Quarantined, sheltering in place, or stuck inside with your kiddos? So are we. But we have a healthy stock of board games to keep our preschoolers from climbing the walls.
To help you survive the chaos, and find some calm family time in the storm, we’ve assembled our list of favorite board games. Because we know you need some time to yourself, all of these games are ones that kids can play with other kids or even by themselves!
Bunny Bedtime
By Peaceable Kingdom
Suggested Ages: 2 to 4
It’s time for Bunny to get ready for bed, but what PJs will he wear? What toy will he have in the bath? Which book will he read at bedtime? Bunny Bedtime is a board game that even the youngest child can enjoy.
Players roll a large wooden die to travel along a very short board. Every time you land on a nightly activity, the player gets to decide between two options. Your decisions determine the story.
Pros
- Very short play time (5-10 minutes)
- Easy set up
- No losing
- Sturdy and environmentally friendly design
- Teaches shape matching
- Large wooden dies is perfect for smaller hands while not being a choking hazard
- Kids love to repeat it
- One player play possible.
- Kids will understand the story, even without reading skills
Cons
- Repetition can get monotonous for adults
- Only one difficulty level
Stack Up!
By Peaceable Kingdom
Suggested Ages: 3-5 (Can modified for 2+)
Spin the dial and try to stack the tower of all 12 blocks before the angry hand knocks it down!
Kids learn fine motor skills, coordination, and color identification as they play. Landing the spinner on a challenge card gives you something silly to do while stacking (ex: sing a song, stomp your feet, stand on one foot, etc). Like other Peaceable Kingdom board games, Stack Up! is a cooperative game where everyone wins or loses together.
Pros
- Easy set up
- Medium length play time (15+ minutes)
- Multiple difficulty levels allow for many years of enjoyment
- Sturdy and environmentally friendly design
- Cooperative play
- Change the rules for your 3 year olds.
- One player play available
Con
Non-readers will have difficulty with Challenge Cards
Hoot Owl Hoot
By Peaceable Kingdom
Suggested Ages: 4+ (We recommend it for Ages 3+)
The owls have been out all night and now it’s time to get home to their nest before the sun rises.
Players draw colored cards that allow them to move the owls along their path home. If you draw a sun card, the sun gets one step closer to rising. Get all the owls home before the sun rises, and all the players win. Like other Peaceable Kingdom board games, Hoot Owl Hoot is a cooperative game where everyone wins or loses together.
Pros
- Simple game play
- Medium length play time (15+ minutes)
- Easy set up
- Cooperative play
- Sturdy and environmentally friendly design
- Adults will enjoy the strategy necessary to play
- Difficulty can be increased by increasing the number of owls that have to get home before the sun rises
- One player play available
- Once kids are familiar with the game, they can play without adult assistance
Con
Playing cards are a little thin for small hands to draw from the top of the pile (just fan them out instead)
Hiss
By Gamewright
Suggested Ages: 3+
Build colorful snakes by drawing cards and matching them together to create a complete snakes.
It is a simplified version of dominoes that helps students identify colors and use logic to complete snakes.
Pros
- Easy set up
- Medium length play time (15+ minutes)
- Kids learn color matching and patterns
- Sturdy construction
- Repetition is enjoyable but less likely because of game length and kid attention
- One player play available
- Players can easily pop in and out as their attention holds
- Variety of ages can play
- Once kids are familiar with the game, they can play without adult assistance.
Cons
- Game play can run a bit long for younger kids
- Game play means you don’t typically use every card and that sometimes upsets the younger crowd
- Players lose which is hard for younger players to handle
Monkey Balance Tower
By Janod
Suggested Age: 5+ (We recommend it for Ages 4+)
Put down a disk, roll the three color coded dice. Find those colors on the disk and try to pick the ones that will make a good base for the next disk. Add a new disk and the next player goes. See how high the tower can get (technically whoever knocks it over loses, like in Jenga). This game teachers coordination, fine motor skills, basic physics of stability, color matching, and teamwork.
Pros
- Sturdy construction
- Easy set up
- Variable play time (10-20 minutes)
- Players can easily pop in and out as their attention shifts
- Repeated play is enjoyable for adults because of the strategy involved
- Once kids are comfortable with game play, they can play without adult assistance
- One player play is available
- Variety of ages can play and have fun
Cons
- The dice aren’t always “kind” and make it difficult to make a stable layer
- The metal monkey-shaped case is cute but annoying for storage
- The graphics on the monkeys are stickers that may not stay on for a really long time
Dragon Snacks
By Goliath Games
Suggested Ages: 4+
You probably heard about this one ad-nauseum on your kids favorite TV channel around the holidays. While it seems like a gimmick-y game, it is great fun and actually develops some mental skills. You wave your hand in front of the dragon’s nose and say “abra-ka-dragon.” His belly lights up for you to see the treasures in his belly. The light turns off and then his nose lights up a specific color. Reach into his dark belly and try to grab a snack that matches his nose color. Get the right one and you keep it. If you grab the wrong color put it back. The player who gets the most snacks wins (or have all players work together to get all the snacks).
Pros
- Sturdy Construction
- Easy set up
- Short play time (10+ minutes)
- One player play is available
- Develops memory skills
- Develops spatial relation skills
- Repeated play is enjoyable for adults too
- Once kids are comfortable with game play, they can play without adult assistance
- Includes an off switch so he doesn’t activate whenever someone walks by.
- He’s super cute and makes adorable noises (sorry, just had to include that)
Con
Dragon does not fit in box after assembly. But he’s so dang cute, you won’t mind having him sitting on a shelf. (Did I mention he’s cute?).
Fully assembled he’s about the size of a jack-in-the-box.
Looking for games for the elementary crowd? Check out Tangential Parenting’s co-host Rachel’s review of board games Twin Cities Geek.
What games does your family enjoy? Share in the comments!
