21 Best Homeschool Board Games in 2024
The best homeschool board games offer a perfect way to combine learning and fun, making family time more meaningful.
These games go beyond entertainment by supporting different age groups and academic goals, turning education into an engaging experience.
Whether you’re looking to encourage problem-solving, teamwork, or critical thinking, adding these games to your homeschool routine keeps things fresh and exciting.
These really are some of the best board games for kids, making learning something everyone can look forward to.
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Top board games for homeschool
Make learning exciting with some of the best educational board games that fit perfectly into your homeschool routine.
Gameschooling is one of the easiest ways to keep kids engaged while reinforcing important skills. These games aren’t just for lessons, they’re also perfect for family game nights everyone will love.
This engaging cooperative game invites 1 to 6 players to collaboratively defend a castle in a fantasy setting from an onslaught of monsters. Gameplay, lasting about 60 minutes, involves strategic planning and resource management, as players trade cards, slay monsters, and fortify defenses.
Educational benefits include the development of teamwork, problem solving skills, and the ability to think ahead, making it a valuable tool for cognitive development in a fun, cooperative environment.
Related: Best one player board games
Designed for younger players aged 4 and above, this science board game takes players on a botanical adventure up a mountain, teaching them about various medicinal and edible plants. The cooperative nature of the game encourages teamwork as players learn to recognize different plants and their uses.
It's particularly educational in the fields of botany and ecology, offering a hands-on approach to learning about natural sciences, and it also fosters an appreciation for the environment and teamwork skills.
Related: Free printable science worksheets
In this strategy game, 3-4 players aged 10 and up engage in building and expanding settlements on the fictional island of Settlers of Catan. The game, with a playtime of around 60 minutes, involving collecting and trading resources like wood, brick, sheep, wheat, and ore to build roads, settlements, and cities.
Catan teaches strategic thinking, resource management, and negotiation skills, making it a great game for understanding economic principles, strategic planning, and social interaction.
Younger children will prefer the junior version of this game.
This fun social studies game, suitable for players aged 8 and older, simulates the U.S. Presidential election process. Players compete to win states and collect electoral votes, learning about U.S. geography, the electoral college system, and basic arithmetic along the way.
It's a fun game and interactive way to teach children about political science, electoral strategies, and the importance of civic engagement, making it a unique tool for civics education.
Related: Election Day coloring pages
For ages 10 and up, Dabble is one of our favorite word board games. It challenges players to create high-scoring words from a set of letters within a limited time. This game enhances language skills, including vocabulary, spelling, and quick thinking.
It's a dynamic educational tool that encourages language arts development in a competitive yet fun environment, making it ideal for improving literacy skills and cognitive agility.
Prime Climb is one of our favorite math board games, that combines strategy and mathematics. Designed for 2-4 players, it offers a great way to explore prime numbers, multiplication, division, and the relationship between them.
Its educational value lies in reinforcing math skills in a playful, interactive manner, making it an excellent tool for children to develop numeracy and strategic thinking.
Related: Best number board games
Qwirkle is a simple yet captivating game that involves matching colors and shapes. Suitable for 2-4 players, it's an excellent way to enhance cognitive skills such as pattern recognition, strategic planning, and problem-solving.
It's particularly beneficial for developing spatial awareness and color and shape recognition perfect for younger children.
This is one of the best board games for 7 year olds.
This science board game offers a unique way to learn about the periodic table and basic chemistry. Players move around the game board, collecting sets of elements and learning their uses and properties.
It's an educational and entertaining way to introduce concepts of chemistry, making it ideal for students interested in science games.
This game is designed to help young learners improve their addition and subtraction skills through a magical adventure.
The game is aimed at enhancing mental math and boosting confidence in basic arithmetic, making it a valuable educational tool for early learners in mathematics.
Related: Free math memory game printable.
This traditional Monopoly game, suitable for ages 8 and up, is a great tool for teaching financial literacy and strategic thinking.
Players engage in property trading, money management, and negotiation, which can help them understand the value of money, budgeting, and investment in a fun and interactive environment.
Related: Best money board games.
7 Wonders is a card game that allows 3-7 players to lead one of seven great cities of the ancient world. The game, lasting about 30 minutes, involves building architectural wonders and developing your city's military, scientific, commercial, and civic advancements.
It's educational in teaching history, civilization development, and strategic resource management, ideal for older children and adults interested in history and strategy.
Related: Wonders of the World worksheets
This family geography board game is a delightful journey around the globe for 2-5 players. Players collect souvenirs and visit iconic destinations, learning about different cultures and geographical locations.
It's a hands-on way of teaching world geography, cultural awareness, and planning skills without leaving your home!
Candy Land is a classic game for preschoolers, focusing on color recognition and basic counting skills. Players navigate a colorful board, aiming to reach the end first.
It's a great introduction to classic board games for preschool children, teaching them about following rules, taking turns, and basic strategy.
Based on the classic computer game, this history board game for 2-4 players ages 14 and up, captures the hardships of traveling the Oregon Trail. Players manage resources, overcome challenges, and make critical decisions.
It's educational in teaching American history, resource management, critical thinking, and decision-making skills.
Chronology is a trivia game for 2-8 players where players build their own timeline of cards by correctly placing historical events in chronological order. The game is ideal for ages 14 and up and is a fun way to learn about historical events and figures.
It enhances knowledge in history and improves players' ability to sequence events chronologically, making it a great educational tool for history enthusiasts.
This is a cooperative board game that challenges players to work together to recover treasures from a sinking island. It fosters strategic thinking and teamwork skills, as players must plan their moves carefully and collaborate to win, making it an engaging way for children and adults to develop critical thinking and cooperative problem-solving abilities.
This is one of the best board games for 11 year olds.
This edition of Trivial Pursuit offers a twist specifically for families, with cards for kids and adults ensuring all ages can participate equally.
It enhances learning through its trivia-based gameplay that spans a variety of topics, improving general knowledge and recall abilities. The game encourages reading and helps develop quick-thinking under pressure.
This classic game simulates a person's travels through his or her life, from college to retirement, with jobs, marriage, and possible children along the way.
This game teaches basic budgeting and financial literacy while illustrating the effects of decisions and chance, making it a practical introduction to planning and consequence evaluation.
Related: Free financial literacy crossword puzzle.
In Pandemic, players collaborate as a team of disease-fighting specialists aiming to treat infections worldwide while gathering resources for cures. The game promotes teamwork and strategic planning, as well as problem-solving under pressure. It’s particularly beneficial in teaching the importance of cooperation and planning in high-stakes situations.
The classic word-forming game that enriches vocabulary and spelling skills through crossword-style gameplay. Players improve their word recognition and learn new vocabulary, while strategically placing word tiles on the board for maximum points. It’s ideal for enhancing language skills and critical thinking simultaneously.
A railway-themed board game that involves collecting train cards to claim railway routes across a map. It encourages geographical knowledge and strategic thinking as players plan their train routes across various countries. This game effectively combines educational content with engaging strategic gameplay.
Last Updated on 28 October 2024 by Clare Brown