Board games are a great way to spend some family time together and there are so many great options out there to play with younger kids. I was so excited when my 3 year finally wanted to play board games!
I couldn’t wait to relive all the fun I had playing board games as a kid. Looking online at all the games that they have now, I realized they have WAY more than when I was a kid.
The best part is board games are a great way to learn colors, counting and following directions! Now I feel like most "board games" are not actually tradition board games anymore, most are more exciting and not just a board you move pieces on.
My son is now almost 6 so we have been through most of the board games on the market and I created a list of what were the best ones for us!
I listed them in what we played with first/youngest because when he was 3 Candyland and Chutes and Ladders were still a little boring for him and didn't keep his attention for quite as long.
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Best Board Games for Kids List
Pop the Pig- Best Board Games for Kids Must Have
This game was our first "board game" success. You roll the dice which has a color. Once you pick up the color it has a number and that is the amount of times you press the pig's head. He "pops" after a certain amount of pumps! My kids loved it then and still love it. The best part is they can totally play this on their own!
Lucky Ducks-
This reminds me of the carnival game you can never win! But in this version it’s super easy to win and my kids love it. You each have a shape and you try to pick your shape as the ducks slowly rotate around.
Zingo- Best Board Games for Kids Must Have
This game has tons of versions but we started with pictures. There is a fun dispenser that pops out two pieces and you yell if you want the piece. It’s like bingo but you just fill your entire board in to win.
Let's Go Fishing Game -
This classic game was around when I was a kid. My kids love to go “fishing” while working on their hand eye coordination.
Clack-
This magnetic game comes with two dice that has a color dice and a shape dice. You roll the dice and pick up all the pieces that have that color and shape. Each piece has three colored shapes on it. The pieces are magnetic so it’s fun to pick them up and build a giant stack!
Count Your Chickens- Best Board Games for Kids Must Have
This is a cooperative game where you are trying to collect chickens and put them back in their coop. Each turn you spin and count to a certain animal then collect that many chicks around the board. I like this game because the is no winner and it’s easy for everyone to play.
Don’t Step in It-
This interactive game has pretend poop you set out on a mat. We have the unicorn version because why not! You spin the spinner and see how many steps you take while blindfolded. As you can imagine kids love anything that involves poop. And they are still working on their numbers with the spinner.
Pie Face-
This game is nothing but fun! Ok you have a spinner with numbers so I guess that counts as learning your numbers! I break this out when we need a few laughs. You put your face in the hole and click the hand a certain amount of times until the hand releases the whipped cream in your face. I was surprised by how not messy this was. As long as you don’t use too much whipped cream it’s pretty easy to clean up and kids love it.
Headbandz-
You each put a headband on and pick a card that you can’t see onto your headband. You can ask questions to figure out what you card is. This game is great because you learn how to describe animals which I think is a difficult skill to learn.
Candyland-
This is an oldie but a goodie! With no reading required and you move your pieces based on color so good to work on learning colors.
Chutes and Ladders-
Another classic game that has stood the test of time because it is such a good game. This one takes it a little further than Candyland with a spinner and numbers which help build their math skills. You spin and go that number of spaces. As you play, you land on ladders or chutes and climb up or fall down.
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