I bought this game because I'm presently pandemic homeschooling (hoping to stay on track to rejoin but also not aspiring to not flex or find new possibilities in the different).
In the fall we explored the United States and used a magnetic puzzle as a gentle/friendly introduction to the terms and topic. As a single working parent of one twice exceptional 6th grader I liked favoring a tool my kid could explore solo, we could play with together, and that sparked next steps in knowledge and research. I remember, very fondly, learning my states and capitals via my mother's childhood USA puzzle--that I felt very powerful figuring out the information using the puzzle--and I think my child had this kind of experience playing to learn with our magnetic puzzle.
This spring, my child's school is exploring explorers/world history and so I went looking online for a world puzzle :) initially imagining we could just shift the pattern we had if I bought a new map. Unfortunately :) it's not really that easy. While there are lovely world map puzzles of a variety of prices and detail, none I found was really a textbook page made tactile. The more affordable detailed pieces fit badly together or had reviews that noted several inaccuracies. The fancy puzzle $50 puzzle you can find on Amazon has very concerning shipping damage reviews. It's hard to make a world puzzle--there are a lot of countries, the countries are not entirely a stable/settled configuration, and scale is a challenge...too big and it's a floor puzzle, too small and it's a continent tool.
I ended up buying two things from Amazon to try--a world geo puzzle, not a bad size/ok quality/something to put together--and this game. I really liked the video reviews on Amazon that explained how to play the game--I think I was really sold via being able to see how the game worked and the quality of the items included. I liked the seller email I got that followed up on my purchase by letting me know about the videos and letting me know what to do if there was shipping damage.
We opened up the game and played a first round right after our shipment arrived this evening and I find myself so pleased/with exactly what I was looking for that I had to write a review. Every piece is well printed on quality tagboard/cardboard. The gameboard is a beautiful color coded world map--legible, accessible, the right detail level for a middle schooler, ready to be used in many ways. The cards come with little bands (a nice touch) and might be used a stand alone flashcards (they have flag, country, capital). The notebook sized continent cards have abc list of the countries on one side and a clear labeled map of the continent on the other side. I love that there is easy increasing difficulty (and clear eventual speed and skill). We can work cooperatively to figure out which continent the countries we have are from/where the countries are on the map/to find the countries in the abc list. But we also could be rather competitive once we know which countries make a set. Though there is a lot of initially unfamiliar content in the game, the game does not take too long to play and nothing unfamiliar feels frustrating. You are invited to learn country X exists, has a capital/flag, is here on the map, and has a relationship with these other countries. I love the orange cards/extension pieces and the way that feature gives a questions for the whole group piece to the play.
This game was a great ordering experience, is a high quality product, and delivers the inspiring teaching tool ground I need to introduce the world to my child in ways that meet her where she is/represent the complexity of the world/ethnicity/nation (something that is important to me as someone who teaches nation to college students :)).
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A great game for people who want to learn Geography
**UPDATE: The game has been updated since my original review. Byron's Games sent me a free copy of the new version to thank me for my original review (see below). I don't live at the same address (where they sent it) so I can't speak to the new version but I can definitely speak to the company having great customer service and really believing in their product. We're still using our original game two years later. I highly recommend Continent Race and Byron's Games!Our family loves this game. I have a degree in Geography and I wanted to share my love of the world and its cultures with my children. But, learning Geography starts with the basics of knowing where everything is before you can understand how environments and the people who reside there interact, and how conflicts arise from that. I wish I'd had this game to prepare for my location tests in college; studying would have been a lot more fun. Keep in mind that this game is NOT a mindless entertainment game. If you're not interested in learning Geography, this game will be tedious.Pros:-A fun way to learn world Geography for anyone old enough to read (Geography quizzes are not always fun and that's the best alternative to this game.)-Great instructions and decent construction of the game materials.-Great for classroom or homeschool learning.-Different levels are built in for varying skill levels (my nine-year-old loves the challenge of the orange mystery cards.)Cons:-World Geography is continually changing so this game could be outdated in a few years. (An app version is in development and would manage this problem)-It was VERY thoughtful that they included plastic bands to put around and store the cards but an earth-friendly compostable alternative would be better.-Our biggest disappointment was that the country information on the cards is too basic. The flags are great but they could at least include capitals too. (We will probably write the capitals on the cards ourselves.)-Although there are increasing skill levels we felt we weren't challenged enough and the game ended too soon (but I guess that's partially a pro because we didn't want it to end!)
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Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2019
Our family loves this game. I have a degree in Geography and I wanted to share my love of the world and its cultures with my children. But, learning Geography starts with the basics of knowing where everything is before you can understand how environments and the people who reside there interact, and how conflicts arise from that. I wish I'd had this game to prepare for my location tests in college; studying would have been a lot more fun. Keep in mind that this game is NOT a mindless entertainment game. If you're not interested in learning Geography, this game will be tedious.
Pros:
-A fun way to learn world Geography for anyone old enough to read (Geography quizzes are not always fun and that's the best alternative to this game.)
-Great instructions and decent construction of the game materials.
-Great for classroom or homeschool learning.
-Different levels are built in for varying skill levels (my nine-year-old loves the challenge of the orange mystery cards.)
Cons:
-World Geography is continually changing so this game could be outdated in a few years. (An app version is in development and would manage this problem)
-It was VERY thoughtful that they included plastic bands to put around and store the cards but an earth-friendly compostable alternative would be better.
-Our biggest disappointment was that the country information on the cards is too basic. The flags are great but they could at least include capitals too. (We will probably write the capitals on the cards ourselves.)
-Although there are increasing skill levels we felt we weren't challenged enough and the game ended too soon (but I guess that's partially a pro because we didn't want it to end!)
Color: YellowVerified Purchase
A great game for people who want to learn Geography
Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2019
**UPDATE: The game has been updated since my original review. Byron's Games sent me a free copy of the new version to thank me for my original review (see below). I don't live at the same address (where they sent it) so I can't speak to the new version but I can definitely speak to the company having great customer service and really believing in their product. We're still using our original game two years later. I highly recommend Continent Race and Byron's Games!Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2019
Our family loves this game. I have a degree in Geography and I wanted to share my love of the world and its cultures with my children. But, learning Geography starts with the basics of knowing where everything is before you can understand how environments and the people who reside there interact, and how conflicts arise from that. I wish I'd had this game to prepare for my location tests in college; studying would have been a lot more fun. Keep in mind that this game is NOT a mindless entertainment game. If you're not interested in learning Geography, this game will be tedious.
Pros:
-A fun way to learn world Geography for anyone old enough to read (Geography quizzes are not always fun and that's the best alternative to this game.)
-Great instructions and decent construction of the game materials.
-Great for classroom or homeschool learning.
-Different levels are built in for varying skill levels (my nine-year-old loves the challenge of the orange mystery cards.)
Cons:
-World Geography is continually changing so this game could be outdated in a few years. (An app version is in development and would manage this problem)
-It was VERY thoughtful that they included plastic bands to put around and store the cards but an earth-friendly compostable alternative would be better.
-Our biggest disappointment was that the country information on the cards is too basic. The flags are great but they could at least include capitals too. (We will probably write the capitals on the cards ourselves.)
-Although there are increasing skill levels we felt we weren't challenged enough and the game ended too soon (but I guess that's partially a pro because we didn't want it to end!)
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2020
Color: YellowVerified Purchase
This seems like a fun way to learn about the world! I currently have a 3 year old so we are not actually playing the game but im using the game board to teach her the name of each continent. im also using it as a matching game; it comes with the world map board game and nice thick 9x13 images of each continent so i can point to a continent and ask her to find the matching one. Their are many different ways to use this game for younger kids! The instructions are clear and the game is well made including the box to hold the game
Images in this review
