Did you know there are almost 200 countries on Earth? Learning about these nations, their cultures, and their own particular histories are an important part of becoming a global citizen. Children can begin learning about the world around them from an early age with guessing activities, adaptations of classic games, and digital applications. This list of 20 educational geography games can be adapted to accommodate beginners, learners who have high activity needs, and those seeking to learn even the most obscure facts about countries!
Classic Games & Hands-On Activities
1. Geo Dice
The Geo Dice board game is the perfect way to introduce children to the names of the countries and capital cities of the world. Players roll the dice and then have to name a country or capital city beginning with a certain letter on the rolled continent.
Learn more: Amazon
2. World Geo Puzzle
This world map puzzle is a fantastic educational geography game for helping children learn the locations of nations while building their spatial awareness skills. As you build the puzzle together, you can answer questions like “Which are the largest countries?” and “Which countries border each other?”.
Learn more: Amazon
3. Flag Bingo
This simple, printable game of flag bingo is perfect for helping children learn about the symbols representing other countries! Children will simply mark the correct country and flag off their bingo boards when a new card is drawn. Or, make your own boards and focus on one particular continent at a time!
Learn more: Adventure in a Box
4. Country Concentration
Concentration is a classic game that is easily adapted to learning about any country! Make your own matching cards representing facts like national languages, symbols, landmarks, or more obscure, interesting facts! Let the cards inspire conversation and new questions about the target country as you play!
Learn more: Our Crafty World
5. Continent Race
Build children’s knowledge of countries, flags, and geography with Continent Race! Even better, it’s a game created by a kid for kids, so you know they’ll have a great time playing! Children compete to collect cards representing countries on each continent to win, with lots of learning accomplished along the way!
Learn more: Byron’s Games
6. Geography Fortune Teller
Mesh is an activity for learning geography with a childhood staple- fortune tellers! Let children create their own fortune tellers to challenge their friends! Flaps should include a task that asks their peers to find certain countries, continents, etc. This game is easily adaptable to whatever features or regions you are currently studying!
Learn more: Creative Family Fun
7. 20 Questions
Playing 20 Questions is an excellent, low-prep way to assess student’s knowledge of geography! Have children select a country that they keep a secret. Then, have their partner ask up to 20 questions in an attempt to guess which one they have in mind!
Learn more: Blessed Beyond Crazy
8. Nerf Blaster Geography
Get out those Nerf Blasters for this fantastic geography game! Let children aim their blasters at a world map and name the country their dart hits! Or, flip the script and challenge students to aim for a particular country to test their knowledge of locations.
Learn more: Blessed Beyond Crazy
9. Geography Twister
Take the original game of Twister to new heights with this geographic spin-off! You’ll have to make your own board which means you can make it as simple or challenging as your students need! This game is a wonderful way to make learning geography engaging for young learners.
Learn more: Heather Haupt
10. 100 Pics
This geography card game is perfect for on-the-go learning! Players try to guess the secret country based on its picture and anagram, then slide the special case open to reveal the answer! The extra supports and hints make this game perfect for early geography learners!
Learn more: Amazon
11. Famous Landmarks I-Spy
An adaptation of the famous book series, this famous landmarks I-Spy game utilizes Google Earth and an associated printable to get children curious about iconic places around the globe. Kids simply type in the landmarks on Google Earth and get exploring! Encourage them to first guess where the landmark is located in the world.
Learn more: Teach Beside Me
Digital Games & Apps
12. Geo Challenge App
The Geo Challenge app is a versatile way to explore the world through multiple game modes. These modes include an exploration option, flashcards, and a puzzle mode. Each method can help a different type of learner to grow their geography knowledge!
Learn more: Geo Challenge
13. Globe Throw
Tossing around a simple, inflatable globe is an exciting and active way to get students in your class to review facts about countries! As a student catches a ball, they have to name the country their thumb hits and share a fact about that nation- like its language or landmarks.
Learn more: A Lesson Plan for Teachers
14. Countries of the World Map Quiz Game
This online guessing game is a simple way for students and teachers alike to practice their knowledge of geography! One of the best features of this game is that you can adjust the number of countries you focus on, or turn on and off questions about particular continents.
Learn more: World Geography Games
15. Globle
Do you remember playing the “Hot and Cold” game as a child? Keep that in mind as you play Globle! Each day has a new mystery country that you try to guess by its name. Incorrect answers are highlighted in different colors to indicate how close you are to the target country!
Learn more: Globle
16. Geography Crosswords
Check out this neat website for pre-made geography crosswords! These puzzles will test your students’ knowledge of maps, cities, landmarks, and other geographic features. Each one focuses on a different region, so you can bring them back again and again with each new continent you study!
Learn more: Ducksters
17. GeoGuessr
GeoGuessr is a geography game for people wanting to test their most obscure knowledge- countries are guessed based on clues gained from exploring a street view panorama. This game requires students to access their knowledge of environments, landmarks, and more to guess the correct country.
Learn more: GeoGuessr
18. National Geographic Kids
National Geographic Kids has a plethora of resources for children, including matching games, spot the difference games, and sorting games to help students learn about different countries, landmarks, and flags! This is another website where you can adjust the difficulty levels to meet your children’s needs.
Learn more: National Geographic Kids
19. Where on Google Earth is Carmen Sandiego?
If you’re a child of the 80s or 90s, you definitely know where this game is going! Children follow clues and explore Google Earth to search for “missing jewels”. Clues include famous landmarks, talking to locals from different countries, and more. Children will love feeling like super sleuths and learning along the way!
Learn more: Google Earth
20. Zoomtastic
Zoomtastic is a challenging image quiz game with three different game modes focusing on countries, cities, and landmarks. The game begins with a zoomed-in snapshot, which slowly zooms out to provide more information. Players have 30 seconds to guess the correct location based on what the picture captures!
Learn more: Zoomtastic
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