Kids board games are super fun.
Our family loves them, and you wouldn’t believe the amazing ones out there! Although there are some great classic board games like monopoly, jenga, charades, game of life etc., there are so many new ones. This list I’m sharing with you is hopefully some of the newer games that you might not have heard of.
One of the best things about board games is that they’re great for all ages.
It’s also a nice way to enjoy quality family time away from screens.
This kids board game list starts with the younger ages and goes up to older kids.
These are the games that I am the most familiar with because we own them and play them as a family. We’ve also played some educational games like the wildcraft board game or stem educational ones like robot turtle.
Please share your favorites in the comments below 🙂
Flexibility in the ‘age’ recommended for board games.
Remember when shopping for board games, that the age is just a recommendation. We’ve often played games with younger ages that say 8 & up sooner. It also depends on your kids. For example some kids have more advanced math skills (we play Zelda Monopoly with our grade 2 where she adds 3 digit numbers). The more advanced games do get more complex strategy and game rules, but we’ve also made adjustments. So really, the ages are flexible 😉
Best Board Games for Toddlers and Preschoolers
I find cooperative board games work best for toddlers and preschoolers
By working together, you can help reduce the common toddler and preschooler meltdowns of losing the game. It also teaches great team building skills and working together for a common goal. For example, Hoot Hoot Owl we all help get the owls into the nest before the sun rises.
- Pengoloo
- Funny Bunny
- Peaceful kingdom games (cooperative) like Hoot Hoot Owl, Stone Soup or cauldron quest
- Smart Games like Little Red Riding Hood or 3 Little Piggies
- Educational Insights games like Bunny Hop Game or Sneaky snacky squirrel game
Board Games for Kids Ages 6 & Up
- Enchanted forest
- Ghost Fightin Treasure Hunters
- The Magic Labybrinth
- Catan Junior
- The enchanted tower
- Labrynth Junior
- GameWright Outfoxed! Sushi Go, Sleeping Queens etc
- Ant Colony (cooperative)
For Older Kids & Adults
This is another category where we’ve made changes to the game rules for younger kids. For example, we use the board game pieces of descent yet make huge adjustments for younger kids (but we enjoy creating new games from existing ones). A lot of these games offer different themes and expansion packs too.
- Tiny Epic Quest
- Descent Journeys in the Dark
- Catan
- Takenoko
- Ticket to Ride
- Ashes Rise of the Phoenix Born
- Star Wars: Rebellion
- Lots more from Fantasy Flight Board Games
What is your favorite family board game?
I love everything about this list. I’ve never heard of Ant Colony, but now I’ll have to check it out! It looks like it plays similarly to Race to the Treasure, which is another great cooperative game for younger kids. Thanks for sharing!
I like turtles
I really dont understand why USA is soo obsessed with child beauty… these kids can barely stand! Why not let kids just be kids n leave these adult things to grown ups? We get just one childhood….
My Mom use to do Party 1 w/her friends around Christmas back in the day 🙂 One of my nephews last bday party was 16!
Here is an idea..we have all these ideas for friends in our real life..but what about an online party with a group of online friends?? I’ve been trying to come up with some fun ideas but haven’t really thought of anything good. I know there are sites were we can watch a netflix show or movie together, I can also give out prizes, put other than that I am stuck
your method of explaining the whole thing in this paragraph is genuinely good, all be able to effortlessly know it, Thanks a lot.
No other video game console even comes CLOSE to the SNES. I mean, forget about it just winning the 16-bit war with the Genesis (which it absolutely did), it just crushes everything else that was ever released. The amount of all-time great games on this list is just absurd. It has the best platformers, the best JRPGS, the best exclusives, the best versions of the two best fighting games of the 90s, Nintendo worked with developers to push it’s technology to the absolute limit (Donkey Kong Country, Star Fox, Killer Instinct, Super Mario RPG) while it’s competitor was selling an entire other system to catch up. The graphics and gameplay hold up far better than it’s predecessor (the NES) or the it’s immediate successor (the N64) because the capability of 16-bit graphics was perfect for the bright, cartoon pixels of most of the games. The look never goes out of style. The controller is essentially perfect. Just like the system.
Games on SNES I couldn’t live without! – almost every single capcom game, from the Disney ones to Marvel universe titles, but my favorite is Demon’s crest, – Kirby all stars and dreamland 3, – DK 3 over 2 anyday, – Goemon series, – Go Go ackman series, Gundam endless duel, – Tiny toons ADV, – phantom 2040, – Valken, – metal warriors of course, – wild guns, – mikami, – king of demons. There’s a lot more including titles that I prefer to play on SNES other than árcade or genesis…
I only ever played the super popular games, but some of these look really unique and fun. Basically, my dad still had a Super Nintendo from a while back, and I got into it. He only ever had like seven games; Super Metroid, Mega Man X, Chrono Trigger, Link to the Past, Castlevania, Earthbound and Super Mario World. At least, those are the ones that still worked. Anyway, if I were born like a decade earlier I think I would’ve enjoyed the more obscure games out there. Great list, though.
Heya i am for the first time here. I came across this board and I find It really useful.
there is hundred of games one of my favorites skyblazer sunset riders , topgear dracula x gaia ilusion of the time , demon crest ff especial act raiser.1.2 super bomberman , turrican sonic blast man Rival Turf , the peace keaper brawl brothers , super street figther 2, capitan comando . ninja warrior , metal warriors . hagane king of dragons clock tower , the fire men, biker mice from mars , Ghost Sweeper Mikami goof troop, gundam win
I can’t blame you guys for what you voted for… but this list also shows the unfortunate situation that you guys were deprived of two SNES classics that deserve to be in the top 5-10. Metal Combat: Battle Clash II. THIS WAS MADE BY NINTENDO. It was an amazing sequel that did things you would never expect from a Nintendo game. Unfortunately, because it was a Super Scope game a lot of people didn’t pick it up. But it is one of those rare games that still holds up today, even without nostalgia. It was also one of Nintendo’s first forays into making a game that was story-driven: even battle opened and closed with dialogue that moved the story forward, as well as plot twists and alternate endings (depending on your skill). Terranigma: This was an action RPG that Japan oddly enough released in Europe, but not here in the west. It was very atmospheric, and really became heady and interesting after the first few dungeons when a major plot twist revealed that you were essentially the only human left alive on Earth. You then travel the world seeking to revive the continents and restoring the world. I highly suggest emulating both games as you are not likely to be able to obtain your own copies. Or a superscope.
So, who wants to help me? England, UK, 2002 (give or take), SNES (one assumes), and RPG overworld game (I think). The question is, what game did I use to play? Help me find my memory. I am half thinking of a ‘marketplace’ and half thinking of ‘open fields’, finding monsters along the way — but I was 6 at the time, lest we forget. Not sure if the game was A Link to the Past, Breath of Fire II, Secret of Mana, Soul Blazer, or something else! Anybody know which were known/unknown at that time and place?