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18 American History Board Games Which Brings History to Life

October 30, 2022 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today, I have 18 American history board games which breathe life into your history teaching. You’ll love the other history games I have too.

I am a big fan of gameschooling.

No matter what your homeschooling style is, gameschooling can add a fun element which helps kids retain more than just facts.

Playing American history games can help them gain an understanding of the why, how, where, when, and who of history through learning geography, trivia, strategy, and general information.

Today we are focusing on some American history board games to add to your homeschool day.

I have drawn deep from the Amazon well and found games to cover quite a few major periods of American history and they’re ones we’ve used too.

From the first people that set sail on the soil of the new world to revolutions, Civil War within America, westward expansion to a cover up at the Watergate hotel, your kids will love them.

American History Games

You can play them at home as a supplement to your history lessons or in place of a lesson some days for a fun break.

They are a great tool for co-op days as well.

And small card games can be great for waiting at restaurants or doctor’s offices.

Additionally, look at some of the topics your child can learn about.

Political History
Social History
Economic History
Religious History
Diplomatic History
Art History
Women’s History
Science/Medicine History
Food History
Environmental History

Then there are academic skills as well. Look at this list below.

reading fluency
comprehension
problem solving skills
critical thinking, reasoning
self regulation
verbal communication skills
increased vocabulary
social skills, patience, resilience, logic,
and a lot more skills that come with board game play whether its trivia, strategy, or role playing.

Did I also mention that a lot of these games below will also teach civics, geography, math and science? Yes! yes!

Other Fun History Games Resources

Too, look at these other fun history games resources:

You’re sure to find something here to go with your unit studies, unschooling, relaxed schooling, or gameschooling.

Let’s jump into finding your family the perfect American history board game.

18 American History Board Games to Bring History to Life

No matter what your homeschooling style is, gameschooling can add a fun element that really helps kids retain more than just facts.

1775 Rebellion The American Revolution | Board Game |

A historical strategy boardgame that takes you into battle with a bright beautiful map and several historical scenarios to help with game play.

Professor Noggin's History of The United States Trivia Card Game

FUN FACTS: Get ready for a fun card game that teaches about famous discoveries, people of the Revolution, and African Americans in history! This kids card game makes learning history fun for all ages!

Professor Noggin's American Revolution Trivia Card Game

FUN FACTS: The American Revolution was a serious time in history when thirteen colonies joined together to break away from the British Empire. In this kids card game, adults and kids can have fun learning the history of our great North America! Topics include Life before the war, Heroes, and the Battle for the Sea.

Professor Noggin's Civil War Trivia Card Game

FUN FACTS: History can be a tough subject to make fun for some children. The Civil War card game takes fun facts beyond dates and timelines to make it an interesting and engaging subject to learn about. Famous Battles, Heroes, and 'Life As..' topics make this a fun kids card game.

American History Deck

A simple deck of cards for playing whatever card game you like but this one features American historical figures and comes with a book to tell about each. But you can use these for other things
too…Can’t decide who to learn about next? Draw a card to pick. Take out one of each figure and have your child line them up in timeline order. Call out a historical fact about one of the figures and have your child flash the matching
person.

Fifty-two portraits adorn these 55 cards of this stately deck. The four suits are periods of U.S. History-Colonial, Federal, Civil War and Frontier. These include a detailed biographical booklet and rules for various card games.

TUSA US Presidents Card Game

Entertaining, educational card game brings American history to life

Find out which year Jimmy Carter took office, whose presidency saw the first American in space, and how many pets Calvin Coolidge owned

American Trivia Game

FUN PARTY GAME: American Trivia features two-sided cards, with 1,000 questions that cover five categories: Geography, History, Pop Culture, Sports, and General trivia. Making this a great party game that can be played by a wide range of ages.

The Oregon Trail: Journey to Willamette Valley by Pressman

It's a race to Willamette Valley as you join the wagon train and seek your fortune in the West!

Place tiles to discover the trails, rivers, forts, and towns that lie ahead

Constitution Quest Game

Simple directions with added twists for fun, interesting, engaging game play

Play in less than an hour...the more you play, the more you learn!

Catan Histories: Settlers of America Board Game

Catan is a homeschooling favorite and there are many version and expansions.

This one is set in a young United States and explores the country by laying railroads to move and transport goods around the country.

Ticket to Ride Board Game |

STRATEGY GAME: Build your tracks across the United States in this fast-paced and strategic board game. Connect iconic North American cities across a map of the 20th-century USA and build your train routes to earn points

Freedom The Underground Railroad | Board Game

A very important part of history was the Underground Railroad, players of this cooperative game become abolitionists raising money and helping escaped slaves to freedom.

Watergate

Learn about the events, the people, and the politics of one of the biggest presidential scandals in history in this two player card game. One player is the Nixon Administration and the other is a
journalist gathering evidence.

Bold Made Card Games Features Portraits of Amazing Women in History

MADE FOR ALL AGES - This fun card game is designed for the whole family. It's perfect for bonding with kids, chlidren, teens, adults and grand parents. Bust it out during a reunion and watch everyone dive in! Perfect family games for kids 4 and up!

Historical Miniatures Battle Game

For the child that is wild about military history this is a great strategy game that you will want to add to your collection. Lead your little troupe of plastic army men to battle with accurate historical terrain and objectives.

Monopoly World War II

Is there anything they haven’t made into a Monopoly game? Properties are named after famous battles and there are WWII facts on the backs of the property cards as well.

The Colonists

The Colonists is a strategy game where you work to establish and develop a new colony. While it does not specifically teach about American Colonies it gives a good understanding of what was needed for one.

Deal or Duel Hamilton Game: An Alexander Hamilton Card Game

In the face of the political instability and financial turmoil of the American Revolution, only one individual always came out on top: Alexander Hamilton. Pit your survival instincts and spending savvy against all the founding fathers (and mothers) in this historic action card game whose simple objective is as old as Ameritocracy itself: get all the money or die trying.

Easy Hands-on Fun Ancient Greek Games for Kids DIY Knucklebones

October 16, 2022 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

If you’re doing hands-on history and want to add ancient Greek games for kids, you’ll love this knucklebones game and the other history games on my page.

I am sharing with you how to make and play Knucklebones.

It’s one of the oldest discovered ancient games.

Knucklebones is an ancient Greek game typically played with 5 small objects.

Easy Hands-on Fun Ancient Greek Games for Kids DIY Knucklebones

They were initially made from the knuckles of sheep or goats.

It was also called Tali, 5 stones, Jacks, scatter jacks, dibs, jackstones, or astragalus.

It is a primitive form of the modern game of jacks that is played with little metal pieces and a rubber ball.

The game of Knucklebones is 2,000 years old.

How Knucklebones Was Invented

The official rules are not known as it is such an ancient game.

But several versions have been guessed at through paintings and sculptures.

We are making the version that is like the more modern jacks game.

According to Sophocles, the mythical figure Palamedes invented te game of Knucklebones.

And taught it to Greek soldiers during the Trojan War.

Here is an image of a sculpture depicting two Greek girls playing Knucklebones.

They look so much like two little modern girls playing on the sidewalk, don’t they?

Ancient Greek Games for Kids

Look at some other toys ancient Greek children played with or spent their day being entertained with. And learn the Greek name for them.

Spinning Top-Stromvos
Rattles- Platagi
Animal Figurines- Athyrma
Marbles- Spheria
Piggyback game- Ephedrismos
Ourania- Game with a ball
Passe-boule- Similar to basketball

Here are some images of Ancient Gr e ek Toys to get an idea of what they looked like.

Ancient Greece Game Knucklebones Rules

You can play this game with 1 to 4 players. Cast (or toss) the knucklebones the same way you would dice.

Toss one knucklebone up into the air and try to grab one off the ground. Catch the falling one before it hits the ground.

Repeat but grab 2, then 3, then 4 to complete a sequence.

The winner is the first person to complete all the required sequences.

You can also play by tossing up all into the air and trying to catch as many as you can on the back of the hand or in your palm.

If you are going to play this version make your knucklebones smaller so they are easier to catch and don’t hurt.

Yet another variation is to try to toss one up and grab as many as you can in your hand before it falls.

You will want to practice.

Don’t scatter them to much or throw them too high. This will give you more control over catching them or grabbing them up.

Also, a completely different take on knucklebones assigns a points system to each side of the die.

And the winner is the one with the highest point value after tossing the knucklebones and counting up where they land. This is where the numbers or symbols you added come into the game.

Encourage your children to make up their own game with the Knucklebones. See what their imagination comes up with.

Next, look how to make your own DIY Knucklebones.

How to Make DIY Knucklebones Game

I found this terra cotta air dry clay at dollar tree and thought it looked pretty ancient so it was perfect.

You will need:

Air dry clay
Paint pen or permanent marker

Then, create a rustic dice shape by first rolling 4 to 5 similar sized balls of clay out.

Next, pinch to create a bowed shape on the top and bottom of one face. But don’t invert too much if you plan on writing/drawing on them.

Rotate and repeat this step all the way around, this will give us a basic shape similar to real knucklebones.

Allow the clay to dry completely. This is what your final shape should look like.

Decorate your sides with numbers or symbols if you like using a small paintbrush and paint or a paint pen.

We researched ancient Greek numbers and used those. This will give your child some math practice too. You could also make up your own symbols for your family if you want.

Make a key like I did here to keep track of what each Greek number represents.

What do you think? What other Ancient Greek games for kids will you add to your Ancient Greece Unit study?

Other History Games for Kids

And finally, here are some other Ancient Greece activities.

Other Ancient Greece Activities

7 Super Fun History Games to Bring the Past to Life

November 3, 2021 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today, I have 7 super fun history games. Do your kiddos groan and moan about history? You’ll love the other history games I have too.

What is it about history that can make it so boring?

Because, really, history is so full of interesting facts and stories.

Let’s make history fun and exciting! Let’s make it (dare I say it?!) your child’s favorite subject!

It’s a favorite subject around our house and I firmly believe that is because we use so many games in our history lessons!

Fun History Games

I’m going to be sharing 7 super fun history games that you can use in your homeschool to bring the past to life! Let’s get started!

1) Made for Trade

Time Period: Colonial America

Ages: 7+

Players: 2 to 4
Game Length: 5 to 30 minutes (depending on which version you play)

We have been studying US history this year and Made for Trade has been so fun!

This is a board game, shop cards, character pawns, dice, and shillings.

This history game comes with 3 versions to play! The first game is a version of Spoons called Shillings where players try to get five cards from the same shop (blacksmith, potter, silversmith, etc.).

I was really happy to find instructions for this game because my 5 year old could play this with no help and the kids are becoming familiar with items that were sold in different shops during Colonial America.

The 2nd and 3rd versions of the game are very similar.

In the first version players work their way around the village buying or trading items from the village shops trying to acquire any 4 objects from the shops.

Players also have to pay taxes and get paid as they move around the spaces.

The 3rd version, players are also trying to acquire cards, but this time they are specific items on an inventory card for their character.

This version also adds in event cards such as a smallpox outbreak that has kids learning even more about American History.

Made for Trade is a great game to introduce your children to US History!

History Games for Elementary Students

2) Guess in 10: States of America and Countries of the World

Time Period: N/A

Ages: All Ages

Players: 2 to 6

Game Length: 5 minutes to as long as you want!

This game isn’t really history, but more geography.

I included it in my list because it is perfect for families with a wide age range, and besides, we all need to know states and countries!

Ask up to 10 questions to guess the state of America or country on the game card! There are 50 game cards and 6 clue cards in each game.

This would be fun for traveling or at the dinner table for some fun dinner time trivia!

There are other sets, too, like landmarks, animals, underwater, foods around the world, dinosaurs, and more!

3) Brain Box World History

Time Period: All of History

Ages: All Ages

Players: 1 or more players

Game Length: 5 minutes or as long as you want!

Brain Box World History is a memory game and a history game in one!

Players look at the front of a card for 10 seconds.

Then, they flip over the card and roll the die. Another player reads the question corresponding to the number on the die.

If you get it correct, you get to keep the card; if you get the answer wrong, the card goes back in the box. The player with the most cards after 10 minutes (or some agreed upon time) wins!

There is also a one player game version where a single player can try to get as many cards as he or she can in 10 minutes.

This is a great way to introduce different events in history!

4) Timeline: Historical Events.

Time Period: All of history

Ages: 8 and up

Players: 2 to 6

Game Length: About 15 minutes

What is it about?

There are so many of the Timeline games and they can all be mixed together for some real fun!

The basic idea of the game is simple – start with a random card and then arrange other historical events either before or after it depending on when they happened in history.

These games are quick, fun, and a great way to learn when events happened.

This is also a great game for introducing lots of events and seeing which ones your children would like to dive deeper into. Other decks include Inventions, more Historical Events, and British history.

The cards come in a tin, like the Spot It, which makes it easy to store or take with you on the go!

Note: If you are looking for a game like this for older children, be sure to check out Chronology. Ages 14+

5) Professor Noggin: History of the United States

Time Period: US History (various times)

Ages: 7+

Players: 2 to 8

Game Length: About 15 to 30 minutes

Professor Noggin is a trivia type game where players try to collect cards by answering questions correctly.

There are easy and hard questions on each card.

When we play, my girls answer the easy questions and I answer the hard questions. It makes for a pretty even playing field, so fun for everyone!

On your turn you roll the die and another player reads the corresponding question to you.

If you get it right you get to keep the card; if you get the history question wrong the card goes back in the pile.

The questions will be either trivia, true/false, or multiple choice format.

The first player to collect 10 cards win! There are several versions of Professor Noggin, so you can get whatever topic you are needing: US History, Art History, Medieval Times, Science, Geography, and more!

History Games for Middle and High School Students

6) The Grizzled

Time Period: World War I

Ages: 14+

Players: 2 to 5

Game Length: About 30 minutes

There are so many games and movies about WWII, but in this game players are immersed in the trenches of WWI.

This is a fully cooperative game (think Pandemic) where players work together to stay alive until Armistice. Each round will face the hardships of war such as blizzards, gas attacks, and trauma.

Soldiers must use strategy and luck to stay alive together!

World War I can be glossed over in a lot of history studies, with so much emphasis put on WWII.

With The Grizzled, players can learn what it was like to try to survive during the miserable trench warfare of The Great War.

Reviewers state that it is simple and straightforward to learn, but the replay value is quite good!

One reviewer stated that he and his wife are at about 50% win rate, so that makes for exciting play! This would be a great game to play with older middle school or high school students.

7) 1775 Rebellion The American Revolution | Board Game

Freedom is currently not available. But the 1775 Rebellion the American Revolution is another favorite.

1775 is an area control game that is great for head-to-head or up to 4-player team play.
1775 Rebellion is the second title in the Birth of America series after 1812 – The Invasion of Canada.

~~Time Period: Slavery and Civil War~~

~~Ages: 13 and up~~

~~Players: 1 to 4 players~~

~~Game Length: 60 to 90 minutes~~

~~Freedom is a cooperative game where players try to raise funds, free slaves, and end slavery in America.~~

~~As they play, players learn about historical figures, political agendas, and important events that occurred between 1800 and 1865.~~

~~This game won the 2013 Best Game Quest Awards for Best Coop Game and was nominated for 2014 Origins Award Best Historical Game!~~

Freedom would be a great interactive way to cover the time period leading up to the Civil War. Also, look at the huge Civil War lapbook unit study here.

History Games Bring the Past to Life

These games are just the tip of the iceberg, let me tell you! If you are struggling to get your kiddos to get interested in history, try one (or more!) of these games and see them get hooked!

I hope you’ve found some useful resources to add to history in your homeschool this year!

Happy learning!

Look at these other fun history learning resources here: