Games are a fantastic way to engage in learning topics with a hands-on approach. Constitution Quest Game from Cognitive Square, Inc. is a superb game to teach Constitutional Literacy in your homeschool. Created by Dave and Pam Barret they wanted to find a way to teach others about our American Constitution in a fun and engaging manner. The game is 100% made in the USA. The game retails for $49.95. While playing the game you will learn about all the seven Articles and all the twenty-seven Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. You will also learn all the three branches of government, checks and balances, separation of powers, key dates, key facts, and essential vocabulary.

Constitution Quest Game is a stunning looking board game. The board and all the components are very appealing to look at. I do not recall ever being wooed in by the looks of a board game. The game comes with a game board, set of two dice, five unique card decks, clear bags for card storage, a score pad, a pencil, a combined booklet of the Constitution of the United States and Declaration of Independence, an answer key, ten-game piece portraits, the game piece stands, and a Game Play, Rules, and Directions.

Constitution Quest Game is intended for teens and adults from two to four players. You can play as individual players or as teams. There are suggestions for playing with younger kids using specific cards called “Novice Cards” in the decks. They are marked with a star to indicate that these are easier questions. This would be a wonderful way to team up with an older player to include younger kids. Another method of playing is in a classroom or large group setting. There are instructions in the game to adapt to younger players or larger groups.

The objective is to score the most points within the time it takes any player to complete a full rotation around the game board and to learn the U.S. Constitution while playing. Depending on how many players and if you are playing in teams this can determine the game length. Most games were around an hour or less.

I was completely surprised at how easy the game was to play and to get started. The instructions are clear and concise. The instructions are a small mini-booklet and not a complex set of rules that I expected to find. The game plays like a trivia game with multiple choice questions and true and false questions. There are two-hundred and twenty-three cards combined within the five-card decks! Your categories in the card decks are The Executive Branch, The Legislative Branch, The Judicial Branch, Founders & Facts, and Quest Cards. All the decks go on the game board by matching pictures, color-coded borders. If you are using the Novice Cards for younger children, you will need to remove them from the decks and place them appropriately.

The Basic Game Rules: You roll the dice making your way around the board. When you land on a space you draw the appropriate card and read the question and answers aloud. If you answer the question correctly you earn the points of the number rolled from your dice. If your answer is not correct you do not earn points. You will also read the correct answer aloud if you answer incorrectly. You are getting constant feedback on the questions. Even if you are not familiar with the Constitution with the constant feedback you will be surprised at how much you learn. With the answer key, it is extremely easy to find and verify your answers. You record your points on a score pad. Some special cards and spaces come into play throughout.

There are Wild Cards throughout all the decks. The Wild Cards have directions on what to do. You can get detoured and must answer the questions to earn points. If you do not answer the questions you are sent to the “Detour Zone” until your next turn with other consequences that affect your play. You can also land on Quest spaces and answer questions that you earn points, or your points are deducted. Another space is “We the People” that you can double your points or subtract your points depending on the outcome of your question. No single game is alike with all the variations of cards and the element of surprise that can come into play.

Constitution Quest Game has been fun for everyone in the family. Many might think a game about Constitutional Literacy would be dry and tedious. My family is completely impressed with how fun this has been. We played at first with the “Novice Cards” to accommodate my daughter with special needs. At first, I think everyone was glad to start with the easier cards so we did not have to admit what we did not know as much as we thought we did about our Constitution. My daughter quickly became the master of the Constitution in the family and we added in the other cards. She left everyone trying to keep up with her in points. We also enjoyed that the cards also added an element of history to learn about.

Constitution Quest Game has become a family favorite in our home. The content is rich, and the subject seems like a lost art in today’s world. I am delighted to have a hands-on approach to teach my children about our Constitution and what makes this a great nation.

Product review by Renee Knoblauch, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, October 2020