There is a lot of educational value attached to card games, even if it isn’t obvious. Believe it or not, many of these games teach mathematics and probability. Think back to your last game of poker and consider the number of times you calculated everything from bet size to the odds of having a good hand or someone else having a better hand at the table. But poker isn’t the game you would want to teach your children early in their lives. Fortunately, several other card games are designed to “secretly” teach along with being fun to play. Here is a look at a few of them.
History Heroes
This is a great educational card game that is built around the “guess the person” concept. It features some different categories including Children, Inventors, Sport, Space, and Explorers to name a few. Each deck contains a total of 40 illustrated cards and each card is about a real person. Each card has six different facts about that person which can be used to “guess the person” with the facts starting out as easy and working up to more difficult in nature.
Although there are instructions on how to play History Heroes, the general makes up of the card deck and facts allow for a lot of creativity. That means you and your children can make the rules up on how to play, what counts as a winning round and how to decide the eventual game-winner. The interesting thing about History Heroes is that although it is meant as a game, there is a lot of information that will teach your child about the world around him or her.
AugmentifyIt
If your child or children have a particular interest in science, this is the card game for them. It not only features science but chemistry, physics, astronomy, and biology all play a role in the topics covered in this fun set of cards. Actually, there are three different decks in the series: Space, Elements, and Oceans. This is a slightly high-tech card game in that you can enhance game play by using the AugmentifyIt app but you can still play the game without it.
Each deck is built around a total of 18 different object cards, a glossary card and a pair of double-sided extra fact cards. Each card has an object pictured on it and a list of facts on the back which are intended to be used to test the knowledge of the person playing. Using the app unlocks additional features including quiz questions and a 3D version of the object on any of the cards for viewing purposes. It is a great game to teach more about science and space and the universe.
Mapominoes
This is a pretty fun way to learn about geography in a game that you play in much the same way you would Dominoes. Instead of dot patterns on tiles, Mapominoes features cards with countries or states with shared borders on their faces. For example, the USA version contains two different card types: Country/State Cards and Transit Cards. The Country/State Cards show a lot of information on a specific country or state including population, flag and capital city.
The Transit Cards are similar in concept as the blank tiles in Scrabble or a Wild Card in almost any other card game. If you can’t play a Country/State Card, you use a Transit Card but you have to indicate what it represents in the game. That can be another country, state or whatever fits. The first person to use all of the cards dealt to them is the winner and you may be amazed at how quickly your children will pick up on some of the geographic details being shared in the process.
Other Educational Card Games
We can’t forget the classic card games that are still being played in rec rooms and at campfires around the nation. You know the ones we’re talking about. Here’s a quick look at a few of them.
Uno
Okay, who hasn’t played Uno in their lives? Probably not many of you. It is a fast-paced card game that teaches colors and numbers for the younger players. It teaches a little bit of organization and a lot about good sportsmanship to others. There’s even some math tossed in.
Guess Who
This is a bit like History Heroes noted above. Only this was the way we used to play a card-guessing game. It’s a lot of fun for both children and adults and will get most everyone laughing and learning together. Need to teach how to recognize faces? This is your game of choice.
Poker
You can’t have a list of card games that teach you skills without including Poker. We hinted at some of the skills you pick up from the game at the beginning of this article. It’s not a bad game to teach older children because most of the math skills in this game revolve around your Poker Chips. GiftWits has an excellent selection.
Monopoly
Okay, not really a card game but a very educational board game that has been around for a very long time. Not only does this game teach money management skills, but it can also show a child the potential of financial health and smart investing. Yes, they need to know these things.
Pictionary
Again, not exactly a card game but a great activity to build the imagination of anyone who plays. The game revolves around sketching a clue that others have to guess to identify. Not an artist? That’s okay. Pictionary is a fun game to play as a family as it is full of laughs.
In Conclusion
You probably didn’t realize that there were so many card games out there designed to be educational as well as entertaining. Or should we have said “secretly” educational? That’s why some of these card games are so wildly popular. They are fun to play and don’t obviously come across as a learning tool. For all members of your family, card game night can be a real learning experience.
