Five best Board Games for Middle and High School Students

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Holidays can be long and when rainy days or long trips confine teens to the home, there are many games which can encourage them to spend some time with family members. This gives them a break from their computers and phones and gives you all an opportunity to have some family fun while learning.

Settlers of Catan

This board game is intense action mixed with resource management. Each game takes about an hour to play and can accommodate up to six players with an extension pack. Players must gain resources such as sheep, wheat, wood and brick to build settlements, armies and roads. This is a strategy game which teaches students to think ahead and use their resources and bargaining skills wisely. Settlers of Catan has been voted the best game of the year in the US and Europe. This game is very engaging and every game is completely different from the last.

Say Anything

This is an excellent way to get your teens talking and helps them to build social skills. Players will have to practice excellent communication skills to win and it helps you to get to know each other a little better. The game takes about 35 minutes to play and is easy to follow: 1) Ask a question from the card you draw. Some examples of questions include: “What’s the best movie of all time?” or “If I could have a BIG anything, what would it be?” 2) All the players write an answer and turn it face-up. 3) You choose which answer you like most (this is based on wit, style and accuracy). The players then try to guess which answer you picked. This is a great game for getting to know family members better and it.s fun to think of new and original answers to the questions.

Ticket to Ride

This game revolves around the adventures of Phileas Fogg and players must collect railway stations to connect routes around North America. The longer the route, the more points the player accumulates. Additional points can be accrued when you fulfill your Destination Tickets by connecting two distant cities. The player who builds the longest continuous railway also gets additional points. Games take 30-60 minutes to play and are a great way to inspire a love of travel and improve knowledge of North American geography.

Cranium

This is a great way for the whole family to play together because Cranium relies on a whole bunch of skills from general knowledge, humming tunes, charades and drawing to sculpting play dough. No matter the age of participants, they can all contribute to their teams with their own special talents. The fact that this game has so many different ways to answer a question keeps it fresh and exciting. Many questions are for team play which means all the teams get to participate, keeping the game fun and exciting.

Equate

This is Scrabble for math lovers. The board functions in much the same ways as Scrabble with tiles which contain numbers and equations. You can help students to improve math and especially algebra skills by playing this game. The board can accommodate 2-4 players from ages 8 and up.

 

How to Make the Most of Fun Family Time in the Fall

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Let’s face it: Once school starts, the year zips by at the speed of light. As soon as we hang up our beach towels, goggles, bug spray and sunscreen, our worlds become a blur of backpacks, after-school activities, parent-teacher conferences and holidays. So it’s very important that we take time, despite our often chaotic schedules, to sit back and enjoy this beautiful season. The falling leaves. The little nip in the early morning air. Our kids. Our families. But how?

One night when everyone’s home and there are no after-school activities, when the whole family can sit down and eat a meal together, have the family make Fall Fun Cards. We often make Summer Fun Cards at the start of the summer season, but as the kids get older, I am finding that they really benefit from having some say in what we do each season of the year. Between gymnastics, soccer, religion class, Brownies, Daisies and everything else, it’s hard to fit in our favorite seasonal activities unless we specifically set aside time for them.

Fall Fun Cards are fun and simple to make with the family.

  • All you need are index cards (or any type of paper, really), markers and a few creative thinkers.
  • Ask your family what they love about the fall and what kinds of activities they really enjoy doing.
  • Ask what they look forward to doing every year, and explain that the Fall Fun Cards are simply little reminders—goals, really—of fun things to do in the fall.
  • Have each person write one activity on a card, filling out three to five cards. Sometimes it’s fun to add a little drawing or even a box that can be checked when the activity is completed.
  • Then display the cards somewhere so you can easily see them in the house. They’ll act as a reminder to slow down and enjoy this exciting season together, as a family, doing what you all really love to do. Or at least trying to, right?

  • How do you keep the “fun” in fall for your family? Share your thoughts in the comments section below, or find Amy on twitter @teachmama and let's continue the conversation