Chickpea loves to play games. As long as we are playing games, I figure we might as well be playing games where Chickpea learns something. But what can a (now) 5-year-old actually learn from games? I’ve divided my answer into four high-level categories: math/logic skills, verbal/literacy skills, other skills, and knowledge. Obviously there is going to be a lot of overlap between these categories, but I was trying to give my long list a little bit more structure 🙂
Math / logic / fluid reasoning / spatial reasoning
Math / numerical skills. This is an area where Chickpea has learned a huge amount through games. I’ve already written a whole blog post about preschooler games that develop math skills. (Also check out this more recent post: https://pretentiousmama.wordpress.com/2022/04/06/best-math-games-for-preschool-through-third-grade/.) So far Chickpea has learned subitization, some skip counting, quite a bit of addition, plus a little subtraction and multiplication. She has developed a lot of exposure to small numbers (up to several hundreds), some exposure to larger numbers (up to several thousand), and a great number sense. She can easily break numbers up into pieces and recombine them. Next I want to try to find a game that helps with understanding place value, that works on multiplication of numbers larger than 12, and that introduces fractions. I’m also interested in finding a game that introduces numbers in bases other than base 10. I am imagining a game where you collect numbers cards, then spin or roll dice to get a base, and then you can choose some combo to move your pawn a certain number of spaces.
Fluid reasoning / Logical reasoning / problem-solving / deduction: We have a number of games that strengthen logical reasoning skills. The first logical reasoning game we ever played was Outfoxed. You have to eliminate suspects by a process of elimination based on which clothing/accessories they do or do not have. It’s very simple. We got it when Chickpea turned 4, but I think a 3-year-old would be able to play it. A similar game is Clue Junior. It’s slightly more complex, but similar in terms of skills developed. The deduction game “Guess Who?” is a bit more interesting because the players get to choose which questions to ask. A more advanced deduction game we got recently is Brain Freeze. You are still trying to guess what the other person picked, but it’s harder because the optimal strategy usually involves guessing something where you know most of the attributes are actually incorrect. Update 2022: We have been recently playing Mastermind and spellie (wordle for kids), both of which are good for deduction skills. I’m also interesting in introducing some sort of Battleship, but we haven’t gotten it yet.
We also have Rush Hour, which is another game that works on logical reasoning, but in a very different way. Instead of trying to guess something by eliminating options, you are trying to move vehicles on a grid to get the key vehicle out the exit. It requires quite a bit of planning and thinking ahead, and reasoning about what needs to go where. So when playing we might say something like “To get the ice cream truck out, clearly the bus has to move down, but in order for the bus to move down, the police car has to move over here. But how can we move the police car when it’s being blocked by the fire engine?”
The game Set requires yet another kind of logical reasoning. I’m not sure what to call it though. Maybe analytical skills? Does anyone know of anything that explains the different kinds of reasoning skills that games require?
Strategic thinking / strategy / planning: Many games we own require thinking ahead about what will happen, and making decisions about what to do now based on how that will affect your future choices. So far Chickpea isn’t so great about games that require too much thinking ahead. She can think a few steps ahead but not much more than that. A very beginner strategic thinking game is Sequence. Zeus on the Loose has some strategic thinking in the end game, especially if you play with your cards open. Qwirkle also has a little strategy, as do Sushi Go and Sleeping Queens. The game 6 Nimmt (Take 5 in English) has quite a bit of strategy, as do Azul and Mancala.
Visual / Spatial Reasoning: We have Blokus, Genius Square, and Katamino. Many other games like Rush Hour also have a spatial reasoning component.
Reading maps / drawing maps. We don’t have any games yet for this skill, but I’ve heard good things about Treasure Island, but it’s expensive. What we have done (for free) is played a homemade game where we hide something around the house or neighborhood and draw our own treasure maps. Or we just draw a map to a “secret destination”. It’s a good way to make going for a walk a little more fun.
How to tell time: I’ve heard there are games for this, but we never tried them because Chickpea just learned by looking at our clocks.
Other kinds of critical thinking, metacognition, or other cognitive skills: Probably there are games for this, but we haven’t explored them yet.
Verbal / language / communication skills
Literacy / Reading / Writing: Games can provide an early exposure to letters and letter sounds. We never tried any of the beginner literacy games, because Chickpea has known her letters and letter sounds for a long time. But I think she might enjoy some first-reader kinds of games. I’m currently looking into what game would be most suitable for her. Update November 2021: We’ve since gotten Blah Blah Blah, In a Pickle, and Apples to Apples for kids. We also play Boggle and a game we made up called the true/false game, which Chickpea really enjoys. I think soon Chickpea will be able to play Balderdash, Wise and Otherwise, and Scattergories. We played Balderdash in August 2021 with my family and Chickpea played on a team and had a blast. Here’s a link with a list of word/reading games we have played, and that are suitable for new readers: https://pretentiousmama.wordpress.com/2021/12/15/word-language-games-for-new-readers/
Verbal / Communication skills: A number of party games work on communication skills. We tried Dixit, and at first we liked it but after a couple of plays we got quite bored. We’ve also tried playing Charades for Kids but so far it hasn’t been a big hit. Chickpea struggles to think of how to act things out. She never wants to play. Co-operative games are also supposedly great for building communication skills. You have to discuss potential moves, explain your reasoning, listen to other players, etc. Someone recommended Forbidden Island and Wildcraft to me.
Other Skills
Social and interpersonal skills / emotional regulation / collaboration / handling big emotions. Obviously games are good at teaching some basic social skills like taking turns, playing by the rules, etc. They also give kids a chance to develop patience and to practice handling frustration and the big emotions that come with losing. Games also give kids an opportunity to practice winning with grace, without making the other person feel bad. Some cooperative games require you to make a sub-optimal play in order to let another person make a better play on their turn. One of the first games we had was a cooperative game, but we haven’t explored this space all that much. Sometimes we turn competitive games (like Qwirkle) into cooperative games, by playing for a combined high score. Games like Apples to Apples require you to learn a bit about what the other players like / would choose, and vary your strategy depending on who is the current judge.
Dexterity / fine motor skills. Games like Tier auf Tier, Jenga, and Operation work on balancing, hand eye coordination, fine motor control, etc. So far Chickpea has not been that into these kinds of games, but I’ve heard that there are others that are less purely physical, and combine some strategy with some dexterity. Those might be more up Chickpea’s alley. So far people have recommended Monster Trap, Loony Quest, and Dimension to me. Maybe also games like Engineering Ants?
Gross motor skills. The canonical example is Twister, but there are probably some others. We have a Thinkfun Yoga Spinner Game, which is reasonably fun. I’d be interested in getting some more games in this space, but I’m not sure what would be good.
Focus and attention / perceptual skills: In games like Set you have to maintain constant attention, and hone your perceptual skills. Chickpea has no problem with either of these, but I imagine for other kids these skills would be more challenging. Since Chickpea likes Set so much, someone recommended Ghost Blitz. It seems kind of like Set on steroids. We’ve also played Dobble, where you have to quickly find matching objects. I personally find it a bit boring. Is that really a skill we need to work on? I’ve gotten some other suggestions for games that require a lot of attention (e.g., Jungle speed, Whoosh), but I haven’t looked into them yet.
Creative thinking / storytelling / creativity / imagination: Games can be a good way to improve creativity and storytelling skills. Someone recently recommended Hero Kids to me, or other role-playing games geared at younger families. Someone else recommended story telling games like story cubes. We do have some Eeboo storytelling cards, but so far they have not been a hit, I think because there is no gamification–there is no way to win or lose. I see there is also Eeboo spinner games, with themes like fairytales, cupcakes, dancing… I wonder if Chickpea would like these more. There are probably games that help encourage other kinds of creativity other than storytelling, maybe games like Engineering Ants? Update Nov 2021: We just got In a Pickle and Fitzit, which are good for encouraging out-of-the-box thinking, as are Balderdash and Wise and Otherwise.
Art / musical skills: We don’t have many games that develop artistic skills or music skills. Maybe Pictionary for drawing? Is there a version for non-readers?
Knowledge / Exposure to Concepts
With these types of categories, I think the idea is often just to expose your child to some new concept through the game, get them interested, and then use that interest as a jumping off point to go find other resources to deepen their knowledge.
Basic concepts like colors and shapes, days of the week, months of the year. This is so trivial, it’s barely worth mentioning. Chickpea already knew all the colors and shapes long before we started playing games, so we never really used games to introduce these concepts. She learned her days of the week and months of the years through songs, and then later through calendars. But if your kid doesn’t know these concepts, and likes playing games, then games can be a fun way to introduce or reinforce them.
Geography. We have a number of geography games, and they have been useful for giving Chickpea a better sense of the world, and for answering various kinds of questions that keep coming up: What is the difference between a city, a state, and a country? Where is Germany in the world? Where is Europe? What is closer to Germany, California or New Zealand? What does north mean? How can South America be north of Antarctica, when it is south? We also have several different puzzles (USA, Europe, and the World). Chickpea enjoys doing them, but she doesn’t come back to them again and again like she does with games.
History. I haven’t looked into this topic yet. Are there games suitable for a five-year-old that introduce some history? Update 2022: In 2021 we got a few different timeline games. At first Chickpea didn’t love them, but as she gets older she is liking them more and more.
Religion / government / political systems / elections / voting: I haven’t found anything yet about different political systems or religions, but there are definitely games about how voting and elections work. I haven’t found any yet that are suitable for a preschooler. I know there are some voting games for older kids.
Science / nature: There are many, many games that supposedly teach about science or nature. Most of them seem to be more about exposure / developing interest than learning per se. Recently someone recommended the game Hit the Habitat Trail. It’s a natural science trivia style, and is supposedly good for starting conversations and spurring additional outside explorations. But I looked at it and I don’t think Chickpea would enjoy it. She hates being tested, and I think it will feel like one big test. Someone else recommended Trekking the National Parks. I took a look and it looks similar in spirit to Ticket to Ride, just with National Parks instead of cities. I think if you are able to go visit national parks it could be fun, but given that we are unlikely to visit them anytime soon, I’m not convinced it’s worth buying. Update 2021: We have the game Ecosystem and we like it but I’m not sure it actually teaches much science. Update 2022: There are a number of games that start to provide exposure to the chemical elements and how molecules are formed. We haven’t tried any of them yet but I’d like to get some.
Art / music: There are probably trivia games for art and music knowledge / appreciation. I’ve never looked into them.
Pretentious Mama 