Are you searching for captivating games that offer learning opportunities while entertaining your child? If so, then kid board games are what you are looking for. These games can nurture children’s social interaction, enhance their thinking, and even refine their motor skills. As enjoyable as they may be, children should be guided to play responsibly.
So, in this article, we shall highlight the top 10 kid board games, ranging from simple ones suitable for toddlers to more complex ones geared towards older children. Moreover, we provide valuable parental control tips so you can monitor your child’s online activity and keep their gaming experience healthy and secure.
Benefits of playing board games for kids
Playing board games encourages children to learn and grow in a lot of different ways. The benefits of board games are highlighted below:
- Social skills:
Communication and listening are some of the skills that children acquire through board games. They also learn the value of punctuality in games and following rules, which promote friendships and collaboration in the future.
- Cognitive development:
Problem solving and strategic thinking come into play when a kid plays board games. This sharpens memory, improves focus, and enhances learning.
- Self-restraint and patience:
In addition, children expand their life experiences by learning that while winning is enjoyable, losing is perfectly okay, too.
- Promotes emotional growth:
When playing board games, kids may feel a sense of achievement after overcoming certain challenges, which increases their confidence. It also helps kids learn how to manage their emotions, both positive and negative, in a healthy way.
- Boosts language and maths skills:
Many board games require players to read, count, and even utilize new phrases. As a result, the child’s vocabulary and math skills get sharpened.
Foster healthy playtime habits by monitoring digital interactions with FlashGet Kids.
Types of kids’ board games
In this section, I’m going to enlist some categories of innovative kids board games in which children of different ages can partake! However, you must keep your child’s age and interests in mind before picking one.
Age-specific board games:
Children of different ages may have different preferences. Board games geared towards children of different ages enable them to enjoy learning while having fun. For instance, at three years of age, a toddler is able to follow simple rules. Games like “Candy Land” introduce a range of colours while teaching your child how to wait are suited for them.
Similarly, school-aged children and preteens can also enjoy multiplayer games. At that age, “Ticket to Ride”, a board game that teaches strategic decision-making, is well suited for older children and pre-teens. With properly age-tailored games, participation increases while skill development happens at a healthy rate.
Educational board games
Board games on the market have the primary goal of teaching children through fun activities. An example of such is Monopoly Jr, which teaches them how to perform basic math and calculations. Similarly, Scrabble improves children’s spelling and vocabulary while making learning far more enjoyable than routine memorisation. Such games change the way children learn important skills, allowing them to pick up the skills without realising it.
Strategy games vs. casual games:
Based on the difficulty levels, games can be divided into two broad types: Strategy Games and Casual Games. A Strategy Game is usually for older kids because it involves some degree of planning and thinking ahead, which is needed to win the game.
In contrast, a simpler and casual game, like Chutes and Ladders, requires minimal physical and mental exertion, making it ideal for younger players.
Cooperative vs. competitive games:
These distinctive types of games differ in their structure. For example, children are encouraged to work together in Collaborative games, while in Competitive games, the objective is to eliminate other players. Including both types of games enhances the educational process while making it more enjoyable at the same time.
Top 10 best kid board games
Board games can help enhance important skills while also having fun. Whether you are finishing your first year of school or you are increasingly becoming a savvy tween, there is a board game appropriate to your age. Different games are designed for different ages, so let’s take a little adventure and explain which games will suit kids best.
For younger kids (under 5):
During younger ages, you require games that employ the use of bright colours and deal with simple concepts. These games can additionally aid children in practising their patience skills. So, let’s have a look at such games!
Candyland
This is a fun game that is parallel with joyous colours. The task for players is to walk their piece along a sweet chocolate candy path. For kids who cannot read, this game helps them learn. While playing the game, you are required to pick cards. Every card allows you to advance along a certain section of the path. Candyland helps kids learn numbers, colours, and patience.
The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game
As the name of the game suggests, players are helping the squirrels to grab acorns, and this time, you are collecting all of the colourful acorns using a squirrel-shaped grabber. Each player has to spin the spinner in the game to match their collected acorns. This game enhances colour matching, strategic thinking, and motor skills. The multiplayer setting allows for endless fun with family and friends.
First Orchard
This game promotes working in teams as each player works against the hourglass to harvest fruits. The rolling of the dice enables players to draw out the needed fruits, advancing the collective goal for every participant. Thus, it is great for training collaboration skills. The excitement of winning the game as a group adds another layer to it!
Hi Ho! Cherry-O
As the name of the game says, picking cherries from the tree only occurs by the spin of the wheel. There is also counting that turns into a fun, competitive activity that is a race among friends to fill their baskets first. Thus, children practice number skills without realising.
For elementary-aged children (5-10 years):
Along with some entertaining games, a bit older comes with a variety of complex games. Many of them are appealing to skills in puzzles, problem solving, logical reasoning, and even being proactive!.
Ticket to Ride: First Journey
In Ticket to Ride: First Journey, children can collect train cards and construct routes on a map. Players receive tickets by completing a map’s routes. This game teaches planning, geography, and strategy while simulating a travel adventure!
Chutes and Ladders
Chutes and Ladders is a classic board game where players spin to move up ladders for good actions or slide down chutes for not-so-good ones. It teaches that good choices help you move forward and mistakes can make you fall back, just like in life.
Outfoxed!
Outfoxed! is a collaborative mystery game where players work together to find the cunning fox who swiped a pie. Gathering clues eliminates possible suspects, and those not smart enough to think critically do not win. Logic teaches that many issues can be solved like a detective.
Guess Who?
In Guess Who?, two players are presented with characters and a board. Each question can only have yes or no as an answer. It uses observation and memory as well as the skill of proposal construction; it is deductive reasoning at its best.
For older kids (10+ years):
Older ages come with new obligations, including playing games, which require higher levels of logic, careful planning, and adept imagination!
Catan Junior
Catan Junior is almost like a treasure island adventure! As a pirate, you collect resources like wood and goats to craft hideouts around the map, some of which you use to trade with other pirates. You slowly make your way towards becoming the best pirate, and along the way, learn various clever strategies as you try. This serves as a wonderful introduction to more complex strategy games.
Dixit
Dixit assists in gameplay using intricately designed cards and introduces evoking storytelling to the player. You partake in embellishing the story to the best of your ability, whilst your friends have to guess the card based on the cards they have. It has proven to be a highly effective exercise for creativity, imagination, and ideation.
As previously mentioned, choosing a board game according to age enhances enjoyment and adds value to the experience. Some of the games can be multiplayer, which brings collaboration, foresight, problem solving, and creative elements to the forefront.
Can we play board games online?
Absolutely yes! Travelling makes it difficult to play with physical board set pieces for different games; online board games provide functionalities that allow kids to play their personal favourite games virtually. The digital avenue serves as a good middle ground for interaction with friends and family members who live far away, acting as a means of social communication and interaction.
- Monopoly: You can basically have access to an online version of Monopoly. You can purchase properties and make deals with your friends or the computer.
- Chess: Moreover, online Chess provides features that allow players from different regions of the world to log on and use critical thinking skills while playing against thousands of other players.
- Scrabble: Competitors can partake in this word game using letter tiles regardless of where they live around the globe as long as they have an internet connection.
- Uno: Similarly, the digitally available classic card game enables players to match colours and numbers unchanged anywhere in the world.
- Catan: Users are able to trade and build their own settlements, putting their strategic and negotiation skills to the test in this game that is also hosted online.
In any case where physical interaction is not a possibility, the availability of multiplayer board games online can tackle those issues while still providing the engagement needed.
How to balance the kids’ online board game time?
Playing board games is relatively easier than in the past, thanks to mobile applications. With a simple smartphone or tablet, children can amuse themselves anytime and anywhere. While online games can indeed be fun, they should not be too addictive.
Do remember! Excessive gaming can have damaging consequences on their mental health (sleeping problems, mood fluctuations, increased stress and anxiety) as well as physical health (vision problems, back strain, etc.).
Furthermore, excessive gaming can cut down on outdoor recreational activities, reading, or even relaxing with family. With the FlashGet Kids parental control app, you set specific app time limits. If children try to surpass the set limit, parents get notified instantly.
In addition, online board games often feature live chatting functions with other users, which can pose risks to safety. In such cases, children may get exposed to uncomfortable or inappropriate content, which can lead to bullying. This is yet another reason why monitoring the online environment and the duration children spend staring at screens is so important.
Using the FlashGet Kids parental control app, you can view in real-time what type of games your children are playing and with whom they are chatting. In addition, it also gives a detailed summary report of mobile usage. For example, you can find out what types of games your children have played and for how long.
This way, balancing game time with other activities is helpful and helps keep children safe from possible online dangers!
Conclusion
To summarise, playing board games builds social relationships alongside improving one’s cognitive and motor skills. It is also necessary to note that there must be moderation in everything.
An excessive engagement with board games, whether online or offline, can interfere with task completion and expose children to negative influences. The parental control software, such as FlashGet Kids, offers Activity Monitoring & Screen Time Tracking features, which allow parents to manage safe exposure to board games in a fun way within established limits.
