Review of Unforgiven: The Lincoln Assassination Trial, by Green Feet Games

 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!

Great Titles From Sweet Bros Games!

The amazing folks at Sweet Bros Games were kind enough to send me several of their games for review! What a treat! Their games are so cute, and they all looked like interesting family themes, so I was thrilled to try them out with the family this past weekend.

Wingspan Fan Art Pack Review

Recently, the wonderful folks at Stonemaier Games sent me a copy of their Wingspan Fan Art Pack for review.  I had already reviewed the Wingspan base game for them and my hubby and I both LOVED it, so I was more that excited to review this new set of cards!  And, as usual, Stonemaier and Wingspan did NOT DISAPPOINT!

Things I loved about this expansion:

Our Favorite Educational Podcasts

     As a homeschool mom, I'm constantly looking for ways to add educational value to our days without adding a ton of extra worksheets and schoolbooks.  Don't get me wrong, we have some great curricula that we really enjoy.  But as homeschoolers, we often learn best when we're engaged in some way other than a textbook. (And I say "we" because I consider myself less of a "teacher" and more of a "lead learner."  I've thoroughly enjoyed learning right along with my kids!)

Trekking the National Parks and Trekking the World Review

 As I'm sure you're already aware, I'm a HUGE fan of using games for educational purposes.  And while I firmly believe that ALL games have educational value of some sort, there are definitely games that are more educational than others.  And Underdog Games definitely fall in the "more educational" category. The fabulous folks at Underdog Games were kind enough to send me two of their games for review, and let me tell you, I am BLOWN AWAY!

5er Finden Game Review

 Well, its a new year!  Let's all hope its a better year than the last two!  But one thing you know you can count on in this new year is more game reviews from me!  So I'm thrilled to start out with one of my favorite companies - Haba USA!  The wonderful folks at Haba USA were kind enough to send me a fantastic little game called 5er Finden. Keep reading and find out what I think!

5er Finden (1-4 players, for ages 7+, plays in approximately 20 minutes) is a simple game - 5 dice, 5 shapes, 5 rounds.  In each round, roll all 5 dice, then search your board for the shapes on the dice arranged in any of the 5 shapes provided on the tiles. Earn points based on the shapes you find.  The person with the most points after 5 rounds wins!

Great Games from Luma Imports

 The fantastic folks at Luma Imports have sent me three games for review and we've been having lots of fun reviewing them as a family!  Here's what we got and what we thought:

1.) Pikoko - a trick-taking card game for 3-5 players

Mondrian Blocks Game Review

 With Christmas quickly approaching, I'm always on the lookout for games to give as gifts.  My family LOVES GAMES! (I'm sure you've figured that out by now.) So I was thrilled when the fabulous folks at Mondrian Blocks were kind enough to send me not one, but TWO boxes of their FABULOUS puzzle game!

I was excited to receive these, but I was even more excited when they arrived and I got to check them out for myself!  These games are seriously impressive!  So here's what I loved about them:

Buildzi Game Review

One of my kids' favorite quick dice games is Tenzi.  We reviewed this game (along with their other fabulous titles: Pairzi, Slapzi, and Itzi on our blog a couple of years ago and we thoroughly enjoyed all of them, so I was really excited when I found out they'd added another game to their collection.  Meet Buildzi

Great Game Titles from Stronghold Games

Stronghold Games is a company I've worked with quite a few times.  And why do I keep working with them?  Well, because I love their games, of course! I love this company because it has a wide range of games.  There's really something for everyone.  Card games, roll & write games, children's games, games for families,, games for more serious gamers, quick games, games that take hours.  There's really tons to choose from!  So today I'd like to introduce you to some of what I think are their "gamer games."  These games involve a few more pieces and a little more time.  But they are well worth it!  SO let's check them out!

1.) Calimala -

In Calimala, players act as members of the Arte di Calimala - the guild of cloth finishers and merchants in foreign cloth. They produce and gain cloth, gain prestige points by delivering goods, contribute to building projects, and sponsor artworks in Florence, Italy. Calimala is a game for 3-5 people, ages 10+. It plays in 75+ minutes.