Learning through Fun: Tools for Schools

Using one of our games in a classroom setting? Running an organised group, club or activity session? Homeschooling?

Alongside straightforward family fun at home, we see our games being used in all sorts of different contexts.

Here, we’ve tried to collate and share some specific information and experiences that we’ve collected over the years pertaining to the educational side of our games – all hopefully useful if you’re the adult in charge.

At the time of writing, the three current games that sit within our ‘learning through fun’ strand are Articulate for Kids, Dig In,and Logo Best of Kids.

 

Articulate for Kids

Age guideline: 6-12 years.

The Game

Articulate is a team game of language skills; of finding synonyms and imaginative word descriptions. The kids’ version contains simpler topics than the classic board game, but otherwise they’re essentially the same - in fact, you can interchange the cards between games if you're playing cross-generationally.

In Use

We see both games used a lot as a fun icebreaker, to warm people up at the beginning of a session. It's particularly common on school residentials as rainy-day insurance, or as a screen-free evening activity. There’s no restriction on the size of teams, making it good for whole classes without excluding people.

We've heard from professional voice coaches who use the game as a tool to teach clarity of expression. It’s also used extensively in a TEFL/EAL context, and in health/therapy settings.

Resources

• Case study: Articulate in a TEFL/EAL setting
• Case study: NHS specialist uses Articulate with patients recovering their speech
• Case study: Articulate and young people with complex mental health issues
• Parents'/carers' guide to getting the best from the game

Dig In

Age guideline: 5+ years.

The Game

Dig In is a game of rummaging around to find objects, involving lots of dexterity and quick identifying skills. It’s one for those younger kids who might be suspicious of a traditionally ‘educational’ game.

We introduced completely new additional gameplay in 2022 to reinforce the creativity involved when playing – now you can choose one of three game options based on the abilities of the players, in particular their lateral thinking and literacy skills. So children might be challenged to find ‘things beginning with the letter H’ or ‘things that have feet.’

In Use

One thing we’ve discovered from reviews and social media over the years is that adults find the game as addictive as the children do. Moreover, the younger ones very often come out as winners! So, you might use this as an icebreaker before a one-on-one adult-child session.

Resources

• Dig In is a very practical game, perhaps difficult to get across in words. The 30-second video on the product page might help you envisage it.

LOGO The Best of Kids

Age guideline: 7+ years.

The Game

The Best of Kids is a team game; a version of the hugely popular LOGO Board Game, but for children. In essence, it’s a family Q&A quiz game but with topics firmly geared towards a younger audience. For this reason, you’ll be the best judge as to that 7+ age guideline – it may well be that children one or two years younger are perfectly suited to it (this has been borne out by online reviews – but we’ve stuck to 7+, to avoid the possibility of disappointment).

In Use

See the suggestions in our parents' guide.

Resources

• Parents’ guide to getting the best from the game. Includes guidance on the types of question that are featured; all will be applicable if you’re a teacher, TA or other organiser.

*

For every game, we’ll advise you to consider ‘house rules’.

We spend a *lot* of time playtesting, but please don’t feel that the rules of our games as provided are set in stone. If you have a child who would benefit from extra goes, or an additional flip of the timer, then agree this in advance. Not all children like the spotlight, and the team games allow the less confident ones to play a full role as ‘guessers’ rather than ‘describers’ or ‘question-masters’ – again, you’ll be the best judge of this.

Finally, if those rules have mysteriously gone missing, a full archive is available here on our website – please feel free to download and print.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Ideas? Share them with us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, and we’ll try to keep this page evolving.

#kids corner