Education and the World of Games.

By Michelle Dalrymple

Grimwell and I home school our kids. As home educators, we have a huge shelf of games in the house (two shelves and some in our son’s room as well). Many of these are old favorites, like Monopoly or Scrabble; some are newer games, like Apples to Apples and Blink. No matter what games may lurk in your closet at home, they occupy that space for a reason. Homeschoolers, and parents who are active in their children’s education, often try to make learning as fun as we can, and games are a primary way to do that.

One way to learn about new games is to read magazines about games – educational magazines offer great reviews about some of the newer educational games available. However, I first heard of gamemakers like Out of the Box games (the company that makes "Apples to Apples" and "Fish Eat Fish" and more) before many others did. It was five years ago in Milwaukee, WI, at a place called Gen Con.

Gen Con stands for “General Convention,” a convention for gamers of all ages and types to check out what is up and coming. Often a vehicle for computer, console, or roll-playing games, newer companies with only one or two games will show up, trying to create awareness of their product to both consumers and the gaming community at large. This is where our family encountered this crazy game, Apples to Apples, and the company that made it.

Their booth was small, only three little tables and a couple of game developers to play the game with you (compared to this year, where they were triple the size and had quadrupled their game offerings). At the time, they offered Apples to Apples, ATA Jr. Blink, My Word, and Squint. The directions were simple, and a small group was already playing, so they let me jump in for a few rounds. The green adjective card read “Crusty,” and I swept my first hand with a card that read “My Underwear.” Hilarity ensued and I was hooked.

We also got to see the Mayfair Games booth, another large booth with the catchy slogan “University of Catan.” Settlers of Catan has acquired such a niche following over its ten years that Mayfair now offers expansion packs and other variations, all of which could be played that the convention. Last year we played a new game called Amazonas, which fits Mayfair Games’ theme of exploration, this time in the Amazon Jungle. This year we doled out the $49.00 to actually take it home and play. We can’t wait! In addition to these large, thus pricey (but well worth it) games, Mayfair Games offers smaller card games as well, including the one we picked up last year, Farfalia, a trick-taking game about collecting nature specimens.

However, for each huge booth at the Con, there are always several smaller booths of the up and coming new game companies. One such company is Morning Star Games which showcased some current favorites: You’re Pulling My Leg and JabberWacky, which are games that involve making up sentences or stories, and Pet Detectives, modeled after Go-Fish. An added bonus to these games – they come in the standard box, or for a buck or two more, in a sturdy metal “lunchbox.”

This year we also got to play two games by companies that are new to the game world for kids. The first is Mimic, a card matching game using beautiful, kaleidoscopic animal art on the cards to match by color and animal. With some bonus cards in the mix to move or replace cards on the boards, trying to win can be more difficult than one thinks! They are also looking at bringing out more themed versions over the next year.

In addition to Mimic, we also played a card game called “Infinity – the card game” developed by a substitute teacher and mom of two. This fun game is a mix of Crazy Eights and Rummy and uses great comical art on the cards. The bonus to this game is it gives the player the opportunity to do what everyone wants to do sometime while playing Rummy – and that is take cards from someone else’s played cards to make your run or set. Plus, with Wild cards thrown in to help, you never know who will win, no matter how many cards one holds in his or her hands!

All in all, if you are trying to find a new game or a hard-to-find recommendation, and want to play it first, you might want make a family vacation to a gaming convention. Gen Con Indy takes place every year in Indianapolis, IN, during August. Gen Con West takes place in Los Angeles, in November.