The Best STEM Board Games for Kids
Looking for an out of the box way to practice some STEM skills? Want to infuse your lessons with fun? Does your child need creative ways to make practice and skill practice enjoyable? Try board games! There are some incredible STEM games out there that help develop a huge array of skills. Today we are sharing all the best STEM Board Games we have discovered to make learning exciting and fun!
STEM GAMES For Fun Educational Play
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Playing board games provides so many benefits for families, and especially kids. It’s a great way to get screen free play time. To connect, talk and build strong relationship. It encourages development of skills in a fun, low stress way. Most of all, it provides cognitive benefits for all ages. Making your minds sharper and gets those neural pathways firing!
Growing up we often played board games and I am so happy to revisit many of those old favourites with my kids, but did you know there is this whole new world of board games available now. The best part, there is some incredible educational board games out there.
Educational Board Games for Kids
I know what you are thinking, educational board games? Well there goes the fun! No way my kid is going to play some boring game. Talk about bringing the “bored” into “board game.”
Well maybe you would’t rant quite that much, but the sentiment would still be there. I totally get it, and I thought the same thing. I worried these educational games would be too boring, too complex, too confusing, too frustrating.
We’ve all been there.
But trust me, these STEM games are not any of that!
These educational board games are all games that we have on our shelves and have played ourselves. We are speaking from personal experience and give you the real dirt on each of these games so you can decide for yourself if the game is a fit for your home or classroom.
Ready to game your lessons? Let’s go!
Science Board Games
Gravitrax
This game is our favourite Marble Run activity ever! It is an absolute blast and fantastic for older kids to build. GraviTrax is a game where you design and build an endless variety of marble runs. Experiment with gravity, magnetism, and kinetics to propel your marble to the finish. Combining science, engineering, critical thinking, problem solving and visual perception, this game is designed for 1 or more players, 8 years old and up. Gravitrax is modular, which means you buy the starter kit but there is a large variety of expansion packs you can add to increase the fun!
Operation
This is an oldie but man, great games never get old, and that is so true with Operation. Not only is it incredibly fun game play for 1 or more kids, but it teaches both biology and about circuits. What better way to discover what happens when you close that circuit than when you slip during Operation!
Einstein
What better way to learn about the life of one of our most incredible scientists, than by playing a board game dedicated to his life, works, and discoveries? With this game you are exploring physics, mathematics, chemistry, and philosophy all through the eyes of Einstein. It also includes some incredible lessons on the history of science. Designed for 2 to 4 players, 14 years and up, this is one game that has wide appeal. My young “Einstein” loves this game!
Cytosis – A Cell Biology Game
Learn cell biology as you build enzymes, hormones, and receptors and play with proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and DNA or mRNA just like in biology class. Perfect for 2 or more players, 10 years old and up. It is a fantastic addition to a homeschool, classroom or just because you love gaming and science. The best part is that you can call this game study time, as all of the organelles, macromolecules and science vocabulary are concepts covered in high school biology class. There is another game by the same people called Peptide that also looks interesting.
Photosynthesis
Learn about plant life cycles as you take your forest from seed to full, green bloom in this fun science game. Designed for 2 to 4 players, 8 years old and up. The artwork alone is stunning in this game, with the learning a great bonus!
Tech and Coding SCREEN FREE Games
Robot Turtles
This is such a fun little game. It is fantastic for younger kids that are just getting started learning basic coding skills. It requires at least 2 players, and is recommended for preschool and up.
Hackers
Total honesty, the name of this game had my kids super excited to play! This STEM Game is designed for 1 or more players, 10 years old and up. With 120 coding puzzles it has kept the kids busy defending themselves from Hackers. Because the best way to defeat a hacker is to out think them!
//CODE Robot Repair
Robot Repair is the third in a series of games designed to build the mental skills needed to fully grasp the concept of coding. It includes 40 Robot Repair challenges where you are given a robot to fix, which is perfect for my young Robot Repairman! Designed for 8 years old and up with 1 or more players. The series also includes: //CODE: On the Brink and //CODE: Rover Control
Engineering Games
Domino Maze
We LOVE setting up Domino chain reactions and this game takes that to a whole new level! Kids practice engineering their Domino runs that become almost Rube Goldberg-esque as you figure out how to navigate stairs, pivots, blockers and more. A fantastic logic and critical thinking challenge with some engineering to boot. Domino Maze is for 1 or more players, 8 years old and up.
Gravity Maze
This is similar to Domino Maze but you are building and epic marble run. Another fantastic combination of engineering, strategy, problem solving, visual perception, and critical thinking into a fun STEM Game. Gravity Maze is for 1 or more players, 8 years old and up.
Math and Logic Games
Mystic Market
We love Harry Potter and this game makes it feel like you are wondering Diagon Alley as you wheel and deal buying magical potion ingredients. Kids learn math skills, economics, supply and demand, and theory of value. It is best suited for 2 to 4 players, 10 years old and up.
Prime Club
This is a great game for mastering math skills for elementary aged kids. To play the game they need to master mathematical operations including addition and multiplication, plus some subtraction and division. It is a visually stunning game for 2 to 4 players looking to master math.
Strategy and Critical Thinking Games
Cat Crimes
We are huge cat lovers so this game caught our eye and we bought it the moment it came out! It is a fantastic “who done it” logic game that helps build problem solving and visual perception skills. This game is perfect for 8 years old and up, with 1 or more players.
Invasion of the Cow Snatchers
When I first saw this game I couldn’t stop giggling. The concept is just so funny. And the game does not disappoint. It’s a logic puzzle game that is fantastic for 1 or more players, 6 years old and up. You need to lift up your cows with magnets as you navigate a the various puzzle challenges. There are 60 challenge cards or my kids love creating their own!
Laser Chess
We have a chess lover in the house, so this fun twist on the game is a great change of pace to help hone our skills. It combines spatial thinking skills with critical thinking as you move your pieces around the board. At the end of every turn a laser is turned on and if it hits your piece, it’s removed from play. It adds a whole new dynamic to playing chess! Perfect for 2 players, 8 years old and up.
Thinking Putty Puzzle
Sensory play meets game play, with this fun logic and critical thinking game. Designed for 1 or more players, 8 years old and up.
I hope you enjoyed this glimpse of our Board Game shelf! We love using board games to learn, and these STEM Games are some of our absolute favourites. Perfect for home or the classroom.
Happy Playing and Learning!
More STEM Learning
