History is the study of the events that have already occurred in the past. The people who study history are called historians. Historians generally try to seek answers to the five basic questions to investigate the events of the past. These questions include what, why, when, how, and where. This particular subject tends to cover all the aspects of society and is designed to keep a record of significant incidents for future generations. The study and knowledge of political, literal, social, economic, technical, medical, cultural, religious, civil, military, and various other aspects of life are included in history. The process of gaining knowledge about the events of the past and learning about historical occurrences is quite interesting. A historian basically tries to correlate the information that he/she currently possesses with the factual data of the past, thereby allowing him/her to locate the evidence and proofs to justify the order of occurrence and consequences of various incidents. Also, studying history widens a person’s perspective towards various aspects of life.
Examples of Fun History Games for Kids
There are a variety of games available in the market that can help a child gain knowledge of historical events in an easy manner. Some of the examples of history-based games are given below:
1. The Great Fire of London
The great fire of London is a classic example of the digital games that help a child know the events and the incidents that happened during the breakout of fire in the central parts of London in 1966. The game makes use of audio-visual techniques to describe the incident in great detail and has an interactive game console to test and enrich the knowledge of the player. The animated video of the game has two fictional game characters that are portrayed to be witnesses of the fire outbreak. The conversation between these two game characters depicts the in-depth interpretation of the event. The child playing the game is allowed to participate in a couple of quizzes to gain knowledge of the historic events. The game quizzes contain multiple picture-based questions regarding the incident and the discoveries that were made by then. This allows the player to gain knowledge of the historic events and discoveries in an easy and interesting manner. A child who attempts to learn the history of such events with the help of fun and interactive games is able to correlate various historic events with each other and retain the information for a significantly longer duration of time. A child is able to improve his/her memorising ability by playing such educational games.
2. Significant People
Significant people is one of the most prominent examples of the fun history games that a child can play to gain knowledge about the tasks and discoveries that a person is famous for. It also helps provide information about the living style of various celebrities in a fun and easy manner. A ‘significant people’ game typically consists of multiple bundles of game cards. Each bundle of the game cards contain information regarding the person’s life from the start to the current time or the end. The information mentioned on the cards is drafted in an interactive manner to gain the interest of the player. The last few cards of the game contain some of the most important activities and pieces of information related to the significant personality’s life. The main objective of the game is to arrange the cards containing the prime information and activities regarding a person’s life in an ordered manner as per the time of occurrence. Studying the bibliography of a significant person is a tedious task and requires intense research, but with the help of the significant people game, the process becomes less tedious and more interesting.
3. All Civilization History Learning Game
The all civilization history learning game is one of the best examples of fun history games that people of all ages can play for educational as well as enjoyment purposes. The digital version of the game is easily available over the internet and can be easily accessed on mobile phones, laptops, desktops, tablets, or other gadgets. The game is subdivided into multiple levels. The player playing the game is required to clear the levels one by one so as to progress ahead in the game. The plot of the game is primarily focused on ancient civilizations. The game tends to encourage exploration, adventure, and historical learning. The player playing the game is able to interact with the historical events and incidents related to different civilizations in an interactive and entertaining manner. This helps a child to develop certain personality development skills such as relationship building, critical and logical thinking, ethical decision making, etc.
4. History Quiz Game
History quiz games are one of the best history games that are helpful in making a child learn and memorize the order in which a certain set of events have occurred in the past. The game typically contains multiple-choice questions related to various past events and incidents. The main objective of the game is to choose all the accurate answers to the questions from the given options before the timer runs out. For every correct answer, the player is rewarded with a game point. At the end of the game, the total game points scored by the players are evaluated and a scorecard is generated. Playing history quiz games allow a child to build a healthy competitive attitude, develop certain problem-solving skills, and gain the ability to respond to situations spontaneously.
5. History Mystery Treasure Hunt
History mystery treasure hunt is a prominent example of the educational games that help a child learn the minor details and basic information regarding various historical events. The rules of the game are simple as the players playing the game are provided with a set of clues to locate an object that is hidden in the surroundings. The clues are generally the basic questions related to the historical events, discoveries, types of machinery that were used during the old times, names of the inventors, information regarding significant personalities and many more. The history mystery game helps a child improve his/her critical thinking ability and problem-solving skills. By playing the history mystery quest, a child is able to learn about new facts and information as well as revise and practise the historic knowledge that he/she already possesses. The game is generally played outside and helps improve the player’s motor skills and hand to eye coordination.
6. Parts of the Ancient Objects
The parts of the ancient object history game are yet another example of the fun history games that help a child learn about the working, the composition, and the construction of the machines and devices that were used in the old times. The game generally includes a partially labelled diagram of an object such as a pirate ship. The main objective of the game is to correctly identify and state the names of the parts of the object. The game is available in digital format and can be played online as well as offline over the internet. Also, the game is available in text format in various magazines, books, and newspapers.
7. Match the Discoveries and Inventors
A major portion of history deals with the study of the inventions and discoveries that took place in the past. It is important for a person to know the basic information regarding the discoveries and inventions such as the time during which an object or a device was discovered, the name and the basic information about the inventor or discoverer, the need or use of the device, and the stages of evolution, or the improvement factors introduced into the basic structure of the device over time. The game is usually arranged in such a way that the pictures of the discoveries or the inventions are present on one side of the play area and the names of the inventors are arranged on the other side of the play area. The main object of the game is to match the pictures of the discoveries with the names of their respective inventors. This helps a child easily remember the names of the inventors and the inventions. Also, match the inventions and inventors game is helpful in building problem-solving and pattern-matching skills in a child.
8. Celebrity Guessing Game
A celebrity guessing game is one of the best examples of the history fun games that a child can play at home to practise, revise, and test the knowledge that he/she possesses. The game is usually a two-person game, but it can be played between more than two players. The game props usually consist of a deck of cards that contain the name or the picture of a celebrity written on one side. On the other side of the card, a short summary of the prime tasks associated with the celebrity is mentioned. Each player playing the game is required to pick up one of the playing cards from the deck of the cards and place it over his/her head without looking at it. The players are supposed to sit opposite each other in such a way that the player is able to clearly look at the playing card held by his/her opposite player. Both the players then begin to describe the opposite player about the celebrity whose photo is present on the surface of the card held by him/her with the help of hints related to the life of the celebrity. If the players are able to correctly guess the names of the celebrities, the game advances further and the same process is repeated for the rest of the cards.
9. World History Game
World history game is one of the classic examples of history games that help a child learn and revise the knowledge of certain historical events and important delegates. The game is designed for multiple players and is a card-based game. The rules of the game are simple. The game cards are arranged in the form of a deck of cards. The players are required to draw one card each and read the question written on it before the timer runs out. The questions written on the cards are typically related to the events of the past and significant personalities. The players then exchange their cards and attempt to answer the questions. If the answer to the question is correct, the player gets to keep the card, while if the answer to the question is incorrect, the player returns the card to the deck. The same process is repeated over and again. At the end of the game, the player with the maximum number of cards is declared the winner of the game. The player playing the world history game is able to get the knowledge of certain historical events and incidents in an easy manner. Also, the player develops skills such as time management, decision-making capability, and the ability to make spontaneous responses to situations.
10. Walk the Plank
A walk the plank game is a prominent example of the historical games that a child can play for educational as well as enjoyment purposes. The game typically consists of an animated game character that is tied up and made to stand on a wooden plank. The player is free to modify the appearance of the cartoon character as per his/her choice. Walk the plank is basically a quiz-based game. The quiz questions are based on different historical aspects or delegates. The main objective of the game is to provide correct answers to all the quiz questions. With each incorrect answer, the wooden plank gets tilted and the game character stumbles. If all the answers to the quiz questions given by the player are incorrect, the animated game character falls off the plank and the game ends. Walk the plank provides an interactive interface to the user that positively influences the player’s learning. A walk the plank game helps the player gain knowledge of the important events that took place in the past and retain the information for a significantly longer duration of time. Also, the children tend to learn different ways to handle stress and anxiety by playing the walk the plank game.
11. Beat da Bomb
A beat da bomb is a fun history game that is easily available in multiple digital formats over the internet and can be accessed easily on mobile phones, laptops, desktops, tablets, or any other gadgets. The game typically consists of a timer and a counter. The timer provides the time limit within which a particular number of questions are required to be answered and the counter keeps a track of the number of the questions that the player has answered. The main objective of the game is to answer all the game questions within a given time. The player can set the upper limit of the timer at his/her convenience. If the player fails to provide answers to all the questions in time, the timer game object explodes and the player loses the game. The beat da bomb game helps a child learn and revise the basic questions such as what, when, where, and how related to various historical events and personalities. The game also helps in the overall personality development of the child by improving his/her ability to spontaneously react to situations, information retaining capacity, and concentration power.
12. Duck Shoot
A duck shoot is yet another example of the fun history games that a child can play to gain information regarding various events of the past and test his/her knowledge. The duck shoot game typically contains an interactive game screen or console with different operation buttons. Certain historical aspects that a duck shoot game tends to cover include world wars, civil war, cold war, the Russian revolution, slavery, the industrial revolution, and many more. To begin the game, the player is required to choose the category of interest. The game screen then displays a pop up containing the question regarding the chosen category. The user is required to choose the correct answer from the multiple choices. After choosing the answer, the game screen with multiple target game objects and a trigger gets displayed. The player is required to hit the target. The main aim of the game is to answer the question correctly and hit the target. The player gets rewarded with game points corresponding to the hit or miss and correct or incorrect answer. At the end of the game, the points get added up and a scorecard gets generated. The duck shoot game helps a child improve the theoretical knowledge of events and incidents that he/she possesses and helps in the overall personality development of the child. Also, such games tend to enhance the player’s motor skills, concentration, focus, hand to eye coordination, decision-making capabilities, memorizing power, etc.
13. Noughts and Crosses History Game
Noughts and crosses history game typically deals with the major social, economic, political, spiritual, ecological, biological, and demographic aspects of world history. The main aim of the game is to answer the questions correctly and mark noughts or crosses on the game board in such a way that three noughts or three crosses get aligned along a straight line. The player who is able to arrange three noughts or crosses along a straight line on the game board tends to win the game. The game is based on historical aspects and the logical theory subset of mathematics. The game helps the player test and revise the knowledge that he/she possesses regarding a particular historic event, incident, or personality. The player is also able to improve his/her concentration, focus, pattern matching ability, and various other related self-development skills. A digital version of the game is easily available on the internet that can be accessed on mobile phones, computers, tablets, or other gadgets/devices. The noughts and crosses history game is basically a two-player game that can be played against the computer or any other player. An offline version of the game is also available in the market that consists of a game board, noughts and crosses game pieces, and playing cards.
14. Historical Hangman
A historical Hangman is basically a digital game that can be accessed online or offline on a supported mobile phone, tablet, laptop, desktop, or any other related device. The game basically contains two game characters. The first game character is that of a dinosaur while the second game character is that of a historian. The game console or play area consists of a question related to a historical event or incident. The answer to the question is required to be given in a statement form by selecting letters and alphabets from the gaming keypad. With each wrong alphabet guess, the dinosaur moves towards the historian. The main aim of the game is to correctly answer the question by appropriately guessing the letters before the dinosaur game character reaches the historian game character’s position. A child is able to develop stress management and anxiety management skills by playing a historical hangman game. Other personality enhancement skills that a child can improve with the help of the historical hangman game include confidence, concentration, problem-solving skills, etc.
15. Timeline
Timeline is one the best examples of the fun history games that children can play for enjoyment as well as for learning and educational purposes. The game is a multiplayer game that is designed for two or more players. Timeline game typically involves the time and duration of some of the most important events and incidents of the past. The game is a card-based game. Each game card consists of a piece of information regarding a particular historic event, discovery, invention, or a significant personality marked on one side of the card. On the other side of the card, the time, duration, and other related information regarding the event, discovery, information, or significant personality is present. The players playing the game are required to pick up one card each and read the detail of the event, incident, discovery, or personality. The player is prohibited to read the time-related information present on the card. The card is then required to be placed on the timeline space according to the time duration. To check whether the placement of the card is right or not, the opposite player flips the card and verifies the time. The game provides an interactive environment to learn about the time and details of certain historical events and incidents.
16. Olro Traveller
Olro traveller is a fun game based on real-life historical events. The game is designed for people of all ages including children and adults. Olro traveller is a multiplayer game that can be played among two to six people easily. The olro traveller game typically contains a playing board, a rule book or sheet, a dice, playing cards, tokens, erasable markers, and country lists. The main objective of the game is to conquer the game world by moving on the game board and conquering the countries according to the country list. The process and the consequences of conquering the countries in the game are closely related to the real-life historic events, hence the player with the knowledge of the events of the past possesses more chances of winning. The game also helps a child learn about the various events and incidents that occurred during the past. Also, the player is able to improve his/her critical thinking ability, ethical decision-making skills, problem-solving capability, relation-building skills, and confidence by playing the olro traveller game.
17. INDUS 2500BCE: Flip and Write Strategy Game
Indus 2500BCE is a flip and write strategy game is based on the Indus Valley Civilization, i.e., also known as Harappan Civilization. The player playing the Indus 2500BCE game is able to understand various aspects of the civilization in a fun and easy manner. Some of the prime historical aspects covered by the game include urban planning, the construction process and manner used by the people at that time, trading system, money management, water irrigation system, and many more. The player playing the Indus 2500BCE game is required to build his/her own civilization with the help of the available resources and materials. The process of playing the game is quite simple. Initially, the player is required to select a city map as per his/her choice. The next step is to choose the type of terrain and the resources that are required to build different structures on the city map. Certain points are awarded to the player according to the buildings built and the artefacts collected by the player. At the end of the game, the player with the maximum number of points tends to win the game. One thing to notice is that the buildings built and the artefacts collected are subjected to destruction via natural or artificial causes. The game helps in the enhancement of the player’s knowledge of historical events and incidents and also helps him/her gain various personality development skills such as coordination, collaboration, critical thinking, ethical decision making, etc.
18. Frank – 22110 Discover India Board Game
Discover India is one of the best examples of fun history games that help a child learn about various historical events, incidents, and related aspects that took place in India. The game helps a child know the geographical location, languages spoken, shape, culture, farming, ancient monuments, traditions, and other historical aspects related to various states and union territories of the country India. The game typically consists of a game board, a dice, four pawns, and four sets of 36 different coloured state and union territories cards. The game helps improve the player’s general knowledge and improves his/her memorizing and information retaining capacity.
19. Hampi and the Sun Jewel
Hampi and the sun jewel is a fun game that is based on the historical events and incidents that occurred in the historical city of Hampi. Hampi is located in the Southern part of India and has a rich historical background. Hampi and the sun jewel game is a strategy based game. The player playing the Hampi and the sun jewel game is required to build the landscape of Hampi with the help of game tiles and game objects. The game tiles typically contain pictures and impressions of roads, ground, buildings, monuments, people, and artefacts. Points are awarded to the players according to the landscape formed by them. The main objective of the game is to plot the game titles in the best possible manner and gain support from the locals to discover the jewel. The player who is able to plot the tiles in the most strategic manner and locates the gem first tends to win the game. The game helps the player improve his/her ability to build and maintain relationships, information retaining capacity, knowledge of the historical events, critical thinking ability, and various other personality enhancement skills.
20. History Year by Year
A history year by year game is yet another example of the fun history games that children can play to learn about various significant historical events, incidents, and personalities with ease. The game tends to cover almost all world history, i.e., the historical aspects and events that took place from the stone age to the digital age or the current time. The game consists of various interactive photos, figures, maps, documents, and illustrations that the player can observe and remember.
21. The Time Tribe
The time tribe is a prominent example of the fun history games that help a child gain knowledge about various events, incidents, archaeological artefacts, and cultures of the past while playing. The player is able to correlate the game events with real-life historical events that help him/her remember the information for a significantly longer duration of time. Also, the game encourages the child to explore and research objects and events. The digital version of the game is easily available on the apple store.
22. Civilizations AR
Civilizations AR is an augmented reality-based game developed by BBC media app technologies that provide the player with an interactive gaming atmosphere that has multiple digital game objects augmented in the real life. The game creates an opportunity for the players to follow the traditional methods used by the archaeologists to discover various historical artefacts and objects to reveal information such as ancient civilization secrets in real life. The explorer who tends to reveal information regarding the historical objects and incidents with the help of civilizations AR game application is able to view the game objects embedded in the real life in the 360-degree view. Also, the move, scale, rotate, and hold controls are provided with the game control or gamepad that helps the player easily collect artefacts, view clues, and information. The digital version of the game is easily available on the apple application store as well as the android play store.
