Let’s Play ~ Timeline!

My boys have been on a huge game-playing kick lately. Leif, my trivia hound, carries the Professor Noggin Card Games and Classical Historian Go Fish Card Games wherever he goes. They are perfect for play on the go or stuffing in a backpack or purse for “just in case.”

We’ve discovered another fun one! We are rather fond of timelines in general because of our CC history sentence songs and timeline songs. The boys have a great number of “pegs” already memorized.

Timeline Historical Events Card Game is a game played with 110 mini timeline cards. I think of them more like tiles than cards—they are about half the size of a regular playing card. They need to be small, because you are building a timeline on your table as you play the game! The artwork is nice and often gives a few visual clues (such as period clothing) to help with placement. The sturdy cards are nicely packaged in a sturdy tin.

Each card has two sides with the same picture and event label on each side. One side has a date; the other does not. Players are dealt four cards, date side down. The remaining cards are stacked on the table, and the top card is played in the middle to begin the timeline. Each player takes a turn adding cards to the timeline. Cards are placed date side down where the player thinks they belong on the timeline. Once placed, the card is turned over. If the date is in the correct order, the card stays. If not, the card is returned to the box and the player must draw another card. The first player to play all his cards wins.

[The cards have only an event label without any other information, but our curiosity was piqued a few times and we were inspired to research more!]

This game is easy to adjust depending on the age and abilities of the players. The more cards the players start with, the harder the game. The more players participating, the harder the game. More obscure events (or those very close together chronologically) can be removed from the deck. [Note: There are a few “origins” cards that could easily be removed if one feels that is necessary. It wouldn’t affect the game.]

There are additional sets that can be played separately or added together to create a much more diverse and difficult game. We also have the Diversity Set, which contains a wider range of events, inventions, discoveries, and arts-related cards such as literature (not “diversity issues” as the title seems to suggest). These cards seem to be more difficult to place. I may go through the deck and pick out my favorites until we feel confident and ready to add more to the stack.

For under $15, this game is a great value to add to a game collection. I hope Monuments and Arts and Literature sets are in the works as one of the Amazon comments hinted at!

[This game could be played with the Classical Conversations History Cards or the Veritas Press History Cards, but you would need a much larger space!]

Delightful Learning

 

:: Professor Noggin's History of Art Card Game

We’ve enjoyed playing this art card game as a family the past few days. It is a simple trivia game for 2 or more players, and it covers ancient art through modern art (including art movements and eras, painting materials and techniques, famous artists and masterpieces, architecture, and art museums). The game includes 30 sturdy art cards and a die that corresponds to the questions on the back of the cards. There are two levels of questions, which makes it easier to play the game with a wide range of ages. Players take turns asking each other trivia questions. If the other player answers the question correctly, they add the card to their collection. If not, the answer is read aloud and the card returns to the bottom of the pile.

(It’s amazing how many of the answers my boys knew mostly from reading our collection of Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists books by Mike Venezia. They kept going to the shelf and grabbing books when they recognized a painting!)

We are looking forward to adding more of the huge selection of Professor Noggin Games to our collection. I can’t decide between Professor Noggin's Wonders of Science and Professor Noggin's History of the United States, so we might have to get them both. These games are great for around the dinner table fun.

 

:: About Time: A First Look at Time and Clocks

I am a huge fan of delightfully illustrated non-fiction picture books. About Time is a fascinating look at the history of timekeeping, from Ancient Sumerians in 3500 B.C. to Albert Einstein in 1905 and Daylight Saving Time in 1915. The reader learns about how time is defined and measured, as well as different types of “clocks” such as obelisks, sundials, water clocks, Chinese astronomical clocks, sand-pouring clocks, and so much more. History, math, science, cultures, and mechanics are all integrated in this lovely book.

 

If you or your children enjoy this one, you may also enjoy The History of Counting, as well. In a similar format, readers learn about the history of counting numbers across time and cultures, which I find fascinating. Don’t judge this one by the cover (it doesn’t appeal to me). The interior illustrations are well-done.