Looking for some good kids games

April 11, 2023 7:26 AM

Looking for some games to play with my six-year-old. I have some criteria. Thanks!

I have tried to get into board games with my kid, and it's been a mixed bag. Some of them are, to be honest, super-boring (I shipped off Candyland and Snakes & Ladders to my mother's house). Some were fun one time, and then did not get touched again. The only one which has consistently been fun has been Scrabble Junior and it's very flimsy with cardboard pieces.

So, here are my criteria now that I am game-shopping again:

- Kid is very good at Math, and is also interested in geography. He needs to work on his reading, but won't unless the game is super-fun.

- I'd like the game to be at least a little bit fun for the adult, and to have good replay value.

- I would like a game which has been made with a reasonable level of quality. I don't want the whole thing to be made of cheap cardboard.

I welcome any suggestions!

posted by ficbot to Shopping (31 answers total)

If you’re okay with card games (using specialized cards, not a deck of cards), I’d recommend Sleeping Queens, Exploding Kittens, and rat-a-tat-cat. My kid (just turned seven) loves all three of them. Her favorite is Sleeping Queens, my favorite is probably Exploding Kittens but they’re all relatively enjoyable and have excellent replay value.
posted by maleficent at 7:30 AM on April 11, 2023 [4 favorites]

We have enjoyed Sushi Go and SET.
posted by vunder at 7:34 AM on April 11, 2023 [3 favorites]

Seconding Rat-a-tat-cat. It's so fun, even as an adult, has a bit of math, and can be as fast paced and competitive as the people playing it want it to be.
posted by Sweetchrysanthemum at 7:35 AM on April 11, 2023 [1 favorite]

My almost 6 year old loves Prime Climb. Also Quirkle. Storytime Chess. Bohnanza. Zangle and Set.

Go to a board game Cafe and see what he likes.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 7:43 AM on April 11, 2023

King of Tokyo is like a livelier version of Yahtzee with silly versions of Kaiju monsters. A reasonably bright six year-old can learn the rules in about five minutes and it's fun for adults, too.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:44 AM on April 11, 2023 [3 favorites]

Camp is a favorite of my grandkids. It uses trivia-type questions about nature, but the question cards have four different levels, so it works for a lot of different ages, including adults. The level for the youngest kids has pictures of animals to identify.
posted by FencingGal at 7:45 AM on April 11, 2023

Backgammon is doable for a kid - there is enough luck involved that they will still win sometimes.

Rummikub claims to be 8 and up, but I recall playing that when I was a bit younger - if your kid is good at math, he should be able to do it.

Upwords is easier than Scrabble (or at least, it was to me as a kid) - again, it says 8+, but you could give it a try.
posted by coffeecat at 7:51 AM on April 11, 2023

Candyland and Snakes and Ladders are shit games, so you did right getting rid of them. The universal answer to games that don't suck for parents that are designed for kids are HABA or Gamewright games. HABA's Rhino Hero or Pio's Pigeon Post may be good. Gamewright's already been covered since they do Sleeping Queens and Rat-a-tat Cat.

Games that involve reading will usually be rated 8 or above. It's a thing, probably assumptions about literacy levels. The big one that is not is Pokémon. I don't know if you want to go there but Pokémon gets a lot of kids interested in reading.
posted by fiercekitten at 7:54 AM on April 11, 2023 [3 favorites]

This site reviews so many games and lists by age, type, skill. Such a great resource.

Tabletop Family
posted by Ftsqg at 8:02 AM on April 11, 2023 [2 favorites]

One of my overall favorites for kids and adults right now is Quirkle. It's sort of like a cross between Scrabble and Set. Listed as 6+, its all just visual patterns and kids can play fine, but grownups will appreciate the strategy to pull off high scores.

There's a whole genre of "junior" or "my first" games that are versions of popular grownup games that are simplified/distilled for kids.
A few we like with our 6yo:
My First Castle Panic
My First Carcassone
Outfoxed (basically Clue for kids)
posted by SaltySalticid at 8:26 AM on April 11, 2023 [3 favorites]

The Forbidden cooperative series is great, and Forbidden Island is entirely accessible even at 6.

Catan Junior. Carcassone, Dragonwood, Machi Koro.

We aged past Outfoxed pretty fast, but it was fun while it was fun.
posted by mhoye at 8:28 AM on April 11, 2023 [3 favorites]

Everything below are games that I like, are approved by a 6-7 year old, require no reading, and are well made/have sturdy pieces. Also nthing Sleeping Queens.

Ticket to Ride First Journey by days of wonder.

Hoot Owl Hoot - Peaceable Kingdom - Cooperative game. I enjoy this one. I dislike the Dino escape game by the same people.

Merry Grinchmas by Funko - cooperative game.

Labyrinth by Ravensburger - my copy says ages 7 up, but looks like the current version recommends 8 and up. So might be a bit too complex, but you can make it more cooperative and help each other out. That's what we do. Looks like there is a labyrinth junior that might be a better fit, but I've never played it)

Racko - Milton Bradley - I remember playing this being younger than 8 years. The nice thing is that you don't have to hold your cards, which makes it more manageable for little hands. I haven't played this as an adult, so I can't speak to that.
posted by skunk pig at 8:28 AM on April 11, 2023 [1 favorite]

Oh, also: with regards to your "I would like a game which has been made with a reasonable level of quality" requirement, my advice is to not care about that as best you can.

If you do your best to accept that the games are going to take a bit of a beating because the kid is a kid - that kids will bend cards, grab them with greasy pizza hands, spill food on them sometimes, whatever - making that kind of thing not a big deal will go a very long way towards making playing these games with your kids a _lot_ less stressful for everyone involved. Don't make taking care of the carboard come at the cost of the kid having fun and enjoying time with you.
posted by mhoye at 8:34 AM on April 11, 2023 [6 favorites]

Mastermind, Connect Four, and Uno were some of my young childhood faves for playing with a parent.
posted by bananapants at 8:36 AM on April 11, 2023

Cabo! Simple-mathy, strategic, quick.
posted by cocoagirl at 8:37 AM on April 11, 2023

Sushi Go, Love Letter, (maybe) Dungeon Mayhem, (maybe) Fluxx
posted by neushoorn at 8:39 AM on April 11, 2023 [1 favorite]

Farkle is a dice game, and is the branded version of 10,000 (you can play if you have 6 dice). It's easy to understand and simple to learn. It will require him (and you to track addition of easy numbers: 50 + 100 + 250, for example. Very re-playable, easily transported, and anyone can play (not just a kids' game).

For that matter, Yahtzee would be another good game that he can start getting into.

Seconding Uno, though it's not great with just 2 players.
posted by hydra77 at 8:55 AM on April 11, 2023

SkyJo is a numbers-based card game that's supposed to be ages 8+ but my 6-year-old niece holds her own.
posted by mskyle at 10:51 AM on April 11, 2023

At that age and for many years Uno was my son's favourite. Also Rummikub and Aggravation.
None of these are intended for two players afaik but we nevertheless both enjoyed them.
We also played nine men's morris but i grew tired of it soon as i am not a strategic thinker.

Re quality of materials, i bought mostly second hand which meant i could afford better quality (eg wood). I think pretty much any board game is available in cheap versions and "nice" versions, at least that is what i found. Sometimes the newest latest edition was all cardboard and plastic, but older versions in wood or high quality plastic.
posted by 15L06 at 11:02 AM on April 11, 2023 [1 favorite]

Seconding Gamewright games, which I find fun as a 44yo children's therapist but are fun and accessible to the children I work with. Other games I find enjoyable and accessible for a variety of ages:

-Jenga
-Sorry (can get dull, but isn't nearly as bad as Candyland)
-Blokus (can be played "correctly", can make your own rules, can be used to make pictures, depending on age/motivation of child)
-Mancala
-Peaceable Kingdom games (Gnomes at Night is a favorite of mine)
-Phase 10
-Uno and its endless variants
posted by epj at 12:44 PM on April 11, 2023

Shoot, I forgot to mention that the game The Scrambled States of America from Gamewright is especially fun/interesting for a geography-lover and will build reading skills, though it's almost definitely LESS interesting if one isn't from the USA--but still fun!
posted by epj at 12:46 PM on April 11, 2023

I would suggest any of the 10 Days series of games. Racko with geography of the USA, Europe, Africa, etc., depending on the version. I think they are still being published. Looks like maybe not, but some secondhand USA copies seem to be out there: 10 Days in the USA.

Carcassone is good as there are rarely a ton of options for where your tile can go, and you can easily point out the options and let them decide what to do.

Kingdomino would be another good choice, though no reading.

But it really depends on your kids, how many players, what kind of game thinking you are trying to encourage. Pretty sure I had kids playing Twilight Imperium 3 at age 8 or so, but that is pretty extreme, I will admit.

But since my kids are now all old, my kids game recommendations are all pretty outdated. But cribbage teaches math, and never goes out of style.
posted by Windopaene at 1:25 PM on April 11, 2023

Munchkin! My kids were obsessed with that game - and we still play 12 years later. The cards have pictures, but words and there's lots of adding and subtracting - but in a totally fun way.

I credit Munchkin and a D & D Handbook with getting my son anxious to read.
posted by ReluctantViking at 1:34 PM on April 11, 2023

We recently discovered “boop”, also, and it’s simple and very accessible but with surprising depth
posted by mhoye at 3:01 PM on April 11, 2023

I used to like board games from Orchard Games when I was playing with that age group. Though looking at the recommendations here, I am wondering if my 6-year-olds (and I) were a bit dim, or at least easily satisfied. Crazy Chefs and Pop to the Shops were two I'd recommend. Orchard Games have really solid cardboard pieces.

We also liked chess for a while, for ages around 6 to 9. That can be a bit dull for the adult though, depending on how quickly the child learns.

For non-board games, we spent many hours on Boxes and Sprouts.

Also, 3D noughts and crosses is good (definitely not the non-3D version, which is very dull).

Oh and Dobble - how could I forget that. I found it harder than the children did.

We loved Exploding Kittens, but I think the children were probably 8-10 by then. Not sure it would have worked for us at 6.
posted by paduasoy at 5:12 PM on April 11, 2023

If your kid likes Marvel comics or movies, they might enjoy Marvel Battleworld. It's a co-operative strategy game with collectible elements that's actually really well designed. Each "pack" comes with two random minifigs of Marvel characters and a bunch of cards with opponents to defeat which create a random "game board" each time you play.
posted by radiogreentea at 5:16 PM on April 11, 2023

My 7yo and I have enjoyed...

Hive. This is a 2player game that's a bit like chess. Hexagonal tiles (very satisfying weight and quality) represent different types of insects, each with different movement capabilities. You move them around to capture the opponent's Queen Bee. I think it would appeal to a kid who likes math.

Ghost Blitz. This is a game of pattern recognition at speed, similar to Set. You try to be the first player to grab one of 5 wooden pieces, depending on what card is drawn. It's fast, and the physicality helps keep kids' attention, and any number of people can play.

Also another vote for Kingdomino, Sushi Go, and Mastermind Jr, mentioned above. None of these require reading.
posted by hovey at 6:42 PM on April 11, 2023 [1 favorite]

Kingdomino is really fun for adults and kids (I got it for my just-turned-7yo). Really well-designed game. Exploding Kittens is our other favorite.
posted by omnie at 8:27 PM on April 11, 2023 [1 favorite]

Mouse Trap - a Rube Goldberg machine in game form.
Family Fluxx - lots of themed versions of Fluxx too - Pirate, Scifi, Zombies, Monty Python...
Sequence - this is one of those simple but complex games.
Poo - seriously, it's hilariously (and award winningly) fun.
posted by gible at 11:06 PM on April 11, 2023

Carcassonne and its many varieties is great. There is strategy, pattern matching, planning ahead, trying to out-think your opponent. At one of our board game days, I sat out for a game and a friend's 7yo asked if I wanted to play Carcassonne. Little did I know she was a shark, and she absolutely destroyed me. Nothing like getting taken down a peg or three by a 7yo!

Ganz schön clever ("That's pretty clever") is a Yahtzee-like game that has completely replaced Yahtzee for us. We play it mostly as a filler game in-between thinky Euros, but it's interesting enough that everyone enjoys it.

Welcome To... Your Perfect Home says ages 10+ but I think a clever 6yo would be fine. The rules are pretty straightforward, the player aids/cheat-sheets are well laid-out, and the turns are simultaneous. It also scales nicely, basically as many people as can fit around the table and see the cards. We've played with 10-15 before, no problem. Everyone is building their own community based on the pool of 3 cards that come up each turn; since you're not working against anyone else, it's fine to help other players with decision making and strategy. You're not hurting yourself by doing so.

I'm glad to see Sushi Go recommended; that's a great pick, and especially if you get the big party box, there's a ton of replay variety there. Same with Machi Koro, lots of variety.

I think a 6yo would be fine with Ticket to Ride, which touches a little on math and geography, though it's not a "let's learn geography" type of game. There is a Junior Edition, but the regular edition should be fine.

I think in general, the age ratings on games seems to trend a little high. Kids, especially those who are into gaming, will learn pretty quickly. And if a game happens to be a bit too much today, in another year it'll be a different story. I hope you find something that works for both of you; board game time together is so rewarding!
posted by xedrik at 10:53 AM on April 13, 2023

Blokus is fantastic, but people who struggle with spacial reasoning stuff will have a hard time so it's not for everyone. I think a kid with some natural math aptitude would probably get it.

We liked Taco vs. Burrito, which is kind of in the Exploding Kittens zone of games in my mind.
posted by that's candlepin at 1:45 PM on April 13, 2023