The Magical Book

The Magical Book is an interactive board game with a lovely concept: the Magical Book was lost long ago, and with it, people lost their memory of animal names, foods, professions, objects, and places. The players’ mission is to restore the book’s cards by matching illustrations to their respective names.

When a pair is matched correctly, the game narrates the word, facilitating the association between image, written form, and pronunciation. Multiple cards can be matched in the same turn, as long as there is at least one illustration card and one word card.

The game also features an animated story that explains how the Magic Book was lost, creating an engaging context for learning. In addition to the “Animals” theme, The Magical Book has four expansions available: “Food”, “Objects”, “Places” and “Professions”, expanding the possibilities for vocabulary practice.

General Skills Developed

Cognitive skills: critical thinking, decision-making, attention, speed, and visual perception
Social-emotional: reflection, autonomy in decision-making, collaboration, self-control, communication, reasoning, and the ability to express thoughts.
Motor skills: laterality, spatial awareness, fine motor coordination, visuomotor coordination

Rating

4.8 / 5.0

Game Features

The Magical Book is an interactive board game that challenges players to match illustration cards with their corresponding word cards. The main goal is to rebuild the Magic Book, restoring the knowledge of the forgotten names.

Students interact with a set of cards that contain pictures and words. The core mechanic involves identifying images and finding their corresponding written forms. When a pair is matched, the game validates the answer and pronounces the word, offering auditory reinforcement for learning.

Players can make multiple pairs in a single turn, which encourages observation and pattern recognition.

The game integrates an animated narrative that contextualizes the mission, making the experience more immersive. Featuring different themes—Animals, Food, Objects, Places, and Professions—the game offers a wide range of vocabulary to be explored.

Opportunities for Educators

The Magical Book is a pedagogical tool designed to enrich students’ vocabulary. It offers a playful and visually engaging approach to support vocabulary acquisition and pronunciation practice

Teachers can use the game to:

Expand Vocabulary: Present the game themes (animals, foods, objects, places, professions) in an interactive way before introducing them in more expository lessons.
Reinforcement and Review: Use the game as a review activity to consolidate previously covered content. Students can practise autonomously or in groups.
Collaborative Activities: Have students play in small groups so they discuss words, help each other find their corresponding pairs, and develop their communication skills.
Connection to the Animated Story: Before or after playing, present the animated story about the loss of the Magic Book. This helps contextualize the game and supports listening comprehension.

Tips for the teacher:

Prepare a quick warm-up activity using the images and words from the selected theme (e.g., “Animals”). Show the pictures, say the words aloud, and ask students to repeat them.

Instruct students to listen carefully to the narration and repeat the words aloud whenever two cards are matched. This is crucial for pronunciation and auditory memory development.

Encourage dialogue. After a few rounds, ask students to talk about the animals they matched, the foods they like, or places they would like to visit using vocabulary from the game.

Observe students’ ability to make connections and improve their pronunciation. You can also invite them to create their own “magic cards” with drawings and words on a specific topic, or challenge them to form simple sentences using the vocabulary.