Children's Board Games

[William Cannon]

Do you have any recommendations on board games for young children? Particularly, I'm looking for classics or non-battery operated ones. My oldest just turned 4 and I haven't a clue.

TIA

 

[RoundRobin]

I'm not really sure about a 4yo but Chutes and Ladders or maybe Sorry! would work.

RR

 

[BayouCityOrange]

Candyland.

 

[netslave]

Sorry! is awesome!

 

[B]

We play Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders with our 5 and 3 year olds.

 

[Duckie]

Connect Four

Trouble

Guess Who?

 

[Statalyzer]

I loved Monopoly Jr. as a kid.

 

[TXSNOS]

Parcheesi, although she may need to be a couple of years older.

 

[Garibaldi]

Candyland, Sorry!, Trouble, Payday, Uncle Wiggily, Cootie and Checkers all were awesome

 

[jmatt]

Candyland, Chutes And Ladders, and, of all things, Yahtzee were my daughter's favorites at about that age.

She also liked Sorry and Battleship. And she liked to play cards. Fish, Old Maid, 21 (yes blackjack.... don't ask) and a simplified version of gin were favorites.

Remember to lose to her occasionally, but don't be obvious about it.

 

[Mrs.Macanudo]

Personally.....I cannot recommend a single one....I hate to lose and I insist on keeping my childhood record....mostly in connect four (123 and 0)
which means Mac will be left playing most of the games and teaching them to be a gracious loser.


If I lost....It would not be pretty and i don't think that would be very beneficial.

That being said.....Baby M loves candyland and checkers (go figure....I though checkers was an exercise in futility)......

 

[tallgrant]

If you're looking to go a little off the beaten path, I can give a couple of recommendations:

1. Gulo Gulo

This is supposed to be really popular with the young ones (I've not played it myself). Having dexterity and small fingers supposedly helps too! You're basically working to steal colored eggs from a vulture's nest- if you're not careful you'll set off the alarm and be sent back to the start!

2. Mancala

Classic old game- players take turns scooping stones out of a bowl and distributing them around the board. This game helps encourage counting skills too! I actually still enjoy playing this as 27 year old, but it's really easy to teach!

3. Hey! That's My Fish!

Cute theme here- move your penguins over the ice to collect fish. But be careful- the ice is unsteady and melts as you walk on it! Helps the kids try to learn strategy by maximizing the fish they can get while blocking other players.

 

[Mrs. Reboot]

I work with kids of all ages and have some favorites of my own that the kids seem to love. I second the votes for Candyland & Mancala. Card games are great to introduce at that age as well. I'd start with Go Fish or something simple like that.

 

[HOOKMD]

My three year old loved Hi Ho Cherry-O. It is good for practicing counting.

 

[ctrl+alt+del]

Slap Jack is fun to watch.

 

[Gasman]

My 4 year old loves Hi Ho Cherry O, Candyland, Bingo, as well as card games like Uno and Go Fish. Also, age appropriate jigsaw puzzles seem to be a lot of fun.

 

[DeadHeadHorn]

I second the Sorry! and Candyland rec's. I also loved Life growing up, as well as Clue, but they're probably better for kids over 4.

 

[MaduroUTMB]

Chess. The learning curve is about as linear as possible.

 

[Kyrie Eleison]

Got an 8 and 5....we plays tons of Uno, Parchese, Pente' (my favorite), checkers, Guess Who?, Chutes and Ladders, and have about 10 100 piece puzzles that we "speed solve".

If we're in that mood, we'll get out the greatest game of all-time: Rock'em Sock'em Robots, and pummell the hell out of one another.

 

[El_Oso]

All the best ones have been mentioned already, but my recommendations would still be:

Sorry!
Battleship
Hungry Hungry Hippos

The beauty of these games is that they teach a kid to win. To learn that going out and kicking someone's *** is the measure of winning. Not just getting a trophy for participating. You have to work for a reward.