For the past year or so, I have been aware that my blog is missing physics games and so I have been on the hunt for them. While it’s easy to find great chemistry and biology games, it’s much harder to find physics games, particularly games that know they’re about physics.
(Let me explain. Valence is advertised as a chemistry game. Peptide is advertised as a biology game. However, the games in this post are not advertised as physics games. They’re just games that happen to incorporate some elements of physics. One exception is Subatomic, which works as both a chemistry game and a physics game.)
This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you click on it and make a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. For more information, please check our Privacy Policy and Disclaimers and Disclosures.
Now, I have a confession to make. Ever since I had kids, I have been sensitive to chaos and noise. (I *really* wish I had known about that *before* having kids, you know?) Physics games are, by necessity, physical. So I have not tried most of these games because they would not be good for my sanity. However, I want you to know about various options you do have.
Physics Games for Toddlers, Preschoolers, and Kindergarteners
Have a little one? Then don’t forget these engineering and physics games for younger kids!
Physics Games I Have Tried
Everyone knows Jenga and you have a couple of options here. In addition to the classic wooden Jenga for playing inside, they also have an oversized Yard Jenga. Jenga explores gravity, forces, and balance, which brings me to another reason we don’t have these games. You know how annoying it is when a younger sibling accidentally knocks into the table you’re playing Jenga on and topples the whole tower? A bus moves every time anyone in it moves (or the wind blows), so we would have a difficult time building our tower.
Mousetrap has always been more frustrating than fun for me, as nothing ever seems to work correctly. However, I have heard of kids launching into a deep-dive exploration of Rube Goldberg devices. These are always fun and involve forces, transfer of energy or force, cause and effect, and lots of chaos.
Laser Maze and Gravity Maze are single-player puzzle games. They can be fun, but do keep in mind that Laser Maze requires batteries. If your kids are like mine (who just want to play with the light constantly), this might become an issue.
Physics Games I Haven’t Tried
Kilter explores balance, levers, and friction.
Tier auf Tier: Jetzt geht’s rund! helps teach free body diagrams and equilibrium.
Bandu teaches center of mass and base of support.
TacTac Jack provides conservation of momentum and friction practice.
GIPF helps teach abstract and spatial reasoning.
Hamster Roll teaches angular displacement and simple harmonic motion.
Loopin’ Louie provides angular velocity and impulse practice.
Polarity helps teach magnetic fields and force. Your kids can also practice with Magnetism.
Riff Raff teaches net torque and angular acceleration.
Pool Sharks and billiards provide angular momentum practice. Unfortunately, it’s a discontinued Gamewright game, so good luck finding it.
Big Bang 13.7 explores fusion and matter/antimatter reactions.
Pentaquark is about particle physics. (Sorry, I looked, but I just could not find this one available anywhere. May you have better luck than I!)
Attack Vector: Tactical helps teach classical mechanics.
Gravwell teaches about gravity.
Bolide explores vectors, accelerations, decelerations, and inertia.
Zendo provides scientific method practice.
Kosmonauts covers Newton’s first law.
Keep in mind that I haven’t even seen any of these games, but this list should give you a good starting point to explore games about physics. Don’t forget to check out video games to help your student explore physics topics.