Science is another really easy subject to gameschool, and it doesn’t necessarily replace all scientific reading or experimenting, but games are a great way to introduce or bring some fun into a unit study about a particular subject.
Photosynthesis is the perfect supplemental game for any science unit study about plants or trees or the sun, and the Under the Moonlight expansion opens the door to so many more subjects/topics like outer space, the moon (obviously…), nocturnal animals, tides, etc. It’s a fun and challenging strategy game with a beautiful gameschool-y theme.
There are actually 3 game modes that can be played with the expansion:
- The Moon and Forest Animals: The moon moves in the opposite direction to the Sun and gives lunar points to the animals in the paths of the moonlight (as shown by the arrows on the moon playing piece.)
2. Moonstones: Mysterious gems radiate moonlight. Animals directly around them earn lunar points. (The hedgehog animal is on a circle directly next to the moonstone so he would earn his player lunar points!)
Lunar points are earned by your animal and each animal has its own special ability:
- Boar: collects trees
- Hedgehog: moves extra spaces and plants seeds
- Squirrel: moves extra spaces and eats seeds
- Fox: move another players’ animal, moves seeds, steals lunar points
- Owl: change lunar points to light points
- Badger: grows seeds
- Beaver: grows trees
3. The Great Elder Tree: The tree casts a shadow onto ALL trees and animals on the wide opposite the sun and the moon. These trees and animal don’t receive light/lunar points.
This mode is for players who want an extra challenge!
The modes can be played individually or combined with any other one or two, giving the game a lot of additional variation and potential.
We love that there are twice as many animal choices for the animal mode, so players can choose which special ability they want to try out. Every game is a new and exciting adventure!
This is a great school game, but it’s also fun to play as a family. Sundays are our big family game days when Dad joins in and we have so much fun together!
Besides the obvious science gameschool connection, Photosynthesis and the Under the Moonlight Expansion are great learning games to practice abstract thinking, arithmetic, logic, and spatial awareness. It’s a beautifully designed game and the expansion is a must-have!
Thanks to Blue Orange Games for sharing with us!
