Just assemble the thick, beautifully illustrated gameboard of the United States and you know that SimplyFun has given us a gift of fun learning and appreciating our beautiful country. Players learn United States geography as they move around the gameboard reading and discussing facts about locations, landmarks and national parks. Players earn points by landing on the eagle’s state or sites that match their Location Cards that are drawn. Each player starts with 7 Location Cards in their hand, which are their intended destinations, such as Vermont’s Stellafane Observatory, Nevada’s Hoover Dam, Connecticut’s Mystic River Historic District or Illinois’ Lincoln Home National Historic Site. A player’s turn consists of 2 actions, a dice and chase action. Roll the dice and move your person up to that many spaces, trying to land on the eagle to collect two points or a location card to collect one point. When you land on a state that contains one of your Locations, read an interesting fact off the card or share a fun memory if you have visited there. The second half of your turn involves paying a Chase Card that allows you to fly somewhere or get a bonus point. Players use their cards to move strategically to the eagle and locations while keeping their opponents away. What an amazing way to build social sciences’ knowledge and vocabulary, specifically geography, language and literacy as players read and relate to these national parks, monuments and historical places!

Available at SimplyFun. Click here

By Bob Artemenko