Two Great Party Games for the Classroom

Here are two great party games that never made it to the shelves of Walmart, but that have entertained us for years. I enjoyed them with friends and with students when I ran the game club.

Both can be played with homemade cards, so with some work you could tie them into your content area.

First is Thingamajig.

Because of its elegance, it is by far my favorite of the "guess the word" variety of party games. The boxed version comes with the Thingamajig--a small electronic device that reveals a single word when the button is pressed.

The active player must give a "definition" of that word to the other players. They all write down what they think the word is. If a player guesses right, he or she gets a point. The player who gave the definition gets a point for everyone who scores it, except if everyone guesses it. That's the twist that makes this game so amazing! If everyone guesses it, that player gets 0 points.

I've found this game to be an excellent study in communication. It quickly reveals how good or bad a person is at thinking from the perspective of others. By seeing the word yourself, it feels like every clue you give is too obvious. Then when you hear the answers, it's often clear you overlooked a variety of interpretations. Good stuff for further exploration.

One time I used this game with a small class of around 15 students. We played as a class, so it had an interesting dynamic. There was the possibility of getting a big score, but there were some other issues with playing this way that made it less than ideal. In general I'd recommend it for groups of five or six students.

Full rules for the game (which are still very brief) can be found here. As a bonus, if you have the Thingmajig device or you have your own set of words, here's a list of variations or other games you can play using it.

Next is What Were You Thinking?

I had almost forgotten about this fun game (which was created by the designer of Magic: The Gathering, if that means anything to you), but recently I dug it out to try with my two teenagers at home. They loved it and I was again reminded of the fun we'd had with it in class.

There are several types of questions in this game, but the general idea is that you don't necessarily score for getting right answers. You score if you match answers of other players. So, it's not great for review in class. On some questions, the winning answer might be the most popular wrong one!

For certain topics, especially pop culture or opinions, it works very well. My favorite type of questions are the ones where you are required to list four or five things in a category. For example, we had one that asked us to list celebrities who go by only one name.

After a minute or so, each player reads off his or her list. For each item, the players who had that item (including the reader) raise their hands. Each item is worth the number of hands raised. So every item is worth at least one point since you can count yourself!

This game lends itself to some interesting discussion as you'll often have to decide if two people have the same item, though they worded them differently. The rules indicate that a general answer (like "super hero movies") does not match a specific answer (such as "The Amazing Spider-Man 2").

I don't recall ever using this game with a whole class, but I think it might work with a relatively small one. Small groups of four to six students will have a lot of fun with it. Official rules are here, but I'd suggest ignoring the spinner. Just make interesting questions and write one per note card.

Note that some questions in the boxed version of this game (which is probably hard to find anyway) might not be appropriate for the classroom. Also, there are penalty cards that the lowest score player has to read aloud each round. Some of those refer to drinking.

If you're new to this site and you want some games designed for the whole class to play, here are a few links to start with:

• Many ways to use my party game What's It to Ya? in the classroom
• A ton of resources on creativity style party games
• I made some activities for North Star Games' great hit Wits & Wagers. One is for U.S. History and the other is for Life Science.

Advice to a new teacher...if I had a time machine

I really enjoyed Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon.  In it he gives advice about creativity by thinking about what he would tell his younger self.

That prompted me to consider what advice I would share with myself when I just started teaching.  Now, after 18 years in public education, what would be the most important tips I'd pass along?  I boiled it down to the list of six things below.  They're personal, but I think they have some application beyond my own life.

To set the scene I have to admit that the first half of my teaching experience was rough for me.  I did not enjoy much about teaching high school math.  There was plenty to be thankful for, no doubt, and a lot of students liked my classes.  I learned a ton about myself and I have some great relationships that came out of that time.  But dealing with difficult students and seeing my inability to reach all of them was tough.

I never could distance myself and simply say, "Well, I tried."  I felt like a failure many days.  

So here's a short list of what I wish I could have told myself when I was 25 years old, starting out in my career.

1)  Be realistic about what you're getting into.  The students you will be asked to teach are coming in with poor math skills and a poor attitude toward the subject.  Very few of them will see math class as the positive experience that you did.  Be prepared for this!  Set realistic goals of what you can accomplish in those first years as you are learning to be a good teacher.

2)  Take the work seriously, but don't forget about the relationships you are building everyday with your students.  You tend to get focused on the job and forget about people, but they are most important.  Even the difficult ones will respect you for your hard work if they also know you care about them.

Years after the class is over you'll see some of them.  They'll remember that you cared and worked hard more than they ever will the details of lessons, rough days, all those assignments or the grades they got.

3)  Start a game club right away.  That love you always had for games will be a highlight of your time working with students.  A lot of them won't fit in anywhere else, but they'll hang out with you at lunch.  Buy a few more of those games no one else has heard of and use them to connect with the students as much as you can.  Meet every couple weeks or so after school for gaming.  You'll like that extra-curricular work a lot more than organizing the prom.  (For the good of all, tell them you don't want to be a class sponsor!)

4)  Keep up on the technology.  You're kind of a traditionalist and in the debate of calculators versus no calculators you'll be tempted to keep it old school.  Instead, remember that many kids can learn the concept better if they come at it differently than you did.  It doesn't have to be all pencil and paper and a ton of steps.

Keep an open mind on that and use technology to give them a conceptual understanding useful for problem solving. When the principal asks you to try more with technology, do it.  Doors will open for you and you'll enjoy the change as the best years of your career.

5)  Assign creative projects, even in math.  Your department will focus almost exclusively on the state MEAP test, but don't let that drain your classroom of creativity.  You'll be busy and it will be easier to just keep it simple and routine, but things like the video assignment, personalized story problems and the artistic projects are vital.  Keep developing those assignments.  Add a new one every semester so that when students think back to your class, they remember those things they made.  You'll like it best when students say you're not like the other math teachers.

6)  Remember that you felt called to teach.  In frustrating times you'll think you should have gone into programming instead of working with kids who don't want to be there.

All those visions of being an amazing teacher will be shattered by reality and you'll think you misunderstood what you were supposed to do with your life.  But just like you did that day when you got the unexpected call and they offered you the job, trust that God knows what he's doing.  You are supposed to be there.

You won't reach everyone personally or with the math, but you'll connect with many students.  You'll remind them that life is exciting when chasing a dream.  They'll take notes when you talk about what true success looks like and many will thank you.  Among other things, you were called to pass on those messages.  Let them flow through all aspects of your work.

Here's the key to success you'll eventually share with them:

Always do your best

At what's most important

Whether you feel like it or not

You and many others will be thankful for the lesson.

Fun Family Games with Potential for Learning

As the title of my blog indicates, I normally focus on game based learning in the classroom. Two things happened recently, however, that made me think a quick turn to traditional gaming with the family would be appropriate.

I have a list below of some of our favorite board or card games that could be used for home school families or just as a good mental workout during summer vacation.

I first felt the need for this when I stopped in a Toys R Us a couple weeks ago to see what they have for games. I couldn’t believe the mass market has still not been impacted by the wealth of amazing new games coming from Europe and through other hobby channels here in the U.S.

An example of how much reading is involved on the cards

And then this past weekend my son wanted to play War of the Ring. I would never suggest this title to a family that is just learning about new games. It is a long, hard battle based in the world of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings books. It has a ton of pieces, cards with paragraphs of text and 21 pages of rules, so we only tackle this in the summer. I was impressed that my son (12 years old) can handle the patience and thinking required. He was raised playing games with the family, so even though he loves computer games, he is able to appreciate a slower, thoughtful exchange with plastic and cardboard as well.

I’m not an expert on related research, but I have played enough games with other children in the neighborhood or relatives when they visit. Though they are comparable in age to my own kids, there’s a considerable difference in what they will sit through. Of course there is much that they will not learn just from playing games like those below. But waiting one’s turn, winning or losing gracefully, remembering rules and working toward a goal are skills that have value well beyond the game table.

So here is a list some of the games we have enjoyed over the years. In gamer circles, my collection is quite dated and others would suggest more newer titles.  In researching any of these, though, it will be easy to find recommendations for other great games that might better suit your interests. If nothing else, the Boardgame Geek website will be of great interest to any would be gamer who has not yet discovered it. I will link to the entry for each game I mention below.

Settlers of Catan - This is the one that started it all for many of us in the hobby. If you haven’t heard of it, I’ll bet all these other games will be new to you as well.
Lost Cities Board Game - My son loves this one and usually wins. It plays quickly, it’s simple and provides many fun options each turn.
For Sale - I love auction games and when the kids were younger this was the first they could learn and enjoy.
Ricochet Robot - This is an odd one because people either love it or hate it. Those who like it can play for hours on end if the group is fairly matched.
Through the Desert - Much more fun than you’d expect from a game about putting camels in hexes. Simple rules make room for a lot of strategy.
Say Anything - This has been my family’s favorite party game for the past year or so. You might have seen this one since it does show up in some of the larger toy or book stores.
King for a Day - You won’t find this one in a store. I made this one and you can read more about it in this review.  (It's also worth mentioning that my family helps me playtest all the new games I make.)
Zendo - This is actually just one of many games you can play with Icehouse pyramids. It is a great game based on inductive reasoning.
Hey, That’s My Fish - Another simple game on a hex board, but this time the hexes vanish as the ice floe shrinks.
Forbidden Island - This is a cooperative game, so everyone wins or loses together. It’s a quick ride that generates a lot of excitement.

Contact me if you have questions about these or other games that are great for family fun and learning.  Also, I always recommend you check out Fair Play Games first if you are considering buying games.  The owner is a good friend of mine and I know they'll treat you right.