You may think that kids don’t want to play board games anymore. After all, they have online gaming and technology that keeps them glued to screens.However, board games are as popular as ever.
Soocial.com says that 82% of Gen Zers enjoy playing board games. That’s a huge number
of kids that are giving the digital world a rest and pulling out a game.
Playing board games allows kids to develop skills in how to plan ahead, learn from errors,
and think of alternative strategies.
Other benefits for children of these types of games are that it enhances understanding and interpersonal skills according to research.
So, kids still want to play board games. They offer an alternative form of entertainment that helps develop a range of mental, physical, and social skills. With that in mind, let’s give you a bunch of board games for kids.
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Our Top Picks
Guess Who?
A game that builds deductive skills in your child. Players take turns asking one another
Yes/No questions to try and identify the opponent’s mystery character. Be careful, if you
guess wrong you lose the game.
It’s still the classic version of Guess Who? but updated with new pictures.
Number of Players: 2
Age: 6+
Playtime: 5 – 10 minutes for each round
Mouse Trap
Another classic game that you can introduce to your kids. Players move their mouse pawns
around the board collecting cheese. Also, the trap is built up piece by piece. Capture the
other players’ mice while you try to be the last one surviving.
A game that has kids develop fine motor skills as they construct the trap.
Number of players: 2 – 4
Age: 6+
Playtime: 30 minutes
Bananagrams
This is similar to Scrabble but without a game board. It’s a fun way to build spelling and
vocabulary skills. The players take turns building a crossword using the included tiles.
A cute banana-shaped carry pouch makes this game portable.
Number of players: 2 – 8
Age: 6+
Playtime: 10 – 15 minutes
Apples to Apples
Here is a game that teaches your child how to think creatively. One player has a description
card and the other players have to choose a card in their hand that best matches the description card.
Apples to Apples allows everyone to get as silly as they want in their guesses. The person
with the description card is the judge who determines the best answer. How you win the
game is by having the most description cards at the end.
Number of players: 4 – 10
Age: 9+
Playtime: 30 – 75 minutes
Jenga
Jenga is Swahili for “to build” and that is the whole point of this game. It requires pre-planning
and a steady hand as you remove a block from the bottom of the tower and place it on top.
Be careful that you don’t cause the tower to collapse.
A family favorite since its launch in 1983. It helps build fine motor skills as well as
strategizing.
What Do You Meme?
Do you or your kids love creating Memes online? Then you will love this game. It’s
straightforward to play and will have everyone laughing so much. A great way for all the
players to get in touch with their creativity.
Each player is dealt a caption card that they have to match with the chosen photo card. A
judge (which each player takes turns becoming) determines who has the best caption. How
well do you know each other? That depends on your ability to choose the best caption that
the judge loves.
Number of players: 3+
Age: 8+
Playtime: 30 – 90 minutes
Spot It!
Here is a game that will help develop the observational ability as well as response time in
your kids.
You have to identify which of the 8 symbols on your card matches the symbols on the center
card in the pile in the middle of the table. Be the first one to slap the center card to win it. It’s
a fast game so expect a lot of energy while playing.
Five different styles of gameplay add to the variety of Spot It! It also comes in a tough carry
tin for portability.
Number of players: 2 – 8
Age: 4+
Playtime: 15 minutes
Taco vs Burrito
This is an award-winning strategic card game that was invented by a 7-year-old. It is simple
to master, but it still requires skill to win.
You start the game by declaring if you want to build a Taco or Burrito. When it comes to yout
turn, you can either add an ingredient, play one of 6 action cards, or discard one of your
cards.
The game ends when one of the players is out of cards with the winner being the one who
has the most points.
Number of players: 2 – 4
Age: 7+
Playtime: 10 – 15 minutes
Soggy Doggy
With Soggy Doggy your kids are learning how to care for an animal. A great social skill that
teaches empathy and compassion.
The players make their way around the board and give the dog a wash. However, you don’t
want to have the dog shaking otherwise you go back to the start. It’s a quick game to play,
but so enjoyable your kids will be wanting to play it over and over again.
It builds suspense as you never know when the dog is going to shake!
Number of players: 2 – 4
Age: 4+
Playtime: 10 minutes
Simon
Simon is an ideal game for building memory and sequencing skills in children.
The game starts off slowly but the patterns get increasingly rapid as you progress.
Remember the light/sound sequence and then copy it. Get it wrong and it’s game over. The
winner is the person who has the highest score at the end.
Number of players: 1+
Age: 8+
Playtime: As long as it takes before someone gets the sequence wrong
A Variety Of Games
We have given you a mere snapshot of the board games for kids. The fact that one of the
games was invented by seven-year-old shows that kids are still keen to play board games as
well as card games.
Sure there is a place for online gaming, but let it be balanced out with more collaborative
games that require the family to get together. By doing so, you are exposing your children to
a different way of gaining enjoyment.
Let the kids know that there is a world beyond the digital one that they are so familiar with.
It’s the traditional analog world of rolling dice, turning spinners, and playing with cards.