We recently added another board game to our collection. We LOVE games and mom especially loves
games that have some earth friendly message or that encourage a curiosity in nature. A few weeks back I won a $50 gift certificate to a homeschool store, I used part of it to buy The Farm Game for Kids. I have to say that this is one enjoyable and educational game.
The game has three levels of play so it is almost like having three different games in one. The first level is for kids starting at age 3. Basically you go around the board collecting produce (eggs, apples, corn, or watermelon) if you land on a produce space or you chill out on a playground or school bus space. When a player reaches the Farmer’s Market stand, play stops and produce cards are counted. The player with the most produce wins.
In the second level, for ages 5 and up, you use two dice. One to move on the board and the other to calculate how much you get paid for selling produce. So if you move 2 spaces up on the board onto a watermelon space and you roll a six on the other die then you use the produce chart to deduce that you have earned $12 selling watermelons. When a players reaches the market the game stops and money is counted to determine a winner. This level is great for teaching how to count money.
The third level, for ages 7 and up, involves both dies, money, and the produce cards. It gets a bit more complex but basically you use the dice and the chart to determine how much money you get based upon how many produce cards you have collected…so more math is required for this level.
All three levels are fun and it inspires a curiosity in farming, an awareness of the value of food, and it is great for teaching basic math concepts and chart reading. The game is colorful and well crafted too. It is an awesome game for homeschoolers teaching math concepts and if you are just playing for fun you aren’t disappointed there either. I highly recommend it!
And while your here, check out some of the other educational, eco themed, socially conscious games we like.
Your post about eco conscious games reminded me of a board game my family got from a yard sale once and used do play endlessly because we kids loved it so much.
Basically, you had to rescue a piece of rain forest from being cut down by bulldozers, I think you did it by collecting as many different kinds of wild animals as you could and thus proving the place was worth being preserved or something like that, but I don´t remember. The best part was that if you succeeded to stop the machines, all players won.
The title would simply translate into “The Rainforest Game”, but I don´t know whether there is an English version available. Maybe someone else knows.
I had no idea such games existed, thank you! My boy is still quite a bit too young for such things, but you can bet I’ll be checking them out in another year or so. :)
Sounds like a wonderful and interactive game- I like the concept! :)
That’s great! I’m excited to learn about recommended homeschooling books, games, activities, etc because we’re starting our family planning and homeschool is on the agenda :)
Cheers!