A Board Game Education

] effrey P. Hinebaugh

Rowman & Littlefield Edu cation

Lanham New York Toronto Pll'IIIOillh, UK

Publishcd in thc U nitcd St:.ttcs of Amcrica

by Rowman & LinJd1dd Education
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Copyright C 2009 by Jefrrey P. llinebaugh
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ISBN 9781607092599 (doth : alk. papcr) - ISBN 978-1-60709260 5

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Contents

Preface
Acknow ledgmems
1

My Story
Overview of Board Game History

Topics Not Covered in This Book

"Ciassic" Board Games Versus Educational Board Games

Board Games in Education and the Currculum

Play On!

8
9
12

Learning to Lose: Board Games, Social Science, and

Chutes and Ladders

15
20
28

MOliSe Trap

36

Early Educational Skills

Candy Land

Scrabble

43
46

Bogglc

57

3 Spell That Word! Board Games and Language Arts

vi i

1
2

Board Games as Educational Tools (No Kidding!)

Educational Theories

1 Will Buy It! Board Games and Economics

Monopoly
Life
Pay Day
Other Board Games Based on Economic Principies

67
70
85
95
102

IV

GONTEKTS

5 Who Done It? Where Is It? What Is It? Logic and

Deductive Reasoning
Clue
Bauleship
Mastermind

105
109
116

124

6 Capture and Conquer! Board Games and Strategy,

Planning, and Negotiation
Risk
Stratego
Checkers
Sorry!
7

Out of the Blue! Board Games and Creative Think.ing,

Communication, and Expression
Scattergories
Pictionary
Einstein Played Board Games: Board Games and
Advanced Game Theory and Mathematics
Game Theory
Chess

Math Skills Developed through Board Games

9

We Have a Winner! Conclusions and Observations

131
134
145
155
165

175
178
188

197
198
202
207
211

References and Resources

215

About the Author

223

Preface

1 will

it. \Xfriting a book on the

benefits of the cbssic

board gamcs 1 playcd as a kid and continue to play with my family as

a parent was not at the top of my list of goals in life. (This is a bit of
an unfalr statement since 1 do not even have a list of goals in my life.
However, if 1 had such a list, writing this book would not have been at
the rop.)
So what, yo u might correcLiy ask, motivated me

lO

research and

author a book on the educational benefits of traditional board games7

The simple answer is that fundamental educational skills such as mathematics, language arts, economics, logic, and communication are so
important for the educational achievement and success of sruclents that
any rools that assist in the development of these skills shoulcl be highltghted.
The fact that so me of L11e bestLOols for cleveloping these skills might
be the very same board games that most people have played for years
was simply astonishing to me. 1 subsequently found that the potental
educational va lue of d1ese classic board games was also quite surprising
and exciting ro my friends and peers. Hence, 1 decided

w explore the

issue in greatcr detall.

1 discovered that the traditional, classic board games played by gen-

erations of families provide some of the best tools around for developing and illustratng cducationa l skills and conccpts that are fundamental
ro achievemem. Funherm ore, these board games have a proveo track
record and can be utlized and enjoyed by families (and schools) from
any educational anc\/or economic background. Simply put, classic board
games provide tools for the eclucational development of all students

VI

PREFACE

rhar will ha ve a profound impacr on rheir educational achievement. And

mosr importantly, they are fun ro play!
A number of people have assisted and contributed to this book.
First and foremost is my wife, Erika, w ho is a wonderful example of a
dedicated and commirted teacher, first to her second grade students at
Blue Ash Elementary in Cincinnati, Ohio, and currently to our children
as their "primary homeschool professor."' 1 bounced numerous thoughts
and ideas off of Erika, and she p rovided me with perceptive (sometimes
brutal) insight. She also tolerated (and continues to tolerare) my persistent desire to share with her trivia and facts regarding boa rd games.
Significant credil for lhis book a lso needs ro be attributed ro m y
children, Hans and Analise. Both have been subjected to almost every
game variation described in this book as well as a number of variations
lhat, quite frankly, did not work. They are awesome kids and provided
constant reminders that board games are only effective as educational
roo ls when they are enjoyable to play.
1 also would be remiss not to thank Linda Drake for her editing,
observations, and palience in typing multip le revised manuscriprs. Similarly, john 1-loffmann deserves acknowledgment for patien1ly listening
10 and reviewing details of the manuscript and providing feedback and
suggestions. There are a number of other individuals to thank, including
other anorneys at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, tutors with the Providence Exlension Program, and individuals al Knowledgeworks Foundation, who
all provided review and insight for the book.
Finally, a special thank you to Helen Van Tassel and Kim Lucas from
Hasbro Game Oivision, who provided me with access lo Hasbro's games
archive and patiently answered my numerous questions and inquiries.
1 hope you enjoy reading this book ha lf as much as 1 enjoyed writing it!

Acknowledgments

CANDY LAND, CHUTES A 10 LADDERS, SCA1TERGORIES, MOUSE

TRAP, CLUE, TI-lE GAME OF LIFE, SORRY!, BOGGLE, RISK, STRATEGO,
BATILESHIP and MONOPOLY .& 2009 1-lasbro, lnc. Used with permission.
MONOPOLY, the distinctive game board , the four corner squares
and the playing pieces, the MR. MONOPOLY name and character, and
each of Lhe distinctive elements of the board and th e playing pieces are
trademarks of 1-lasbro and are used with permission. 2009 1-lasbro. AJl
rights reserved.
SCRABBLE, the distinctive gam e board and letter til es, and aJl associated l ogos are trademarks of 1-lasbro in the United States and Canada
and are used with permission. 2009 Hasbro. AJl rights reserved.
PARKER BROTHERS and MILTON BRADLEY are divisions of Hasbro,
Inc.
PAYDAY is a registered trademark of Hasbro, lnc. All Rights Reserved. Used under authorization. 2004, 2009 Hasbro, lnc. Pawtucket,
RI 02862.
PICTIONARY and associ ated trademarks and trad e dress are owned
by, and used with permission of, Pictionary lncorporated. 2009 Pic-

ti onary lncorporared. All rights reserved.

MASTERMIND is a trademark of Invicta Plasrics, licensed
for use.

H asbro

CHAPTE R

CheSt at Grandma's house

>f ueasures. Perhaps you wlll
1

fa vorite for years, Matchbox

dge or step in the house, or

even an old Hubik s Cube wllose stickers ha ve been removed and replaced so many times that half are missing.
Continue to explore the dosel and you are likel y to discover another common find: classic board games with worn boxes and missing
pieces. Games such as Candy Land, Life, Monopoly, Chutes and Ladders,
Scrabble, and Mouse Trap bring back fond memories of fami ly game
nights or daylong game tournaments on rainy weekends with brothers
and sisters. In fact, you probably ha ve a number of these games in your
own coa1 dosel or 1oy chest.
What you may not realizc is that the classic board games that you
enjoyed playing as a chi ld, and that you still enjoy playing with your
own chi ldren, are excellem rools for teach ing fundamenta l and core
cducational skills. Logic, math, languagc atts, commun ications, and cconomic principies are just a few of the key educational concepts that are
developed th rough the play of classic board games. What's more, these
games are really tun to play!

My Story
What is the motivalion to wrile a book on the educalional skills developed through the play of board games? A lot of people, including my
family and coworkers, ask the same question. In short, my motivation
stems from a desire lO inform families and educalo rs of the incredible
learning tools thal nearly everyone has access lO in the form of classic

BOARD GAMES AS EouCA"nONAL TooLs

and traditional board games. By sirnply playing a good garne of Life,

Scrabble, or Clue, chilclren ancl adults alike have benefi1ecl for years
from .. accidental learning, .. to borrow a phrase from a friend of mine.
Marathon sessions of Monopoly, late nights of Stratego, ancllong car
rieles with travel Banleship were common and regular occurrences in
my childhood. Lively debates with my sister and fricnds ovcr whether
"doofus.. was an acceptable word in Sctabble (ir is not) and farnily gatherings highlighted by Stratego 1ournamems lurned out to be more than
grcat cntertainmcnt. In thc end, thc very same skills that we dcvclopcd

through these board games were used all through my schooling and
education, and in my cu rrent profession asan auorney.
A great illustration of how sklls developecl through playing board
garnes transfer to other settings was brought home 10 me when I altended law school at the University of Michigan. As any law student will
tell you, law school is designed to teach students to think critically about
legal issues ancl problems and to formula1e solutions based on case law,
statutes, and reason. At its base, the legal thought process is a deductive
reasoning process that seeks to arrive al a conclusion or solution based
on the known facts, case law, starutes, and so forth .
While learning ro .. think like a lawyer'' appears to be a daunting task
al firsl blush to rnany students, "lhinking like a lawyer .. actually util izes
the same skills that are used and developed wh ile playing board games
such as Clue, Battleship, or Mastermind. While the variables in Clue
may be suspects, weapons, and rooms as opposed tocases and statules,
the reasoning and lhought p rocess used to determine the solution or
response is quite similar. In fact, onc of m y legal theory professors even
used examples from Clue to illustnate the legal thought process.
The skills I developed through board games were not plll in 1he
closct aftcr I complctcd my schooling. Thc stratcgy skills dcvclopcd by
games such as Stratego ancl checkers, the communication skills developed by Piclionary and Scauergories, the language ans and vocabulary
skills developed by Scrabble and Boggle, ancl the negotiation skills developed by Monopo ly and Risk :ue used every clay in my profession as

/1.

GI-IAPTER

a corporate tria! attorney. And having tried over fifty cases ro judges and
juries over the past sixteen years, I have also been reminded on occasion of one of the first lessons of Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders:
you do not always win!

Overview of Board Game History

Not surprisingly, boa rd games in sorne fashion have been around for
a long time. Early games such as chess, chcckers, go, pachisi, Pcgity,
and manca la have been played for over four thousand years. O riginating from cou ntries such as India, China, Egypt, and Nigeria, these early
games were subsequently modified and varied over the course of years
and provide the foundation upon wh ich almost all current board games
are based.
In general, board games are classified into three categories. In war
games, the object is to capture or desrroy the opponent. Chess, checkers, and go are examples of war games. Board games may also be classified as race games, where the objecr is LO reach a destina tion or goal
first. Parcheesi, Chutes and Ladders, and backgammon are examples of
classic race games. Finally, a board game may be classified asan alignment game, where the goa l is to creare a particular pattern on the board.
Tic-tac-toe and Pegity are examples of alignment games.
Early board games took many forms and were a significan! source
of ente11ainment and education in ancient cultures. Wall paintings found
in rhe Valley of the Queens in Egypt depict Queen Nefertari, who ruled
from 1304 to 1237 BC, playing a board gamc known as senct. Stonc
manca la boards ha ve been discovered carved into the roofs of temples
in the ancie nt cities of Egypr. Ancienr pachisi boards and rokens made
of ivory and rubics havc bccn discovcrcd in India, and clcgant carvcd
wood boards and polished stones for go have been found in China and
japan.
Interestingly, the educational value of board games may ha ve been
better understood in these early cultures than wd:1y. Chinese history

BOARD GAMES AS EDUCA"fiONAL TOOLS

proclaims rh at go, known as wei-ch'i in China, was invenred by Emperor Shun (2244-22o6 BC) as a way ro increase the intelligence of his
son, Shokin. Mancala was viewed by many tribes in Africa as one of the
means to test a boy's readiness to assume the responsibilities of manhood.
The significance of these early games, most of which are still played
today in one form or another, cannot be overstated. The games we view
as "classic" or "traditional" are actually varia tions on board games th ar
ha ve bcen enjoyed and p layed for thousands of ycars. As such, the importan! role that board games can play in the educational development
of children and fami lies toda y is nor a new thought or idea. Rather, it is
one of the foundations upon which early board games and their subsequent variations were based.

Topics Not Covered in This Book

lf your goal is to discover the secrer strategy to finally beat your cousin
Fred in Battleship, you will not find it in this book. Th at being said, by
understanding th e logic and deduclive reasoning principies upon which
Battleship is based, you will probably become a better player.
My son prints out "cheats" from various websites that allow him to
take Mario from leve! seven to leve! eight in whatever the newest Mario
video game happens to be. Pan of the beauty of board games is that
they have no such "chears: While an understanding of the games and
the principies upon which rhey are based will help you p lay the game
more effectively, s.ince you are playing other players no single suategy
is foolproof, and strategies must be constantly :adjusted based on the
acrions of orher pl:ayers. In fact, rhe need ro anticipare and adjust ro the
movcs of othcr playcrs sharpcns thc vcry skills bcing dcvclopcd. (And
ro dispel any belief that my kids are strapped to the clining room table
playing endless games of checkers, Monopoly, or Risk, my kids do play
computer games, although they also love to play all of the board games
discussed in this book.)

While this book is not designed to discuss specific game srrategies,

the re are a number of good books and refe rences that discuss game
playing strategies for board games. Examples include H ow 10 Win ttl

Scrabble (Andrew Fisher and David Webb, 2004); Yl1e

Com-

panion: Tbe Ga nte jiom A to Z, Winning Tips, Triuia (Phillip Orbanes,

1999); llow to Win at Cbeckers (Fred Heinfeld , 1972); Cbess Fllndamentals Qose Raul Capablanca, 1994); 1,000 Ways to Win
Games
(Jay Walker and jeff Lehman, 1975); a nd \l'lin at Cbeckers (Millard Hopper, 1956).
You will find , however, that any decent book or guide that provides ..strategy tips on how to win at a panicular ga me is based o n
an und erstanding of the math, logic, and/o r reasoning concepts upon
wh ich the game is based. These foundational concepts dovetail with th e
ed uca tional skills developed by these games and are best lea rned and
understood by playing these games. T herefore, an understanding of th e
ed uca tional benefits of these ga mes, which are explo red in detail in th is
book, will lead to a better understa nding of how the ga mes are played
and the rnost effective strategies to employ.

"Ciassic" Board Games Versus

Educational Board Games
One of the exciting developrnents that has taken place in the last twenty
yea rs is the proliferation of educatio nar boa rd ga mes. Board ga mes
focused specifically on developing a nd b uilding math, social science,
and language arts ski lls have been produced in grear numbers. Garnes
such as Greal States!, Where in the \XIorl d ls Carmen Sandiego?, Apples
to Apples, Blokus, Ticket to Ride, Subtraction Bingo, and 1-li 1-lo! Cherry0 are wond erfu l educationa l tools and enjoyable to p lay.
Ga mes that have been developed primarily as ed ucational games
are not, however, cove red in this book. Why' First, while these ga mes
are excellent educatio nal tools, rnost families do not own them. Cornpared to the millions of copies of Scrabble, Clue, and Monopoly that

BOARD GAMES AS EDUCJ\"fiONAL TOOLS

ha ve found their way inro homes all over rhe world over the lasr half
ce nrury, the number of pure educarional games produced and sold is
minuscule. Moreover, convincing some children to play games that they
perceive to be educational'' is like gening Mikey to eat his Life cereal.
Second, many of these new educational games are rather expensive and
thereforc not grcat candida tes for widespread use in schools and classes
where discretionary dollars are hard to find.
The recent spurt of educational games in rhe markerplace is a positivc development and certainly supports thc learning and cducationa l
possibilities of board games. One can only hope that sorne of these
educational games join th e ranks of classic board games enjoyed by
millions in the future.
Okay, so what qualifies as a classic board game? 1 am th e first to
admit that this is a purely subjective definition. There are, however,
sorne guiding principies that were used to define classic board games
for this book.
The first qualifica tion is that rhe game has to be popular. By popular
I mean w idely sold and known across generations and regions. If you
mention the board games in this book to passersby on the streer, nine
out of ten will be familiar with all o f the games. 01ances are that they
also own copies of most of the games.
The second qualification is rhat rh e game musr be easy to play.
There are some amazing games being produced, mainly in Europe, th at
art: a lot uf fun tu play and havt: an almost rdigious following by board
game enthusiasrs, for example, Seulers of Catan. These games, however,
are not necessarily easy to play, and it may take a good hour for an adult
just to read and understand the directions! The board games discussed
in this book are easy to play, and the rules of play are general! y known
by thc majority of familics.
Finally, the dassic board games in this book have distinctive educalional skills that are learned and developed by play. In contras\, a number of games could be considered classic in the sense of popularity and
ease of play, but the associated educatio nal bend1ts are not panicularly

define& Games such as Opera !.ion, tiddlywinks, Mysrery Date, and Don't
Break nhe Ice fall inro this category. (Ma ke no misrake, however; all
board games provide some benefir, and the fine motor skills and social
skills developed rhrough games such as Operation or tidcllywinks are
valuable skills.)

Educational Theories
Children who develop cognitive thinking skills, math skills, economic
skills, communication skills, and language arts skills will achieve at a
grearer level than those chilclren who do nor deve lop these skills. The
board games discussecl in this book teach and develop these skills. That
is about as far as this book will go in discussing or evaluating educational theories.
While the few research studies that have focused on board game
play in educa tional settings will be discussed and highlighted, theories
that di ve into such ropics as the transferability of cognitive learning skills
or the developmental learning phases from childhood to adult (Piaget)
will not be discussed in any detail. Any proper discussion of these topics requires mo re space than permined in these pages--and more intelligencc than prcscntly exists with this author!
Onc of th e theorics that will be cliscussed gcncrally is known as
"game theory. Game theory was deve loped in the late 1930s and at-

tempts to provide an analysis and prediction of actions and reactions of

multiple parties attempring to reach one or more goa ls. In developing
game theory principies, researchers studied and evaluated the moves
of players playing games such as chess and tic-tac-toe. Game theorists
used these observations and principies, along with mathematical and
economic theories, to develop theorems that predict and analyze in.teraction between one or more parties, from poliricians ro world govern
ments.
A true study of game theory involves graduate-level math and eco-

nomics. Sorne of the general principies, however, are discussed in the

context of classic board games.

BOARD GAMES AS EDUCA"fiONAL TOOLS

Board Games in Education and the Curriculum

The concept of using board garnes to develop and refine educational
skills is nor new. As n01ed previously, the use of board games as educational tools dates back to the creation of the very first board games
in 2200 BC.
Similarly, the u se of board games in schools and as a pan of the
curricu lum is nota new concepl. A number of schools ha ve successfully
incorpo rated board games into the curricu lurn, resu lting in increased
achievement levcls and, jusi as importantly, widespread popularity and
acceptance by tl1e students.

The use of boa1d games in school curJiculurns is ce1tainly not limited to school systems in NoJth Amcrica. In fact, board games are used
cxtcnsivcly intcrnationally as a part of school curriculums. Draughts
(checkers) is a part of the curriculum in elementary and secondary
schools in Russia and the Netherlands. Go is utilized as a part of the cliJ'riculum in many japanese schools, and chess is incorpora red into school
curricu lums in over fon y countries, includi ng France and Argentina.
Within th c United States, schools ha ve uscd a widc varicty of board
games as a part of their cu rriculum. Minneapolis schools ha ve incorporated th e play of Monopoly and checkers in to the cu rriculum ro enhance
students' math skills. Schools in Tcmpcrance, Michigan, ha ve incorporated board games into units on probabilities and statistics. The Wachusett Regional School District in Massachuseus even sen t a memo 10 all
school principals in the district encouraging the use of board games in
the school cu rriculurn, stating: "Competitive board games not only entenain but can encourage and inspire intellectua l interaction. Cenainly,
an individualized educational organization can respond to the needs of
those stuclenrs who desire to clevelop rheir strategic and tactical skills in

a competitive environmenr.
Many schools mix the use of board games between after-school
clubs ancl the curriculum. As an example, midclle schools in Pensacola,
Florida; Cary, North Carolina; ancl Belmont, New Hampshire all use
Scrabble as an extracurricular activily ancl in the classroom to develop

1o

and reinforce skills such as spelling, vocabulary, and, interesti ngly, math
skills. In fact, there are over 1,6o0 school Scrabble clubs across North
America.
Checkers and chess are also used by many schools as a part of rhe
currculum to develop a va riery of core educational skills. Chess and
checkers ha ve been uscd as a part of school curriculu ms in Ohio; New
York; Texas; Massachusens; New l-lampshire; New Brunswick, Canada;
Quebec; Zaire; and Venezuela w ith ourstanding results. lndeed, the New
jersey legislature rccently passed a bill authorizing thc use of chcss as
a unir of instmction in schools, specifically highlighting the educational
skills and concepts developed by playing chess.
The results of incorporating board games into the currculum have
been uniformly positive. Students increased their critica! thinking, problem solving, analysis, reasoning, planning, and comm unication skills.
Using board games as a part of the school currculum also resulted in
higher test scores in math and science, as well as increased performance
on other standardi zed tests such as the Watson-Glaser Critica! T hinking
Appraisa l, the Test of Cognitive Skills, and the Torrance Tests of Crea ti ve
Thinking.
The use of board games in the currculum has no: been limited

lO

public education. The asrronomical growth of homeschooling over the

past rwenry yea rs has placed many fam ilies in the position of currculum
selector, evaluator, and implementer. This has resulted in a number of
hom<::school o rganiUJLio ns, publications, w<::bsil<::s, and blogs discussing

rhe use of board games ro develop and rein force core educarional skills.
Mosr of the major publishcrs of homcschool curricul ums, such as A
Beka, Bob jones, and Rainbow, incorporare board games into various
aspecrs of their currculum. Various websites and blog sites, such as
HomcschoolDincr.com and Homcschoolgamcs.blogspot.com ha vc dcdicated space solely for the discussion of board games that can be used
in homeschool curricul ums.

Many homeschooling families have Aexibility in their cuniculu m,

and the use of boa rd gam es is an excellent way

10

reinforce and increase

BOARD

G.fuvt ES

AS EDUCJ\TIONAL TOOLS

11

language arts skills, creative thinking skills, money skills, and strategy
skills that may be first developecl Lhrough other curricultrms. In addition, board games help develop the social and communication skills for
homeschooled students that many families are concerned will be missed
withour the traditiona l school setting. (On this note, anybody who believes that homcschooling ncgatively affects social and communication
skills has not met my nine-year-old daughter!)
Now 1 must confess bias with respect to the homeschooling crowd
sincc, as you probably havc glcaned from my last commcnt, wc homeschool our two children. (My wife might take exception to my use of
"'we.) In truth, we ha ve incorporated the use of all the board games discussed in this book as a means to dcvelop and enforce educational skills.
That is not to say that we force-feed our kids mandatory "game time"; to
the cont rary, a large part of the effectiveness of board games as educational tools stems from the fact that kids do not look at these games as a
part of school. They simply like to play them because they are fun .
An additional segment of the educational community that has utilized board games cuts across the traditional school and homeschooling
segments. Proponents of the "classical education" curriculum, which
emphasizes critica! thinking and thought, have discovered how effective board games are for developing logic, criLical thinking, and deductive reasoning skills. In addition, specific board games are well suited
for developing and enforcing the skills acquired in the traditional three
stages (the "trivium ") of classica l education: grammar (Scrabble, Boggle,
Scanergories), logic (Ciue, Mastermind, Battleship, checkers), and rhetoric (chess, Risk).
The use of board games as educational tools does not stop at the
elememary or high school leve!. Colleges and universities have woven
thc play of classic board gamcs into cconomics, mad1, and critica! thinking courses. lndeed, Mastermind is even used at a number of colleges
and universilies

lO

teach mathemalica l proofs and theorems, and one

university professor from the University of San Francisco has even published a text on the m:nh theory and proofs of Mastermind!

12

G HAPTER

In crirjcal thinking cou rses 1 have raughr, 1 have used boa rd ga mes
such as Clue and Battleship to illustrate the process of deductive reasoning. Genysburg College (Pennsylvania) and Central Connecticut State Universil)' have gone one step further and have used Clue in their computer
science curri cul ums to show students how arti fi cial intelligence can be
used to carry out the logic and reasoning techniques used to play Clue.
The use of boa rd games as lea rning tools to teach mathemati cs,
langu age, histo ry, and science is a focus of rhe education curriculum at
the Catholic Uni versity College of Bruges-Ostend in Belgium. In fact, the
school is known around the world for its Board Ca rne Centre (Spellenarchief), wh ich fea1u res close 10 eight 1housand boa rd games and is
conside red th e largest collection o f b oa rd games in the world. Other
colleges and universities, such as the College of Pharmacy at Oregon
State Universily, have used modified classic board ga mes 10 re inforce
facts and co ncepts taught in the classroom and in laboratories.
In add ition to the use of boa rd g:ames to reach, develop, and illustrate educational skills and concepts, board games are also the subject
of higher-level un iversity course sludies. The play of board ga mes is
observed and used in sociology and psychology studies, and a number
of universities even offer sp ecific courses focused on designing and
publishing board games. (1 am not sure where these courses were when
1 was in college!)

Play On!
The potential fo r using classic board ga mes to teach and reinforce core
educa ti onal skills is enormous. This potential is di minished, however,
if th e manner in which these board ga mes are used loses sight o f the
games' original intent: to ge nerare fun , laughte r, and enjoyment. Jf playing boa rd ga mes loses its fun facto r and becomes ted ious, yo u might
as well pull out the worksheets, workbooks, and quiz pads. lt is the
enjoyment of playing th ese classic board ga mes that makes them e ffective 1ea.ching wols.

BOARD GAMES AS EDUCATIONAL TOOLS

13

The board games discussed in this book are supposed tO be fun and
a sou rce of enjoyment. Along those lines, 1his book is designed 10 be
enjoyable and not to be taken too seriously. There are a number of valuable ideas and points in this book on how 10 use and play board games
with an eye toward their educational value and benefits. There is also
a lot o f information in this book that is rcally of little educational value,
but which 1 included because 1 thought it was interesting or pretty cool.
Hopefully you will have fun flipping through these pages and, when
finished, you will find that you have pickcd up a fcw useful concepts
and ideas, just like playing a good board game!