Board games are a fantastic way to spend quality time with your children, having fun and making memories. This ultimate list of board games for kids will help you find some of the most popular, most fun, and all-around best board games for kids of every age.
Table of Contents:
- Why Kids (and Adults!) Should Play Board Games
- Best Preschool Board Games
- Best Board Games for 5-6 Year Olds
- Top Board Games for 7-8 Year Olds
- Best Board Games for 9 Year Olds
- Best Board Games for 10 Year Olds and Teenagers
Why Kids Should Play Board Games
Here are some of the top reasons you should consider playing board games with your kids.
1. The family that plays together, stays together
Yes! Playing with your kids is important. It is a subtle, yet potent, way to tell them you care and look forward to their company. Playing board games with kids is a great way to spend some quality family time and build a healthy parent-child bond.
2. Playing board games fires up your brain
Board games are excellent for early learning. It is far easier to build logical thinking, spatial reasoning and critical thinking through board games than trying to preach them.
The hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, the brain areas responsible for memory function, are greatly stimulated while playing board games. Games help children build concentration, focus and cognitive skills.
3. Board games are great for mental health.
A fun board game session with your kids is equivalent to a booster dose of endorphins — the happy hormones. These hormones significantly impact our mental wellbeing by bringing down our anxiety and stress levels. Also, it is much easier to iron out annoyances and squabbles that are often part of family life.
4. Playing games boosts social skills.
Besides the brain benefits, playing board games also teaches children – especially the shy and younger ones – important social skills.
Board games are an easy way to teach children about sharing, patience, waiting for turns, communication and interpersonal skills.
These soft skills are best taught by examples and what’s better than demonstrating them while having fun with one of these board games.
Related: Also try Indoor Activities for Kids at Home. They are great at boosting bonding and spending quality time with your family.
5. Board games aid emotional intelligence.
Let’s admit it — nobody likes losing and children more so! But failure is a great teacher and losing has always been a part of life in one way or another.
A board game is an excellent way to tutor your kids to win humbly and lose gracefully.
Losing in a dignified manner teaches children to remain calm and take charge of their emotions. This builds resilience, self-control and better executive skills.
Winning on the other hand requires strategy, goal setting and self-analysis. All these skills can be easily nurtured while playing board games.
Related: Here is a neat guide to find that perfect game for a child with cerebral palsy.
6. Board games are an excellent way to unplug.
Board games can serve as an excellent tool to balance your family’s digital and real life. They can help you foster real family connections.
And you will be surprised how easy it is for your children to put down their devices when you offer (or schedule) time for board games everyday.
These are plenty of reasons to play board games with kids. Board games are an inexpensive way to have fun and build great family relationships. It’s a total win-win for both parents and children!
Now that you are all pumped up and ready to invest your time in playing board games with your kids, here is our list of the most popular board games of all time!
Related: Also check out Best Toys for Kids for Every Age to explore toys from wide range of genres!
Best Board Games for Preschoolers
1. Acorn Soup
Work on one to one correspondence, counting, matching and identification skills with this fun soup making board game for preschoolers. Great fun for kids 2-years-old and above.
Related: Also check out these Hands-on Math Games for Kids to sharpen their numeracy skills.
2. Hasbro Hi Ho! Cherry-O
This classic board game for kids is a must-have. Teach your children basic math skills as they go cherry picking in this great pretend play game. You’ll love watching your child learn – this is one of the best games for 3 year olds and the preschool age range.
Related: Indulge your tiny tot in Fun Toddler Activities to keep their minds growing and learning.
3. Briarpatch Pete The Cat The Missing Cupcakes Game
Based on the popular book series Pete the Cat, this game will certainly delight your preschoolers. Sing, act out and identify animals, food and much more. It is just the right game for family fun-time.
4. ThinkFun Heads Talk Tails Walk
This is a wonderfully funny board game for preschoolers and young kids. Laughter and giggles are guaranteed in this fun family game.
5. Colorama
Looking for an educational game for kids? This one is just right. Teach young children colors and patterns with this easy to play board game.
Related: Pair educational games with Hands-on Preschool Activities to make learning complete.
6. Bears in Pairs
Build memory skills with this easy game of matching bears. Just the perfect board game for preschoolers and young children, Bears in Pairs requires no reading and comes with three challenge levels.
7. Spot It! 123
Teaching number recognition is a breeze with this fun game of number spotting. This is definitely one of the best educational board games for preschoolers.
8. Hoot Owl Hoot
This game requires children to work together to help accomplish the goal. Your child will build coordination, problem solving, and logic skills. It’s one of the best board games for 4 year olds and above.
9. The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game
Build hand-eye coordination and motor skills with this award-winning game – one of the best preschool board games!
10. Sequence for Kids
This classic board game is now available for younger kids aged between 3 to 6 years. Packed with a twist, this will surely delight your family.
11. Charades for Kids
Get ready for laughs with this family-friendly version of charades for kids. This game is among the best games for 4 year olds and children starting kindergarten.
Quick Tip: You can also make your own DIY charades by writing words on paper slips. Check out more than 470 Charades Ideas for inspiration.
12. Friends of Feather
This is a fun color-matching game for 3 year olds and above. It comes with different challenge levels to make it more interesting and suitable for older siblings.
13. Snail’s Pace Race
This motivational, non-competitive game is just perfect for family game nights. Winner of Parent’s Choice Gold Seal Award, this game is certainly fun!
14. Candy Land
This is a classic board game for kids that most parents would also enjoy. It is simple enough to be played by preschoolers pretty independently without any adult intervention. Best for 3-year-olds and above.
15. Stack a Cake
This is a great game for 2 year olds and above to build motor, visual and social skills. The goal is to stack the cake before the bear gets home.
Best Board Games for 5 to 6 Year Olds
16. I Never Forget a Face
This is a lovely board game for kindergartners that doubles up the fun with a memory game as well as a cultural game. Your kindergartener will get to learn about different countries and its people through this easy to play matching game.
17. Outfoxed
This is a strategy game your entire family will fall in love with. Collaborate with your kindergartner and find out which fox is the thief. Fun guaranteed!
18. Pictureka
Another classic game for kids, Pictureka will work on your child’s concentration and observation skills. One of the best games for 5 year olds and parents will love it too!
19. Operation
Yet another classic game for kindergarteners, Operation will bring your childhood memories alive. Let your child be a little doctor and get hands-on with anatomy with this game. Perfect game for 6 year olds and above.
20. Gnomes at Night
A great strategy game for 6 year olds and above, this game comes with four different mazes. Great for building teamwork!
21. Sorry
This classic board game is a must for family game nights. Suitable for children 6 years and older, Sorry is a great family fun game.
22. Egged On
This is a super fun game of cracking eggs that will have your entire family up in laughs. Perfect for 5 year olds and up, this game promises giggles and laughter.
23. Pajama Party
This affordable game is great for building concentration and observation skills. Fast paced, it comes with two challenge levels to test your kindergartener. We bet you’ll enjoy playing it with your little ones.
24. Cheeky Butts
This silly, fun, fast-paced game is perfect for game nights. It will teach your child pattern recognition and fine motor skills, and is fun for the whole family.
25. Monopoly Junior
Have fun counting and collecting Monopoly money with this kid-friendly version of the classic game.
26. Guess Who
This is a classic strategy game for kids. Take turns guessing your opponent’s card by asking questions. The first one to guess correctly wins. It’s a great game for 5-6 year olds to build critical thinking and logical skills.
27. Trouble
Engage in some crazy fun with this peg-popping game. This racing game will add spark to your game routine. Perfect game for kindergartners.
28. Skillmatics Newton’s Tree
A wonderful game of tumbling apples, Newton’s tree will get everyone in your family hooked. It is a great game for 6 year olds and up.
29. Slap Ninja
This is a fun electronic game for kids 6 years and above. It’s an addictive game that works on improving reflexes and quick thinking.
30. Qwirkle
Work on critical thinking, pattern recognition and problem solving with this easy to understand game. This is a great educational game for 6 year olds and everyone older.
31. Bugs in The Kitchen
This strategy board game for kids has the goal of trapping the bugs by forging a path. Suitable for 6-year-olds and above.
32. Mouse Trap
This is a great board game for kindergartners to build logic, strategy and decision-making skills.
33. Clack
This magnetic disk game is great fun for family game nights. It works to build pattern recognition and matching skills and is certain to become your child’s favorite. Best for kids 5 years and up.
Top Board Games for 7-8 Year Olds
34. Kanoodle Head-to-Head
Encourage problem solving, critical thinking and spatial awareness with this puzzle race game. Perfect challenge and strategy board game for 7 year olds and above.
In case you are looking for solo games, here is an excellent list of 1 Player Games.
35. Kitki Three Sticks
This is one of the best math board games for 8 year olds and above. Build geometry and spatial skills with this highly engaging game.
36. Blokus
This is a family fun strategy game for all. Easy to understand and play, this game has just a handful of rules and is a great mind booster.
37. Pandemic
This popular game for 8 year olds up to adults is one of the best cooperative board games you will find. Fabulous at building cooperative skills and teamwork, Pandemic is just right for a family game night.
38. The Game of Life
This classic board game will bring your family closer. Sit together to play this wonderful game about life.
39. Uno
What can be better than a family game of Uno – one of the most popular games of all-time! Suitable for children 7 years and older.
40. Othello
This is one of our all-time best 2 player board games! Othello is a great strategy building game to play with your 8 year old (or older).
41. Mastermind
This is a code breaking game that will challenge your 7-8 year olds – and you! Thrilling and mind bending, Mastermind requires you to guess your opponent’s code before she guesses yours.
42. Hexpert
Hexpert is an award-winning strategy game for kids 7 years and above. This is a family game that will get everyone hooked.
43. Apples to Apples
This is a fast-paced game of crazy combinations. Get ready to check your reflexes and quick thinking with a session of Apples to Apples.
44. Labyrinth Board Game
Fancy a treasure hunt? Then this one’s for you. The hugely popular Labyrinth board game is perfect for families. You need to race through the maze to beat your opponents through the shortest path.
45. Trivial Pursuit Family Edition
Engage your children to learn, read and know more about the world with this family edition of Trivial Pursuit. With separate cards for kids and adults, it offers a fair chance for all to win. It’s an excellent, educational board game for 8 year olds and above.
Related: Trivia lover at home? Try our trivia questions for kids to get your little ones scratching their heads.
46. Chinese Checkers
This classic, must-have strategy game is fun for both adults and kids alike. Easy to understand, yet challenging for all ages, this game’s goal is to get your colored markers into the opposite home base.
47. Flipslide
This addictive game is hard to put down. You can play it as a single player game or with friends. Either way, this fast-paced puzzle game is certain to challenge your brain.
48. Hasbro Gaming The Game of Life: Super Mario Edition
This is a great twist to the classic board game that has entertained generations. In this Super Mario Edition, players race to collect stars on their characters to boost their chance of defeating the Bowser at the end of the game.
An entertaining board game that will have the whole family playing, The Game of Life Super Mario Edition certainly is high on fun and just right for family game nights. Perfect for Mario and Nintendo fans.
49. Race Across the USA
Like the name suggests, this is a fun geography board game for kids that takes them across the country, learning tons of things on the way.
The game challenges players to race across the USA and be the first to visit six states, answer geography trivia and get back to their home states to win the game.
50. Monopoly Builder
Monopoly builder is a fast-paced, simplified version of the classic Monopoly. Instead of just buying property, players buy property and physically stack buildings with the builder’s blocks to build their towers on monopoly island.
A family strategy game is engaging and fast enough to grab your 8 year old’s attention.
51. Carcassonne Hunters & Gatherers
Escape to a prehistoric landscape with this version of Carcassonne. This great map-making strategy game for the whole family will have players forge a prehistoric landscape packed with ancient creatures.
The player with the most strategic placements of tiles scores most points and wins the game.
52. Icarus
Icarus is such a perfect game for creative and imaginative kids 8 years and older.
This collaborative storytelling game begins in a city-nation known as Icarus and ends with the collapse of this great civilization. Highly recommended, this is a perfect family game night choice.
53. Ticket To Ride
Get onboard a cross-country adventure with Ticket to Ride as you build tracks and claim railway routes connecting cities across the United States.
Players connect routes with a chain of trains to earn points. The player with the highest number of points wins the game. Fast paced and engaging, this game is a great introduction to US geography and strategy board games.
54. Spray Off Play Off
This is a hilarious board game for kids that will have your entire family entertained.
In this cooperative game, players form teams and compete with hundreds of wild and wacky physical and speaking challenges while their partner rests their chin on the Hydro-Pump ready to be soaked if the timer goes off.
Definitely fun!
Best Board Games for 9 Year Olds
55. Azul
Azul is a quick playing, fast-paced strategy game for 9 year olds and older.
This tile-laying game starts off slowly but soon picks up as the game board fills, making the game competitive and strategic as players try to force their opponent to take tiles off the board.
Azul has won multiple awards and is a great game to get your kids thinking critically and strategically.
56. Decrypto
This is a clever game where players team up and transmit secret codes without letting the opposition team intercept their codes.
You must come up with creative communication ideas that are clear enough for your team to understand, but vague enough to confuse your opponents.
A very fun, competitive game that will certainly entertain your kids.
57. Proof!
Proof is a Teacher’s Choice Gold Award Winner – an educational game that challenges kids 9 years and above to find creative equations hidden among nine number cards.
This quick, addictive math game will have your kids exercising their mental math skills while trying to score over their opponents.
58. Dragonwood- A Game of Dice & Daring
This is a very interesting strategy game for kids that your family is certain to get hooked on.
Beautifully designed, it takes the players into a mystical forest teeming with goblins, ogres and fire-breathing dragons. Simple instructions and exciting game play makes it hard to put down.
59. Tetris
Get your kids off screens with this screen-free version of the all time popular game of Tetris. Players compete to make their towers in this fun strategy game.
As addictive as the online version, but way more fun, players compete against each other to score the most game points.
60. Harry Potter Catch The Golden Snitch
For all the Potter heads, here is a board game that is sure to entertain and enchant. This multi-player competitive game brings home the excitement and rush of Quidditch at home and is certain to please all Harry Potter fans.
Related: Also check out Harry Potter Would You Rather… Questions for a fun family game night.
61. Hive – A Game Crawling With Possibilities
This is one of the best strategy games for kids that will have them thinking and planning their moves. Deceptively easy, this 2 player game is high on strategy and critical thinking.
Best Board Games for 10 Year Olds
These are also excellent choices if you’re looking for the best board games for teens!
62. Catan
This award-winning game is based on civilization. Players use strategy and trading to build communities and commodities. One of the best board games for 10 year olds, Catan has several versions and expansions to keep the fun going for years to come!
63. Scotland Yard
This classic, must-have detective game will hone your child’s critical reasoning and logic skills. Suitable for 10 year olds and above.
64. Risk
Get ready to conquer the world with this strategy board game! Suitable for everyone 10 years and above, this game will take you on an adventure ride.
65. Ka-Blab
Ka-Blab is a funny, silly game that will have everyone laughing.
Players take turns rolling the dice and have to come up with items or a catchphrase that fit the topic listed on the card, but before the time runs out!
Fast-paced and fun, it is a great indoor party game for families.
66. Prime Climb
Prime Climb is a fantastic math game that is perfect for family game nights.
This board game disguises multiplication, division, factorization and prime number concepts into a game and is a great way to help kids master these concepts.
67. What’s Next
This is an action-packed adventure game that features colossal koalas, renegade robots and an angry old lady with a bazooka.
Players are chased through the jungle by a giant koala and need to master 60 mini challenges to escape. With every wrong turn or failed challenge, a peril piece is added to the ‘Tower of Peril’.
The game is over when the tower topples. This exciting game is sure to keep everyone absorbed.
68. Disney Villainous
Forget playing a hero, this game lets you play Disney villains.
Choose from Captain Hook, Maleficent, Jafar, Ursula, Queen of Hearts, and Prince John and race to complete your goal by planning your wicked moves.
Winner of 2019 Game of the Year Award, this one is highly recommended for Disney fans and strategy game lovers.
69. Cytosis
If you are looking to sneak learning into play, then look no further. This fun biology turned strategy game for kids is fun to play and helps kids learn a ton without getting bored or overwhelmed.
Perfect for a science night, it is a wonderful STEM game for kids who are keen on learning cell biology.
70. Munchkin Deluxe
Munchkin Deluxe is a quirky game that challenges players to race to the top level by going down to the dungeons, fighting monsters, stabbing enemies and running away with the treasure.
This amusing game is sure to add humor to your game nights.
71. Minecraft: Builders & Biomes
For all the Minecraft fans, here is the board game version of the popular video game. Innovative game play coupled with clear instructions makes it a great choice for strategy game lovers.
Board games are such a wonderful way to get in some family bonding time and pull your kids away from screens. Your kids will learn about strategy, cooperation, and much more. So pick a favorite from this children’s board games list and plan your game night today!
