Most people are surprised when they see our large game collection. We have a large variety of cards to board games. It is an ever-growing collection. We often play games together after dinner or on the weekends, especially in the winter. Strategy games, though, are great for adding to your homeschool day.
In homeschooling, when we use games for learning we call it Gameschooling. Some games are great for working on addition skills while others are great to work on spelling. We have a bunch of logic games and games to work on history. Games are such a fun way for kids to practice their academic skills or sharpen their critical thinking without them realizing it.
Since my kids are 9 and 11, we play a lot of strategy-type games. I have come up with a list of some of our favorite games to play that work on critical thinking, strategy, and logic skills.
Strategy and Logic Games
I love strategy games because they work on good planning and critical thinking skills. Most of the games we buy now fall into this category. Here are some great games to try once your kids are around 8 and up.
Karuba
Karuba is a treasure hunting game. Each player has their own game board. The object of the game is to get your four treasure hunters through the jungle to the matching temples as quickly as possible. You can earn jewels along the way which give you points. You also earn points for getting your treasure hunters to their temples. The faster you do so, the more points you receive. Once a player successfully gets all their treasure hunters to their temples, the game ends. However, the player with the most treasure aka points
There is a lot of strategy and planning involved in this game. If you don’t build your paths quickly or correctly, you will struggle throughout the game to move your pieces. The more you play, the better you get at figuring out a good strategy. It doesn’t always work, though, which makes it a fun and challenging game every time you play.
Ghost Fightin’ Treasure Hunters!
Yes, this is another treasure hunting game. This game is a collaborative strategy game, though. It is perfect to add to your Gameschooling day. All the players must work together to win. It is you vs. the ghosts. Without a good strategy, the ghost will quickly overrun the house, and you will lose.
The premise of the game is to collect all the jewels in the house before there are six hauntings. If you can get all the jewels and people out of the house in time, you win.
We LOVE this game! It is a challenge. We try to divvy up roles for each person like jewel collector and ghost fighters, but many times we still lose. It takes some strategy to keep the ghost population under control. The basic version is a challenge, but there is also a harder version to play, too. We often play multiple games at a time because we have to try and win at least once. To read a full review of this game click here.
Carcassonne
In Carcassonne, each player builds the board game with tiles to create kingdoms, abbeys, and roadways. The more you claim as your own and the bigger they are, the more points you receive. Every time you play, the board looks different.
The strategy is to find the best way to play each of the tiles drawn. You want to create your own kingdoms, have long roads, or abbeys strategically placed in order to receive the most points. The game ends when the last tile is placed. The points are then added up to see who has won.
Mastermind
Masterminds is a two-person game. One person creates a sequence and the other player tries different combinations in order to determine what it is. The player trying to figure out the sequence is given little hints along the way.
I like this game. You must analyze the hints given in order to figure out the pattern the person has created. Your brain definitely gets a workout.
Another game very similar to this is Deduction.
Battleship
Battleship is one of those classic games. Two players strategically place their ships on the board and try to sink the other player’s ships. I think every kid plays this at some time in their life.
I like Battleship because it requires you to strategically place your ships around the board. How can you “hide” your ships so your opponent has difficulty finding them? You also need to determine where your opponent is likely to place theirs. How might your opponent try and trick you? If you know the other player well, you can often use it to your advantage. It’s fun to see who comes up with the best strategy.
Clue
At first, Clue may not come to mind as a strategy game. My son would tell you otherwise. It took him quite some time before he figured out a strategy to help him find out how to eliminate suspects, weapons, and rooms off his list. It was agonizing to watch. He kept at it and has a better understanding now on how to get the information he needs. It was quite a journey for him.
Other Strategy Games
- Risk
- Stratego
- Connect 4
- Chess
- Sequence
- Catan
- Ticket to Ride
- Pandemic
The list could go on and on. There are so many great strategy games that help kids build their critical thinking and logical deduction skills. These are some of the ones we have enjoyed. The various games also represent a range of difficulty to meet different kids at their varying ability levels.
I feel these skills are very important for kids to learn. We need kids to be able to look at a problem and figure out different strategies to approach it. Strategy games can help build these skills. Kids are more likely to meet the challenge if it is in a game format rather than handing over some worksheets to work on.
I like to have a variety of games because each one works on a different type of strategy or a different approach to looking at a problem. It is a good brain workout for kids and adults, too!
So get out the strategy games for the kids and make it a Gameschooling Day!
If you want some suggestions for family game night, check this out:
Uno and Pase 10 are great too!
True. There are so many. I could write a whole new post on more.
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