Great States

Play Great States and take an adventure around the USA while discovering/reviewing landmarks, capitals, state abbreviations, state locations, state objects, and more.

The game board is a brightly colored map of the USA and on each state is shown the state name, abbreviation, capital, and 3-7 pictures of objects related to that state.

Great States includes these four types of cards:

• Figure cards - These questions focus on where different things are in relation to each other on the map.
• Example - Which one of these states is west of North Carolina? Florida, W. Virginia, Tennessee
• Fact cards - These questions focus on state capitals, large cities, and state abbreviations.
• Example - What is the largest city in Vermont?
• Fun cards - These questions are just for fun.
• Example - Close your eyes and name 8 states that border the Atlantic Ocean.
• Find cards - These questions require that you match a picture from the card to the same picture on a state.
• Example - Which state's flower is the Sagebrush?

All answers are on the same side of the card as the question. The timer is a 60 second timer and it makes a loud tick as each second passes, and rings loud when the time is up. It's a great game to work on academic as well as visual perceptual skills, and has won the Best Toy Award Gold Seal. There is also a Junior version for this game, Great States Junior.
 
Object:

Be the first person to earn 10 cards and win the game.

Set up:

Set up the game board, placing the question card piles as indicated. Spin the spinner and pick a card from the pile indicated. 

Play:

Hand the card to the person on your left and set the timer for 30 seconds. The person reads you the card and you have 30 seconds to figure out the answer. Most questions allow you to use the map as a reference. If you answer correctly you win the card and your turn is over. If you answer incorrectly, the card goes back to the bottom of the pile and your turn is over. The first person to earn 10 cards wins the game.  

Try this:

• Use the game as a conversation starter. Encourage people to share stories about the places they have been and the things they have seen.
• Set the timer for 60 seconds instead of 30. Have the player on your left read one question from the category after another until the timer rings. See how many you can find in one minute.
• Skip the timer and don't take turns. One person reads a card and all players look at the map at the same time. First one to yell out the answer gets the card.
• Work on figure ground, visual discrimination, spatial relations, manual dexterity, geography, socialization skills, process skills, executive functioning skills, play and leisure exploration and participation

In the box: Game board, 100 figure cards, 100 fact cards, 100 fun cards, 100 find cards, mechanical timer, spinner
Ages 7+, 1-6 players

If you are interested in purchasing this game or just want more information, click on the image below.