Inside: Most lists of board games for all ages include boring games that adults can’t stand. This list is different. These games really are for the whole family.
Sometimes the daily grind of family life can leave you feeling disconnected as a family.
It could be that you retreated to your individual corners of the world to indulge in separate screen time. Or you got focused on the “list” instead of on each other while you ran a bunch of errands. Or maybe you rushed through the homework/dinner/bathtime routine because your eyes were on the prize at the end of it all: a glass of wine + couch + mindless TV.
When this happens, your patience can run dry or your kids may stop cooperating – usually both.
When our family is feeling that disconnect, one thing seems to have a magical power for bringing us back together with smiles and laughter.
Games.
This Is How Much We Rely on Games to Bring Us Together
In our kitchen, we have two shallow pantries.
We squeeze all our food into just one pantry even though it doesn’t really fit because the other pantry? We’ve devoted entirely to all our games and puzzles.
Six shelves stacked from top to bottom with board game boxes and puzzle boxes, plus all the little card games shoved into every nook and cranny in between.
When it comes time to pick a game, the kids stand in front of the pantry, their little faces lit up with anticipation of what’s ahead.
But Here’s the Problem
We have a 9-year-old, 3-year-old, and 1-year-old. Which means:
- The toddler destroys whatever we’re trying to play, so we have to wait until she’s asleep at night before we can play. This is fine, and we know it’s temporary.
- We have to play games to the lowest common denominator: our preschooler. If a game is too advanced for her, she gets bored and assumes her younger sister’s role of wreaking havoc on the game in progress.
- Playing “younger” games isn’t the end of the world, except for the fact that…
- Most games for preschoolers are lame.
Candyland, Chutes & Ladders, Hungry Hungry Hippos? MAKE IT STOP.
Call me the Board Game Grinch if you want, but I firmly believe life is too short to play a game so tedious it makes you want to gouge out your eyeballs.
Because when you’re actually having fun playing a game with your kids, your kids will notice and have more fun themselves. But if you’re bored out of your mind? They’ll notice that, too.
Related: How to Connect With Your Child: The Magic of the 5:1 Ratio {Printable}
12 Board Games for All Ages That Will Make the Whole Family Happy
Thanks to the larger-than-typical age gap between our two oldest kids, we have the perfect testing ground for which board games and card games work well for a wide range of kid ages.
These are our kids’ absolute favorite card and board games for all ages, but here’s the best part: My husband and I enjoy playing every single one of these games, too. When our preschooler picks one of these games, we don’t roll our eyes or groan because we actually want to play them.
This list of board games for the whole family is 100% approved by both kids and parents.
I’d love to add to this list over time (not to mention find awesome new games we’ve never played before!), so before you go, please leave a comment with your favorite card and board games for all ages of kids (and adults).
You’ll be saving parents everywhere from the nightmare that is Hi Ho Cherry-O.
1. Sleeping Queens
Time to Play: 10 minutes
Number of Players: 2–5
Get It: Sleeping Queens
If you get nothing else from this, you must play this game. Promise me! Because of all our favorite family games, this is our number one go-to. The rules are simple enough for our 3-year-old to understand, but the game still keeps everyone on their toes.
We never get tired of this one! Plus, you can play a whole game in about 10 minutes. Perfect for getting in a dose of family connection before sending little ones off to bed.
By the way, when you’re playing card games with little ones, this card holder is a must have. Your child can hold it, or she can set the holder down on the table and easily see all her cards. (This particular card holder has stood the test of time, as opposed to other more flimsy card holders we’ve tried.)
2. Ticket to Ride
Time to Play: 30-60 minutes
Number of Players: 2–5
Get It: Ticket to Ride or Ticket to Ride First Journey
If you have a preschooler, you may want to start out with the kids’ version of this game, Ticket to Ride First Journey. But it won’t take long until you’re ready to move up to the regular version.
This game is so much fun that my husband and I will even go back and play one more time after the kids are in bed, just the two of us.
If you find that you love this one, you’ll be happy to hear that you can mix it up with expansion packs and different versions for different parts of the world, like Europe, Nordic Countries, and a Rails and Sails edition that adds ships to the mix.
3. Uno
Time to Play: 30 minutes
Number of Players: 2–10
Get It: Uno
The box says this classic card game is for ages 7 and up, but our preschooler has been playing it for a while. When you think about it, Uno is mostly a matching game. And preschoolers love matching games!
When we first started playing, she needed a little help understanding the “special” cards, but after playing it a few times, she’s learned the meaning of the different symbols. And she knows exactly how to unleash the wrath of the Wild Draw Four card on her poor mother.
To simplify this game for little ones, you can skip keeping score at the end of each hand.
4. Zingo
Time to Play: 5 minutes
Number of Players: 2–8
Get It: Zingo
Speaking of matching games, Zingo is just that. But what keeps it interesting for older kids and adults is the competitive twist – you have to be the first one to notice a match and snag it before someone else does.
That sounds like a simple enough task, but you’d be surprised how often our kids snake a match out from under our noses. (I’m blaming chronic parental sleep deprivation.)
5. Qwirkle
Time to Play: 30-45 minutes
Number of Players: 2–4
Get It: Qwirkle or Travel Qwirkle
This game took a little practice for our preschooler at first, so take it slow and end the game early when you’re first teaching young kids. To speed up the game, we skip keeping score and put the focus on matching the colors and patterns. You can play a whole game in about 30-45 minutes, and then after the game our 3-year-old will extend the fun by building towers with the tiles.
This game also comes in a compact travel version, so we keep it in our suitcase and take it with us wherever we go.
6. Rummikub
Time to Play: 60 minutes
Number of Players: 2–4
Get It: Rummikub or Rummikub Large Number Edition
This is supposed to be for ages 8 and up, but our 3-year-old was still able to understand the rules after one practice game. Several Amazon reviewers have said their preschoolers get into this game as well. Plus, it’s great reinforcement for kids who are learning to recognize numbers.
If you can, go for the Large Number Edition of this one to make it even easier on young kids to tell the difference between the numbers.
7. Swish Junior
Time to Play: 15 minutes
Number of Players: 2–6
Get It: Swish Junior or Swish
Here’s another card game you can play quickly. What I love most about this game is that it helps develop your kid’s spatial reasoning skills. A large body of research ties spatial reasoning skills to future success in math and reading, so you can feel good about combining fun with a healthy stretch for your kids’ brains (and yours).
When your kids master the junior version, upgrade to the regular version for more of a challenge.
8. Jenga or Suspend Junior
Time to Play: 20 minutes (Jenga) or 15 minutes (Suspend Junior)
Number of Players: 1–8 (Jenga) or 1-4 (Suspend Junior)
Get It: Jenga or Suspend Junior
We typically play family games when our youngest is asleep, so Jenga isn’t a great fit because the falling tower would wake her up.
If you’re in the same boat, check out Suspend Junior as a fun alternative to Jenga. In this balancing game, the falling pieces don’t make nearly the same racket as a falling Jenga tower.
The rules are simple, but winning is not. The kids regularly beat us at this one. When you’re ready for more of a challenge, you can get the regular version of Suspend.
9. Dominoes
Time to Play: 30 minutes
Number of Players: 2–10
Get It: Dominoes
When we first started playing dominoes as a family, we would each take turns adding to the same line. This kept the game simple and helped our preschooler focus on the pattern recognition.
But once she got comfortable with that, we graduated to the Mexican Train game. Dominoes is a classic game that we find ourselves going back to again and again.
10. Go Fish
Time to Play: 20 minutes
Number of Players: 2–6
Get It: Go Fish Alphabet or Go Fish for Art (cards and companion book)
Playing this classic card game with your kids when you’re exhausted levels out the playing field. I don’t believe in letting my kids win, but our 9-year-old and 3-year-old beat me and my husband on a regular basis.
We have a couple sets of this game – one alphabet set that helps our preschooler work on letter recognition, and another set featuring the artwork of Van Gogh and other artists. Our kids get exposed to art, and we get to hear our preschooler say “Van Gogh,” which is pretty much the cutest thing ever. (If you like the idea of the art edition of Go Fish, they also have a set with modern artists and another for impressionists.)
11. Sequence
Time to Play: 10-60 minutes
Number of Players: 2–12
Get It: Sequence or Sequence for Kids
This game is a bit of a stretch for our 3-year-old, so we got the Sequence for Kids version and it’s perfect for now. Sometimes though, we’ll invite her to join mom or dad’s team so we can play the regular version.
What’s cool about this game is that you’ll notice your kids start thinking ahead a couple turns instead of just playing the second they find a match.
If you want to give your older kids’ brains a workout, try Sequence Numbers or Sequence States and Capitals.
12. Dixit
Time to Play: 30 minutes
Number of Players: 3–6
Get It: Dixit or Dixit: Odyssey (for more cards and a bigger box to store them in)
Our 9-year-old used her birthday money to get this game, which means it’s the newest game in our collection. But we all fell in love with it, right from the start. (The artwork is absolutely gorgeous!)
The best part of this game is seeing how your kids’ brains piece a story together. I never get tired of watching what they come up with! Sometimes their clues will be more literal, and sometimes they completely surprise me.
You may find that your littlest ones will need a few practice runs to understand the strategy. For example, it’s hard for our preschooler to not give away which card was hers when it comes time to guess the right answer. But after a couple games, she understood.
A few ideas if you’re playing with younger kids:
- The first time you play, do a few practice rounds to help your kiddo get comfortable with the rules. (You might even start with a practice run every time you sit down to play this game as a family.)
- Make a rule that clues can be just one word. This will help younger kids avoid giving away too much about their cards.
- Or as an alternative, you could have a rule that kids’ clues must be feelings. Ask the kids to describe how the card makes them feel, and they’ll avoid being too literal.
- Try playing without keeping score so you keep the focus on the best part of the game – getting your creative juices flowing.
We’ll definitely be investing in an expansion pack (or the Dixit: Odyssey version) to add to the fun.
Bonus! 7 More Board Games for All Ages
These family board games for all ages come highly recommended from friends and family (and those dear souls who write helpful Amazon reviews!), but we haven’t taken them for a test drive quite yet. If the above list didn’t give you any new ideas, try these games next.
I’ll update this post as we make our way through testing the rest of these with our kiddos:
- Blokus – Similar to Tetris but in a board game format. Like Swish Junior, this is another great game for building spatial reasoning skills.
- Cranium Cadoo – We were all set to get this as a family Christmas present after hearing such great things about it, but it was sold out on Amazon at the time. It’s back in stock now!
- Five Crowns Junior – This is a rummy-style card game with rave reviews. You can also go straight for the regular version here if your kids are ready.
- Latice – I’m most excited about getting this new game. I’ve heard it described as a cross between Scrabble and Uno, which doesn’t 100% make sense, but the reviews are amazing. It’s supposed to take 3 minutes to learn and 20 minutes to play, which sounds pretty perfect to me. (My kids might just be getting this one in their Easter basket…)
- Skippity – A fun twist on Checkers that the whole family can play together.
- Stare! Junior – This is a less complex version of Stare, a memory and concentration game.
- Sushi Go! – This card game takes just 15 minutes to play. Perfect for families who love sushi!
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Your Turn
What are your favorite card games and board games for all ages? Share in a comment below!
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The post Forget Candyland! This Is the Best List of Board Games for All Ages appeared first on The Reformed Idealist Mom.
