Games We Liked

Monopoly Jr. and Monopoly

This is a complete snore for the adult (to me anyway) but it really did teach my kids one to one correspondence, how to follow rules and most importantly how to be a banker!!!!

Rummikub

A dice game version of rummy.  My oldest two went through a phase where they played this every afternoon during quiet time.

Shut the Box

A fun game to haul out once in a while which helps practice addition facts.

Card games

War, Go Fish, Crazy Eights, Gin Rummy. . . and Poker.  My husband taught my kids poker.  Really sharpens strategic thinking and adding to 21!!!

Uno

We just played the junior version but my kids enjoyed it.  It was something to pull out when kids were bored.


Here's a link on how to use cards to teach all sorts of math concepts.

Set

We went through a brief period where we played this game all the time, then something tragic happened to the deck, I can't remember what.  Something spilled all over it?  The dog ate some of the cards?  Whatever, I still feel disappointed that we no longer have this game.  Of course it's been years and I could have easily have bought another one.  Well, Christmas is coming!

Sudoku 
My kids loved sudoku as did my husband who has since graduated to kakuro.  My 20 year old still loves this game and plays it on line all the time. When you see him on his phone?  He's playing some form of sudoku

Stack the States

This was an app I think that my youngest dd would play over and over again.

Chronology

We only played this a few times but I really loved it and always wanted to play it more.  It's great because it teaches you when things happened relative to other things that happened.  I found it very orienting in terms of understanding history.

We actually have a glass set like this.  The weird thing is I have no idea where we got it.  It just appeared one day.

Chess

For a few years we were in a chess club.  My three sons played the most.  My middle son was even in a competition or two.  Then we kind of got away from it.  However, one son's girlfriend is really into chess because he dad is a champion player, so it's making a comeback here.

Hangman

A classic especially when waiting for food at a restaurant or hanging out in a waiting room.  Never got old.

Big Boggle

We loved this one.  I think it was really good for my dyslexic kids.  They were really good at spotting words that didn't flow from left to right!

Mad Libs

My kids learned grammar with these.  I tired of them far faster than they did.

Snake Oil

My youngest dd especially loved this one.  You pick a card which tells you what product you have to start pitching, then you do your sale talk, another person also does the same with their card.  Other players have to judge who won.

Charades

Another easy parlor game that never gets old.

Twenty Questions

Ditto.  I must brag and say I am really good at picking something the kids can't guess.

Apples to Apples

My kids favorite game to play when they had friends over.  They'd have such a good time; lots of laughter!

We weren't great game players like I think some families are.  I never really used them didactically though of course they naturally have an educational element to them.  So this list might seem a bit paltry compared to some.

My oldest dd married a hard core board game player.  He's got bookshelves full of games.  That's their way to socialize.  They invite people and play board games.  So my kids have really gotten into tons of games I have no idea of.  Same with my youngest son.  He and his girlfriend go to a board game night every Monday at a game store.  They play all kinds of games deep into the night, that I've never heard of.  Who would have thunk that in this day and age when computer games and isolating social media is so dominating and yet people love to play board games more than ever.