Five Ways Board and Card Games Support School Literacy Plans
Building learners’ speaking, listening, and literacy skills requires a variety of mediums. Books, of course, are the foundation. However, one of the greatest screen-free options for adding literacy strategies in an engaging way are through board and card games. When identifying a great board or card game for building literacy skills, we recommend looking for…
Our Daughter Started Kindergarten Today – 5 Moments She Grew Up with Our Games
On the day my first daughter was born, I submitted the paperwork to officially incorporate GamestormEDU LLC, our game design and publishing company. Lots of folks have asked me why that day – and I always have two explanations: I’ll never forget how old my daughter is, so I’ll know how old the company is!…
How to Choose The Best Games for Your Library in 2026 (And 5 To Get You Started)
The board and card game renaissance has been in full swing over the last decade, and with schools aiming to roll back how much time kids spend on screens, it is the perfect time to build up a great library of games for learners. According to a 2024 Pew Research study, 85 percent of teens…
Designing Games with Grandparents and Grandchildren
One of my favorite days of the year is when my employer, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, hosts their annual Grandparents University event. During the two-day session, grandparents and their grandchildren stay at our campus, take a variety of fun mini-courses, and engage in a variety of community activities. I have the honor of teaching a course…
Designing Games with My 5 Year Old Daughter
I’ve written 53 previous blogs on GamestormEDU, and it’s the first one that is still the most important to me. It was about how all of this started – the games, the company, everything – as a promise to my first daughter. She’s now five, and one of my greatest joys has been not just…
Board and Card Games Build Vocabulary and Literacy Skills
We’ve all felt it before – the phone or laptop sapping our attention away from a more worthwhile pursuit like picking up a book or reading articles. Recent research suggests that our worst fears are true – screens negatively impact literacy development in both kids and in late elementary and middle schoolers. With literacy skills…
Why I Want Your Students as Game Playtesters
I am an educator by trade. Designing learning experiences are fun, but one big challenge is that there really is not a good way to test run a lesson before it goes live. The students in my first class get my best first attempt, and then I try to refine as the day goes on.…
Three Research-Backed Reasons for Board Games in the Library and Classroom
The past few years have yielded an incredible amount of quality research in the field of board and card games and their impact on learning and skill development. Below are three research-backed reasons to use board and card games in the library or classroom! 1. Board and Card Games Improve Math and Reading Fluency We…
What I Learned About Game Design at Protospiel Madison 2025
I had the immense pleasure of attending Protospiel Madison for the FIFTH time. If you’re new to the term “protospiel,” it is a convention where board and card game designers bring their creations to playtest with other designers and folks who just want to try out games! For a designer like me, these types of…
The Importance of Librarians – Reflections from AASL Conference
I had the immense privilege to attend the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Conference in St. Louis this past week. Librarians and Library Media Specialists have always been an important part of my life. As a former English teacher, I collaborated with our librarian to help students find a fit for their interests, engage…
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