19 Ways to Use Board Games as Centers

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What was your favorite board game as a child? The one that you always wanted to play when friends came over, or the one you pulled out on Friday or Saturday night to play with your family. I guarantee that your students have some favorites of their own too. We can use their excitement to teach important skills by using board games as centers.

Board games are so versatile and can teach us a variety of different skills. Plus, they are FUN!!! But what do we do when some of the pieces go missing? Or that favorite game is now tucked back in a closet collecting dust? We repurpose it of course! There are so many ways to use board games as centers, but let’s start with these 19 ideas.

Your students can learn a plethora of skills when they participate in board games. Here are just a few…

  • How to take turns.
  • Counting skills.
  • Subitizing on dice.
  • Problem-solving.
  • Color recognition.
  • Reading of directions and player cards.
  • Humility – winners and losers.
  • Patience – some of these games take a LONG time to play

Using board games does not have to only happen during Fun Fridays. They can be used throughout the week in your small group centers, for independent practice (students can play board games by themselves too), in whole group, or as early finishers. So let’s put those dusty, missing-some-pieces, board games to work. You can also use some of these as brand new too. ?

Board Game Center #1. Candyland

If you don’t have an old game of Candyland lying around, are you really a teacher? You can write sight words, phonics words, numbers, letters, math problems, vocabulary words, etc. on the colored spaces of the board game. Your students can then flip over the cards, move their game piece to the given color and read, solve, or define what is in their space. And if you are missing any cards, no big deal, as you have so many educational board games your students can choose from.

#2. First Grade File Folder Games

Many of these games are laid out like Candyland, with ELA or Math skills written on the game board spaces. Your students will roll one or more dice and move the given number of spaces. Then they have to complete the task in their given space. With this bundle, you have an entire set of board game centers at your fingertips to help your students practice essential Math and ELA skills either independently or with a partner. They are perfect to place in a bucket and use as an early finisher activity.

#3. CLUE

Looking for a fun way to have your students practice deductive reasoning with an educational board game? Bring out the board game of CLUE. Besides having to eliminate suspects, rooms, etc. your students can also be placed in teams and have to practice working together. You can easily play this game in a whole group setting as well. (Note to keep in mind… I would grab one of the newer versions of CLUE that are more kid-appropriate and don’t have anyone committing crimes, such as CLUE Junior: The Case of the Broken Toy, Disney Villians, Marvel, or Harry Potter.)

Board Game Center #4. Digital Clue Challenge Game

Buying a game of CLUE can be costly, so we came up with a less expensive version and made it digital. Your students will try to solve the mystery by eliminating suspects using the given clues. In order to get a clue, they will first have to solve ELA and Math questions. Will they identify the correct culprit in the end?

#5. Scrabble

For older students, Scrabble is a great strategy game to practice spelling, vocabulary, and math. Your students will have to think critically to create words using only the letters they have. Once they have built a word, they will use multiplication and addition to add up the point value for that word. You can add in an extension by having them define the words they create on the Scrabble board.

#6. Editable Spelling Scrabble Tiles

You can also have your students play Scrabble with words of your choosing. Use this page from our Editable Spelling activities bundle and your students can still practice spelling and math. And just like the actual board game, you can extend the learning by having them write definitions for the words on the back of the paper.

Board Game Center #7. Bulletin Board Scrabble with Names

Okay, so this isn’t necessarily a board game center, but it is creating a beginning of the year bulletin board with Scrabble as the inspiration. Type your students’ names onto the document and they will create Scrabble tiles that spell each student’s name. As a class, your students will have to arrange the tiles into a Scrabble board connecting all of their names just like the best educational board game.

#8. Jenga

Like Candyland, Jenga is a board game center that can be used to practice a variety of skills. You can write phonics words, addition or subtraction facts, parts of speech, sight words, etc. on the blocks. Stack those blocks as you would in an educational board game of Jenga. As your students pull out a block, they must read the word, identify the part of speech, and solve the math fact before stacking it on the very top. This is a great way to use a board game as a center, especially during Fun Friday!

Board Game Center #9. Connect Four

You can also use Connect Four to practice a variety of skills. Write sight words, math facts, phonics words, etc. on the disks. As your students place a disk in the slot, they will need to read the word or solve the math fact. The first student to get four in a row wins the game, but they are practicing skills while playing too.

#10. Kindergarten File Folder Games

Just like the first-grade set, this set of 75 different games can be used as early finishers, independent practice, center work, or Fun Friday activities. There are quite a few games that are set up like Connect Four, where your students are trying to get three or four in a row on the board game.

Board Game Center #11. 5 in a Row

Similar in concept to 3 in a row, these “5 in a Row” games combine the board game feel of Candyland with getting a certain number in a row like Connect 4. Your students will roll a die and move around the game board on the outside, answering the question they land on. Once answered, they can daub or cover the correct response working towards getting five covered spaces in a row. It is a great way to use board games as centers.  You can find this type of game to practice Base Ten skills or Time skills.

#12. Spot It

This is a great visual discrimination game your students can play. Each student starts with one card and the rest are face down in a pile. Flip over the first card and then they have to find which object on their card is the same as the card that was just flipped over. The first person to find a common object gets to take that card and then they look at the next one in the pile. It can definitely get intense, but students have lots of fun with this game. (helps with vocabulary too…)

#13. I Spy

So, not quite like Spot It, but much quieter. Your students can continue practicing those visual discrimination skills with phonics sounds, math applications, beginning sounds of pictures, and sight words. Bring out the magnifying glasses for an added bit of fun!

Board Game Center #14. Battleship

My son’s favorite game by far, Battleship is all about strategy, but also a great way to teach your upper-grade students about coordinates in an educational game. You also get to sneak in a little bit of practicing patience as this game can take a long time. An inexpensive way to play this game is to give your students graphing paper and have them draw their coordinate planes and ships on the paper. They can put an ‘X’ in the squares as their opponent guesses different coordinates.

#15. Battleship Spelling

Use your students’ love of Battleship to practice ELA skills as well with an educational board game. This is an easy way to use a board game as a center and requires no prep for you! Another activity from our Editable Spelling bundle; simply type your words into the word list on the first page of the educational game, scroll down to this activity, and click print. It will keep your students engaged in your word work center all week.

Your students will write their spelling words from the word list into various boxes on their grid. Using the second grid, they will try and guess where their partner’s words are written. Just like the real game of Battleship, if they get a hit, they draw a certain symbol in the box, if it is a miss, they can draw an “X”. Students take turns calling out coordinates and trying to find their partner’s “hidden words”.

“My students LOVED Spelling Battleship today! Not only were they engaged, but the prep on my end was *EASY*. Check out this amazing resource – Editable Spelling Activities for ANY Word List. 60+ awesome activities that your kiddos will love.” ~owlloveteaching on Instagram

#16. Scattegories

Now this game was my jam as a kid! I used to love seeing how many items I could list out that started with the given letter. And to get them all done before the timer went off, even better! Students have to practice alliteration and vocabulary knowledge with this game. Skills also include categorization and more word work practice. But I have a much less expensive alternative for you below.

Board Game Center #17. Name 10 Literacy Center

Based on the game of Scattegories, students have to name ten items that could be included in the given category. It is easier for younger learners than having to think of certain items that begin with the same letter of the alphabet. You can choose to put a sand timer in this center and see if they can “beat the time”. Or you can let your students take their time and list out ten items that belong in that particular category.

This low prep center is a fun one and builds vocabulary and categorization skills in your students. Simply print out the mats, place them in page protectors, and add dry erase markers to the basket. An engaging literacy center is done in 5 minutes or less!

#18. Monopoly

What kid doesn’t love playing with money?! The game of Monopoly teaches our students money concepts, including addition and subtraction. You can also sneak in a little economics and budgeting/being smart with your money if so inclined. This is also one of those board games that can be played by quite a few people at a time, so social skills building is another added bonus. We all know how long a game of Monopoly can take though, so this may need to be one that is played during indoor recess or Fun Friday and gets put up between sessions. ?

#19. Money Centers

If you are looking for a way to use a board game as a center that teaches money concepts, but doesn’t take years to play like Monopoly, I have an entire set of no-prep centers that are all about MONEY! There are multiple spinner game centers, card games, dice game activities, as well as a 5 in a Row mentioned above that is specific to money skills. The best part about these games, aside from the ability to complete them in about 5-10 minutes, is that they are no prep to you.

As part of our No Prep Center guarantee, you only have to print out the game boards, place them in page protectors with dry erase markers if you want them to be reusable, and add in plastic coin money from your math curriculum manipulative kits. You have an entire money unit worth of “game-like” activities your students can engage in to help them cement key money concepts.

If you are a new teacher just starting out or a veteran teacher who wants to add any of these board games to your school supply list, they are all linked to our Amazon Affiliate account. 

There are so many ways to use board games as centers. Who said that learning can’t be fun?! They definitely do not belong in our classrooms. The next time you are out garage-sale-ing or cleaning out your closets at school or home and come across an old board game, don’t pitch it. Think of a way you can use that educational board game as a center. It will be a new, fun way for your students to practice essential academic skills.

Have any other ways to use board games as centers? I would love to hear your ideas for educational board games! Please leave them in the comments below and add a picture if you have one!

Written by: Janessa Fletcher

At Education to the Core, we exist to help our teachers build a stronger classroom as they connect with our community to find trusted, state-of-the-art resources designed by teachers for teachers. We aspire to be the world’s leading & most trusted community for educational resources for teachers. We improve the lives of every teacher and learner with the most comprehensive, reliable, and inclusive educational resources.

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Welcome! I’m Emily, Founder of Education to the Core. We are all about helping K-2 teachers by providing unlimited access to affordable printables for every subject area.