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

{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.

{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.