Casual fun family board games for new English learner

November 9, 2019 10:09 AM

Looking for board games for a pre-teen girl who will be coming from a Spanish speaking country to live with an American family, with not much previous study of the English language.

Game play is with an intergenerational group of 3 to 5 people where one doesn't yet speak or read a lot of English.

Looking at the top 10 lists, games like Wingspan or Carcasonne would be something the family enjoys, but is reading level essential to game play? What casual family games might everyone recommend?

Alternatively, for true game experts, can you assemble a set of 3 to 5 different games (like a cheese plate), so they can try them and see which one turns out to be the favorite?

posted by dum spiro spero to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (18 answers total)

I thought of Carcassonne even before I clicked through. Playing the game doesn't require any reading; the only tricky part will be explaining how the game is scored (particularly farmers), but that shouldn't be a problem if anyone else in the group speaks Spanish.
posted by aws17576 at 10:17 AM on November 9, 2019 [2 favorites]

Pretty sure that Ticket to Ride doesn't require much reading. The biggest issue is whether you'll be able to explain rules to the girl. Does someone speak enough spanish to communicate with her?
posted by hydra77 at 10:17 AM on November 9, 2019 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: No fluent Spanish speakers in the family. Maybe "high school level" Spanish. We can probably find and watch Youtube videos on gameplay, though.
posted by dum spiro spero at 10:28 AM on November 9, 2019

Finding Spanish language rules or player guides may be helpful. BGG is good for that sort of thing, particularly for older and popular games. Find the game, go to the Files section, then limit the search by language.

There's a decent selection for Carcassonne, but nothing yet for Wingspan.
posted by zamboni at 10:29 AM on November 9, 2019 [1 favorite]

The Spanish publisher for Wingspan, Maldito Games, doesn't have the rules on their site, but the como jugar section links to a few videos.
posted by zamboni at 10:34 AM on November 9, 2019 [1 favorite]

Ticket to Ride doesn't require reading during the game. Looks like BGG has the Spanish rules.
posted by hoyland at 10:36 AM on November 9, 2019 [1 favorite]

The majority of Eurogames (a very wide-reaching genre, but for your purposes you can think of them as boardgames published for the European market first) come with instructions in like, eight different languages, Spanish included. It'll be Spain-Spanish, but it'll be usable and they can compare with the English instructions too.

Azul is a wonderful game that has no words, just numbers and colored tiles. There will be some difficulty explaining placement rules and scoring, but there should be a Spanish version of those rules she can read if there's confusion. It's one of those games where you get a snap of understanding and it unfurls like a beautiful pattern in your head, and then it's simple and fast.
posted by Mizu at 10:37 AM on November 9, 2019 [2 favorites]

Carcassonne is a good choice -- it has no words on the board, and is an accessible and intuitive setup for non-gamers.

Coloretto is a card game with no words that I really enjoy with family and non-gamers.
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:38 AM on November 9, 2019 [2 favorites]

(That said, the original Ticket to Ride uses US cities, so she'd be at a slight tactical disadvantage relative to a kid of the same age who grew up in the US. Ticket to Ride: Europe could be a way to level the playing field a bit. I believe it has one additional game play mechanic.)
posted by hoyland at 10:38 AM on November 9, 2019 [1 favorite]

Oh and here's a video teaching Coloretto in Spanish on boardgamegeek.
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:49 AM on November 9, 2019 [1 favorite]

Not a board game, but UNO works well without everyone speaking the same language.
posted by ShooBoo at 10:50 AM on November 9, 2019

Quirkle is a nice one with super simple intuitive rules and no language required. It's not as "deep" as some games are, but it would be extremely easy to get everyone started with.
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:52 AM on November 9, 2019 [3 favorites]

Settlers of Catan has very little reading (there are some specialty cards), although there is trading (but "dos ladrillos por un mineral" shouldn't stretch anyone).
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 11:41 AM on November 9, 2019 [1 favorite]

Set is a quick game. Its challenge involves some visual/intuitive skills, but no strategy, and very little language (after you understand the rules). Instructions in Spanish
posted by Former Congressional Representative Lenny Lemming at 11:56 AM on November 9, 2019 [2 favorites]

Dixit is a lovely game that might work. It's family-friendly and a little abstract. She can use what English she knows or play her round in Spanish, and I think it'd still fly.
posted by knile at 8:46 PM on November 9, 2019 [1 favorite]

Blokus is another pattern/tile game that is easier and enjoyed by my 10 year old niece a bit back and may be a good warm-up game.
posted by typecloud at 4:54 AM on November 10, 2019

Things like Jenga and various card games are played in most countries and don’t require much talking.
posted by koahiatamadl at 3:22 PM on November 10, 2019

I've played Zombie Dice in the past with Spanish speaking family members and it seemed to translate well without issue.
posted by RyanAdams at 4:29 PM on November 12, 2019