Are you ready to acquire Spanish like you did your mother tongue?
Although there are a lot of gamified language learning apps like Duolingo, they’ll never be as immersive and enjoyable as a real game in our target language.
In this article, I am going to show you the 5 best(real) games to learn Spanish through fun immersion!
Summary: 5 Best Games To Learn Spanish
The 5 best (real) games to learn Spanish that I have been able to find are on the App Store are:
Minecraft PE
Call Of Duty Mobile
Sims Builit
Idle Coffee Shop
Monopoly
#1 - Learn Spanish With Minecraft
Minecraft is an incredible game to learn Spanish if you want to start acquiring more niche vocabulary. If you have never played Minecraft, it’s a world made of blocks of all kinds where you build homes and cities, discover villages, and mine for minerals.
This is a “noun game” and the number of verbs you will learn is extremely small. However, if you want to start filling in some holes in your vocabulary that most learners don't think about, this game can definitely help you to do that!
What will you learn with Minecraft?
With Minecraft, you will learn a ton of vocabulary, everything from:
Sword, Axe, Pickaxe, Hoe, Bow & Arrow
Latter, Brick, Cobblestone, Dirt, Minerals
Pumpkins, Wheat, Potato, Watermelon, Etc.
Different types of - Flowers, Minerals, Trees, Colors, Etc.
If you learn all of the vocabularies in Minecraft, you will know a ton of nouns
Recommended Level: A2-C1
Rating (For Learning Spanish) 2.5/4
#2 - Learn Spanish With Call Of Duty Mobile
If you’re not a Call Of Duty player, it’s a first-person shooter where you battle other (human) players online. You have a huge amount of weapons, equipment, and perks that you can choose to use in each game.
Just about any Call Of Duty game can be played in Spanish, but COD Mobile is free and requires Xbox/Playstation subscriptions - so I prefer the mobile version.
This is a great game to learn Spanish vocabulary that relates to war, guns, and military equipment.
I have used this game to acquire about 100 words that I don’t use often in my Spanish conversations, but it doesn’t hurt me to know them.
What will you learn with Call Of Duty?
The Spanish vocabulary you will learn from COD:
Armory, Guns, Gun Types (Submachine, Assault, Etc) Equipment, Etc
Multiplayer, Mode, Store, Level, Score Streak
Language, Sound, Graphics, Install, Etc
Enemies, Friends, Teams, Kill, Shoot, Achievements, Etc
Recommended Level: A2-C1
Rating (For Learning Spanish) 2.5/4
#3 - Learn Spanish With Sims Builtit
Playing Sims Builtit has taught me words and I have a C1 level (Fluent) in Spanish! I was extremely impressed by the amount of dialogue and immersion you get from this game, not to mention the enjoyment of playing.
I am not a big “gamer”, but this app will stay on my phone for language learning purposes, and for fun. In Sims Builtit you essentially are the decision maker for a brand new town.
You are walked through a tutorial at the beginning that tells you to build a residential area, a power plant, a city call, and streets. The way your city looks and functions will really be up to you! It’s extremely customizable and engaging.
What will you learn with Sims Builtit?
One word that Sims Builtit taught me was “Thermal Power Plant”, but if you do not already know these words, you will learn such vocabulary as:
Nails, Steel, Factory, Manufacture
Build, Construction, Roads, Stores
Town Hall, Upgrade, Complaints
And many many more!
Recommended Level: A2-C1
Rating (For Learning Spanish) ¾
#4 - Learn Spanish With Idle Coffee Shop
When playing Idle Coffee Shop, was like a throwback to my childhood and the games that I would play. Basically, you are the owner of a coffee shop, and with a limited amount of money, you need to contract workers to work the crops (coffee plants), serve customers, and make the coffee.
As time goes on and you make more money, you can upgrade your shop to make the process more efficient. Your goal is to get your little coffee shop fully upgraded, with the best farm, tables, coffee-making machines, and employees available.
What will you learn with Idle Coffee Shop?
Some of the words that you will learn while working to improve your coffee shop are:
Cultivate, Crops, Coffee Grains, Production
Enlarge, Duration, Seats, Satisfaction, Profits, Tables, Build
Hire, List of Candidates, Barista, Server, Farmer
Recommended Level: A2-B2
Rating (For Learning Spanish) ¾
#5 - Monopoly
If you have never played Monopoly, it’s a game where your goal is to become the richest player and in turn bankrupt everybody else that’s playing. This game will teach you business and financial-related words. This is a super fun game to use to learn Spanish - even as a solo player on mobile!
What will you learn with Monopoly?
While playing Monopoly, you will learn Spanish words such as:
Wealth, Money, Taxes, Bank Robbery, Avenu, Etc
Win, Lose, Claim, Build, Missions, Level, Etc
Recommended Level: A2-B2
Rating (For Learning Spanish) ¾
Conclusion: Which Is The Best Game To Learn Spanish
If you are looking for games that will teach you Spanish through fun and immersive storylines and concepts, the best ones on the app store are:
Minecraft PE
Call Of Duty Mobile
Sims Builtit
Idle Coffee Shop
Monopoly
My best tip for playing these games to improve your Spanish level is that you don’t consider it “study time”. Although you will learn vocabulary, this isn’t a replacement for real study - such as studying music lyrics, reading stories, watching TPRS videos, etc.
Leave me a comment below telling me which one you are going to try out! If you have any other suggestions to help our Spanish learning community let me know and I’ll add them to this list.
If you want to see how I acquired Spanish check out this article where I explain the 13 methods that I used to get me from zero to fluent.
¡Hasta luego!
- Ben