Top 10 Best History Games For Kids
This is the ULTIMATE list of HISTORY GAMES!
The BEST of the best History Games for kids and really the whole family!
You will find games that are fun for all different ages from the Littles, to your Teens, right on up to Granny!
Ok y’all… I am not exaggerating!
I set out to make a quick list of the history games my family has really enjoyed, some new ones I’ve come across, and some ideas on how to make your own history games. Instead, I have worked for days making this list.
As you know if you have been following the Top 10 History Helps series I have great difficulty ever keeping these lists to 10…. or 20… or more! So in keeping with my obsessive habit of making exhaustive lists, without further ado, I am SUPER excited to share this list of history games with you all.
This is post #7 in the Top 10 History Series-
+Top 10 History PODCASTS
+Top 10 History SONGS
+Top 10 History TIMELINES
+Top 10 History AUDIOBOOKS
+Top 10 History MOVIES
+Top 10 History BOOKS (This is the ULTIMATE History Book List!)
+Top 10 History GAMES
+Top 10 History HANDS ON Activities
+Top 10 AMAZING Homeschooling Resources At The Library
Like I said this post is BURSTING full of ideas, so I am making a table of contents.
What you will find in this post:
1. DIY History Games (make one today!)
2. Free Online History Games
3. Best History Board Games
4. History Card Games
5. Best History Trivia Games
6. History Games For The Pro Game Player
7. History Word Puzzles, Cryptograms, and Activity Books
8. Fun History Escape Rooms
9. Best History Jigsaw and 3D Puzzles
10. Geography Games
What you will not find below:
I was going to write a big explanation of how playing games is without a doubt one of the best ways to learn and retain and review information. In addition to the obvious history learning, I was going to continue on with just how many skills are learned when children play games like fine muscle control, logical and predictive thinking, memory skills, creativity, problem solving, cause and effect, etc….
I wanted to share how many fun memories I have made with my own kids simply doing what kids do best… playing! My oldest daughter always suggests playing games when we are together… for dinner, for a birthday, and especially during the holidays.
Then I decided that you guys already KNOW these things if you’re reading this, and I didn’t need to be preaching to the choir!
So I will just end this with… PLAY SOME GAMES BECAUSE THEY’RE SO MUCH FUN!
1. DIY Homemade History Games
+History Guess Who?! Or Guess What?!
This is one of those games that ALL of my kiddos have loved! We have played using characters from our history studies and also using events – Guess What?
The object of the game is to ask questions to try to figure out the WHO (or WHAT) card that your opponent has.
+How To Make This Game-
*If you have a Guess Who game already it is quite easy to slide similarly sized cards into the
slots. If you don’t have this game, no worries! You can still (maybe even more easily) play
this game.
*Make a list of historical characters that you are currently studying, or have studied.
*Make a table/grid on your computer or by hand…. or simply use index cards.
*Write one name in each place
OR write the characters names (or if you want to be fancy paste images on each index card, and just use some type of divider between players so they cannot see each other’s cards.
*Make 3 copies of the cards… 1 entire set for each player, and one for the “draw” stack.
*Give each player their set of cards. Have them place them face up in lines. Be sure the divider between players is up if you aren’t using the Guess Who game!
*You can read the full set of rules on how to play here- How To Play Guess Who!
+File Folder History Games
File Folder Games are a basic staple for DIY learning games for a reason. These games can be put together in no time, don’t require a ton of difficult to find materials, and take up almost no space to store! My grands LOVE these games and we have made them for all kinds of their interests including some not very educational topics. Go Sonic and Spidey!
These are also great games to take on vacations or lovely long park days when you still want to sneak in some history. You can also get your children involved and let them go bananas creating their own File Folder Games!
So… what should you put inside your file folder games?
That totally depends on what kinds of games your family likes to play! Do you love Matching Games? Trivia Games? Bingo Games? Games of luck like Candy Land? Card Games? ALL of these would be great launching points for File Folder History Games!
*Here are a few ideas of how those types of games might work for learning history.
There are nearly an infinite number of variations, so keep in mind these are just brief ideas to get you started!
—>Matching File Folder Game–
Draw an even number small squares (or whatever shape) on the inside of your folder. Print and cut out the same number of shapes. Divide the cards in half. On one half of the set write in the name of a historical character. On the second half of the set, write in a description of that character… or what they are known for…or what historical event they go with. For your Littles that aren’t reading yet, you could do a traditional matching game with images you find online and print!
The People, Places, and Events sections at the beginnings of the Free Ancient History series of posts would make easy starting lists.
—->History Trivia File Folder Game–
Print out one of these Free Board Game Templates and paste inside your folder. Create game play pieces. Make a list of questions relevant to what you are studying… either write them down on index cards or print them out. Each player rolls a dice (die?). If they answer the question correctly they get to make their move. You could make up as many rules and fun additions to the game as you want!
—->History File Folder Bingo–
If you have ever used any of the American Girl History Unit Printables, you know that I love a good BINGO game! 🙂 This is probably the easiest file folder games to make. Simply print out a Bingo Template (or 2 … or 4) and paste them to the inside of your folders. Create a list of whatever type of history vocabulary/characters/events you are studying. Fill in the blanks on each card… be sure to make the order different on each card. Cut your list in strips. Fold each one in half and stick in a bowl to call out the words on the cards. Play like usual… or invent your own new BINGO version! FUN and easy!
*Free Blank Bingo Template
*Free Bingo Maker Online
—->History File Folder Card Games–
Again there are so many variations you could try with this, but I’ll pick the card game War. It’s super simple, all ages pretty much can play, and most of us are familiar with it. So to make this a file folder game, you would need to print out one of the Free Board Game Templates and paste it into your folder. Next, use your History Trivia Cards if you made that game :D, or you could use the History Cards like these Native America Kaya ones (or the Ancient History Cards or American History Cards) from Fields of Daisies (wink!).
Grab a regular deck of cards and have everyone draw a card…. 1, 2, 3 FLIP! Whoever has the highest card has the chance to answer a question about the card. If they get it right they win the “battle”, get to move their playing piece that many places not the board, and the round is over. IF they miss it, the next highest card gets a turn, etc. Whoever reaches the end of the board wins the “victory in battle”!
*You can see an example of a File Folder Game I made for the Free WW2 Molly Unit Study.
—> World War 2- Molly File Folder Game
*How To Make A File Folder Game
*Free Board Game Templates (These work very well to paste inside your file folder)
+History Card Games
Under the File Folder Games there were ideas on how to make your own and how to play History Card Games. Here are some more ideas that you may like to try!
You can make your own history cards, or you can purchase the ones that go with my units. They are available from Ancient Civilizations Begin all the way up to Modern American History! You can find them all listed by section in the post Ancient World History- Teach All Your Children At Once.
*Here are some ideas to get you started-
—->History Card Races
Scramble the events cards and set the clock! See how long it takes to put the cards in chronological order. You could also try matching the people and places cards to the event cards. As you study through each section of this history curriculum, add in those cards too for review and an extra challenge !
—->Create a History Card Scavenger Hunt
Hide the event cards around your home and send the kids on a history hunt! The trick is to only take the card that comes next in the correct order.
—->History Card Who Am I ?
Using the people cards, give clues to see who can guess the mystery person you are describing. You could also play this like a party game if you are teaching multiple children. Assign each person a character (or several) and have them ask each other questions to see who can figure out “their identity” first ! Extra points if they can match the event or places card that corresponds!
—->History Card Candy Quiz Days
Sweeten the deal by playing any of the above games with a treat for finishing fast or for correct answers !
—->Show What You Know Card Quizzes
After laminating the cards (or covering them with contact paper), the backs make the perfect place for your students to write some fun facts they’ve learned with a dry erase marker! You could also flip this activity! You could write a few facts on the back and then have the student try to guess what the front of the card is.
These games are super fun and also serve as a gentle way of evaluating the learning.
—->History Cards Charades
Use characters & Events from history…. use pictures for kids who don’t read yet…. history cards would be great for this!
+Build the Tower Games (Make this in less than 5 minutes!)
I think I said the File Folder Games were the easiest games to make, but this one is even quicker to pull together! All you need is some sort of blocks, legos, Jenga blocks, or anything stackable really would work! Have the kids gather those up and you get together the review questions you want! Use the history cards (or whatever you are studying) to ask questions to each player… if they answer correctly they can add a lego or block to their tower. Whoever reaches 10 (or other agreed upon number) to build the tower first wins! Again there are so many ways you could add difficulty or challenges…. you could add risk by seeing who can build the highest tower without calling the game, or using cards or dice as used similarly in the *History Card Games* section above!
+Jeopardy
*Use can quite easily find pre-made questions like these for Story of the World online to make your own jeopardy game.
*How To Make Your Own Jeopardy Game
*Free Jeopardy Board Template
*Free Jeopardy Game Maker
*How To Play Jeopardy At Home
**Here are a few Early American History Games I made recently!
2. Best Free Online History Games
+Mission US Games
+Mr. Nussbaum History Games
+Ducksters History
(Choose which historical era… after the short intro to the topic you will find crosswords, word searches, and quizzes!)
+Garden of Praise
(This is similar in format to Ducksters. After the introduction/biography you will find LOTS of online games and activities!)
*Garden of Praise Jeopardy Games
+Historic Royal Palaces History Games
+American Museum Of Natural History
+Quia- History Games
+Met Kids
+Play Royal Game of Ur Online
+Cool Math Games (The history section though 😀 )
+Education Quest History Trivia Quizzes
+Mr. Donn’s Ancient History Games
+Mr. Donn’s American History Games
+Sheppard Software (a little hard to navigate but TONS of games!)
+CocoGames History
+Ben’s Guide To US History
+iCivics Education
+Brain Pop History Games
+Primary Games
+PBS Kids Games- Xavier Riddle And The Secret Museum
3. Best History Board Games
*General History Games
+Time Jumpers
+Who Knows Where?
+7 Wonders
*Ancient History Games
+Portals & Prophets (Ancient Civilizations- watch video for easier instructions!)
+Cranium: Bible (Great if you’re using the Ancient Civilizations unit!)
+The Royal Game of Ur
+Senet Ancient Egyptian Game
+Imhotep: The Duel (2-player Board Game)
+Mahjong
+Greece Bingo Game
+Greek Mythology Bingo Game
+GreeceOpoly
+Santorini
+Athena
+Games Rome: City of Marble
+Akropolis
+Nine Mens Morris
(Ancient Rome, but very popular game played in Colonial America as well)
+Rota (Ancient Rome)
+Fall Of Rome
+Viking Chess Game
+Catapult Feud
+My First Castle Panic
+Catapult Castle
+Citadel (Middle Ages)
+Keys To The Castle
+King Me! (Fun take on the classic game of Checkers)
+My First Carcassonne
(Ages 4+…scroll down to the “From the Manufacturer” and “Videos For This Product” areas to see better images and how to play the game! Stand alone game.)
+Carcassonne Medieval Adventure (7+…the base game board)
+Walls & Warriors
+Castle Conquest
*US History Games
+Classic Colonial America Wooden Games Set
+The Oregon Trail (YES! It’s a board game now! Westward Expansion)
+Ticket To Ride: First Journey
+AmericaOpoly
+Monopoly: House Divided
+Constitution Quest
+Election Night
+Battleship!
+National Parks GET WILD!
* Catan
*Catan (Civilizations- Base Game)
*Catan Explorers & Pirates (Expansion Game)
*Catan Cities & Knights (Expansion Game)
*Catan Seafarers (Expansion Game)
*Catan: Rise Of The Incas (stand alone board game)
*Catan: Dawn of Humankind (stand alone board game)
4. Best History Card Games
*General History
+Timeline Twist
+Chronology (Learn as you play!)
+Similo History
+Timeline Inventions- When Did This Happen?!
+Timeline Events- When Did This Happen?!
+Timeline Classic- When Did This Happen?!
+History: Higher or Lower?
+Scholastic Time Machine Card Game
+Who Know History Better?
*Ancient History
+The Struggle For Catan (Card game!)
+Rivals For Catan (Card game!)
+Royal Turmoil
+Classical Art Go Fish Game (good for Renaissance study!)
+Not It! Castle Land
+Keys To The Castle (brand new game, but it looks fun!)
+Viking Dice
(NOT a card game… but since I don’t have a dice games category, here ya go!)
*US History
+Chrononauts US History Game (from 1770-1916)
+The Purple Cow GO FISH! Pioneers & Explorers (Age of Exploration)
+States & Capitals/US Presidents
(These are flash cards, but come with all kinds of ideas for games to play with them!)
+WW2 Arms Race
(This is not hard to learn- basically the same game of War played with an informational deck of cards and a bit of strategy!)
*Professor Noggin’s Card Games
*Professor Noggin’s Ancient Civilizations
*Professor Noggin’s Civil War
*Professor Noggin’s Wonders Of The World
*Professor Noggins History Of Art
*Professor Noggin’s American Revolution
*Top Trumps Card Games
*Ancient Egypt
*Ancient Rome
*Greek Mythology
*US Presidents
*Washington DC
*Battleships
*History Themed Playing Cards
*Ancient Egyptian Playing Cards (from The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
*Armor Playing Cards
*Kingdoms (Middle Ages)
*Medieval Playing Cards
*Kings & Queens Of England Playing Cards
5. Best History Trivia Games
+Ancient Battles Trivia Game
+Traveling The World Pursuit
+American Trivia Family Edition
+Where Did I Learn That? Test My History
+Know It All
+Who Knows More?
+Bill & Ted’s Excellent Historical Trivia Game
+Bible Trivia
+Bible Outburst
6. History Games For The Pros
+US History Trivia Game
+American History Trivia Game
+1775 Revolution!
+Memoir ‘44
+First In Flight
+Trekking Through History
+Trekking The World
+Trekking The National Parks
+Risk (1980’s Version- I think this is a quicker learn if you’ve never played)
+Risk
+Risk Europe (Good for Middle Ages)
7. Best History Word Puzzles, Cryptograms, Etc…
*General History
+Ancient Egypt Word Search
+Great Explorers Activity Book
+101 Fun History Word Searches For Kids
+Worldwide Secret Code Puzzles
*US History
+USA Constitution Activity Book
+USA Secret Code Puzzles For Kids
+USA Facts & Fun Activity Book
+US Presidents Facts & Fun
+All About the Presidents Word Searches
+50 US States Wacky Facts Word Search
+Discovering Washington DC Activity Book
+US Constitution and Declaration of Independence Word Searches
+Civil War Cryptograms
+Wild West Puzzles
+America Crossword Puzzles (Challenging level!)
*Mad Libs History Puzzles
+Presidential Mad Libs
+The United States Mad Libs
+Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Mad Libs
+History of the World Mad Libs
+Who Was…? Mad Libs
8. Best History Escape Room Games
**These are really fun for the whole family to play together!
+Exit The Game: The Mysterious Museum
+Stories From The Past Escape Room
-3 Escapes in this set: Prehistoric Times/The Wild West/Ancient Egypt
+Legends Past Escape Room
-3 Escapes in this set: Ancient Chichén Itzá, The Heart of Africa, and the lands of Olympus
+Talking Tables: Ancient Egypt Escape Room
(I have not played this! The Ancients had some interesting spiritual beliefs that could be included in this game, so please preview!)
+The World’s Fair Escape Room
(This is a game like Clue and centers around solving who murdered a famous scientist at the World’s Fair)
+Exit The Game: The Forbidden Castle
9. Best History Jigsaw and 3D Puzzles
*Ancient History Puzzles
+Ancient Egypt Crazy Cards
(I have several sets and we LOVE them! Great to leave on the coffee table and keep hands busy while listening to a read aloud!)
+Colosseum and Trevi Fountain
+Roman Colosseum 3D Puzzle
+Middle Ages Castle 3D Puzzle
+DaVinci Catapult 3D Puzzle
+Heroic Knights Search & Find Jigsaw Puzzle
+Medieval Castle Cutaway Puzzle
*US History Puzzles
+US Map Puzzle
+Colonial Williamsburg Puzzle
+Gettysburg Puzzle
+The White House 3D Puzzle
+US Presidents Puzzle
+US States Icons Puzzle
+Titanic Puzzle
+World Map Puzzle
+MapOlogy Monuments 3D Puzzles
+History Lego Sets
*Giza Pyramid
*The Sphinx
*Ancient Chinese Imperial Garden
*The Trojan Horse
*Ancient City of Pompeii
*The Acropolis
*The Titanic
*Wild West Building
*WW2 Fighter Plane
*WW2 Spitfire
10.Best Geography Games
*Geography Is History Too!
*US Geography
+Trans America (A simpler alternative to Ticket To Ride)
+10 Days In The USA: Family Road Trip
+US Geography Bingo
+Guess In 10! US States
+Scout It Out!
+National Parks Pursuit
(If you like the Trekking The National Parks game I listed below, but are worried it is too complicated, this would be my personal pick!)
+Monopoly: National Parks
+National Parks Get Wild!
*World Geography
+MapOminoes
+The World Game
+Guess In 10! Countries Of The World
+Continent Race!
+Geography Trivia Challenge
And there you have it!
The Top 10 History Games For Kids List! If you have read this far, you are AMAZING!
Be sure to check out the other Top 10 History Lists below!
Happy Living, Loving, and Learning Together Friends!
**TOP 10 Teaching History Helps Series**
+Top 10 History PODCASTS
+Top 10 History SONGS
+Top 10 History TIMELINES
+Top 10 History AUDIOBOOKS
+Top 10 History MOVIES
+Top 10 History BOOKS (This is the ULTIMATE History Book List!)
+Top 10 History GAMES
+Top 10 History HANDS-ON
+Top 10 History PRINTABLES
+Top 10 History FIELD TRIPS
And a bonus…
+Top 10 History for the HOLIDAYS
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