Learning Geography Through a Fun Game: Review of Continent Race

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

For the past several weeks we have had the fun of playing and reviewing a geography-based game produced by Bryon's Games. Continent Race is created with children ages 7 and up in mind but our entire family (ages 4 and up) had a lot of fun playing it and learning about the world. There are multiple ways to play the game per the game card rules (a basic level of play and an advanced level of play with additional options) which made adapting it easy for our homeschooling family.

About the Game

So what do you get when you purchase Continent Race? The box contains:

• 5 Continent Lists with Maps

• 1 World Map (which is much like a game board because it folds and fits into the box) 

• 205 Country (Flag) Cards

• 3 Antarctica Wild Cards
• 1 Game Rules Card 

Continent Race is recommended for ages 7 and up and each game is approximately 30 minutes in length. The object of the game is to be the first player to collect the required number of country cards from the continents. So, one would need to collect two cards from Australia/Oceania and four cards each from Africa, Asia, the Americas (North and South combined into one area for the game's purposes), and Europe in order to win. However, in the basic level of play, one would only need to collect the necessary cards from 3 continents to win. In advanced play, players need to collect all the required cards and one could add in two additional options: mystery cards and challenges. The mystery cards are ones that do not have the color of their continent on it. For example, the country of Denmark is not blue like the other European nations so players must look on the world map or the Continent Lists to be able to correctly identify to which continent it belongs if they don't already know. 

If one is using the challenge feature, players can challenge another player when they draw a card with a C on it to look over the Continent List for 15 seconds and then name off as many countries as they can. The two players take turns naming as many countries as they can until one player can no longer name any countries. The winner gets to draw 3 additional cards from the draw pile and keep the most useful (discarding 3 cards afterwards).

The Game Rules Card offers additional information and answers some questions you may have, such as why are their only five continents (Europe, Asia, Africa, The Americas, Australia/Oceania) represented. It was determined that Antarctica would be too easy and North and South America were combined as North America contains so few nations. Overall, the idea was that Bryon wanted to represent the five Olympic rings. 

How Did Our Family Use the Game in Our Homeschool?

We modified Continent Race a bit to fit the needs of our homeschooling family. We required players to try and say the name of the countries when they put down the cards to fill the continents. We did not require winners to call out and locate the countries on the map as is one of the requirements on the game card to win. We will be incorporating this rule as our children get older as it is an important part of using the game to help reinforce geography.

We found that as more players started putting down groups that more and more people were able to collect the necessary cards to complete continents. This meant the end of the game moved much more quickly than the beginning of the game.

Working towards collecting all of the necessary cards to win!

We shuffled in the Orange Mystery Cards after we had played the game several times. I am not sure why but I had trouble keeping those orange cards separated and set as different in my mind. I kept thinking they were either a new continent or part of the Americas.

We have not used the scorecard yet that is provided on the site but our first grader was very excited to see that they offer one. Plus you can download and print the flags to color!

Pictures from one of our many games

What Did We Think?

Our family really enjoys all types of games – from those that are just for pure fun and entertainment to those that are educational like Continent Race. We play games all the time in our house and homeschool. In fact, I would like to spend more time playing games as a family.

From the very opening of the box, I really liked the way that Continent Race looked. The materials are well-made and very colorful. I am very impressed with the quality of materials. As games are meant to be played over and over, I can foresee Continent Race standing the test of time. While there are a lot of cards that could go missing (for some keeping 205 cards in one place may be difficult), I love that the box containing everything is sturdy. Everything fits very neatly in the box and so far the bands to keep the cards together are doing their job. The five Continent Lists with Maps are printed on a sturdy cardboard that is thick and the World Map is also made of a thick cardboard material with a laminated finish. 

I love using products in our homeschool that can bring us all together as a family while we are learning. As geography is sometimes a subject that is completed in isolation (labeling a map, coloring in different nations on a printout, etc.), it is nice to have a game where we can all be together and learn about the nations around us. I found the game to be a lot of fun to play (even though I have never won).

Our six-year-old said, "If you don't know a lot about the continents and countries, the game can help learn about the world." He likes that the capitals of the countries are printed on the cards. He said, "It could be the best continent/country game for kids." One of his favorite parts was using the Continent Lists with Maps. I can see him using them outside of the game, too, for his homeschooling

Our four-year-old likes the idea of the challenges. She wants to try those out (we have been holding off on doing them because we are playing with such a wide range of ages). And even though she doesn't completely understand the whole concept of the game, she did win the first time!

I am very happy to report that our homeschooling teen really enjoyed the game, too. He had fun with pronouncing the different names of the countries as well as helping his brother and sister do so. I also learned just how much geography he knows – which is a lot!

My husband found the game a great outlet for our family to enjoy each other's company in an unplugged and round-the-table way. He liked that he could see his kids learning before his eyes as they took in the maps, country names, capitals, and geography of the world's nations and continents.

I would recommend Continent Race for families seeking a fun, educational game for their home. It would be perfect for a classroom setting, co-op, or homeschool. I could even see it making a good addition to a library's game collection.

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In addition to reviewing Continent Race, families of the Homeschool Review Crew also reviewed the Connections Stationary Kit. Please visit their reviews, too!