Oldest board game: Senet

This weekend we made a visit to the Chicago Field Museum, using our brand new family membership that we got for Christmas.  We knew we had the whole year to see the entire museum, so we slowly went through just a few exhibits:

• Animals, Plants, and Ecosystems
• Sue
• Evolving Planet
• Ancient Egypt
• Hall of Jades

I think we had the most fun at Ancient Egypt.  We ran across a display of the Ancient Egyptian board game, Senet, purported to possibly be the oldest board game.  We played the online version at home afterwards which was great fun.  We are considering making or buying an offline version.

Family Game Night: Quelf

Here’s a game that looks like great fun that I haven’t run across before.

Ages 12 & up / 3-8 players / 60 minutes to play

Quelf is insanity in a box! With this hilariously silly party game, you will have outrageous fun with your family and friends. Quelf will inspire you to use your creativity, wit and sense of humor in ways you’ve never imagined.

As you move around the game board, as one of eight quirky characters, crazy things start to happen. Your friends start talking strangely. Your mom’s face is wrapped in toilet paper. Your dad is acting like Dracula. And you are reciting a poem about your armpits.

Each game of Quelf is a new journey into wackiness. When the dust settles and someone crawls away the winner, you realize…you’ve never had this much fun playing a board game in your life!

Perfect for: family get-togethers, rainy day entertainment, teen parties, youth groups, ice breakers and curing cabin fever.

Contents:
- 550 Quelf cards in five categories
- Game board
- 8 character game pieces
- 2 pencils & pad of paper
- Sand timer
- 1 giant invisible harpoon (it’s invisible for a reason, use it wisely)

via Escape Adulthood

14 Educational Games to Teach Your Kids About Business

eMoms at home lists fourteen educational games you can use to teach your kids about business.  Here’s a summary:

Board Games

• Monopoly - “the grandfather of all money & investment games”
• KidsWealth Money Kit - “teach kids to manage real money in a safe, structured, and supported manner”
• Stock Rush Game - “all the basic principles of trading used in the real world”

Computer Games

• The Sims 2: Open for Business - “build businesses with the characters you have created”
• Zoo Tycoon - your “own completely free-form zoo”
• Roller Coaster Tycoon - “classic management strategy game” - note that there is also a series of Roller Coaster Tycoon books written in Choose Your Own Adventure style
  
• Fairy Godmother Tycoon - “the chance to the power behind the world of fairy tales”
• My Horse Farm - “Spend your money wisely, make good decisions, and train your horses to become world-class champions.”
• Restaurant Empire - “all the challenges of building and operating a restaurant franchise through a unique blend of business-simulation and RPG gameplay”
• Lemonade Tycoon 2 - “juices up business simulation!”

Also included in the post are a couple Pretend and Play items for younger kids, and a lemonade stand and lemonade maker to put your kid’s skills to use.