8 Board Game Apps

Board games are expensive! They also take up a lot of space. If you are low on cash and/or space, you may want to check out these 8 board game apps. Some of them are free and some are frequently on sale, so keep an eye out! Also, these are all available on Android. There are many more apps out there. These are our favorites because of game play and cost effectiveness.

Carcassonne

This is a tile placing game of building cities and farms. Carcassonne was our first board game and fittingly our first board game app as well. You can play solo against AI or with multiplayer pass and play.

Onirim

This is a solo card game. It is a puzzle game that can be hard to beat. The basic game is available for free, so it is definitely worth a try.

Onitama

If you like Chess, this is a great game to try. Onitama is similar to chess but with variable movement types . This is another free game to download and play. You can play it solo against an AI or play pass and play with a friend.

Potion Explosion

In Potion Explosion players are collecting ingredients to make potions. Choosing the right ingredient can cause a chain reaction that gives you many more. You can play solo against AI or with multiplayer pass and play.

Lanterns

This is another tile placement game. In this one you are placing lanterns in the water for the lantern festival. The lanterns you collect are used to make dedications for points. This is one of my favorite apps. I like that, in solo mode, there are achievements you can try to attain. It keeps the game play fresh. You can play solo against AI or with multiplayer pass and play.

Castles of Mad King Ludwig

In this one you are trying to build the best castle. The room tiles come randomly and have to be purchased. You can play solo against AI or with multiplayer pass and play. It also has a campaign that you can play in solo mode. It's tough but a fun challenge.

Suburbia

City building games are all the rage and Suburbia is a classic. The app allows play with the original tiles and the new, gorgeous tiles from the very expensive collector's edition. It also has a campaign to play through in solo mode. You can play solo against AI or with multiplayer pass and play.

Kingdom Builder

This is a light game of placing settlements on the board. The game play is simple and easy to learn. Beating the AIs is a tough thing to do though. The game gives many options for game play. You can play solo against AI or with multiplayer pass and play.

Whether you are trying to save some space or some money, or just wanting a game to play at work or on the road, I hope you found a game or a few that you want to try out. Let us know what your favorite board game app is in the comments so there are more loved apps to share!

Gameschooling Without a Collection

Gameschooling is fun and highly beneficial, but it can get expensive quick! If you want to gameschool without a collection, it is possible. here are some options for adding games to your homeschool without maintaining a collection.

Board Game Cafes

This is a low cost choice with many gaming options. Our local cafe costs $3 per person and have over 500 games to choose from. We went last week and had a chance to play some games we were considering, some games we couldn't find, and some that we were just curious about. They were all fun, but we took all of them off of our buy list because they are not quite what we want. It was great to get the chance to play them before buying them. Plus we get to use them for learning without having to store them or maintain them.

Local Game Stores

Our favorite local game stores have demo games to try. Their collection of playable games is considerably smaller than the game cafe, but it is FREE! Even with our large collection at home, we still go play games at the game store. It is fun to try something new that we don't have. We have built a great relationship with our favorite game store (The Dice Owl in Montreal) and they always do what they can to keep us updated with upcoming games, events, and finding games they don't have in stock.

Library

Some libraries have board games to either play or check out. The library we had in Michigan had some for kids to play within the library. All the libraries we have been to in Quebec have had a collection for check out. This is a great free option to play games without laying down cash or finding a place to store them.

Gaming Friends

Borrowing, trading, and playing together are all great ways to play more games with less cost. Doing game trades with other people does require that you have games in which to trade, but the other two are completely free. What is better than bringing two or more homeschool families together to learn and play? Knowing that the other families have got the games covered. If you have good friends with a great game collection or even a small one, playing together builds that relationship stronger and fills your gameschooling needs. If they are willing to borrow games to you that can be helpful too.

Gameschooling does not have to break the bank. We hope these tips will help you get more gaming into your homeschool experience. 

Have fun learning!