involves perfectly fitting together a set of individually shaped pieces. You start by laying out the board as per the instruction and then you have to complete the board by figuring out how the remaining pieces fit together. The number of pieces you have to fit will depend on the difficulty level you want to play. This is great for spatial awareness and if they’re in the right mood, this can keep the kids attention for a long time. They even join forces and try to solve it together which gives you that warm fuzzy feeling that happens when siblings get along!
Chess is another great game and I was amazed and impressed at how quickly my kids picked up the rules. If you fancy learning or improving your skills then take a look at the resources on the chess page 😊
Drop me a line and tell me your favourite games or perhaps even games you’ve had to lock away for fear of starting a war!!
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