4 More Board Games Your Family Should Own

If you’re looking for a great way to take a break from homeschool lessons that doesn’t require screen time or otherwise turn your kids brains to mush, look no farther than your game shelf. Here are a few more of our recommendations for great games your family should own that will keep your children’s synapses firing.

Rhino Hero
Rhino Hero is a dexterity game where players must carefully place wall cards, floor cards, and, occasionally, the rhino hero figure onto an ever-growing tower without bumping the tower or offsetting the center of gravity so much that the tower topples. Beyond being a lesson in balancing weight, Rhino Hero develops eye-hand coordination and focus. One of the best things about the game is that the tower is built as the game goes on, unlike Jenga where every play of the game requires a tedious setup of the tower.

Monster Match
In Monster Match, players are looking for monsters that match a description determined by the roll of the two dice. One of the dice has a number (one through five), while the other has a body part (eyes, arms, and legs). Players must quickly identify monsters that match the description before their competitors. Any cards with monsters that are IDed as matching the description are added into the score piles of the players. The game requires focus and develops quick reflexes throughout the game. At the end, simple addition is also required to add the donuts and determine the scores. We like to do this by putting the donuts in groups of ten.

Kingdomino
The 2017 winner of the prestigious Spiel des Jahres (German for Game of the Year), Kingdomino challenges players to build a kingdom out of dominos. However, unlike regular dominos, which have varying numbers, Kingdomino tiles have varying terrains like water, fields, and forests. A few of the tiles have crowns on them, which, multiplied by the number of matching terrain tiles they’re connected to, determine a player’s final score. Kids and adults love expanding their little grid kingdoms so much that nobody will even notice how much simple addition and multiplication practice they’re getting in along the way.

Outfoxed
For players looking for a cooperative experience rather than a competitive one, Outfoxed is a great choice. The players assume the role of detective chickens trying to search for clues and reveal suspects. Dice rolls determine whether an attempt to move or flip cards is successful. The ingenious mechanism for revealing clues lets players know one additional detail about the suspect at a time. Does the suspect carry an umbrella? A briefcase? Everyone works together to collect enough clues to determine which fox is the culprit before he can slip away into his foxhole.

Looking for more fun cooperative games? Check out our 4 must-have cooperative games for homeschool families.