Games, like 제왕카지노, make an awesome gift, whether you’re shopping for the holidays or for a birthday. There are so many games for kids on the market it can be a bit overwhelming and hard to know which ones are worth getting.
With three kids (ages 5-12) we’ve tried lots of games over the years and we find ourselves playing the same ones over and over again. A great game is fair, easy to understand, challenging, fast-paced, and visually beautiful. If you want games for your teen or older, tell him or her to join and play today.
Instead of standing in the aisle at the toy store trying to guess which free bingo games to buy, use this list of 15 of our absolute favorite board games and card games for kids ages 3-10. Thank you to Roxanne, Simon, and Josephine for helping me create this stellar list!
All links in this post are affiliate links which means if you purchase something using one of these links I get a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Rat-a-Tat Cat – This is a card game of strategy and memory with lots of suspense built in. Each player is dealt four cards, but can only peak at two of them. Then it’s a matter of guessing and swapping to see who ends up with the best cards at the end. Fast-paced and fun, we often play this game in the evenings when we have just a little bit of time before bed. Ages 7-10.
Royal Rescue – A knight and a princess are locked in separate towers. Using logic you must help build a rescue bridges to bring them to one another. This wooden logic game is idea for kids in the older elementary grades (although my husband and I find the most advanced puzzles in this game challenging!). Ages 7-10.
Guess Who? – Guess Who? is all about the process of elimination. Does your character have blue eyes? Is he wearing a hat? Ask your opponent yes/no questions and use their answers to figure out which character they’ve chosen. Great for developing visual acuity and descriptive language while having fun. All ages.
Rush Hour – A logic game all about maneuvering your way through traffic, this is a game I totally relate to as a Boston resident. Choose a card (ranging from easy to very challenging) and slide your vehicles around so that the red car can exit the board. A great mind bender! Ages 7-10.
Snail’s Pace Race – This is a perfect first board game. Some kids can play this when they’re two, but three-year-olds really love this game. It’s collaborative so there’s no winner or loser. Instead, you work together to roll the dice and move the snails to the finish line. Ages 3-5.
Timeline – I first heard about this game from a home schooling family and bought it years ago for our history buff eldest child. Kids age 7-10 (and grown-ups) are challenged to put various inventions in chronological order through time. It’s fun and surprising and you don’t feel like you’re learning history even though you are. Ages 7-10.
Orchard – In this non-competitive board game for young children players work together rolling the dice and plucking wooden fruit off trees before the raven gets them. The game pieces are solid wood and beautiful to hold. This game can easily be played by kids who can’t yet read. Ages 3-5.
Set – Set is a game of visual perception. I first played this game with my sister-in-law (it’s awesome for kids and adults alike) and I truly love playing it. Perfect for groups large and small. There are no turns – everyone looking to make a “set” or a trio of shapes that belong together based on color, pattern, and design. So simple and so fun! Ages 7-10.
Zingo – Zingo is like bingo and similar to Dominoes Gold, but with a fun to use dispenser for yellow picture tiles. Perfect for pre-readers who are learning to take turns and understand, in a gentle way, what it’s like to win and lose a game. Having a playdate? Zingo has enough boards for up to seven players. Ages 3-5.
Wig Out – This fast paced card game has charming illustrations that make it fun and enjoyable to play. There is no taking turns in Wig Out. Instead everyone tries to place their cards in matching piles as quickly as possible with the first one done yelling, “Wig out!” Guaranteed to make you laugh. Ages 5-10.
I Never Forget a Face – My five-year-old loves to play this matching game. The rules are the same as playing a memory game (flip two tiles over and see if they match), but the illustrations of children from around the world evoke your imagination and the tiles are very sturdy. This is a quality game for all ages. All ages.
Forbidden Island – Part card game, part strategy game, Forbidden Island works when everyone works together. With great illustrations, an easy-to-learn and unusual style of play, this game is straightforward enough for a new friend or younger sibling to learn and feel included quickly. Encourages collaboration and strategy. Ages 7-10.
Fairytale Game – The most open-ended of the games in this list, the Fairytale Game has players selecting components of a classic fairy tale (hero, villain, magical object, magical helper) and then making up a story to tie them all together. My 12-year-old and 5-year-old love this game equally. Great for developing language and imagination with no competition. All ages.
Busytown Eye Found It – We love Richard Scarry’s Busytown books and the game is incredibly well-designed. An over-sized game board is full of the character’s from Busytown. Players work together to play eye spy and collect food for a picnic before the pigs get it all. The whole family can play this game with the youngest child able to fully participate. All ages.
Catan Junior – The faster-paced cousin of the game Settlers of Catan, this junior version has gorgeous graphics and an easily learned set of rules. A game can be set up and complete much more quickly than in the full version, but retains the engaging story line and strategic thinking. Ages 7-10.
+++++
Got a great game to recommend? Tell me in the comments. We’re always looking for something new to try.
Love this list. 🙂 Thank you for sharing it with us. Have you guys tried Outfoxed?
No! Is it good? I’ll check it out.
This is embarassing, but I haven’t actually played it yet! I keep meaning to (I have a copy). I had read in a couple of places that it was good so I got it for some friends of mine with small children, and she says they love it. 🙂 One of the other games that her kids also love is called Sleeping Queens.
Excellent list Abby… have added a good few to our Amazon wishlists! Do you get Orchard Toys games over there? They are brilliant – monster catcher is our favourite. Simmi xx
Monster Catcher – I’ll check it out!
We are a game loving family! Having said that we haven’t tried most of the ones on your list (except Rush Hour, which my kids had to get out and play with when I read through the games out loud just now), though I’ve heard of most of them.
Some recent favorites for our family (my kids are 8 and 10) – most of these are classic games that have been around for quite a while!
Parcheesi
Rook
Scrabble (my 10yo can totally whoop me at this, it’s embarrassing)
Pictionary
Ticket to Ride (this one is addictive!!)
Road Trip – board/word game that gets very silly, good for big groups
Oh wow, I’ve never even heard of these, they look awesome. We love games around here – Monopoly, Ludo and Risk are constant favourites. We have a Lego Lord of the Rings game that gets a good workout too. Uno is always a winner and there is another cardgame that my kids love (my then 6 yr old could play it with the other kids and parents) is SkipBo.
Thanks for the round-up, I’ll keep an eye out for these ones over here in Australia.
SkipBo! Love that one too.
I loved board games growing up and recognize a few of these but many are new to me! Thanks for the recommendations, I have a few friends with younger kids it would be fun to gift them to!
We love board games, and have played almost all of these! I really love the Busytown one, it’s so well done for younger kids, and Forbidden Island is our “intro level “euro-style game for adults, too. I just shipped Catan Junior to my 9 year old nieces for their birthday. Another classic favorite is “Enchanted Forest” from Ravensburger.
I’m curious why you switched back to affiliate links!
I listened to an recent episode of the Simple Pin Media podcast and was convinced I should give it a try. Then I wrote an article for Craft Industry Alliance about creating gift guides and learned a ton and figured why not experiment!
I am really enjoying all of the additional recommendations from people, too. I have Forbidden Island and Catan Junior myself, also, and enjoy playing them, even as a grown-up. 🙂
What a great collection of wonderful games! My 26 year old daughter still loves to play her childhood Rat-a-tat Cat game and I have dug it out of the closet to play with my stepchildren as recently as a year ago.
I would love to suggest a few more favorite board games: Ravensburger Enchanted Forest (https://www.amazon.com/Ravensburger-Enchanted-Forest-Family-Game/dp/B00001OK75) and a great cooperative game for young children called the Sleeping Grump by Family Pastimes (https://www.amazon.com/Family-Pastimes-Sleeping-Grump-Co-operative/dp/B000WN0XZ2). That last one was my son’s favorite game for years.
Playing board games with children is such fun. I’m so glad to see this guide. Thanks so much.
Great list, thank you! I’m always looking for fun games to play with my 4 year old. We need to work on the gentle introduction to winning and losing, ha ha ha. We’ve played the storytime game at the library and both really enjoyed it!
Timeline looks really interesting! Thanks for sharing the list, Abby. Have you played Ticket to Ride? It’s a great game for older kids (7-10) and adults. And for teens and adults, we really love Dominion.
Qwirkle. My five year old legit beat me yesterday! (Tip for making it more kid friendly.: take 1/3 of the tiles out of the bag, otherwise it takes too long for littles.)
Star Realms for your older ones (or just do it as a counting game for littles).
Carcasonne is fun too. (the littles version is “how big a town can you make?” or “build a long road”) You can tell we’re all about modifying good games for kids.
Rush hour is used in classes for Memory for adults! Fun for all ages.
This is awesome, Abby! We’ve had loads of fun (with my almost-6-yr-old) with a game called Whoowasit – https://www.amazon.com/Whoowasit-Award-Winning-Board-Game-Electronics/dp/B004UKNJCM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478107547&sr=8-1&keywords=whowasit+game. I initially thought the electronic bit would be too gimmicky, but it’s actually really great. It’s a cooperative mystery-solving game, with three difficulty levels. (Ditto your love for Forbidden Island; especially with a sometimes too-competitive kid, we love cooperative games!)
Great list – “Timeline Inventions” sounds terrific and I’ve just ordered it for a Christmas gift for our granddaughter. Have you played “Blink”? It’s a fast action card game similar to “Set” which we still play with our adult kids!
I haven’t, but it’s been recommended to me a few times so I’m going to check it out!
Great list Abbey, thank you. I’ll keep this on hand for the holidays.
I’m so glad. I hope it’s helpful!
My jr. high math teacher used to play set with us (20+ years ago), my kids love it now. It’s even fun to play alone. Great list, can’t wait to try out some of the ones that are new to me!
Great list of games. I’ll have to add some to Christmas gift lists. Have you played Uno RummyUp? It’s probably our all time favorite. A little like Uno (skip, wild cards, reverse) and a little like rummy ( save sets and runs). All played with tiles. Only 4 players but we often pair up to form teams if there are more than 4 that want to play!
This is perfect! I have been looking for some new games for the family. We love Catan Jr. and have also enjoyed Zingo and Guess Who? So excited to have some recommendations from another family with children.
We have many of the games on your list. I don’t think anyone mentioned Gobblet. My four year old and I played it daily all summer!
We have it and love it as well!
You have to check out Happy Salmon! I have already given out 4 sets as gifts for all ages. Very fun, and raucous. Although they do suggest a non-verbal alternative.
Will do!
Abby, thank you for your articles! Always entertaining and enlightening! 3 of the first 4 games you mentioned have been in our family for years – our three kids are young adults now, but each has fond memories of those games (and more)! The oldest actually has a photo of the kids and their cousins using up all the tiles on Scrabble! Before our kids there were my brothers and me, playing games – Mom always had the old favorites around, as well as 500-piece puzzles on the coffee table. Sometimes when the games would get too big or involved, we had to move everything to the dining room table. Thank you again, and wishing you and your family a lovely holiday season!