Educational Game List
This list was
compiled by Mr. James Dietz. Mr. Dietz,
the President of Jolly Roger Games, has four years experience teaching at the
secondary level and an additional ten years of teaching experience at the
college level, having taught at two-year and four-year schools. In addition Mr. Dietz has designed
simulations specifically for use in a high school history classroom. Mr. Dietz holds an M.A. from Iowa State
and another from the University
of Illinois.
GAME:
Great War at Sea (several titles in series)
COMPANY: Avalanche Press
PRICE: $45-$55
AGES:
Juniors up
COMPLEXITY: High
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: History
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 2
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: Yes
TIME
TO LEARN: 4-5 hours
TIME TO TEACH: 90 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: variable (2-18 hours)
COMMENTS:
These cover various aspects of navy fighting at the turn of the 20th
century. They are interesting for their
discussions of the U.S. Navy Color Plans.
These are easier to use if the teacher is already a “gamer”.
GAME:
Days of Decision
COMPANY: Australian Design Group
PRICE: $50
AGES:
High school
COMPLEXITY: Medium, many things to know more than an issue of difficulty.
CLASSES SUITABLE FOR: European History, U.S.
History
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: up to 6
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: Absolutely!
TIME
TO LEARN: 3-4 hours
TIME TO TEACH: 90 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: variable (5-10 hours)
COMMENTS:
First edition tends to be directly tied with the World in Flames boardgame
(making it harder to implement). This
gives a good overview of the buildup to war, but requires some tinkering for
classroom use.
GAME:
Iron and Fire
COMPANY: A&A Game Engineering
PRICE: $15
AGES:
High school up
COMPLEXITY: moderate
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: US or European history
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: variable—one person/ship
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: definitely
TIME
TO LEARN: 2-4 hours
TIME TO TEACH: 90 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: variable
COMMENTS:
This requires one of two thingsàmoney to purchase ship miniatures
–OR- time,
which can be used to xerox/create ship silhouettes. For a classroom budget, silhouettes are
probably more efficient, and students could even be assigned creating the
silhouettes, researching ships, etc. before playing. For an added twist, anyone who has a ship
sunk has to have their assignment
torn
up! This recreates hesitation at
throwing ships in to battle willy-nilly and creates a very realistic
hesitation.
GAME: Road to Osaka
COMPANY: DAISHO GAMES
PRICE: $18, $16 for each supplement
AGES:
Junior High up
COMPLEXITY: low to moderate
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: History classes
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 2
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: absolutely
TIME
TO LEARN: 2 hours
TIME TO TEACH: 30 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: variable, minimum of one hour
COMMENTS:
The rules are ok while the supplements have good information on Japan’s
feudal system. The advantage is the
rules are simple. The disadvantage is
that it requires having little figurines (although using Risk™ pieces work).
GAME:
Settlers of Canaan
COMPANY: Cactus Design Group
PRICE: $30
AGES:
10-11 or older
COMPLEXITY: low
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: World History/Ancient History, Religion
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 2-4
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: Yes, but not great for it
TIME
TO LEARN: 30 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: Can be taught as started, 15 minute overview would be handy
TIME TO PLAY: 1-3 hours
COMMENTS:
Great for religion class, goes from Joshua to David. This could be a touchy game for a public
school class as the game is very Christian-oriented. Otherwise, this is Settlers of Catan.
GAME:
Call of Cthulhu
COMPANY: Chaosium
PRICE: used--~$15, new: $38
AGES:
junior high up, should be considered PG or PG-13
COMPLEXITY: low
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: American Lit, Science Fiction, Horror, 20th Century
Lit, 1920s History
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: as many as desired
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: No. Each player is a single character.
TIME
TO LEARN: 2-4 hours (making characters is the hard part to learn)
TIME TO TEACH: 30 minutes.
TIME TO PLAY: as desired
COMMENTS:
This is a role-playing game and free-form.
It explores the horror mythos of H.P. Lovecraft which inspired Stephen
King and other writers. References to
Cthulhu are quite frequent, including Arkham Asylum in the Batman cartoon
series.
GAME:
The Very Clever Pipe Game
COMPANY: Cheapass Games
PRICE: $4
AGES:
10 and up
COMPLEXITY: Low
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: Classes involving spatial development
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 2-5
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: No
TIME
TO LEARN: 20 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: 10 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: 30 minutes
COMMENTS: Hard to bring a game to class with the name
“Cheapass” on it. If used, whiteout the
references and then play. Low quality components won’t stand up to prolonged
use.
GAME:
War of 1812
COMPANY: Columbia
Games
PRICE: $40
AGES:
Junior High up
COMPLEXITY: Low-moderate
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: US/British History, 19th century history
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 2
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: up to 2 people/side
TIME
TO LEARN: 90 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: 30 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: 2 hours
COMMENTS:
Not a normally covered area. Hard to get
lots of students involved. –the Columbia
‘block games’ all use similar systems, so familiarity with one WILL make the
others much easier as well.
GAME:
Dixie (Bull Run)
COMPANY: Columbia
PRICE: $30
AGES:
10 and up
COMPLEXITY: Easy
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: US History
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 2
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: No
TIME
TO LEARN: 30 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: 15 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: 30 minutes
COMMENTS:
Good game, but needs multiple decks. It
is possible to have multiple games going on, but at $30/game, that can get
pricey for a larger class. The game is a
card came—cheap copies are available on ebay.
GAME:
Eagles (Battle of Waterloo)
COMPANY: Columbia
PRICE: $40
AGES:
10 and up
COMPLEXITY: Easy-Low
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: European History
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 2
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: No
TIME
TO LEARN: 45 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: 15 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: 30-45 minutes
COMMENTS:
Good game, but needs multiple decks. It
is possible to have multiple games going on, but at $40/game, that can get
pricey for a larger class. The game is a
card came. The art is accurate and
attractive. Cheap copies are available
on ebay.
GAME:
Escape from Colditz
COMPANY: Excalibre Games
PRICE: $42 (but available many places for less…)
AGES:
8 and older
COMPLEXITY: low
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: those dealing with World War 2
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: up to 6
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: Yes (depends on teacher)
TIME
TO LEARN: 30 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: 15 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: 2 hours (game has a set time limit)COMMENTS: One player is the
German guard, the others are POWs trying to escape. Colditz was the escape-proof castle and was
the subject for a PBS NOVA special as well.
There is a novel based on the book, along with memoirs.
GAME:
Phoenix
COMPANY: Eurogames
PRICE: $20
AGES:
8 and up (although best with 13 and up)
COMPLEXITY: low, but requires high-level thinking
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: abstract concepts, order of things, etc
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 2
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: No
TIME
TO LEARN: 10 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: 10 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: 20 minutes
COMMENTS:
This would be very good to have in a 5-6 grade class level for rainy days and
indoor recess. You have to move pieces
to get them in the same order as the pieces in the board’s center, except both
players play cards to switch pieces in order, back and forth AND the order in
the center!
GAME:
Mare Nostrum
COMPANY: Eurogames
PRICE: $45
AGES:
Recommended 14 and up
COMPLEXITY: Moderate
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: Ancients, Europe, Geography
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 2-5 (3-5 best)
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: Yes (3 per team can work)
TIME
TO LEARN: 1 hour
TIME TO TEACH: 30 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: 2 hours
COMMENTS:
Simulates the creation of modern civilizations.
It comes with an introductory scenario that—while not balanced
really—does a good job of showing the key issues in developing an empire in the
ancient world. It is also great fun.
GAME:
Formula De
COMPANY: Eurogames
PRICE: $40
AGES:
10 and up (but my 6 year old has played)
COMPLEXITY: Low
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: Math, counting
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 2-10 (bogs down after 6)
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: No
TIME
TO LEARN: 30 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: 15 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: variable—about 45 minutes/lap of the race
COMMENTS:
Variable dice can be used to determine probability. Or can be used for
counting—results can range from 1-30.
GAME:
Nuclear War
COMPANY: Flying Buffalo
PRICE: $30
AGES:
10 and up (theme is probably PG)
COMPLEXITY: Low
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: Dealing with Cold War/modern history/current events
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2-6
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: No.
TIME
TO LEARN: 30 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: 15 minutes (can be done as you start games)
TIME TO PLAY: 10-60 minutes
COMMENTS:
Object is to wipe everyone out. It is VERY possible that everyone dies and no
one wins the game. It IS possible to win
the game without using nuclear weapons.
There are expansions, but not necessary or helpful in a classroom. It’s advantage is the game plays fast.
GAME:
World War One
COMPANY: SPI / Decision Games
PRICE: $15
AGES:
12-
COMPLEXITY: Low
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: History/Social Studies
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 2-3
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: Yes, but not well. Wouldn’t recommend more than 2 to a
team.
TIME
TO LEARN: 60 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: 30 minutes (can be taught while setting up)
TIME TO PLAY: 3-4 hours
COMMENTS:
To win you must advance, but you lose when you advance. Winner is really the last country with
manpower left. After playing, students
should feel incredibly frustrated…simulates feelings of officers of WW1 very
well.
GAME:
Stone Soup
COMPANY: Gamewright, Inc.
PRICE: $10
AGES:
6-10
COMPLEXITY: Easy (with an adult explaining)
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: 1-4 grades
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: up to 4 effectively
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: No
TIME
TO LEARN: 10 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: …depends on the grade, expect 20 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: 10-30 minutes
COMMENTS:
Good in combination with the book Stone Soup.
GAME:
Honor of the Samurai
COMPANY: Gamewright, Inc.
PRICE: $20
AGES:
10 and up
COMPLEXITY: Low
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: 5th grade up, World History, Japan, Geography
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 2-4
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: No
TIME
TO LEARN: 30 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: 10 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: 30-60 minutes
COMMENTS:
Introduction to Japanese feudal culture, nice components with a modernish yet
Japanese style.
GAME:
Eighth Air Force / Rise of the Luftwaffe
COMPANY: GMT Games
PRICE: $40 / $30
AGES:
13 and up
COMPLEXITY: Low-Medium
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: History, discussion of WW2
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 2-6 (best with 4 or less)
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: Yes—each player controls one flight of planes.
TIME TO LEARN: 60-90
minutes
TIME TO TEACH: 15 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: variable, 15-60 minutes
COMMENTS:
Covers all planes in Europe. Card game
requiring strategy. Good to show
superiority of jets, vulnerability of bombers.
Definitely can see the progression in technology from 1939 to 1945. It is also possible to play a hand “solo” to
learn the rules before explaining them to students.
GAME: Pendragon
Role-Playing
COMPANY: Green Knight Publishing
PRICE: $30
AGES:
13 and up
COMPLEXITY: Medium progressing to Low with experience
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: Medieval history, myths/legends, English literature, European
history.
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: no limit
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: no. Each student is one person.
TIME
TO LEARN: 3-4 hours (plus additional preparation time for copying)
TIME TO TEACH: 1 hour
TIME TO PLAY: as needed
COMMENTS:
Best use would be to research Arthurian values, etc. and let students create
knights based on those values following this up with an adventure of their
own. Pendragon is very thorough and true
to Arthurian legends and medieval culture.
It is a lot of work to use this, but it also has a correspondingly big
payoff if successful.
Good
to use with “Le Morte d’Artur” or “The Green Knight”
GAME:
Matrix Games (various)
COMPANY: Hamster Press
PRICE: $10-$15
AGES:
9 and up
COMPLEXITY: Easy-Low
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: 3rd grade up
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: any—but teacher MUST be active as arbitrator/GM
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: No
TIME
TO LEARN: 15-30 minutes (and a second reading to work through it)
TIME TO TEACH: 5-10 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: as needed
COMMENTS:
This is a free-form role-playing/game system.
It has scenarios for every time period and can recreate history or be
used to get into characters. Ideal as
the only additional equipment necessary is a single six-sided die. Games are not repetitive—even with same
players. Highly recommended for use once
you understand how they work/have experience with them (and still good otherwise). Hamster Press is good answering questions and
with support material.
GAME:
Mission I.S.S. (International Space Station)
COMPANY: Iron Bear Studios
PRICE: $15
AGES:
10 and up
COMPLEXITY: Low
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: any dealing with Space issues/current events
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: up to 4
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: No
TIME
TO LEARN: 60 minutes (rules are ambiguous at points)
TIME TO TEACH: 15 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: 45 minutes
COMMENTS:
Requires some cooperation and centers around the building of an international
space platform. Can be played on a
standard school desktop.
GAME:
Fire Brigade: World War Two Miniatures
COMPANY: Jolly Roger Games
PRICE: $20
AGES:
high school and up
COMPLEXITY: medium to high
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: any covering WW2
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 2 sides
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: Absolutely
TIME
TO LEARN: 60-120 minutes (will struggle if fight big battle initially)
TIME TO TEACH: Can learn as played—which simulates first time commanders fight
TIME TO PLAY: variable. 1-5 hours
COMMENTS:
Can be done on card-table space.
Requires figures (can be axis and allies pieces/risk pieces). Can also be used as comparative reference for
troop/equipment quality. Co-designed by U.S. Army simulations designer.
GAME:
The Chicago Way
COMPANY: Jolly Roger Games
PRICE: $35
AGES:
9 and up
COMPLEXITY: low
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: US History, Government
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 2-4 (best with 4)
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: Yes (although not tried)
TIME
TO LEARN: 15 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: 10 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: 30min – 2 hours
COMMENTS:
Contains political biographies of Chicago
luminaries. Requires cooperation, trading/interaction. There is a Rated PG word on the Mayor Cermak
card. Art is NOT realistic. Designer had potential education use in mind.
GAME:
Dynasties
COMPANY: Jolly Roger Games
PRICE: $21.99
AGES:
9 and up
COMPLEXITY: low
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: World History, Math
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 2-
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: No
TIME
TO LEARN: 15 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: 10 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: 30 minutes
COMMENTS:
Game requiring area control that limits some cards to one use only—making
card-counting/probability important.
Limited to 2 players—it is best used as an example of the mechanics of
probability, etc.
GAME:
Knock Knock
COMPANY: Jolly Roger Games
PRICE: $10
AGES:
5 and up
COMPLEXITY: low
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: Kindergarten to H.S.
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 3-8
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: No.
TIME
TO LEARN: 15 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: 5 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: 30 minutes
COMMENTS:
Halloween theme. Game involves bluffing
other players and trying to collect sets of monsters (ghosts, vampires, and
Frankenstein’s monsters)
GAME:
Survival or Extinction (English and Spanish versions are available)
COMPANY: Latz Chance games
PRICE: $20
AGES:
7-13
COMPLEXITY: Low - Easy
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: 3-6 grades
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 2-4
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: No
TIME
TO LEARN: 30 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: 15 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: variable
COMMENTS:
Good to use during dinosaur units. Shows
issues/questions regarding dino survival.
GAME:
Chrononauts
COMPANY: Looney Labs
PRICE: $20
AGES:
Junior High up
COMPLEXITY: Low-Medium
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: History, Classes working with cause-effect
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: Not easily
TIME
TO LEARN: 45 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: 10 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: 30-60 minutes
COMMENTS:
Players are time travelers trying to create a certain timeline in Earth’s
history. Players can end the world, create peace, etc. “Photocopying for personal use” would be
necessary to have more than two players playing, or else modifying the
rules.
GAME:
Empire Builder (series of train games)
COMPANY: Mayfair
PRICE: $25-$40
AGES:
10 and up (10-12 with supervision)
COMPLEXITY: medium to low
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: economics, geography, history
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 2-6
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: Yes (but keep them small)
TIME
TO LEARN: 20-30 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: 15 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: widely variable
COMMENTS:
Once one is learned, the whole series is known.
Players get to draw with crayons and build rails to develop
railways. They then have to move trains
to carry cargos to destination cities, showing where resources are and forcing
players to find cities. The most useful
in the series are Empire Builder (USA), Eurorails (Europe), British Rails (Great Britain), and Nippon Rails (Japan).
GAME:
1830 (out of print)
COMPANY: Avalon Hill
PRICE: $10-30 used, there is also a computer version
AGES:
13-up (Jr high only with supervision)
COMPLEXITY: Medium
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: Economics, history
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 2-6
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: Small teams
TIME
TO LEARN: 1-2 hours
TIME TO TEACH: 30-45 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: 3-6 hours
COMMENTS:
The computer game plays MUCH faster taking all calculations out—it would be the
MUCH PREFERRED version for use in a classroom. Players buy stock in railroads
and manipulate the market while developing a rail network in the Eastern United States.
Completely different in style from the Empire Builder series. It is massive profits through stock
manipulation, just like in 19th century America. The computer version can be saved and
resumed. Boardgame version would require
scrupulous students/students who stay focused when not actively participating
in a turn.
GAME: Settlers of Catan
COMPANY: Mayfair (in the US)
PRICE: $38 (German version is significantly cheaper)
AGES:
12-
COMPLEXITY: Moderate to low
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: Geography, studying of colonization
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 2-4
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: Small, perhaps with designated roles within the team
TIME TO LEARN: 30 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: 10 minutes (but explain BEFORE setup, as setup is a definite
time for strategic decisions by players)
TIME TO PLAY: widely variable, generally between 30-120 minutes
COMMENTS:
Great game, relationship between resources and communities, also involves
probability/odds in determination of resources. Instead of Catan, could easily
call the game Settlers of Jamestown for a US History class for example.
GAME:
Domaine
COMPANY: Mayfair
PRICE: $50
AGES:
12 and up
COMPLEXITY: Low-medium
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: Middle Ages studies
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 2-4
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: Small
TIME
TO LEARN: 45 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: 15 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: 45-75 minutes
COMMENTS:
Not played, but frankly, I have never seen a poor game designed by Klaus
Teuber. The game will emphasize balance
and interaction between players. (But this is sight-unseen, I simply trust
Teuber as a designer that much)
GAME:
The Character Sketcher v3.0 / Fractal Mapper v6.0
COMPANY: NBOS Software
PRICE: $35
AGES:
computer savvy/literate
COMPLEXITY: computer savvy/literate
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: projects with an art or map component
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: N/A
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: Could be a group project
TIME
TO LEARN: 60 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: on the fly
TIME TO PLAY: Teacher’s discretion
COMMENTS: These are programs that can be used to draw
characters—perhaps out of a story or Literature book. The map program can be used for mapping
continents or at a smaller scale for designing houses—sort of a poor man’s
CAD. They are NOT directly games
however.
GAME:
various titles
COMPANY: Osprey Books
PRICE: $15-$20
AGES:
Junior High up
COMPLEXITY: low all the way to high
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: history, art…even fashion
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: n/a
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: no
TIME
TO LEARN: n/a
TIME TO TEACH: n/a
TIME TO PLAY: n/a
COMMENTS:
These are books covering every conceivable military campaign of history or army
of history. The value comes from the
brevity of the books, the conciseness of detail, and the photographs and color
artwork that accompany the text. The
research behind the books tends to be first-rate as well. If not used directly or made available to
students, they can supplement knowledge in areas you feel you as a teacher need
help with.
GAME:
Apples to Apples
COMPANY: Out of the Box Games
PRICE: $20
AGES:
12 and up (a lower version is made for ages 7 and up)
COMPLEXITY: low
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: Any involving vocabulary
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 4-10
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: Small ones
TIME
TO LEARN: 20 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: 10 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: 20-30 minutes
COMMENTS:
Nice easy word game. The caution would
be with older kids who could try and push the limits of word choices, but that
is a rare problem. It is also easy to
make your own cards for the game.
GAME:
My Word!
COMPANY: Out of the Box Games
PRICE: $10
AGES:
7 and up
COMPLEXITY: low
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: vocabulary
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 2-6
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: Small if necessary
TIME
TO LEARN: 15 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: 10 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: 10-15 minutes
COMMENTS:
Players look at cards and try and form words from the letters on at least three
cards. First to blurt a word gets those
cards. Simple, fast, affordable.
GAME:
Bosworth
COMPANY: Out of the Box Games
PRICE: $20
AGES:
8 and up (don’t mix age groups though)
COMPLEXITY: low (although strategies can be complex)
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: thinking skills
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 2-4
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: No
TIME
TO LEARN: 15 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: 15 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: 20-60 minutes
COMMENTS:
It is essentially a 4-player chess variant.
GAME: Africa
COMPANY: Rio Grande Games (in the US)
PRICE: $40
AGES:
10 and up (although really should be 12-13 and up)
COMPLEXITY: low, but involved
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: Geography, Africa as subject,
history, issue of exploration.
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 2-5
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: Yes
TIME
TO LEARN: 45 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: 30-45 minutes (to be thorough)
TIME TO PLAY: 45-75 minutes
COMMENTS: It looks pretty and will have some critical
thinking issues—do you press on with exporation or go back and claim your fame
and hope no one else finds other, more famous things. Similar to “Source of the Nile”
by Avalon Hill.
GAME:
Barbarosa
COMPANY: Rio Grande
PRICE: $35
AGES:
can be done ages 7 and up
COMPLEXITY: low
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: art, thinking, literature involving riddles/Sphinx, etc
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 2-5
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: Yes
TIME
TO LEARN: 30 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: 15 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: 30-45 minutes
COMMENTS:
Better to tweak the rules and emphasize the creation of things and the
riddles. Be prepared to provide extra
play-doh or model clay!
GAME:
APBA Baseball (Basic Game)
COMPANY: APBA Game Company
PRICE: $40
AGES:
7 and up (10 and up without supervision)
COMPLEXITY: low
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: probability/math
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 2
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: no
TIME
TO LEARN: 45-60 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: 10 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: 45 minutes
COMMENTS:
The value is in the use of the cards. 36 possible results along with the
various on-base situations allows calculation of possible results and
probabilities. The statistics for
likelihood of each on-base situation are researchable. This would work with moderate to high level
math classes. Students could recreate
player abilities/make their own cards by researching past baseball season
stats.
GAME:
Battleground ________ (Series of
computer games)
COMPANY: Talonsoft
PRICE: $30-$50
AGES:
12 and up
COMPLEXITY: moderate to learn
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: history, advanced programming
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 1
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: no
TIME
TO LEARN: 60 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: 30 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: variable
COMMENTS:
This is a series of computer games that are turn based. Potentially useful for illustrating certain
situations/layouts of key battles from Napoleon, U.S. Civil War, or World War
Two. Not necessarily useful for actually
playing in class.
GAME:
Central Powers (Axis and Allies)
COMPANY: TableTactics
PRICE: $38
AGES:
13 and up
COMPLEXITY: low (but presumes you have Ax&Al)
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: history, social studies
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: up to 5, but really best with 2 sides
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: yes
TIME
TO LEARN: 45 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: 45 minutes (less if A&A is already known)
TIME TO PLAY: 2-6 hours
COMMENTS:
If Axis and Allies is already known, this is a World War One variant to use the
same rules and play the same game.
GAME:
Redemption: City of Bondage
COMPANY: Talicor, Inc.
PRICE: $25
AGES:
10 and up
COMPLEXITY: low-moderate
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: Bible study, ethics, Sunday school
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: up to 5
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: No
TIME
TO LEARN: 45 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: 30 minutes (can teach as starting)
TIME TO PLAY: variable
COMMENTS:
The saving of souls. Game “forces”
cooperation—no one wins if any of the players “dies”.
GAME:
Junta
COMPANY: West End Games
PRICE: $30
AGES:
12 and up, although themes are generally high school
COMPLEXITY: low to moderate
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: politics, history, quasi-economics, geography, sociology
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: 3-6
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: small ones
TIME
TO LEARN: 45 minutes
TIME TO TEACH: 15 minutes
TIME TO PLAY: 1-2 hours
COMMENTS:
Players are stereotypes in a banana republic responsible for voting on
graft/corruption as well as whether to overthrow the president. It should not be taken seriously! Teachers should be aware of the stereotypes
being parodied.
GAME:
Charnal Houses of Europe: The Shoah
COMPANY: Black Dog Game Factory (White Wolf)
PRICE: $15
AGES:
mature only! (High school)
COMPLEXITY: n/a
CLASSES
SUITABLE FOR: Holocaust study
NUMBER
OF PLAYERS: n/a
CAN TEAMS BE USED?: n/a
TIME
TO LEARN: n/a
TIME TO TEACH: n/a
TIME TO PLAY: n/a
COMMENTS:
This is an RPG supplement, but its usefulness comes from its subject matter and
fiction regarding the Holocaust. It is a VERY serious and intense book which
provides an idea how the Holocaust can be explained/taught in alternative
fashion.
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