Customer Reviews

Scrambled States of America Game Card Game

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The Scrambled States of America has been in full tilt use in the home for at least a year. It was one of those impulse purchases made from an "educational" toy store (term used loosely as often times "educational toy store" just means everything costs more money). The box was smaller than the typical game, the colors far more vibrant, and the subject matter relevant in a home with young children trying to find their place in America (let alone the world).

Though the states are advertised as being 'scrambled', rest assured each state is in its proper continental US place with the exception of Hawaii and Alaska which are placed in their proper ocean though boxed in thanks to our American-centered interest here. (In other words, Canada just did not fit on the game board.)

Each state is given not only its own color but also its own personality. Some have goofy eyes, others have big toothy grins, still others wear hats and frowns. Not to worry, frowns, teeth, and goofy eyes are evenly distributed among "red" and "blue" states - this is strictly a non-partisan game.

Playing
Inside this colorful box is found:

(4)four folded maps of the United States, labeled with state name, each state in its own color. Folded maps are slick paper.

(2)two decks of cards - one for each of the fifty states containing the state name, capital name, and state nickname

The second deck of cards includes the gears for game play with various tasks each player will work at completing first. For instance, one card may say "state is east of Kansas", another "state is brown", yet again "state name has three syllables". Each deck is of typical card-stock paper, equal in size to a typical deck of playing cards.

Players begin with their own cache of states and take turns flipping over a playing card, competing to find a state in their own pile which meets the requirements laid out. First player to announce their state wins the round. Play continues until all state cards have been played with the victor having the most won state cards in his or her possession.

State Savvy
The playing objective having been shared in a nutshell, the learning objectives may now be rather clear. Play this game a few times and you'll know the names of the fifty states, play a few more times and you'll have a general feel for state location. Play this game a few times a week for a year (sigh) and you'll know name, location, capital and nickname of fifty states as well as possess a very good idea of which states are "neighbors" to one another.

While the manufacturer recommends this game for ages 8 and up - an appropriate age if independent reading is required - game play can be slightly adjusted to allow for a much younger player. Certainly going down to age 7 is fine, we've played younger so that our preschooler can play if she has a reader assisting her.

Our family strongly recommends this game - from this mommy down to the youngest player. It's fun, can get quite loud (always a good selling feature around here), and unscrambles the fifty states into easily remembered (and quite unique) pieces of America. The only downside involves paper maps which may start to tear at the folds after repeated folding and unfolding, certainly a downside worth overlooking

I wish this game had existed when I was in school and trying to learn about the states. I have to admit that I never did learn all the capitals & information about my own country that I should have. But that is changing now that I play this game with my own children. We are all learning together now and having a blast doing it!

The game is simple to play yet doesn't get old or repetitive no matter how many times we get it out. It seems that we always learn new facts and have a great time while playing.

I also highly recommend that you purchase the book The Scrambled States of America for your collection because it is really a good one.

My 10 and 6 year old kids love this game. It's easy enough for younger kids to enjoy, but interesting enough for adults to play as well. Kids get a good lesson in American Geography while trying to be the fastest one to spot one of their cards with a certain characteristic. While the 6 year old enjoys the game, I will say that reading skills are necessary to prevent frustration. It's a colorful, sturdy (aside from the paper maps that are used to determine which state is closest during the "go the distance" cards that might come up as one of the challenges) colorful, fun game. I highly recommend it to anyone with kids of reading age.

Based on the hilarious book by Laurie Keller, this game works as a card game, a geography lesson, and an attribute game. One of the great things about this game is the way children of different ages can play it together, each at his/her own level. A four year old can look for a red state, or one by an ocean, while and older child can be taking in the capitals or other facts about the states. Deceptively simple, and a whole lot of fun.

My kids LOVE this game, and have learned so much about the United States. There are 50 state cards, and even more game cards. Everyone receives 5 state cards, and then a game card is read which will say something along the lines of, "Touches the Pacific Ocean; Capital has 4 syllables; Nickname has a plant or animal in it; etc..." The first player to call out an appropriate state from his hand wins the round.

It is amazing how the information sticks in young minds - I admit I have to look at the enclosed map every time the card 'Touches Tennessee" comes up, but even my 4 year old can scan his hand and almost instantaneously call out the correct state - if he has one.

The kids love this game so much they want to design their own game cards to add to the game!

As someone else noted, reading skills are helpful, but my 4 year old didn't let that deter him (although when he started playing this game he had strong pre-reading skills).

I also recommend the book The Scrambled States of America - this game plus that book would make a nice present for a child up through 2nd-3rd grade.

I love "The Scrambled States of America" picture book. I love this game too! It is so much fun and it's VERY educational! There are two ways to play, but here is the way my family plays: Each player gets five blue state cards and a map. Then someone draws a red card. For example, if the card said, "Capitol has a name in it," and you had Texas (Austin), or Kentucky (Frankfort), you would put just ONE card in your pile. And, not to worry, you don't have to remember the capitols. Everything you need is on your state cards. The game keeps going. When a "Go the Distance!" card comes up in the red card pile, you also draw a state card. Whoever has a state closest to it (you can use a ruler if it's really close.) gets both states for their state pile. When someone's state cards are all gone (there is a drawing pile, because you're always suppposed to have five cards, but the drawing pile eventually runs out), everyone counts there cards. Whoever has the most in their pile wins. This is a great game-fun AND educational!

I have two kids that play this game, 5 and 3. We have had this game for about a month and play it almost everyday. Tonight my 3 year old and I were looking at a US map and as I pointed to each state he named them one after another. He only missed two. My kids also have and enjoy the book of the same name. I highly recommend this game for fun and learning.

This is a fabulous game. My son has it and a friend of his who visited and played loved it so much she wanted one for her birthday so we ordered it from Amazon.com. She was thrilled!

My kids, 6, 8, 10 love playing this game!! It's a great way to learn geography without realizing it. To make a little more challenging and interesting, change the rules around or make-up your own questions. Great game for a snowy day. Your only limit is your imagination!!

We opened this game during a blizzard and played it many times over those two days. Now, our 7 year old triplets ask to play it again and again, and our teenagers are happy to play, too. The game is a little too fast for beginning readers - you have to be the first one to find a state meeting the criteria on the card. The game option for younger children is a good one - the game is less of a race to be first and more about carefully checking each of your cards to find a good match. This game has a lot to offer for all ages. Our family highly recommends it!