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Remembering all 50 states and some information about them can be made fun with these 12 US geography cards games to play at home or school in small groups. They are mostly memory and quiz card games designed for eight-year-olds or third graders. Some, like “Crazy States” and “Top Trumps United States”, have very easy gameplay, making them suitable for younger kids.
US Geography Card Games Comparison Table
| Game | Type | Age | Players | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scrambled States of America | Card game | 8+ | 2‑4 | ★★★★☆ |
| U.S.A. Bingo | Bingo | 8+ | 3+ | ★★★☆☆ |
| U.S.A. GeoCard | Flashcards | 8+ | 1‑4 | ★★★★☆ |
| The USA Game | Matching | 6-8 | 2‑4 | ★★★☆☆ |
| States and Capitals | Trivia | 8+ | 1+ | ★★★★☆ |
| Geography of the United States | Trivia | 7+ | 2‑8 | ★★★★★ |
| United States Memory Matching Card Game | Matching | 6-8 | 1+ | ★★★★☆ |
| 100 Pics US States & Capitals | Puzzle | 7+ | 1+ | ★★★★★ |
| USA Geo Bingo | Bingo | 7+ | 3+ | ★★★★☆ |
| Road Trip USA | Card game | 8+ | 2-7 | ★★★☆☆ |
| Crazy States | Matching & Trivia | 5+ | 2-5 | ★★★★★ |
| United States | War | 6+ | 2-6 | ★★★★★ |
US Geography Card Games
Scrambled States of America (Gamewright)
★★★★☆
For Homes | Ages 8+ | Players 2-4 | Price $$ | Duration 20 – 30 mins
Scrambled States of America
helps your child become more familiar with the 50 states as they try to match their state cards with the scramble cards. It is very easy to set up and play:
- Deal five state cards to each player
- Put your cards with the state side facing up in front of you
- The first player picks up a card from the Scramble Deck and reads it aloud
- If it is a “Find-It” card, players have to find a state card from their line that matches the challenges on it
- If it is a “Go the Distance” card, a state card needs to be drawn. All players check which among their cards is nearest to the drawn state.
- When a player wins a round, they have to put the matching card in their home pile.
- The game ends when the State Card deck is gone. The player with the most cards wins.
The rules for each round vary from simple, like finding matching colors, to challenging, finding the state with the shortest distance, or finding hidden words. This is a great game to try out with the family because it teaches students state names, locations, and capitals.
However, the state cards feature actual shapes of the states, whereas the maps are very simplistic, making it difficult for players to match them. The Scramble cards also have many “non-educational” questions, so adults playing with their children need to emphasize the details on state cards to make this game more educational.
U.S.A. Bingo (Trend Enterprises)
★★★☆☆
For Homes and Classrooms | Ages 8+ | Players 2-9 | Price $$ | Duration 10 – 20 mins
U.S.A. Bingo is a bingo-inspired game for teaching US geography and history. It comes with 36 playing cards, 720 paper chips, a caller’s mat, and cards.
In this classic bingo game, the caller reads trivia and lets players identify the state and block it in their cards. It can be played in classrooms. Also, you can use it to review historical and geographical facts with your students.
Geocards USA (Geotoys)
★★★★☆
For Homes | Ages 8+ | Players 1-4 | Price $10-$20 | Duration 10 – 20 mins
Geocards USA features all 50 states and capitals in jumbo-sized cards. The cards also show the state’s population and land area. You can use this set of cards to play five different games, including:
- Name the capital – put the cards state side up and take turns picking a card and naming its capital
- Name the state – same as above but with the capital side up
- Numbers war – a game of comparison where the player with the largest population or land area wins the round
- Guess the state – players ask a certain number of yes or no questions to help them identify the state
- Puzzle – have your child fit the pieces together to build a map of the USA
I recommend this set because the games can be played without adult supervision. In addition, children can self-correct because the answers they’re looking for are in the cards themselves. The “Guess the State” game also develops children’s social and critical thinking skills.
This game also has a world version that features all the continents and some countries.
The USA Game (Scholastic, Inc. and University Games)
★★★☆☆
For Homes | Ages 6-8 | Players 1-4 | Price $$ | Duration 10 – 20 mins
The USA Game is a matching card game featuring the 50 states and facts about them. It has 54 red geography cards and 54 blue state fact cards. Each deck has four challenge cards that allow players to steal their opponent’s cards.
It is a bit similar to a memory game, except that when a card is flipped over, it remains face up for everyone to see. To play:
- Set the blue cards face down on a surface
- Deal five red cards to each player
- At their turn, players flip a blue card
- If it matches with a (red) state card on their hand, they announce it and keep it if it is correct.
- If nothing matches, they draw another red card (if it matches, they can announce it).
- If they match incorrectly, they get another card, and the next player flips a new card
The game ends when you complete all the matches. The player with the most pairs wins.
Instructions are easily understood even by younger children. It teaches facts about the different US states. However, graphics are not very appealing (too basic), there is only one fact per state, and the rule is amusing only for small children (6-8 year-olds). It also has rather low replayability as a basic matching card game.
States and Capitals (TENESA)
★★★★☆
For Homes and Schools | Ages 8+ | Players 1+ | Price $$ | Duration 10 – 20 mins
States and Capitals is a flashcard set with nine different rules. Each card features the state’s:
- abbreviation
- capital
- nickname
- date established
- rank of when it joined the USA
- region
- motto
- fast fact
- state symbols and outlined map
Some rules are name games, what’s the motto, and state trivia. It offers many options, with large color-coded cards (per region).
However, there is an inconsistency with the Oklahoma card. The color indicates it is in the southwest region, but the details in the card say southeast.
Professor Noggin’s Geography of the United States (Outset Media)
★★★★★
For Homes | Ages 7+ | Players 2-8 | Price $10-$20 | Duration 10 – 20 mins
Professor Noggin’s Geography of the United States is a quiz card game featuring different types of questions (true or false, multiple-choice, questions with specific answers).
The 30 cards focus on specific topics:
- Agriculture (two cards)
- Biggest and Smallest
- Capital Cities, Cities, What City Is Nicknamed…?
- Earthquakes
- Bays, Oceans, Islands
- Canyons and Valleys, Deserts, Forests, Lakes (two cards), Mountains (two cards), Rivers (two cards)
- National Parks
- Name the State
- New England, The Mid-Atlantic, The Midwest, The South, The Southwest, The West, Alaska, Hawaii, The Territories
- The United States and the World
Prof. Noggins’ games are easy to play. The skill levels enable older players can play harder questions while children have easier ones. Players throw a die, pick a card and ask the question to the person on their right who wins the card if they answer correctly. Otherwise, the first player reads the answer and puts the card at the bottom of the draw pile. Once this pile is gone, the game ends. The player with the most cards at the end wins.
The 180 questions enable real replayability. Instructions are easy to explain to younger players. And cards have the answers, which enables instant feedback.
United States Memory Matching Card Game (Mindemics)
★★★★☆
For Homes | Ages 6-8 | Players 1+ | Price $$ | Duration 10 – 20 mins
United States Memory Matching Card Game is an excellent simple matching game to teach the 50 states and their capitals to younger children (There is no more information though):
- it is easy to play as your only need to match the state to its capital
- it has color-coded edges depending on where the states are located
- it offers immediate feedback as both the state and capital card feature the shape of the state
There are 50 states and capitals, so players will need to flip 100 cards to finish the game. You can divide the cards into regions for quicker gameplay.
100 Pics US States & Capitals (Poptacular)
★★★★★
For Homes | Ages 7+ | Players 1+ | Price $$ | Duration 10 – 20 mins
100 Pics US States & Capitals is a puzzle card game featuring the 50 US states and their capitals. It comes with a box where you insert the deck the child has to guess the answer.
It can be played alone or with others. Simply put the deck in the game box and flip the cover to slowly reveal the state, or push the slider to show the first letter. I recommend for children that start to learn the states because it:
- features actual state shapes and borders
- develops cognition and focus skills as children unscramble the letters to name the state
- helps remember the state names, shapes, and capitals
The game box it is not big enough to fit all the cards comfortably – it is better to divide the cards by regions.
USA Geo Bingo (Geotoys)
★★★★☆
For Homes | Ages 7+ | Players 3+ | Price $$ | Duration 10 – 20 mins
USA Geo Bingo is another great game for introducing 50 states and their capitals. The calling cards also feature the land area, population, state nickname, and capital. Each bingo card has 25 states, and the set comes with wooden bingo chips instead of plastic.
I think this is an excellent game for teaching US geography because:
- it is easy to play, so younger children can use it
- the bingo cards feature the state shape and name, making children more familiar with them
- children can learn more about the states when reading the calling cards
- it is made of durable materials
You can also make the game more exciting by implementing a full card rule where players need to fill their entire bingo card to win. This rule will make the game longer, but it also lets your child become familiar with more states.
Road Trip USA (Gamecrafter)
★★★☆☆
For Homes | Ages 8+ | Players 2-7 | Price $$ | Duration 10 – 20 mins
Take a trip across the USA, Mexico, and Canada with Road Trip USA. The game’s goal is to complete a road trip to different states.
This set teaches children the 50 states, their capitals, and abbreviations. It also features the state and country flags. To play, they will have to connect their cards to complete a route, so they also get to know the different neighboring states and countries (Canada and Mexico). There are also special cards that allow players to complete a trip despite missing some state cards.
The cards feature actual state shapes and their neighboring states with labels. The instructions are simple, but the game can be difficult for children struggling with remembering the states. So, adult supervision is sometimes needed when making connections.
Crazy States (Jr. Rangerland)
★★★★★
For Homes | Ages 5+ | Players 2-5 | Price $$ | Duration 10 – 20 mins
Crazy States is inspired by the classic card game Crazy Eights where a player aims to get rid of all the cards in their hand before another does. In this game, playing cards feature the different states of the US, their capital, and some interesting facts.
Players take turns matching card colors or numbers to get rid of them. I recommend this game because it is easy to play. The cards are also very informative and easy to handle for smaller hands. If playing with older children, you can have them share the facts with the other players when getting rid of them.
Cards look a bit busy but the game is great!
United States (Top Trumps)
★★★★★
For Homes | Ages 6+ | Players 2-6 | Price $$ | Duration 10 – 20 mins
If you’re a fan of the Top Trumps games, then United States is a great one to try. It focuses on the 50 states of the USA. Like the other card games to the series, players need to have the highest stat in a category to win a round. The stats included in this game are:
- population
- size
- number of counties
- distance from DC
- admission to union
The bite-sized facts are easy to remember. There is also very minimal reading required, so that even young children can enjoy it. Instructions are also very easy to understand, and the pictures are great.
US Geography Games for the Family Game Night
Remembering all the 50 states of America is not so easy. But by presenting information in bite-sized parts and incorporating them in games, children will have fun as they learn about them. If you want more US geography games to try at home, check out 9 US Geography Board Games to Play with the Family.
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