Hey friends,
I didn’t want this auspicious month to end without sharing with you these Black History Board Games that we’ve been using.
Before receiving these games as a gift from an aunt a few years ago, I did not know that board games specific to African-American history even existed!! I like introducing the boys to different board games and I’ve been known to scout the aisles for sales and I’ve surely never seen any like these in the board game aisles!!
My aunt actually got these from one of the Walmarts in Florida (imagine my surprise!). They were on clearance and she was gracious enough to gift us quite a few boxes. We shared our stash of games with other family members and friends.
Games (by Black Heritage Series):
1. Memory Matching Game – for ages 3-6 years (buy it here)
2. The Underground Railroad – for ages 6 and up (buy it here)
3. The Black Heritage Trivia Game – for ages 7 and up because they need to be able to read the cards (or you can read it for them) – (buy it here)
Here’s a close-up of the matching game.
The boys are getting their game on!
Who’s going to make it through the “underground railroad” first? Where are you going to end your journey? Guess what folks? Do you know, I’ve heard of natural-born (grown-folk) Americans who thought the underground railroad was an actual raildroad!! LOL! (Disclaimer: Ok, I had never heard about it until actually living in the United States, but I think I totally get a pass since I was neither born, nor educated here….right?) Please say yes. To my credit, caribbean history was one of my favorite subjects in high school and I learnt quite a bit. 🙂 Well, enough about me.
I like that this game shows the kiddos in a tactile way that the railroad wasn’t a train line but an actual journey (arduous to say the least) that the slaves took to escape slavery, starting and ending at different points in North America and other regions. (Side note: Did you know the railroad spanned 29 states, as well as Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean?) See, I’m learning right along with these kiddos!!
These are good games to play just for fun or as a supplement to Black History lessons. There are different ones for all levels of learning and even better when the whole family does it together!!
Here are a few other links I found when I googled “black history board games”. What fun!
– http://www.itsablackthang.com/collections/african-american-board-games
– http://boardgames.lovetoknow.com/Black_History_Board_Games
Do you have any black history board games?
There is a strategy game called Freedom: The Underground Railroad by Academy games that covers the issues in a sensitive way. The players cooperate to try to help the victims of slavery get to the north, and freedom. The cards are of activists, you can learn a lot from this game, though it might be too much for young children. It is well worth a look, they have even developed a supplementary book for schools/ colleges.
It’s not a game you’ll want to play everyday, but it is worth investigating. I have a copy, as I love good cooperative games, and this one is no exception.