Six Generations: One Deck, Many Games
by Karen Luciana

Six Generations is a card game that offers many appealing lures for children.  Creator, author, and designer, Fyodor Soloview put much research, thought and creativity into developing the deck of cards with which there are several different games to be played.

When I review games, please remember I do so from a teacher’s standpoint and look at the use of the game in the classroom and with ties to curriculum and education.

Enthusiasm

My first criterion is the enthusiasm the game elicits in children.  Six Generations earns an A for that category.  I introduced the game at the beginning of this school year to my fifth graders.  I teach 3 sections and each group responds with excitement when I announce that they will be playing the game.  Common reasons they provide is that the games are fun and they like looking at the colorful pictures of the characters on the cards.

Curriculum Ties

This artwork leads into my next criterion.  I also evaluate games based on the curricular ties I can make in the classroom.  I am impressed with the amount of educational research that obviously went into creating this lovely deck of cards.  Each of the six generations cards has a colorful, authentic representation of a person who lived within the timeframe of its generation.  The clothing is quite detailed and accurate.  For this reason, the cards can be used to enhance the study of historical people.  Additionally, one of the games requires players to observe the lineage of ancestors to current day people. Playing that particular game is an excellent visual tool to use to demonstrate to students how history really does influence present-day times.  Therefore, Six Generations earns an A for this category also.

Ease of Learning

Another benchmark on which I evaluate is ease of learning and instructions.  Six Generations earns a C+ here.  The instructions are not simple to follow.  We had to re-read the directions and experiment with play several times in order to grasp the object of the many of the games.

Replayability

Finally, I usually ask myself if the game will remain in my cabinet or be used over and over again.  B+ for this category.  We often pull the cards out to play, as one of the games can be played fairly quickly, a real plus in the school setting.

In Closing

A final note is the Six Generations has a very detailed and user-friendly website (www.sixgenerations.com) that is easy to maneuver and from which interested players will receive valuable information.

Overall, I highly recommend the use of this game in your classrooms.  Students from grades 5-9 will find the game fun and entertaining.  It will be a nice addition and enhancement to your curriculum.