Playing board games with the kids can be more than just a fun family time. Board games can be how your kids develop critical thinking, cooperative skills, and determination. I have curated this list to include games that are good old-fashioned fun, games that will unleash their creativity, and games that will make them think hard and work with others to solve problems.
Here are some of the best board games for your children.
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What Next?
Unleash your child’s imagination and creativity withWhat Next?, a game that’s so exceptionally innovative and unique that I want to play it as an adult.
InWhat Next?you’ll all choose one of the three adventures to go on. Each of these adventures are heavily influenced by player actions and decisions to allow for a great deal of replayability. The best part about What Next? is the tactile solution to succeeding or failing your actions.
Each decision you make will require you to complete a challenge, from pluck-flicking to throwing and catching, to shape building and more. These little real minigames will provide a constant slew of fun and engaging challenges whilst getting lost in an endlessly creative and enjoyable story.
Zombie Teenz Evolution
InZombie Teenz Evolution,your children will be working together to try and stave off a zombie apocalypse. It’s easy to teach, and you can jump in on the fun, too. And don’t worry, the game isn’t especially violent and gory, making it perfectly fine for children.
Zombie Teenz Evolutionis an especially interesting board game for it’s a legacy game, meaning your kids will be able to permanently upgrade abilities through placing stickers as they complete special missions in the game. Also, there are 14 exciting envelopes that can only be opened at certain points, providing a tactile mystery for them to aim toward.
AlthoughZombie Kidz Evolutionmay seem more appropriate, this sequel game isn’t much more complicated, and you may find it to be more fun. If your little ones are especially young, however, thenZombie Kidz Evolutionmay be a wiser call.
Labyrinth
I playedmanygames ofLabyrinthagainst my grandparents as a kid, and only bent the rules sometimes. In a simple yet deeply tactical game, you’ll be trying to move your tokens to collect the treasure only you know you want. After a player’s turn, however, they get to shift a lane of the labyrinth to thwart paths and block escapes.
Labyrinthis a thrilling game every time, for player objectives and the very board changes at the start of every game. The tactile nature of moving the board is satisfying, and having to piece together what treasure your opponents may want invokes a cunning calculation I’ve only experienced with this game.
Where every shift of the board is petty and personal,Labyrinthis a fantastic pick for all ages. In fact, I think I fancy a game right now…
That Escalated Quickly
For a cooperative card game that includes outrageous prompts and hilarious phrases,That Escalated Quicklyis ready to be played.
That Escalated Quicklywill involve players providing answers to prompts in line with how tame or extreme they must be. Naturally, wacky answers to prompts will ensue, and it’ll be up to the reader to work out the scale order of the absurd responses.
As players have different perspectives, silly arguments and stupid conversations will ensue as players disagree on just how disgusting a pug would be as an ingredient for baking cookies.
Mouse Trap
A classic and a staple of many childhoods,Mouse Trapis an exciting game of tactile traps and fun contraptions. This is one of the only games where setting it up is just as fun as playing it, and getting trapped yourself is still a pretty fun time.
Mouse Trapcomplements the creativity and innovation of a child’s mind, and seeing the litany of exciting traps is part of the fun. The game itself plays much likeSnakes and Ladders, which is already a simple and fun game. So throwing interactive and flashy traps into the mix makes it all the more thrilling.
Keeping the kids entertained before, during, and after the game,Mouse Trapis a solid choice.
Ticket to Ride First Journey
I keep hearing plenty about parents playing regularTicket to Ridegames with their children. However, that may prove a little too complicated or go on for too long for most younger children. For those families,Ticket to Ride First Journeyis an excellent back-up.
Featuring a shorter game with fewer cards and complexity,Ticket to Ride First Journeyprovides a lighter experience that still hits all the marks of fun the original provides. It’s super satisfying to build a railway, and the decision-making is still preserved despite the condensing of components.
For a more involved competitive game with decision-making that doesn’t take more than an hour to play,Ticket to Ride First Journeyis a fantastic pick.
The Game Of Life
The Game of Lifeintroduces your children to the existential problem of “How do I make enough money before I grow old and die?” Yet, for some reason, it’s super fun.
Using the spinner instead of dice when moving inThe Game of Lifeis very satisfying and novel, something young me always enjoyed messing around with. Being able to go through the board and make real-life decisions, like education, profession, property, and marriage, allows them to inflate their hopes and dreams before getting crushed by the modern economic state of the world later in life.
For a tactile game where player decisions impact the game,The Game of Lifeprovides a fun experience that’s novel every time.
Herd Mentality
Herd Mentalityis an involved party game that is made by those who play it. It’s all about announcing a question and predicting what your friends and family are thinking.
In a game where knowing each other is the best way to win, you’ll also be uncovering some fun truths and engaging in silly and funny arguments over shocking answers.Herd Mentalityis low stakes, engaging, and provides for genuine interaction.
As your family gets to know each other better in an entertaining way, you’ll findHerd Mentalityto be the easy-going and light card game you need.
The Chameleon
For a game of guile and family betrayal,The Chameleonallows for a fun time so long as your kids have a good poker face.
InThe Chameleon, everyone knows the right word aside from one player, and they have to blend in and play along as though they know the word. Where you must be very careful with your word choices, both as a chameleon and not, this game requires critical thinking in a fun, involved, and collective environment.
You may have to ensure that the chosen words and references are those your children fully understand, but that shouldn’t be too hard to police.
Battleship
Battleshipis a classic, sure, but isn’t typically associated with children. I played this game a bunch as a kid, and I loved it. Despite it being ultimately a guessing game, figuring out the best places to strike and how to go about sinking the ships you hit is exciting and exercises those critical thinking skills.
Being able to place the ships and their corresponding pins on the board is tactile enough to keep people involved, and the thrill of anticipating a “hit!” is there for every single turn. Battleship is simple yet very involved, and it’s always entertaining to watch a game if you have an odd number wanting to play.
Just please ensure they don’t confuse their “Gs” and “Js,” it’ll save a lot of arguments…
Now that you have a fine selection of board games the family will enjoy, all you’ve got to do now is pick one to play.
