Tuesday, June 30, 2015

May 2015 Games of the Week

By Margaret Duncan, Ed.D.

The Histocrats support the idea of incorporating board-games into your personal life as well as in the classroom.  As such, we support and participate in a local board-gaming group.  Any and all board-game enthusiasts are welcome to join the Game Nights that are held every first and third Friday night of the month.  As part of our gaming group initiative, we also recommend history centric games that are fun to play each week to all of our followers.  The selected games receive our “Game of the Week” distinction.  Recommended games are a mix of cooperative, card games, as well Euro style games.

Saboteur, Z-Man Games
You and your Dwarven brethren dig for gold in the depths of a mine. Suddenly, a pick-axe breaks and the light from the lantern goes out. The saboteur has struck again - but which of your fellow players is a saboteur? Discover the traitor in your midst while questing for gold in this path-laying card game for 3-10 suspicious dwarves.










Age Of War, Fantasy Flight Games
Can you unite the clans amidst the tumult of war? Age of War is a fast-paced dice game for two to six players by world renowned game designer Reiner Knizia. You and your fellow players assume the roles of daimyos competing to unite the warring clans of feudal Japan and assume control of the nation. The daimyo with the most support at the game's end is the victor!











Metro, Rio Grande Games
The eve of the 1900 World’s Fair is approaching, and excavations are taking place across the city. Bizarre-looking scaffolds arise everywhere. Tunnels are built in the streets to later be covered with earth. Take part in the construction of the Paris Metro. Each player works to complete a set of lines across Paris and scores points based on the length of the lines, after all, we want to show the tourists as much of our fine city as possible. When you complete your lines, you tally your points and the player with the most points when the fair opens, is the winner.








Professor Pugnacious Portfolio of Perils, Pugilism, & Perfidy, Sixpence Games
You are one of Professor Pugnacious' prize pupils, a precocious prodigy of a Victorian adventurer. You must train yourself and acquire incredible Steampunk gadgetry to defeat the hordes of Gothic horrors that infest the Earth, and to foil your rivals in the process! Each player has access to only a portion of the pool of cards that can be purchased, which changes each turn and can be affected by played cards. Players attempt to gain enough Fight to defeat Enemies, as well as Failure to cause their rival players to lose their combats, and Skill to acquire more cards and disable traps. The game ends with the defeat of the Finale, a difficult and rewarding opponent.






*All product descriptions are from the manufacturer



Friday, June 12, 2015

A Few History Games to Enjoy in Class

Looking for a different way to engage your students? Try computer games.

These games are free to play on a computer and offer students a another way to interact with content.  In a recent two hour block my students* tried them out.   Here are some of the things they had to say.

Lewis and Clark Game
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/west/
"You get to see how Lewis and Clark traveled across America and the decisions they had to make." -Alvin

Win the White House
https://www.icivics.org/games/win-white-house
 https://www.icivics.org/games

"In this game, you get to manage your very own presidential campaign by strategically raising funds, polling voters, launching media campaigns, and making personal appearances."  -Beth

"The game was fun but frustrating when you got a question wrong and you had to start over to fling the teacher." -Kelly
"The game is based on the leadership of a nation during times of crisis and the tactics used by nations to resolve global issues."-Dan

"I liked the game because it simulate real life examples of people fighting for their rights and you get to play to have a team with diversity in their skill set." -Mary 






*Student names changed.