I volunteer to teach a few classes at a local homeschool co-op where my twin boys are taking classes. One of the classes I lead is a teen game club. I spent many hours researching and preparing for it and purchased several new games. It’s been joyful and interesting. As a former Montessori school teacher, I have a healthy respect for the value of play in learning (and painting and life!). I love to play. I also love seeing how much art there is in game design and components! I especially appreciate having so many cooperative games to choose from these days. Here are some of the games (both competitive and cooperative) that we’ve found to be fun and worthwhile.*
I haven’t seen the Bring Your Own Book game available anywhere in a few years. So, I’ve made a free downloadable pdf with a DIY adaptation. You can get it from ThriveTrue.com/Gifts.
We also like one called Mini Divercity that didn’t have an image available to share with the ones above and another one called Indigo by Ravensburger that seems to be out of print now (might find on ebay).
So far, our families favorites have been Snake Oil (especially for an easier to learn game with bigger groups) and Evolution Climate. The favorite for many of the teens has been Mysterium followed by Evolution and Flash Point Fire Rescue. All of the above have been good for variety. It’s been a great way for the teens to interact more and work together. It’s also been really good for my husband and I to play with our boys in the evenings. One of my sons is writing a book and the Once Upon A Time game has been a fun prompt for sharing story ideas.
I’m not a big fan of violence in games, but it has prompted worthwhile discussions when playing some of the ‘fighting’ themed games about what alternative themes could use similar game mechanics, why violence is so common in games, and what effects that may have. There are many educational aspects to several of the games in addition to being fun and entertaining.
My family and I have been thinking of ideas and ways to design some of our own games eventually as well! Maybe my art will be featured. 🙂
I’d love to hear what your favorite games are and if you try any of these. I also love to read and have a book shelf page featuring many favorites. I sometimes share new book suggestions with email notes along with poetry, paintings, and presents. You can get access to the current presents for email VIPs by signing up at ThriveTrue.com/MagicMail.
Wishing you lots of laughter and good times!
Jules
Julia Ostara
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* I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program (an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to amazon.com) since I often link to items anyway! If you see something you’d like to have and are willing to use the links (click image of book) from this page, it will support the Thrive True efforts without costing you anymore than usual! I will only list items on this page that I’ve found valuable personally and I will not fill the rest of this site with ads!
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