• Play to Learn: Guess Who

    Guess Who– one of the games we all grew up playing and that we probably have in our game closets, if we have kids. The classic game is a fun way to practice deduction, observation, and strategic questioning skills. Just a quick review of the simple rules of the game Each player randomly selects one character from a separate pile of cards. The goal is to guess the opponent’s chosen character by asking yes-or-no questions about their character’s features. Players take turns asking yes or no questions. Players eliminate characters on their board who don’t match the given features. The…

  • Play to Learn: Ticket to Ride

    The first American Style board game we will look at in the Play to Learn series is Ticket to Ride. This is one of the easier strategy games to play when entering this genre of games. It is in the group of games I first learned how to play and one of the first games I teach and suggest to new groups of gamers!   Ticket to Ride is a cross-country train adventure where players gather and play matching train cards to claim railway routes connecting cities across North America. Longer routes earn more points. Additional points are awarded to players who…

  • Play to Learn: Carcassonne

    In the second blog post in the Play to Learn series, we will look at the game Carcassonne. This game is similar to Settlers of Catan, in that it is a Euro-style game. The game is based on mechanics versus story and theme. Carcassonne is a tile placement game. Players are looking to match tiles and place tiles to gain experience points (XP) . Tiles are picked at random and have illustrations of southern French landscape.   Meeples represent people in the game and score points for the players.   There are four types of tiles in the game. Farmland,…

  • Play to Learn: Settlers of Catan

    One of my favorite hobbies is to play board games. There are many special moments in my life tied to playing games- meeting my husband, our proposal story, fun times with friends and so many more! Now when I mention board games, I am not talking about the classic ‘family game night’ games. I am talking about board games that have more strategy and themes involved in them. In many classrooms, we find Monopoly, Life, Connect 4, Candyland- the more classic ‘family game night’ games. What if we looked at some of these more strategic and thematic games that fit…

  • EduProtocol: Word Up Wednesday

    Discover Word Up Wednesday, an EduProtocol that enhances vocabulary learning through collaboration and creativity. In just 5 minutes, students work together to complete tasks like definitions, synonyms, and memes. This engaging, low-pressure activity is adaptable to any subject, making learning both fun and effective.