Amar, Dec. 20, 2023
The Christmas Holidays are the time of year for family board games. We at Trefoil Tutors thought we would put together a list of board games that are both great fun and educational, along with a selection of our tutors’ favourite games for our tutees to try. For those with their 11 + exams on the horizon, this time of year can often be stressful for students and finding a way to practise the techniques in an interactive, non-test based format can really help students develop their reasoning skills. Whether it is problem solving, numeracy, spatial, verbal or non-verbal these are the games for you as the winter nights draw in!
Vivek - RICHARD OSMAN’S HOUSE OF GAMES
Although this has been adapted from the television show, the board game is a very enjoyable version of the game. A serendipitous mixture of lateral thinking and logical reasoning coupled with a good spoonful of silliness, this game provides fun for all the family.
Milda - CODENAMES
Over the past few years, our family has fallen in love with this game - its team element means younger players can get involved and collaborate with adults. There are 9 words that each "spy" team must guess and 1 word both teams must avoid. You must only give one word as a clue each turn, but it can point to multiple words; the rest of your team can then discuss freely what on earth you might have meant by your clue!
Rebecca - CATAN
Catan is a strategy game built upon negotiation where you aim to gain the most Victory Points. Players collect resources based on where their settlements lie and can build roads to reach untapped resources. The longest road and the largest army gain you extra Victory points but it is whether your family will negotiate with you on friendly terms or form allies to ensure you can’t win!
Chris - HANABI
Obviously I have to go with Hanabi by Antoine Bauza. This cooperative card game revolves around the simple twist of players being unable to see their own hands, and involves an enjoyable level of logical deduction. It’s a relatively fast, simple and compact game which I have continued to play for many years since being introduced at university.
Kishan - MONOPOLY DEAL
For someone who often doesn’t have the time or space for a full game of Monopoly, Monopoly Deal is an equally challenging and convenient alternative. Packing the familiar strategy game into a pocket-sized box, Monopoly Deal is all the fun without all the faff.
Gaya - WINGSPAN
Wingspan is a game where you are bird enthusiasts seeking to discover and attract the best birds to your network of habitats. Each bird has its own special effects that help you gather food, eggs and more birds! The aim is to gain the most points from birds, eggs, goals and cached food. It’s a game that gets better each time you play it.
Amar - ARTICULATE!
An excellent party game with friends or family where you work in teams to guess the words on a card. Each turn has words from a specific category and your counter moves forward on the board based on the number of words your team has correctly identified. You can also scupper opponent teams by moving their pieces back when you land on select spaces!
Happy playing!
