As a homeschooling/gameschooling mom, I'm always on the lookout for educational games. But sometimes the search can be difficult. A game can be extremely educational, but if it isn't fun enough to play, the educational content isn't of any use - because my kids won't play it. Finding a game that's both educational AND fun is key. That's why I love sharing the games I've found with you, my readers! If I can help you find fun, educational games to use with your own kids, I feel like I've done a good deed!
Some educational subjects are easier to find than others. For example, there are lots of great games that introduce or enforce mathematical concepts. And any game that includes reading/writing/creating words is a great language arts game (learn new vocabulary words, practice reading and spelling, etc.). But American History games that are fun and don't take hours to play are fewer and farther between. That's why I'm so excited to introduce you to Unforgiven: The Lincoln Assassination Trial, by Green Feet Games!
Unforgiven is based on the trial of Mary Surratt, the boarding house owner that was convicted as part of the Lincoln Assassination Conspiracy. In this two-player game, one player will act as the prosecution and one player will act as the defense. You'll take turns purchasing trial cards and trial dice, swaying jurors, and moving up the reasonable doubt track in order to win your case.
Things I loved about the game:
1.) The dice! - I'm just gonna say it. ANY game is automatically better once I find out it contains dice! Haha! Especially for my kids! There's just something about rolling dice that kids love.
2.) The game time! - A game with such a specific historical subject usually takes an hour or two. And they're often very complicated. This often makes them harder to incorporate as educational games. But Unforgiven plays in about 20-30 minutes! This makes it much easier to incorporate into the school day.
3.) The trial cards! - This game doesn't just introduce your child to a lot of US judicial terms, like juror, reasonable doubt, eyewitness, hearsay, physical evidence, appeal, but it also teaches them about many historical people! For example, did you know that Dr. Mary Walker was the only woman ever awarded the US Medal of Honor!?!
What we thought:
I'm going to be honest. I thought, based on the subject matter, that this game would be pretty dry and my child wouldn't like it. But I was surprised to find that it was pretty straightforward to play (once we'd gone through the instructions once) and that both my daughter and I enjoyed it quite a bit! I played with my 10 year old. The game says 13 years and up, but I found my 10 year old grasped it well. (She did realize at the end of the game that focusing only on acquiring dice and not cards wasn't the best strategic move. But what can I say? Those dice are pretty neat! Haha! We'll definitely be playing again soon. And I'll also be playing with my 8th grader - who is currently in the midst of a mock trial preparation herself! I also think my husband would enjoy this game a lot, so I'm sure we'll be pulling it out for date night game nights!
I received this game, free of charge from Green Feet Games, in exchange for my honest review.
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