Retailer Review: 10 Days in the USA
by Lynn Potyen

I have enjoyed the game 10 Days in the USA, both at home and in the classroom. The game plays in two phases, a set up phase, where you randomly draw tiles that represent states, jets and cars. These are placed on a bar and once set can't be moved until the second phase, so choose carefully! In the second phase you can draw a new tile to replace one of your old tiles that is on your bar, moving your pieces by replacement only.

Take your time planning this trip because states are only represented once in this game. As soon as you pass up a state you will never see it again. The first person to plan a successful 10 day trip by using destination and transportation tiles is the winner.

In the classroom

I travel to schools and do what we refer to as a GameExperiment. This is a free service we offer through our store. By working closely with educators we have learned to tweak some of our games for the classroom.

For instance, we shortened 10 Days in the USA, by removing transportation tiles, 1/2 the country and working with a 5 day journey. In this case all states must touch one another since walking from state to state is your only mode of transportation.

Another option for the fourth grade classroom is to give each student a blank map of the USA and have them color it like the game board. (I keep a laminated one to play on) These boards have no state names imprinted on them and make the game more memory challenging. It has been beneficial to many of my 4th graders in helping with their state retention and placement.

Either way, 10 Days in the USA, helps with memory and recall, encourages geography skills and strategy. An easier way to study geography for students who have little visual context to go on. Try 10 Days in the USA and enjoy your trip!

In addition to owning The GameBoard, Lynn Potyen works one-on-one with school districts and educators to teach and use board games in the classroom. Her store's philosophy is to encourage growth both socially and mentally. They use board games to help accomplish that, not just in the classroom, but also in real life.