Resources to teach strategy game design
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REcommended Games for the Classroom

Be careful, once you start buying games you never want to stop. The following games are essential in my class as they provide a wide variety of mechanics and objectives for students, so they get inspired by these for their own projects. (IF POSSIBLE, TRY BEFORE YOU BUY. This is why I link each game to boardgamegeek.com so you can research it.) Or, you just want to have better games for your students to play during recess or open play time. That's cool, I can get behind that. 

I sorted the games by when I think they can be introduced successfully, so the school age ranges listed below aren't restrictive and I could be wrong as well.

​See something missing? Email me!

Looking for more curriculum-focused games? The amazing Dr. Catherine Croft has amassed really helpful resources here.

Younguns and non-readers

​Elementary

Animal Upon Animal 
Loopin' Louie 
Sorry! Sliders
Chicken Cha Cha Cha 
Labyrinth
​
Qwirkle
​
Hey! That's My Fish!
​
Blokus
Kids of Carcassonne ​


Also games by HABA tend to work really well with young kids. (Don't worry, they have English versions or English rules.)
​
Dixit 
​King of Tokyo 
Forbidden Island 
​TransAmerica
​​The Magic Labyrinth 
Tsuro
​
Sushi Go!
​
Catan Junior
My First Stone Age
Rumble in the Dungeon
OR Cthulhu in the House
​
Powerpuff Girls: Villains at Large

Get Bit
​Can't Stop
Rhino Hero
​

​middle/High School

Games I use in my class

Short/Filler:
Love Letter 
Coup
One Night Ultimate Werewolf
​​Codenames
Deep Sea Adventure

Card Games

No Thanks! 
Coloretto 
For Sale
Raid the Pantry
Granny Wars
​

Mid-Length (45 minutes or so)
The Resistance: Avalon
Carcassonne
​
Ticket to Ride
Settlers of Catan
​Pandemic

Dominion 
Incan Gold aka Diamant
7 Wonders 
Escape: The Curse of the Temple
Downfall of Pompeii ​
Celestia or Cloud 9
Ricochet Robots

Timeline ​
Space Cadets Dice Duel (noisy)

Much Longer (60 to 120 minutes or so)
RoboRally

Galaxy Trucker ​
Stone Age
Small World
 

Risk Legacy
Lords of Waterdeep 
Power Grid 
Acquire
Diplomacy
Pandemic Legacy
Memoir 44 (Overlord)
Mysterium
Sheriff of Nottingham 
Panic on Wallstreet (noisy)
Nmbr 9


Castle Panic 
​Survive: Escape from Atlantis! 

Zooloretto
Alhambra
Paris Connection
Detroit Cleveland Grand Prix
Marrakech
Forbidden Desert
Rattus
River Dragons
Powerpuff Girls: Saving the World Before Bedtime
Star Wars Carcassonne
Walk the Plank
Kodama
​Lanterns
Jamaica
Maori
Expedition
Niagara
Age of War
String Railway
Spin Monkeys


​

​

Games Others have REcommended

I haven't played these games with students, but they were recommended by others to me.

Dobble
Jungle Speed 
City of Zombies
Loony Quest
Battleship
Exploding Kittens
Carrera de Tortugas
Happy Salmon (loud)
Junk Art
Onitama 
Mice and Mystics
Takenoko 
Times Square
Peaceable Kingdom - Snug as a Bug, Race for the Treasure, and the new (and amazing) Molerats in Space
Outfoxed
Happy Birthday by NorthStar
Sleeping Queens
Go Nuts for Donuts
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