Board games can be used as educational tools to make learning fun! Scrabble is a great game to get everyone thinking. You can make up rules that make it more educational. For example, you are only allowed to use words on spelling test study lists or the words must have five or more letters. To make it even more challenging, you could use it as a tool to teach geography. Only allow names of countries, states or cities. It might take longer, but everyone will learn something.

You could even help your teen study chemistry by only allowing chemical symbols from the periodic chart to be used as words for a variation on this board game. You almost have to take your teen at their word, but you could use cheat sheets for those not familiar with periodic charts. Foreign language could also be studied with the help of word games on family board game night. Children excel at mastering language. Perhaps they learn languages so well are because they are not embarrassed by the sound of their voice or inhibited by their inability to pronounce words perfectly. The romance languages-Spanish, Italian and French can easily be taught because there are many similarities. You can use a language dictionary to help spell and translate words. Then perhaps you can practice speaking the words, too.

What a great educational tool for teens, too. Simply have your teen invite friends over and they can review their school work with Scrabble as a guide. It isn't very difficult for teens to learn languages either, especially when they learn together. Make this kind of board game get together a weekly or monthly event. You can serve pizza and soda, which will make everyone happy. There are many companies that design educational board games. You can find math equation crossword puzzles that can be played solo or with multiple players. Or Pie in the Sky is a game that teaches youngsters how to recognize and compute fractions. This game is best with two or more players and adult participation or supervision is required.

You can also choose educational games that teach about geography and traveling. The "Ten Days in..." travel series educational board games give players options to travel around a country like Africa or the United States. Each player arranges the itinerary and places to see. It sounds difficult, but it is as fun as it is an educational game. The first person to create a complete itinerary with travel arrangements that lasts ten days wins the game. It takes about 30 minutes to play and up to eight players can play each time. Young children will especially loves this game because it allows a glimpse into somewhere different and new.

There are educational trivia games for almost any topic from science to mathematics. There are also educational games that were designed with the help of experts in various fields. For example, Buzz Aldrin, helped create questions about space flight and the moon and many sports legends participated in trivia games, too. A sense of adventure is provided to children that are different to them. For every subject that is taught in school for preschoolers to teenagers, there is an educational board game to help them learn.

The idea of using educational board games is not new. Bringing your family together to learn is a good way to keep in touch and stay connected in this world where it seems every minute of the day is planned and booked. Combining education and fun will help create a positive learning experience for everyone and remove some of the stress of day to day living. So, the next free family night, prepare and board game night with your family, and invite some relatives and close friends occasionally for additional educational fun!