Learning by doing is usually the best way to master anything new. In the case of astronomy, this isn’t possible, but there are plenty of other ways to create experiential learning of space.
Planet Voyagers, from Simply Fun, uses information gained by some of the probes that have visited space and incorporates information from data and photographs into a really fun math/STEM/science game for 2-5 players, ages 8+, in about 30 minutes.
The goal of the game is to move across the solar system, earning points and research tokens, and playing cards for points.
At the beginning of each round, all players choose a single card from their hand to play simultaneously. The player who played the card with the lowest priority number (displayed in the upper-left hand corner of the card) goes first.
Different types of cards can be played, so players have to read the text to find out what each card does. (This is a great game for reading practice!)
Each card has an icon to quickly identify what each card can do. The different types of cards include:
- Movement – move rockets to the next planet
- Card – draw, discard, or play extra cards
- Data – move according to certain information found on the data board
- Research – earn a planet’s research token
- Planet – move OR research
Once all players have played a card and completed their card’s action(s), players refresh their hand to the 5 card hand limit. Players who ended up with more than 5 cards will need to discard while players who have fewer than 5 cards will need to draw up to 5.
The next round begins with all players choosing another card to play.
The first player to either reach planet Neptune (moving through the planets by playing movement cards) OR earn 12 points WINS the game!
The data board is a wealth of data and information about each planet, easily comparable because of the design and layout. The planet disks also include visual information about color, appearance, and scale. The rule book has a glossary of terms, fun facts about the Solar System, and the box includes a gigantic poster of the planets in orbit with additional information.
Planet Voyagers could easily provide the spine for a unit on astronomy/space exploration and provide your family with a fun-based, curiosity-driven way to learn about the solar system.
Simply Fun continues to be one of the best resources for educational games for our homeschooling/gameschooling family. We have loved playing and learning from this game, and we think you will love it too!
Thanks to Simply Fun for sharing this game with us!
