The Wolfe Pack {Reviews+Resources+Suggestions=Support for the Discerning Homeschool Mom}

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Game Review: SCRAMBLED STATES of AMERICA {Geography}

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{This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our Disclosure Policy for details.} 

The Scrambled States of America is available on Amazon HERE.

{I purchased this game myself. All opinions are my own!}

 

My kid’s understanding of STATE GEOGRAPHY is well beyond mine but we still love to play this board game, The Scrambled States of America. Or maybe that is WHY he likes to play it with me, haha!  Either way, I also enjoy this game. It’s marketed as “the whimsical, mad-dashing GEOGRAPHY game” and we would agree. It is fun, funny and fairly quick. And, of course, it is educational! 

But, it’s not quite as educational in the area of GEOGRAPHY as The Game of the States, because it does not spend nearly as much time and energy focusing on the actual GEOGRAPHIC locations of the states. But, it does still hold a lot of educational value. Read on to see just how and why we recommend playing  The Scrambled States of America…

 

In addition to reviewing the

FUN FACTOR and the

EDUCATIONAL VALUE,

I will also include info on the

ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT,

TIME COMMITMENT, 

CLARITY LEVEL

and an OVERALL SCORE. 

NAME: The Scrambled States of America

PUBLISHER: Gamewright

CATEGORY: History

SUB CATEGORY: Geography

TIME COMMITMENT: Moderate {30+ minutes}

PLAYERS: 2-4 

AGES: 8+

HOW TO WIN: Be the player to collect the most state cards!

CLARITY LEVEL: ♥♥♥♥♥ The instructions are very easy to read, and more importantly, they are easy to follow. After we read the directions once and then started playing, we never had to go back to clarify anything. Easy peasy!  CLARITY LEVEL SCORE: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥

FUN FACTOR: ♥♥♥♥♥ With a tagline that includes “whimsical” and “mad-dashing,” FUN is to be expected!  We’ve played this game several times and we are never disappointed in that area. It’s always FUN and never frustrating.  FUN FACTOR SCORE: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥

EDUCATIONAL VALUE: ♥♥♥♥_ As mentioned above, The Scrambled States of America does not do the best job teaching your kids the GEORGRPAHICAL location of each state. It also does not do a stellar job at teaching your kids about each state {other than nickname, shape and capital}. If you are wanting a game that hits those harder, check out The Game of the States. But, what it does do is expose your kids to each state in a silly, whimsical way. It’s actually great for kids younger than the listed 8-years-old because it relies so much on the picture of the state found on each card.  Playing the game gives kids a fun and firm exposure to the state shape, nickname and capital along with a decent introduction to the GEOGRAPHICAL location.  EDUCATIONAL VALUE SCORE: 4/5 ♥♥♥♥_

ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT: ♥♥♥♥♥  It comes in a small, sturdy box that I love! The plastic insert is also sturdy and has held up even after years of play. The cards are both high quality and very colorful. It comes with four little maps, which could benefit from being laminated, and a small “book.” The book explains the background of the game but is not necessary by any means. And it’s really just a stapled packet so if your kids are rough at all, that’ll probably be the first casualty of the game. The directions are printed on a tri-fold of paper. You may not need to reference them often but you also won’t want to lose them because they don’t appear anywhere else.  ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT SCORE: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥

OVERALL SCORE: ♥♥♥♥♥ Though this is not the top game I suggest for learning state GEOGRAPHY, I do highly recommend this game! It is fun for several ages and levels and does a very good job of giving kids a fun and basic introduction to some state specifics.  OVERALL SCORE: 95% ♥♥♥♥♥

If you are ready to play “the whimsical, mad-dashing geography game,” you can grab The Scrambled States of America on Amazon HERE.

If you want something that focuses solely on memorizaing state capitals, this States and Capitals Memorization Practice Pack does just that! 

If you want to look more closely at HOW to play  The Scrambled States of America, check out the rest of this post….

 

STEP ONE: Make a pile of red cards and a pile of blue cards. Place them both in the middle of the table so all players have access. 

STEP TWO: Give every player a map and five blue cards. 

STEP THREE: Each player makes a line of their cards in front of them face-up. 

STEP FOUR: Each player spends a wee bit of time reading their state cards and familiarizing themselves with the image, name, capital and nickname.

BONUS TIP: To increase the educational value,  they should also find the location of each state on the map.  

STEP FIVE: One player flips over the top red card for all to see. 

STEP SIX: Each player reads the red card and quickly tries to see if they have a state card that matches what the red card says. 

STEP SEVEN: The first player to find a match, slaps their blue state card on top of the red card and shouts the name of their state. 

STEP EIGHT: That player collects the red card and sets it aside. 

STEP NINE: That player also places their blue state card aside and draws a new state card from the pile in the center. 

STEP TEN: Repeat Steps Five through Nine until all of the state cards have been played. The player who plays the most state cards is the winner!

ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE:  There are two types of red cards. The majority are “find it cards” and include directions like “find a state that has seven letters” or “find a state that is purple”. But there are also “go the distance cards” which require an extra step {see directions} but is where the focus turns to actual GEOGRAPHY. 

 

GAME REVIEW: Election Night

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{This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our Disclosure Policy for details.} 

Election Night is available on Amazon HERE.

{I purchased this game myself. All opinions are my own!}

Read on for a detailed REVIEW. 

We use a lot of educational games in our homeschool, especially in areas where my son needs extra work {hello spelling and math!} but I also like to find games that help teach topics that we don’t spend every day working on like geography, general science and the often-confusing ELECTORAL COLLEGE.

This game, Election Night, was designed specifically to teach about the ELECTORAL COLLEGE so I figured this was the perfect time to try it out! 

Read on for a helpful review of Election Night!

In addition to reviewing the

FUN FACTOR and the

EDUCATIONAL VALUE,

I will also include info on the

ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT,

TIME COMMITMENT, 

CLARITY LEVEL

and an OVERALL SCORE. 

 

NAME: Election Night!

PUBLISHER: Semper Smart

CATEGORY: Social Studies

SUB CATEGORY: Government

TIME COMMITMENT: Moderate {30+ minutes}

PLAYERS: 2 {or Teams of 2+}

HOW TO WIN: Be the first to claim 270 electoral votes!

CLARITY LEVEL: ♥♥♥♥_ The instructions look a bit overwhelming at first, and frankly, even when you begin to read them, they seem a little complicated. But, they’re not. We decided to read the instructions quickly and then to just start playing. As we played, things made more sense and we were able to reference the instructions as we went. It’s not a speed-dependent game so taking this approach worked perfectly fine. But, it’s probably not a game that a couple of 8 year-olds would be able to figure out on their own based on the instructions alone. SCORE: 4/5 ♥♥♥♥_

FUN FACTOR: ♥♥♥♥♥ This is a rather FUN game! I’ll admit that politics and FUN don’t usually go together in my brain but this game proved me wrong ….at least in one small way.  It’s not like I think much else related to politics is FUN but this was definitely a FUN way to learn about an important topic. My son, who is 13, absolutely loved this game and had a blast trying to strategize how to win. He loved it so much that he asked to play two days in a row! We got a lot of laughs when we realized we must sound like real politicians when we said things like,

“I need to alter my focus and try to take California. I cannot win without California. I MUST MAKE CALIFORNIA MINE!” 
“Ugh. North Dakota is just not worth it. Isn’t there another state I can claim?” 
“I should probably start working on New York…or maybe Florida. I don’t know which. How do I decide?”
“I have absolutely no interest in that state…” as he sacrifices a special card to roll again and try to gain a different state. Poor Wyoming.
FUN FACTOR SCORE: 5/5♥♥♥♥♥

EDUCATIONAL VALUE: ♥♥♥♥♥ With a tagline like “Learn your way to the White House,” I had high expectations of this game’s EDUCATIONAL VALUE. And, I’m happy to report, I was NOT DISAPPOINTED! Not only did this game do a stellar job of reinforcing what my son has been learning about the ELECTORAL COLLEGE, but MATH was used multiple times on every turn and in a variety of ways. And for a kid who does not love MATH, but needs the practice, games that offer FUN opportunities for MATH to be used, are a perfect choice! {BONUS: The gameboard is two-sided. One side is used with ADDITION and the other side is used with MULTIPLICATION. So, it’s GREAT for kids of many levels.} Then there’s the entire concept of STRATEGY. I will admit that I tend to shy away from “strategy games” because they take too much time and are usually slow-paced {which, for me, means not exactly my type of  FUN} but with this game, STRATEGY is key {and, thankfully, not too time-consuming.} My STRATEGY was to claim as many states as quickly as possible, even if it meant they were small states with few electoral votes. My son’s STRATEGY was to claim the big states and their bounty of electoral votes. Wanna guess who won? EDUCATIONAL VALUE SCORE: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥

ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT: ♥♥♥♥♥ Maybe I should be embarrassed by the fact that the way a game, its box and all of the components are organized matters to me. But, I’m not! Organization is important in my home and that trickles all the way down to the way our games hang out on the shelf. I hate when boxes cave in or when pieces are easily lost. But, Election Night ranks 5/5 in this important-to-us category! The box is sturdy and has a strong plastic insert where everything has a designated spot. All of the pieces are high quality, which is especially important because the game requires using dry-erase markers directly on the board. I am sure the red and blue dry-erase markers will eventually wear out but those can be easily replaced. The game board itself is two-sided and very well-made. At first, I was nervous that the dry-erase marks would not erase easily or fully but they did, though I would not suggest leaving the marks on the board for days/weeks/months in between games. ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT SCORE: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥

OVERALL SCORE: ♥♥♥♥♥ This was a complete hit in our home! Not only was it tons of fun, it was also filled with educational value too. I would highly recommend this to families with kids AND ADULTS of all ages! And though it would be a fabulous choice to play during an election year, it is also a great choice at any time. OVERALL SCORE: 95% ♥♥♥♥♥ 

If you are ready to offer your entire family a really fun way to learn about the electoral college, you can snag it here on Amazon.

If you are needing other fun ways to teach about the ELECTORAL COLLEGE, check out this PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION FACT PACK. It’s a quick, easy and fun way to teach the ELECTION PROCESS to kids of various ages and levels. 

Game Review: PROFESSOR NOGGIN’S U.S. PRESIDENTS {History}

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{This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our Disclosure Policy for details.} 

Professor Noggin’s Presidents of the U.S. is available on Amazon HERE.

{I purchased this game myself. All opinions are my own!}

Read on for a detailed REVIEW. 

Let me just start by saying that Professor Noggin has a HUGE selection of EDUCATIONAL CARD GAMES. They all use the same premise with the same rules. {They even all come in the same type of box which stack together perfectly.} So once you learn the rules and realize the VALUE in her games, you might get hooked {like us!} 

This REVIEW pertains to the President of the United States version but would apply across the board to Noggin’s other offerings. 

In addition to reviewing the

FUN FACTOR and the

EDUCATIONAL VALUE, I will also include info on the

ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT {because I can’t stand broken boxes},

TIME COMMITMENT {because mine is limited},

CLARITY LEVEL {because I get irritated if I have to translate instructions}

and an OVERALL SCORE.

 

NAME: Professor Noggin’s Presidents of the U.S. Card Game

PUBLISHER: Outset

CATEGORY: History

TIME COMMITMENT: Minimal {10-15 minutes}

PLAYERS: 2-8

AGES: 7+ {or anybody who has learned some historical presidential facts and/or can read the cards to learn them as they go}

HOW TO WIN: Be the player with the most cards by answering the most questions correctly. 

CLARITY LEVEL: ♥♥♥♥♥ The instructions are super simple and explain the game clearly. We never needed to reference the instructions after we started playing. CLARITY LEVEL SCORE: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥

 

FUN FACTOR: ♥♥♥♥_ This is a fun, little game! Turns are fast and simple. And you can modify it to make it fun for multiple ages/skill levels by selecting Easy, Hard or a mixed version. We only scored it 4/5, though, because your kids probably won’t select this for Family Game Night next Friday.  But, it is a fun way to practice/learn facts about the presidents! FUN FACTOR SCORE: 4/5  ♥♥♥♥_

 

EDUCATIONAL VALUE: ♥♥♥♥♥ The entire game is all about historical facts regarding United States’ Presidents so the educational value is high. Obviously, some facts hold more historical significance than others {some could be considered more like “fun trivia”} but everything pertains to the  subject of our presidents. Each card has its own topic which includes: Presidential Firsts, Who Was President When, Where Are They From, Slogans,First Ladies and more. Several cards are also specific to one particular president. No matter which card you draw, though, it will pertain to a U.S. President and it will be educational.  EDUCATIONAL VALUE SCORE: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥

 

ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT: ♥♥♥♥♥ The card game comes in a sturdy, little box that contains one die, 30 came cards and one instruction card. The cards are thick and strong. The components are minimal and very easy to keep organized. ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT SCORE: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥

 

 

OVERALL SCORE: ♥♥♥♥♥ We enjoy many of Professor Noggin’s games as a fun component of our school day and this U.S. Presidents version has been a great addition. It’s quick, fun and educational. And, if, like me, you don’t recall much from your own history classes {way back when,} no worries. Just use the cards as learning tools instead and learn while you play. You’ll probably lose to your kids, but that’s okay. When everybody learns, everybody wins! OVERALL SCORE: 95% ♥♥♥♥♥

If you are ready to offer your kids a  fun and easy way to work on their presidential facts, you can buy the game here on Amazon.

If you would like to read detailed instructions {with pics,} continue on….

 

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Open box, unpack contents and shuffle cards. 

2. Put the cards in a stack in the center. 

3. Decide if you are going to play EASY, HARD or a mix of the two. You can easily play a mix if you have some players who are more advanced than others. Just assign those players the HARD questions and the beginner players get the EASY questions. 

4. Decide who will go first. Player One rolls the die. 

5. Player One draws the card from the top of the stack. 

6. Player One shows everybody the topic on the card.

7. Player One looks at the die{1, 2, 3} and reads the corresponding question {1, 2, 3} on the card to Player Two {the person to his/her right.} Player One needs to make sure he/she is reading the assigned level for Player Two {Easy/Hard.}

 

8. Player Two answers the question.***

9. If Player Two is correct, he/she gets to put the card in his/her own pile.

10. If Player Two is incorrect, Player One reads the answer out loud and then the card is placed on the bottom of the stack. 

11. Player Two rolls the die. 

12. Repeat steps 5-11 rotating through the Players until all of the cards have been correctly answered {or you decide to stop. It’s super easy to stop at any given point and call the game over.}

 

13. The player with the most cards at the end, wins the game {which, not surprisingly, was my son.}

 

***If a corresponding question is labeled “NOGGIN’S CHOICE”, that Player does not need to answer the question. Instead, he/she gets to steal a card from another Player’s pile and add it to his/her own.

 

 


Looking for something else? I have loads of Game Reviews! Here are just a few…

Wordical {spelling}

Totally Gross {science}

Flip It {multiplication}

Game Review: GAME of the STATES {Geography}

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{This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our Disclosure Policy for details.} 

Game of the States is available on Amazon HERE. 

{I purchased this game myself. All opinions are my own!}

As you probably know by now, we LOVE board games including games that transcend into the category of educational games. 

In true Homeschool Mom fashion, I often pick an educational game that allows my son to practice in an area in which he struggles {like math or spelling.} 

But we also have quite a collection of other educational games that cover subjects in which he excels {like history, geography and Bible.}

One of his favorite geography games is Game of the States. 

In addition to reviewing the

FUN FACTOR and the

EDUCATIONAL VALUE, I will also include info on the

ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT {because I cannot stand messy, broken down game boxes or games that include 8,000 pieces which then escape those boxes},

TIME COMMITMENT {because who has two hours to play a game on a Tuesday morning}, 

CLARITY LEVEL{because tears from the kids or Mom equals no fun}

and an OVERALL SCORE. 

 

 

NAME: Game of the States

PUBLISHER: Winning Moves Games {Licensed by Hasbro}

CATEGORY: Geography {plus some math}

SUB CATEGORIES: Location of states in relation to others; Main products of each state; State capitals; Business transactions {profit/loss};  Other random facts about each state

TIME COMMITMENT: Moderate {30+ minutes}

HOW TO WIN: Be the player with the most money at the end!

CLARITY LEVEL: ♥♥♥♥♥ When you first read the instructions, the game may seem confusing but, I promise it is not. It’s actually rather simple. The instructions are clear and concise. They explain how to start, what to do and how to win in very concrete terms. They also provide a modified version for younger kids. CLARITY LEVEL SCORE: 5/5♥♥♥♥♥ 

FUN FACTOR: ♥♥♥♥♥ Very little skill is needed to play this game. Even non-readers can play if there is at least one reader on-hand. Players need to be able to draw a card, find the state on the map, spin the spinner, count spaces and count out money. But none of it needs to be done with speed or even independently so, really, it should be a fun experience for everyone! Learning takes place along the way but winning is NOT based on what a player learns. Winning is based mostly on luck with a tiny bit of “strategic luck” {I just made that term up but it sounds better than gambling or choosing when to push/not push your luck, ha ha.} FUN FACTOR SCORE: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥

EDUCATIONAL VALUE: ♥♥♥♥♥ Though very little skill is needed to play or win this game, the educational value is fairly high because learning takes place along the entire way. Players need to place their truck on a specified state and then they will need to move their truck to a different state, space by space. So, geographic realizations of how close/far some states are from one another are nearly guaranteed. Players also need to buy and sell products from particular states so will learn about state-specific commerce along with the business strategy of “buy low/sell high.” There are also the optional STEM facts that can be read for each state, naming the capitals and other random fun facts…all found on the cards. EDUCATIONAL VALUE SCORE: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥

ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT: ♥♥♥♥_The storage box, cards, spinner, money and board are all very sturdy and have held up well so far. Everything fits in the box, though there are not individual sections so it would’ve turned into a  jumbled mess had I not solved the problem by using small plastic baggies.   The instructions are in a separate little booklet so be sure not to lose it. ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT SCORE: 4/5 ♥♥♥♥_

OVERALL SCORE: ♥♥♥♥♥ US Geography is something that comes easily for my son {but not me, ha ha} so this is not a game I often suggest we play but we always have loads of fun when we play it! It seems much less like an educational game than many others we have because the game is NOT dependent on what you know/learn. We both highly recommend this game for all ages and skill levels. OVERALL SCORE: 95% ♥♥♥♥♥

If you are ready to offer your kids a fast and fun way to learn US Geography {along with some fun facts, a wee bit of business sense and some basic math}, you can buy the  Game of the States on Amazon by clicking here!

If you would like to read detailed instructions {with pics,} continue on….

 

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Unfold the game board and position it so all players can see. 

2. Each player chooses one truck and four matching packages. 

3. Each player receives $500 in cash {$100 bills x 3, $50 bills x 3, $20 bills x 2, $10 bill x 1}. The remainder of the cash belongs to the bank. 

4. Shuffle the 50 state cards and place them face down next to the board so all players can see them. 

5. Each player draws four state cards. 

6. For every state card drawn, each player places one of his/her colored packages on that state on the game board. 

7. As an optional educational opportunity, each STEM fact can be read as a package is placed on that state.

8. After all packages have been placed, the cards are returned to the bottom of the pile.

9. Each player takes one more state card. 

10. Each player places their truck on that state. This is the starting position for each truck. 

11. Return these cards to the bottom of the pile as well. 

12. Each player spins the spinner. The highest spin goes first {Traffic Jam counts as “0”.} {We’ll pretend that “PLAYER BLUE” got the highest number and will be going first.}

13. “PLAYER BLUE” spins and moves his/her truck that number of spaces. The goal is to move to a state that has an opponent’s package. 

14. Each state is one space. In order to move from one to state to another, they need to share a border. You do NOT need to land on a state with an exact count. {See the instructions for more details about moving spaces.}

15. Once “PLAYER BLUE” reaches a state with an opponent’s package, ask what product he/she has for sale. The opponent decides what to sell based on the symbols found on that state on the game board. 

16. “PLAYER BLUE” buys the product by spinning the spinner. Whatever it lands on, the opponent can decide he/she wants to risk another spin and hope for more. Or he/she can accept the amount of the first spin. This decision is up to the opponent. But if he/she chooses a second spin, that is the amount “PLAYER BLUE” needs to pay. 

17. Once the amount is decided on, “PLAYER BLUE” pays the opponent for that package. 

18.”PLAYER BLUE” puts that package in his/her truck and draws a new card. This is where “PLAYER BLUE” is going to deliver and sell the package. 

19. “PLAYER BLUE’S” turn is now over. Play passes to the left. 

20. When it’s “PLAYER BLUE’S” turn again, spin and move toward the state found on his/her card. 

21. When “PLAYER BLUE” reaches that state, he/she needs to sell the product to the bank. Spin the spinner to see how much the bank is willing to pay. “PLAYER BLUE” can either take that amount or can risk one more spin and hope for more. But if “PLAYER BLUE” spins a second time, that is the final price “PLAYER BLUE” will be paid. 

22. Once an amount is decided upon, the bank pays “PLAYER BLUE” for the package.

23. Put the package in the box and return that state card to the bottom of the pile. “PLAYER BLUE’S” turn is now over. 

24. Play passes to the left. 

25. When it’s “PLAYER BLUE’S turn again, he/she spins and moves toward another package that belongs to an opponent. 

26. Repeat steps 13-25 until all packages have been purchased and delivered. 

27. Whoever has the most money when the game is over, is the WINNER!

For more game reviews, check out

Totally Gross {Science}

Four Way Countdown {Math}

After Words {Spelling & Vocab}

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