I frequently like to enhance our Bookish Adventures by pairing board games with our read aloud. This creates an memorable and immersive experience with the topics found within the pages of our books. It also just makes our homeschool more fun!
But, not all board games are created equal. Other than mechanics, I think the most important element of a good board game is the theme-- bonus points for beautiful illustrations! I love a good nature-themed board game and the following games are not an exception. So if you have a nature lover in your home any of these board games would be a great fit!
Calling all birders! In Wingspan, you are bird enthusiasts—researchers, bird watchers, ornithologists, and collectors—seeking to discover and attract the best birds to your network of wildlife preserves. Each bird extends a chain of powerful combinations in one of your habitats.
We are big fans of Phil Walker Harding games and this one is now exception! The tokens in this game are as high quality as you can get. In Planted, you will grow and tend to your houseplants. Players must balance both the growth of individual plants and the progression of everything in their nursery. Fans of Sushi Go ( also created by Phil Walker Harding) will love this next-level game with some similar mechanics.
In Meadow, you and your friends embark on an adventure to explore nature, capturing the stunning flora and fauna you discover along the way. Document your experiences in your journal and gather around the campfire to share your findings. The most captivating collection will be crowned the winner. Meadow has some of the best illustrations that I have seen. This is a fantastic game to learn about different plants, animals, and the food web. No reading required for this game!
Spend the afternoon in your Floriferous garden. Relax while enjoying this elegant game of strolling through your garden and collecting flowers. Find joy in the abundance of nature. Find the most joy by collecting flowers and pairing them with abundance, desire, and mastery cards. This fun collection, strategy game is relaxing, but thinky. I especially love this one to play solo. No reading required for this game!
In Parks, players embody two hikers navigating diverse trails throughout the four seasons. As they journey along the paths, these hikers will perform actions and gather memories from the locations they explore. These memories are symbolized by different resource tokens such as mountains and forests. By collecting these memories in sets, players can exchange them to visit a National Park at the end of each hike. Parks collaborated with 38 world-renown artists to design the National Park cards and it shows!
As the runner up for the 2024 Family Games Awards (Spiel des Jahres), In the Footsteps of Darwin, makes the perfect game for families. Players are junior naturalists helping Charles Darwin finish his book On the Origin of Species. Study animals, carry out cartographic surveys, publish your findings, and develop theories. Your goal is to score Victory Points to determine who contributed the most to the Origin of Species! No reading required for this game!
Set off on an enchanting adventure into the heart of the African savanna with Ecosystem: Savanna, an engaging card drafting game that captures the beauty and challenges of this varied ecosystem right on your tabletop. Build a flourishing ecosystem by thoughtfully choosing animal and landform cards, with the goal of replicating the delicate balance of the grasslands.
In Ecosystem: Coral Reef discover fascinating underwater creatures and their habitats through this engaging nature card game! Players utilize aquatic animals like sea turtles, sharks, and clownfish in a grid setup to construct their ecosystems. Earn points by strategically aligning ocean life with the habitats and food sources that support their thriving.
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