Games & Toys
Name That Country Game
- The fun way to learn world geography
- Learn interesting facts about the world
- Learn geographical information about each country
- For 2-4 players, children ages 8+ years
Product Description
The fun way to learn world geography! Board game takes two to four players around the world, teaching countries, capitals and other interesting facts. Includes game board, playing pieces, postcards and instructions.Editorial Review
“Dear Pen Pal, Konnichi wa! We’ve been to see Mt. Fuji. Name my country! Sayonara, Michiko.” Challenge your group with this fast-paced geography game, created in 1992 by Educational Insights, Inc. Everyone begins at the post office. Players twirl a finely printed spinner (built into the game board itself) to select one of 60 countries. If the player can correctly identify the country’s location on the board’s numbered map, he or she may advance along the path to the finish. Bonus moves are won by landing on “postcard” spaces, listening to the clues on one of the 40 postcards, and correctly identifying the pen pal’s country. (The sample postcard above came from Japan.) A more challenging game can be achieved by requiring players to name the country’s capital; answers are provided. –Liane Thomas
SHOP
Qwirkle Board GameOur tactile wooden block game combines the logic and strategy of Set® with the creative multi-maneuver game play of Scrabble®. Easy-to-learn rules m... Read More >
Link to this post!
Related Posts:
-
This is a really fun game for my girls to play to go along with the geography lessons that we have done. It is easy to add the countries that the game didn’t include, like places on the continent of Africa. I like having the option of naming the capitals. This game is a great basic game, and with some imagination you can make this even more fun and educational.
Rating: 4 / 5 -
Our family loves this game. It was a bit discouraging for the children at first because they kept being required to identify countries they’d never heard of, but the more we played, the more they learned, and now they know most of the countries. However, even after they’ve learned to identify all the countries (and there are a lot, some even I didn’t know!), then we can make it more challenging by asking them to name the capitals. There are also blank cards so we can make up a few of our own postcards. It is true that the map is a little small, but this didn’t really affect the educational or entertainment values of the game. We didn’t play it non-stop when we got it so maybe that’s why we didn’t master so quickly and then get sick of it. We play it occasionally and always enjoy it.
Rating: 5 / 5 -
- Comment Feed for this Post
Played this game last night for the first time. No set up was required, the spinner was already attached to the board, very few loose pieces. Rules are super easy. It was sad to see how bad I am with geography, like so many other Americans, and I hope this game can change that for me, and make my son learn, too. Overall the game is great, here are just a few cons I found:
1. The spinner doesn’t spin so well. I am sure it will get better and loosen up with more playing.
2. The postcards could have been made of a sturdier material. I can see them getting bent up fairly easily.
3. While helpful, I don’t like how the countries on the spinner are color coordinated to the corresponding country on the map. For example, if you were to land on The United States, and were asked to find it, it indicates on the spinner that it is in North America and the country is colored green. Well, there aren’t any other green colored countries in North America, so it is pretty easy to figure out. (this is just an example, as I would assume most kids 8+ already know where the US is!)
While the countries can become easy to figure out because of the color indicators on the spinner, you can make it more difficult by requiring the player to name the capital of the country. The country numbers and capitals are listed on a key inside the box. They should have made a smaller key in addition to the one printed inside the box because it would be easier to pass around if you don’t have one person sitting out of playing in order to be the referee.
The post card idea is neat, you read what is on the postcard (hopefully you can pronounce the greeting – it would have been a plus if they also had it written phonetically, so kids could easily read the cards, too) and the person has to guess what country it is from. When one card came with the beginning of “Bonjour!” my son, of course, guessed France. Well, if you pay attention to the rest of what is being said on the postcard, you would realize it can’t be France, and it was actually the Congo. Nice way for kids to learn that the same language can be spoken in many different countries, too. There is also an address listed if you would like to request a pen pal. Now isn’t that a novel idea for this day and age – to write a letter with a pen and paper and mail it with a stamp! Good way to show kids that not all children in the world have access to a computer for email.
Overall, a great learning game for kids, and adults, too!
Rating: 4 / 5