At Our Family Reviews we have always loved playing games, especially ones with an educational aspect. They have always excelled at transforming learning into an engaging, interactive journey while still being fun and entertaining (and no one really knows that they are learning, what a bonus). From reinforcing vocabulary to sharpening critical thinking, they blend bite-sized lessons with playful competition. Most games however focus on maths, spelling or phonics but now there is a new card game that has a geography-theme combined with spelling – Global Spell, the geography card game,
Global Spell is a geography-based spelling game for 2-4 players, age 7 upwards and has a playing time of anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes. It is also the winner of not one, but two, Creative Child Awards 2025 (Game of the Year – Educational Card Games, and Travel Fun Product of the Year – Travel Games).
Do you know what the world’s longest official country name is? What about the currency used in Cambodia? Could you tell me the capital city of Papua New Guinea? Do you know the population of Spain? Well, with 200+ facts about 54 countries on the cards, you will find out the answers to these questions and more while having fun playing Global Spell.
The aim of the game is to get the highest score by collecting Country Cards. To collect Country Cards you need to spell out country names, but it’s not that simple – other players can sabotage you!
In the box:
- 142 Cards
– 54 Country Cards (Colour-coded by Continent)
– 70 Alphabet Letter Cards
– 18 Action Cards (Steal One, Steal Two, Skip Drawing, Skip a Turn, Pick Up and No!)
- Instruction / Game Play Manual
Setting up to play Global Spell is simple: shuffle the 54 Country Cards. Depending on the number of players (2, 3 or 4) deal 7, 10 or 13 cards face up in the centre of the table. Create a draw pile by shuffling the 88 Alphabet and Action cards together, deal 8 cards to each player and place the remaining cards in the centre of the table.
To play, the youngest player starts. Players either play cards, discard cards or draw new cards (going clockwise around the table). The aim is to try and correctly spell out the name of one of the Country Cards in the centre of the table to win the card. The game ends when all the Country Cards in play have been correctly spelt out and collected by players – the winner is not the one with the highest number of collected cards but who has the highest score (calculated by adding up the score on the cards and any bonus scores achieved).
Overall, I found this to be a very good educational game. Not only does it help with learning to spell country names but it also allows players to view country shapes as well as facts about population, size in sq km, currency and flags (all which are presented on the Country Cards). It also helps with memory retention and cultivates a genuine curiosity about other countries around the globe. It also has the added bonus of trying to collect multiple countries from the same continent, helping to reinforce regional associations. And the Action Cards like “No,” “Steal,” or “Skip” add in some strategic, tactical tension, making sure that all players have a shot at winning and every turn matters.
All the cards are supplied in a compact cardboard box that is perfect for play at home, in the classroom or on your travels – it can be played anywhere. The cards all feel good quality, durable enough for repeated shuffling, children’s hands and constant play. The maps are accurate, the flags are crisp & clear and simple facts provide just enough context without overwhelming younger players. The instruction booklet is concise, guiding new players through setup and gameplay efficiently. The rules are simple enough and most players will grasp the rules and gameplay after the first session.
With country names such as Mozambique and Tanzania, some names provide a bit of a spelling challenge with others such as the United Kingdom require a longer collection of cards.
We found it a fun game to play while learning some basic facts about other countries. It is not a simple game of collecting letter cards to spell out a name, the Action Cards add in a good element of tactical strategy to try and thwart you fellow players.
Global Spell is a good blend of competitive fun and basic geography.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £19.99
Available to buy from Amazon here.
