{This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our Disclosure Policy for details.}
Guess in 10 States of America is available on Amazon here.
{I purchased this game and, as always, all opinions are my own!}
After Amazon suggested I buy a variety of Guess in 10 games on several occasions, I finally decided to give one a try. I was not entirely sure what to expect, though I assumed it would be a board game version of the verbal road trip game I grew up playing with my family, Twenty Questions. But, while it is based on the same principle of figuring out a targeted word {or state in this case} by asking a limited number of yes/no questions, it is much more than a guessing game. It requires the use of some strategy skills, more than a bit of the process of elimination, and also some actual knowledge of our country’s geography. Read on for a detailed REVIEW.
In addition to reviewing the
FUN FACTOR
and the EDUCATIONAL VALUE,
I will also include info on the
ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT,
SKILLS USED,
CLARITY LEVEL
and an OVERALL SCORE.
Game Review: Guess in 10 {States of America}
NAME: Guess in 10 States of America
PUBLISHER: Skillmatics
TIME COMMITMENT: Minimal+ {20+ minutes}
PLAYERS: 2-6
AGES: 8+
CATEGORY: Geography
SUB CATEGORY: United States
SKILLS FOCUSED ON:
- asking logical and purposeful questions
- geography
- state trivia knowledge
SKILLS PRACTICED:
- process of elimination
HOW TO WIN: Be the first to earn seven cards by guessing the correct state after ten or fewer questions.
HOW TO PLAY IN ONE SENTENCE: Guess the state card your opponent is holding by asking up to ten yes/no questions.
ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT: ♥♥♥♥♥ Guess in 10 States of America comes in a small-medium box with 50 state cards, 6 clue cards and directions. Everything is housed inside a cardboard sleeve and then tucked inside the box. The box is sturdy and easy to open with a separate lid. The cards are colorful and sturdy. The directions, however, are not overly sturdy and are printed on a thin tri-fold of paper sized the same as the cards. This might cause an issue for classroom use or other types of group settings, but laminating the directions would surely help them last longer. ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT SCORE: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥
EDUCATIONAL VALUE: ♥♥♥♥__ If you are working on U.S. geography and state facts, this is a great way to supplement your books and lessons. It would also serve as a fun way to assess your student’s knowledge of the subject. The clues and images on each card provide some interesting insight into individual states and the need to think carefully before forming a question is imperative. One caution I would share is that some of the “buzzwords” {the main clues players get with each card} seem a little tricky and can lead players away from the correct answer. For instance, “hockey” is not a buzzword I would associate with Missouri. But, this can also lead to more direct questions and end in extra educational discussions. We would also recommend you play with a U.S. map handy. We used it to form specific questions which greatly increased the focus on geography. EDUCATIONAL VALUE SCORE: 4/5 ♥♥♥♥__
FUN FACTOR: ♥♥♥♥♥ Guess in 10 States of America was super simple to play with no complicated rules to follow, no menagerie of pieces to maneuver, and no hours and hours required to play. Will it wow the whole family on Game Night? Probably not. Will it serve as a great way for a small group of kids to entertain and educate themselves in between lessons? Absolutely! Plus, our bearded dragon found it fun too! FUN FACTOR SCORE: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥
CLARITY LEVEL: ♥♥♥♥♥ The directions are clear and concise. The rules are very easy to understand and the game is simple to play. We read the directions one time and never needed to reference them again. CLARITY LEVEL SCORE: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥
OVERALL SCORE: ♥♥♥♥__ I was surprised that this game actually presented a challenge to both my teenage son and me. We both found ourselves needing to refresh our geography knowledge while also learning some brand new information along the way. We both enjoyed this game and have already added another version to our Amazon cart! OVERALL SCORE: 95% ♥♥♥♥_
