CompuScholar Tech Essentials Timberdoodle Review

I’m old enough to remember when my teachers told us we wouldn’t always have a calculator in our pockets, and we were excited to spend an hour a week in a computer lab playing Oregon Trail and Reader Rabbit. In today’s world, not only do I carry a calculator in my pocket, but also a computer (my phone) that can perform tasks a computer lab computer could not.

My children are growing up in a world where computers are everywhere, and they have been using different forms of computers from a young age. However, as comfortable as they are with computers in their lives, they still need to be taught the skills to use them effectively.

CompuScholar Tech Essentials from Timberdoodle can help students understand how to use computers for a variety of school and personal tasks, from the basics of files and spreadsheets to basic programming.

CompuScholar Tech Essentials is a semester-long course, but students have access to it for a year and can complete it at their own pace.

What is Included in CompuScholar Tech Essentials?

Thirteen regular chapters with three supplemental chapters covering

File Management
Spreadsheets
Word Processing
Multimedia
Online Research
Presentations
Group Presentation Project
Coding Concepts
Program Flow
Algorithms
Software Projects (coding and designing your own program)
Digital Citizenship
Digital Safety
Operating Systems
Math Connections
Databases

How Does CompuScholar Tech Essentials Work?

Each chapter includes several lessons, each with a video, text, and a computer-graded quiz. In addition, each chapter includes several activities to give students a real-world, hands-on application of the skills. Finally, there is an exam at the end of each chapter. The videos are all very short, in the three to five-minute range, so that lessons do not take long to complete each day.

Students work through each chapter, and the computer grades most of the assignments. The teacher can log in through the teacher portal, review grades and assignments, and make any adjustments. Once a student submits an assignment, they cannot change it unless the teacher reopens it. However, they may retake quizzes as needed.

CompuScholar Parent Portal

The parent account for CompuScholar contains a great deal of helpful information. There are answer keys, the ability to change grades, hints for activities, a teacher guide with discussion questions, a syllabus, and an optional course schedule. Parents can go in and change grades or reset activities. They can view students’ progress and the gradebook through the parent portal.

Our Experience with CompuScholar Tech Essentials

My son has been slowly working his way through CompuScholar Tech Essentials. Since we were adding it to an already full course load, we decided to have him complete it on a year-long schedule. Our fall schedule includes some light weeks and several hectic ones due to his 4-H participation and competitions. The flexibility of this course worked really well for us because during his lighter weeks, he could work through several lessons, and it was no problem if he skipped them altogether during his busy weeks.

Overall, he is enjoying the course and feels more confident using his laptop and completing other school assignments on it. He did struggle with a couple of sections, but since I could go in and look at his grade and reset things, we were able to work through his confusion and allow him to continue working through it independently.

As a parent, I love that I can adjust grades as I see fit, work it into our schedule, and reset assignments. However, I also love that it is primarily self-grading and independent, so it does not take a lot of my attention for him to work through it.

Conclusions

Overall, CompuScholar’s Tech Essentials course is easy to use and covers a wide range of essential computer skills that help students use computers safely and efficiently for schoolwork, future jobs, and personal use. I highly recommend it for middle and possibly even high school students, particularly those who have used computers for entertainment but have not yet learned all of the skills needed for more “professional use”. You can find out more and purchase this course (and other CompuScholar courses) from Timberdoodle. It is also included in their 6th-grade curriculum kit.

Simply Draw with Bob Parsons

Simply Draw is an easy-to-use art curriculum from Timberdoodle that teaches students how to draw through simple, easy-to-understand lessons with clear illustrations and supporting video materials.

What is Simply Draw with Bob Parsons?

The 178-page book includes 77 lessons; approximately 20 of those lessons have accompanying videos. In addition, there are three extra video lessons to complete at the end of the curriculum.

In addition to the curriculum, students will need a few materials. They can get started with a couple of pens, pencils, and a good eraser. However, the curriculum also recommends some cardstock and cool grey markers. A good list of recommended pens and pencils is included in the first lesson.

What Lessons Are Included?

The lessons are short and take my son around fifteen minutes to read and complete. They start with the basics of drawing, including grip, posture, and drawing lines. The lessons become gradually more complex, so they are not overwhelming for the student.

Topics Covered:

Getting Started
Short Parallel Lines
Seeing Angles
Basic Shapes
Basic Drawing
Hands
Lettering
Stick Figures and Action
Textures and Patterns
Additional Lessons

Each lesson includes instruction given in short, simple statements with example pictures. The student has the opportunity to work through each step in the space provided, right there in the spiral-bound book, where they can still see the examples. The first few were basic lines, but then it moved on to having them use different techniques to shade pictures, including an apple, a rose, and Chuck Norris’s face. My son is a Chuck Norris fan, so this lesson was a big hit!

What We Loved About Simply Draw

Unlike some books that only teach students how to draw specific things, students can easily transfer the skills and techniques learned in this book to other drawings. Once students understand lines, angles, and basic shapes, they can begin putting those skills together to create different drawings.

I have noticed over the years that art, as with many other subjects, comes more easily to some students than others. Sometimes programs move too fast, and students get behind and feel like they cannot keep up. However, with Simply Draw, students can work through the book at their own pace. This program is easy to implement for both parent and student.

In addition to the instructions, there are many funny, comic-style drawings and silly sayings in the book that make it fun to work through and add an extra layer of enjoyment. For example, in the lesson with the cube, a man is “trapped” under it. He says, “When they said this job would be “smashing,” I thought they were British.

A Student Opinion

My eleven-year-old son loves art and has been doing a variety of painting and other art lessons for several years. However, he has really wanted to learn more about drawing and sketching. He loved taking this course and is excited to continue improving his drawing skills as he progresses through the rest of the course.

He said he enjoyed the program because it was easy to understand and that he felt it was improving his drawing skills.

Conclusions

Overall, Simply Draw is an easy-to-use program that only requires a few materials. It works well for students from elementary school through adulthood (it is best if they can read or have someone available to read to them). I’d highly recommend this program for students who want to learn to draw and sketch. Go to Timberdoodle to find out more and purchase your copy of Simply Draw with Bob Parsons.

Thanksgiving/ Black Friday 2025 Deals and Sales

*Some of these links are affiliate links please see disclosure below for more information*

I hope you are doing well this holiday season. I have compiled this list of sales to help you get the best deals from the comfort of your home. There are sales, freebies, and deals of homeschool curriculum, extras, and a few ideas for moms!

I will be adding to the list as new deals, including Cyber Monday deals become available. Our family is grateful for your support through buying from my links. We hope deals are a blessing to your family and also support the blog.

CYBER Monday Specials

25% off our hymn studies, field trip journal, and everything else in my store with code ChristmasSchool

10% off at Masterbooks on all digital purchases.

Not Consumed has 50% off all digital products!

All About Learning has a great deal happening with free shipping and a free review book!

Cyber Monday Sale

December 1 only #LifeSkillsNow Season 4 $97 ($200 off!) (Over 100wonderful virtual life skills workshops included in this deal. )

Christmas Gifts

50% off Kindles!

YWAM has some specials on books and audio books.

Boxcar Children Box Set (at the time of posting it is 50% off and part of the 3 for 2 special)

Free Bible Verse Advent Calendar from Thinking Kids Press

Amazon Prime Movie Deals just in time for Christmas movies!

Buy 2 Get 1 Free BOOKS!

Curriculum

25% off any of our hymn studies and other products now through Cyber Monday! Code: ChristmasSchool (We have some great new Christmas Hymn Studies.)

Tuttle Twins is offering several big sales through December 6th.

Not Consumed is offering some great deals including 30% off November 20-29, 2025 , Bible Studies are $10, $5 Shipping with $50 purchase, Free NC tote with $75 purchase, and Free shipping with $100 purchase. We love their missionary study and their Bible studies.

SchoolhouseTeachers.com has a great Black Friday Sale from 11/28 to 12/1. Get the Ultimate Annual Membership for just $249 using the code BlackFriday2025

All About Learning is offering this brand new FREE Christmas Pack full of fun activities!

#LifeSkillsNow has a couple of great deals right now!

VIP level of Kids Cook Real Food eCourse $97 (35% off) (November 27-Dec. 4)
50% off #LifeSkillsNow Mini-Series Ultimate Holiday Skills Bundle (through December 31)

Fine Arts

Maestro Classics has some great Black Friday deals on Nutcracker and more.

You Are An Artist has this great FREE Grinch art lesson if you want to have a little fun after all that shopping! Or if you need a gift for a budding artist, their Membership is a great value.

For Mom

Tummy Team has some new low prices on their amazing membership. Give yourself the gift of healing and health. This online abdominal and pelvic floor rehab is well worth the cost.

Fit2B is my favorite online fitness program and they are offering 50% off almost all of their memberships and courses! This is a great deal on some excellent fitness options.

HomeschoolStyleCo. is having some great sales this week. They have some cute shirts for the children and for moms!

Looking for ideas for keeping Christ in Christmas? Check out this FREE class!

If you are like me and struggle with finding clothes that work for your body type, an Adore Your Wardrobe class might make a great Christmas gift to yourself.

If you need gift ideas for your children or for other folks in your life make sure to check out these posts for more ideas.

Gift Ideas For Your Budding….

Educational Christmas Ideas (that don’t feel like school supplies)

Clutter Free Christmas Ideas

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

When you sign up for the Schoolin’ Swag free resource library you will get a link and password to the library, we are adding to the library each month with new items. You will also get a bi-weekly newsletter email to keep you up to date on what we have going on.

Resource Library

This post may contain affiliate or referral links, including Amazon affiliate links. As always I will never recommend a product that I don’t believe in and you will never be charged more for purchasing through our links. It does help pay for the costs associated with the blog.

30 Days of Thanks (and a Free Hymn Study)

Gratitude and Thankfulness are wonderful all year long, but we tend espcially focus on them during this time of year.

I’m excited to invite you to join us for this 30 Days of Thanks series, each day will include a new blog post with a different idea for teaching your children gratitude.

Today, I’m sharing how we use hymn studies to help the whole family be more grateful!

Jump on over to How to Homeschool my Child and check out my post today, and all of the other great posts in the series.

Away in a Manger Summits

Thank you for visiting! I hope you are enjoying the Homeschool Summit.

Please click on the graphic below and use code Summits to get your free hymn study. If you wish, you may also use the link below to join our mailing list and get access to some other hymn study freebies.

When you sign up for the Schoolin’ Swag free resource library, you will receive a link and password to access the library. We add new items to the library each month. You will also receive a bi-weekly newsletter email to keep you up to date on our current posts.

Resource Library

Sixth Grade Curriculum Choices (2025)

*Some links are affiliate links; see full disclosure below*

My eleven-year-old is going into sixth grade! How is he already old enough for church youth group and moving up to the Navigators group in our Trail Life troop?

He also enjoys fishing, hiking, and all things science. This is his first year running cross country for the local homeschool team. He would love to be able to skip math, but alas, I feel math is an integral part of his education.

Reading:

Since his reading is solid and he loves to read, we are going to do a fun and easy (for Mom) Book Bingo for his literature this year. The book bingo will give him a lot of autonomy in his reading, but also make sure he is getting in a variety of different books.

We are also continuing to use the Family Book Clubs from Read Aloud Revival, which are always fun and engaging.

Finally, don’t tell him that it’s actually school work, but he is participating in a local book club where they read a book each month and gather together to discuss it. Last month, they read Robin Hood, and this month, they are reading Sense and Sensibility.

Spelling

We have been working on All About Spelling, and he will continue to work his way through that. He really struggled with spelling, but over the last couple of years, he has shown tremendous progress, and we are excited to continue. We discovered All About Spelling years ago when my oldest child was struggling with spelling, and it has been our family’s favorite ever since.

Writing

For writing, we will be finishing Master Books Handwriting A to Zoo to review some handwriting skills. He will also be doing the next level in First Language Lessons to work on some grammar.

I printed out a huge selection of fun journaling prompts, and he chooses one each day to write about in his journal to work on his creative writing. He will also be entering some essays into several contests, including those sponsored by our junior historians and the state fair, to work on those skills. Those real-life applications have been so beneficial in encouraging my children to write solid essays.

Math

He will be finishing Math for a Living Education this year. We both love the format; it worked very well for him. There is generally enough practice for him without it being too much busy work. If there are concepts where he struggles, we can add in some extra practice.

Science:

I needed to be realistic this year about the amount of time and focus I have available for schoolwork, while also managing a toddler and multiple speech and physical therapy appointments each week. Of course, it is also important to me that my children get the solid education that they deserve.

This is where Journey Homeschool Academy solved my problem. We are doing one of their elementary science courses (which is solid enough for a sixth grader) with both my second and sixth graders. The boys wanted to learn about Astronomy, and we are loving the Elementary Astronomy course so far.

The video-based content makes it easy for them to do while I’m focused on the toddler, but then we can do the hands-on activities together. The course has solid science content with a Christian worldview that is also easy for me to implement. It has been a win for all of us.

Additionally, we will conduct a nature study at least once a week (we often do it more frequently when the weather is favorable). Sometimes our nature study is as simple as going outside and observing. Still, we also love to use our Homeschool Nature Study subscription to take things a little further and help me find some great activities and ideas.

History:

We are jumping back into Story of the World Volume 3 this year. We love all the hands-on activities and recipes included in the workbook, and we have the audio version of the text that allows us to listen while riding to appointments during our busy weeks.

Art

This son is the one I refer to as my little artist. He loves to draw, paint, and create. We will continue to use our membership with You Are An Artist chalk pastels for his online art lessons and provide him with lots of time and materials to be creative.

He also requested the opportunity to learn more about drawing, and so he is going to be trying some lessons from Timberdoodle’s Simply Draw.

Morning Time:

Morning time is my favorite part of our school day. We will do our daily Bible study and watch World Watch for current events each day. In addition, we plan to do a rotation of fine arts studies, poetry, Tuttle Twins books, and more. You can find out more about the resources we are using this year at Morning Time Plans 2025.

We have a toddler in the house and seven standing appointments each week, so I am holding all of our plans in an open hand and praying for the best. We will do what we can, when we can, and trust that God will fill in the gaps.

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

Resource Library

This post may contain affiliate or referral links, including Amazon affiliate links. As always, I will never recommend a product that I don’t believe in, and you will never be charged more for purchasing through our links. It does help pay for the costs associated with the blog.

Deals and Freebies

If you have not tried SchoolhouseTeachers.com, you don’t want to miss this sale!

Tuttle Twins is having a big curriculum sale! You can also get great deals on books and their Academy.

New subscribers can get 3 months of World Watch for FREE! This is a great deal.

Family Time (aka Morning Time) 2025

Morning time has been one of the few constants in our homeschool. As my children have changed, our schedules have changed, and our goals have changed, we have adapted our homeschooling curriculum in many ways, but having a morning time has remained a constant.

There have been years when morning time more typically happened in the evening (we should rename it family time), but we tried to keep that time of learning together. We have incorporated a variety of subjects, and it looks a little different each year.

Still, two things have remained the same: we learn together as a family, and we incorporate some type of Bible study.

What is Changing in our Morning Time Routine?

Last year, I worked hard to make sure we were consistent each morning with our time, even if we kept it simple some mornings. This year, we are keeping many of the same things in our “morning time.” However, between some speech and physical therapy appointments and my daughter having an early morning dual enrollment class twice a week, the timing is going to be a bit different.

I still want to be consistent because this is one of the most essential parts of our school day, but instead of a consistent time each day, I am working on a consistent time for each day of the week.

So, for example, on Mondays and Wednesdays, we will do morning time just after breakfast, but on Thursdays, we will do our “morning time” after dinner, and on Tuesdays, it will be after lunch. The value in morning time comes from the content and family togetherness, not the time of day.

What Do We Include In Our Morning Time Studies?

Our two main priorities for morning time will remain our daily family Bible reading and World Watch. Over the years, we have used a wide variety of Bible curricula and enjoyed many of them, but often I found it hard to be consistent when using curricula and trying to make it work for all ages. However, several years ago, I read Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible, and realized I was over complicating things.

Our Bible Study

Now, as a family, we read one chapter a day from the Bible, going through an entire book. This keeps it simple and easy to maintain, even during busy seasons. We read (or listen to it on my phone app) the chapter and then discuss it.

My husband bought me an excellent set of commentaries that we pull out if we have questions or want to dig deeper into a verse. We have found this to be hugely impactful and easy to maintain.

World Watch

World Watch is our second priority. We even kept these two components throughout most of our summer break. If you are not familiar, World Watch is a student news program with a Christian perspective. It is ten minutes a day and covers a variety of both major news topics and fun interest stories.

It has opened the door for many conversations, helped my teens better understand what is happening in the world, and given us all more perspective. We have found that watching and discussing works well for our family, but I did want to mention that they now also have downloadable worksheets that you could add to your World Watch time if you felt your student needed that or to help you use it for high school credit.

In addition to our two main components, we will incorporate one additional subject each day. Those will include fine arts, hymn study, logic, poetry, books of the Bible, and any other topics that I want to fit in as a family.

Sometimes we may do the same subject each day for several weeks, and other times we may rotate daily depending on our needs. This allows us to cover a variety of topics without trying to add in too many different things in one day (which would make it unmanageable).

Our Morning Time Rotations

Fine Arts: We will be using the Fine Arts program from You Are An Artist. They have a variety of fine arts courses that focus on different eras and topics.

A few of the many fine arts options that are available!

Hymn Study: For hymn study, we will be using the studies that I have already written, as well as some new studies that I will be adding throughout the year.

Logic: We use the book, The Fallacy Detective, for our study of logic and logical fallacies. While I don’t particularly care if my children can remember the exact name of a fallacy, I appreciate how it helps them identify fallacies in different arguments. (And they have come to love calling them out by name.)

Poetry: For poetry, we love the Poetry for Young People series. It is a great way to learn a little more about a poet and their poetry through reading aloud.

We are entering this school year amid a hectic life season (we have six scheduled appointments each week for speech and physical therapy), and the routine is going to look a lot different. Still, I am excited to get back into a routine.

I pray that our morning time helps keep us focused and working together and provides an anchor in the busyness of this season.There are so many different options for morning time. I’d love to hear how you incorporate it into your homeschool and if you have any favorite resources.

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

Resource Library

Find Christ-centered homeschool curriculum at SchoolhouseTeachers.com and set their hearts on the right path.

Tuttle Twins is having their BIG Back to School sale. They have up to 70% off book bundles and major discounts on their academy classes (which now has World History offerings). We love their books and their American History curriculum.

Literature Study: Bingo Style

When I think about my goals for my children’s literature study, two things come to mind. I want them to be lifelong readers and read a wide variety of books. While there is a time and place for more formal literature study, we often take a more relaxed approach.

This year, for my sixth grader, we will be doing the quarterly family novel studies with Read Aloud Revival. Still, I wanted to make sure he was reading a variety of books independently in addition to those.

Instead of doing a formal literature study, I created a book bingo card for him to mark off as he does his independent reading. This will allow him a lot of autonomy in his reading, while ensuring that he is getting a wide variety of books.

Each block on the bingo card has a different description of a book; it may be the type of book, something about the title, a character trait, etc. Your student can pick any book that matches the description in the box and any box, but their goal is to get Bingo in whatever timeframe you set.

Once the child has read the book, you can have them journal about it, discuss it, or track it on a reading log.

Book discussions not only allow them to share about what they are learning (and you to analyze their understanding), but also create a chance for bonding and making memories.

This keeps reading from becoming a laborious chore, but still allows you to make sure they are reading a variety of books, and if necessary for your state records, have a record of it.

You can find my Book Bingo card in our Free Resources Library, and if you want a print and go reading log and journal, you can get one here. This one has several different journal pages to choose from, some great logs, and even fun book quotes. Buy once and print as many times as desired for your household. (Take $3 off with code Bingo)

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

Resource Library

Find Christ-centered homeschool curriculum at SchoolhouseTeachers.com and set their hearts on the right path.

History Lapbooks Kids Will Love

Teaching history doesn’t have to be dry or boring. Check out these free history lapbooks your kids will love!

Do you remember how you learned history in school when you were a kid? More than likely, it involved a list of wars, dates, and fill-in-the blank worksheets.

The good news is that homeschool history doesn’t need to be dull or boring. Instead, we can use literature to help our kids feel they’ve really entered the story of history. Historical fiction, biographies, and narrative nonfiction are all wonderful ways for our kids learn about the people and events that impacted history.

It’s even better new that we can teach history from a Christian perspective. While our children learn about the important events in history, they can also be learning character and theology. With books that highlight how individuals chose to live for Jesus, kids can learn how ordinary men and women can impact the world for the kingdom of God.

As our kids read great books about important history, we want to use the tool of narration. What is narration? It’s simply having our kids retell the story in their own words. Lapbooks and notebooking are wonderful tools to help our kids practice written narration. I particularly like using lapbooks with elementary-aged kids, because they’re fun to put together, and they give children a great visual keepsake of their learning journey.

History lapbooks develop 6 important skills:

Handwriting | Practice makes perfect! As your children write in their lapbooks, the process of writing long-hand naturally helps develop handwriting.
Reading and Listening Comprehension | Your children will begin to pay attention and deepen their understanding of the information they are hearing or reading, knowing they will be taking notes on it.
Pre-writing | As they recall information, children identify what is important and organize their thoughts.
Research | Lapbooks provide an excellent tool to do extra research on a subject, like the mini-Bible studies included in the Who What Why history lapbooks.
Long-term Memory | Written narration helps cement what students have studied into their long-term memory.
Cognitive Skills | Taking notes requires a higher thought process. At first, your children will need help to process and narrate what they’ve learned, but cognitive skills will soon become second-hand.

History lapbooks, paired with good books, help kids learn in a hands-on way they will remember for years to come!

Teach your kids about Christian history with engaging narrative and fabulous drawings! The Who What Why series is perfect for 7-12 year olds.

History Lapbooks Kids Will Love

The Who What Why Christian history series of books has a series of free history lapbooks. They’re fun to make–and they allow your kids to keep track of important facts they learn about Christian history, the Bible, and theology.

Who What Why History Lapbooks | With the Who What Why lapbooks, your children will delve deeper into what they’ve learned, including:
- The impact of each historical person and movement on history, on the Church, and on your child’s world.
- The world throughout history. Your child will learn about what it was like to live during the time of each historical movement.
- The people involved in each historical story.
- Historical and theological vocabulary.
- The timeline of each historical event.
- The geography of each story.
- Theology: Bible passages addressed in each story from history.

History lapbooks are a powerful tool to help your 7-12 year olds consider and remember what they’ve learned!

Danika Cooley’s Who What Why Christian history series is perfect for your 7-12 year olds. Your children will better understand the history of the Christian faith, the people who loved Jesus, and what the Bible says about really important issues! Danika is an award-winning children’s author and Bible curriculum developer. Her popular Bible Road Trip™ is used by tens of thousands of families.

Learn more about the Who What Why series and grab your free history lapbooks here.

Hnefatafl or Viking Chess Timberdoodle Review

Our family owns a fairly impressive array of board games; we get at least one new game every year for Christmas, but we often pick up games throughout the year. Included in this collection are several chess boards. With this in mind, I was intrigued by the opportunity from Timberdoodle to review the game Hnefatafl, also known as Viking chess.

What is Hnefatafl?

When I first saw that the game was called Viking chess, I wondered if it was just chess with different pieces. I’ve seen a variety of themed chess games (for example, we own a Lord of the Rings chess game that uses figures from Lord of the Rings for the pieces) that are played just like chess but with different pieces.

However, Hnefatafl is not chess. It is similar to chess in that it is a two-person strategy game in which you move pieces around on a checkered board. However, the board is set up differently, the game’s goals are different, and it has its own set of rules.

There are two distinct sides in Hnefatafl; there is the side of the king, and their goal is to get the king safely to any of the four corners of the board. The other side’s goal is to keep the king away from the corners and to capture the king by surrounding him.

Our Experience with Hnefatafl

Our game arrived at our home a few days before we were to leave for a camping trip. Since we did not have time to try it out before we left, we packed it into the camper and brought it with us. I’m so glad we did because there were many rounds played on that trip (and continuing at home).

I was expecting it to be a big hit with my eleven-year-old, and he does enjoy it, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much my seven-year-old also enjoyed it. He was happy to challenge his siblings, dad, and even his cousins to rounds of the game.

We found that defending the king seemed to be a bit easier side to play, so we made sure to let people take turns being on different sides.

My daughter was quickly reminded that despite the term “Viking chess,” it is not actual chess when she got so busy trying to take her brother’s pieces that she forgot to watch the king and lost in just a few moves.

Most of our rounds only took a few minutes to play, although they did become a little longer as everyone started to figure out more effective strategies. I was grateful that the rounds were short, as I find that games that go on and on tend to lead to drama in our home (I’m looking at you, Monopoly), and it’s also harder to find time to fit those into our days. However, this game works great for them to play while I finish fixing dinner or when they have a few minutes before the next activity.

After several weeks of learning to play, my seven-year-old son pulled it out while we had an extra teen in the house, and it turned out he had the game and had been playing for years. They loved getting to play with him and learn so extra strategy from someone who had been playing for awhile.

Who Would Benefit from Hnefatafl?

While it will undoubtedly vary from child to child, children as young as five or six could learn to play Hnfatafl, and it is a game that adults can still enjoy. The game helps work on attention to detail and strategy. It will make a great addition to your family’s game collection.

Overall, we may not be able to pronounce Hnefatafl correctly, but we can highly recommend it for children and adults who enjoy strategy games. We love that it’s great for a variety of ages, easy to learn, only takes two players, generally each round is not too long, and it helps develop skills like attention to detail and strategy. You can find out more and order your set from Timberdoodle. It is also included in their fourth-grade curriculum kit.