Educational Table-top Games

[Ed P]

When I was growing up we played a lot of family games that had subtle educational aspects e.g. Dominoes, Crib and even Monotony (sorry Monopoly). Such gaming is now far less common due to other obvious attractions and I think both children and family miss out on families not doing something together that also gives kids the chance of beating up on adults.

In the hope that there are others who are far more experienced in family games I will kick off with one that is good for children of 6 and up (I know it says 8 but these are US kids and they always deliberately overstate age requirements to make parents feel good.)  In addition to being a game that lasts only 30 minutes it reinforces both multiplication and addition as well as bringing in elements of strategy. My 6 year od grandchild likes it, and visually it looks quite attractive!

The game is Kingdomino, and there are some You Tubes showing it in play.

[Ed P]

My grandson would kill me if he knew I’d called him ‘od’ but the forum has been crashing a lot and it will not allow an edit. Sorry guy!

[JayCeeDee]

The tabletop games I had the most fun with were Space Invaders and PacMan!!

However, when I went back home at Christmas after my parents moved to Wales, it was late night/early morning sessions of Mah Jongg, with brother and sil, and/or sister and bil. Card games had become boring/passé and this just added a new level of play that combined the principles of rummy using tiles instead of cards. Great fun. Scoring added a layer of complexity to it, but it could just be played until you got too tired to play.

[Drezha]

I’ve become a fan of Settlers of Catan and I also play Carcossone. Catan is probably more educational, but both are good fun.

"Everything looks interesting until you do it. Then you find it’s just another job" - Terry Pratchett

[PlaneMan]

Risk is always a laugh, especially when you beat people that carry around The Art Of War .

That was when my brother lived in Wimbledon and had housemates that were fledgling traders and merchant bankers.

I never lost.  :yahoo:

[The Duke]

We have a few board games. My favourite of all time is Hotel. I like monopoly too, I hate Risk, it’s just 3 hours of chance!

Ive never been into the geeky side of tabletop games. But they are making a huge comeback. They ain’t cheap though. All the dungeons and dragons kids, are now  30 somethings, and there is a big market of adult (clean)  adventure table top games.

[Bob Williams]

I loved Risk, all the squaddies I ever knew played it in camp, usually at the month’s end. (Not enough month at the end of the money!)

When I was a kid, my dad would send me to the bookies’ with a bet. As I grew older, he would “let me” contribute half towards it. Dad would also teach us 3 lads how to play 3 card brag and stud poker properly, for matches. Emphasis on the ‘properly’ bit, because he wanted us ready to be armed against any card sharps we met. It worked for us and we passed it on: unfortunately one nephew became addicted and it cost him his marriage, as he forgot the basic rule – do not gamble for money when off your face!

Dad had a system for the horses: lay aside a certain small sum each week, choose horses carefully and bet once a week. If you win, keep the winnings and put away for holidays, etc. Take out next weeks’ stake, bet again next week. If you lose, that’s it. Dad and I never lost more than that small weekly sum and we won several middling amounts, once hit over £1500 on a 6-horse accumulator. That bought me a car and mam a Beaver Lamb coat, which was nicked on Mansfield Market. So he bought her another.

We also played dominoes a lot at home, which led one Christmas to myself and middle bro, scrapping in the backyard. I decked him, then carried him to the car and took him home. Tiddlywinks was mam’s favourite at Christmas: after a few whiskies she would crack one of her 2 jokes – “I’ll wink, you can tiddle!” Is there any wonder that I am a slightly disturbed individual? :scratch:  :negative:  B-)

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Ed P]

Avalon Hill Squad Leader (small unit WWII strategy & tactics) was my twenty something game of choice – bit too hard core for most people 4 hours+ with mistakes being brutally punished.

[Author]

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