Best Board Games For Kids: Picks By Age From 4 To 12
The best children's games are the ones the adults don't quietly dread. There are more of them than there used to be.
Sorted by age, with a note on which ones are cooperative - worth knowing if losing is still a problem in your house.
Cards for the people you play with
Funny cards, blank inside, drawn and printed by us in the UK. Order on a working day and it usually goes out the same day.
Happy Valentines Day, Bab (Valentines Day Card)
£3.87
"Woof Woof" Sausage Dog Valentines Day Card
£3.87
Happy Valentines Day Card From The Cats
£3.87
Happy Valentines Day, My Love (Valentines Day Card)
£3.87
You're Purr-fect To Me (Cat Valentines Day Card)
£3.87
Happy Birthday Papa (Happy Birthday Card) (Multiple designs)
£3.87
Ages 4 to 6
- Orchard Toys games - short, sturdy and designed by people who understand attention spans.
- Hoot Owl Hoot and Outfoxed - cooperative, so the table wins or loses together.
- Snail's Pace Race - no reading, no strategy, plenty of cheering.
- Pop-Up Pirate and Buckaroo. Not deep, but they get played.
Ages 6 to 8
- Dobble - thirty seconds to learn and genuinely fair against adults.
- Sleeping Queens - quick, silly, and sneaks in some addition.
- Rhino Hero - stacking, tension, and a satisfying collapse.
- Labyrinth - shifting maze, easy rules, works across ages.
Ages 8 to 12
- Ticket to Ride First Journey, then the full version once they're ready.
- Catan Junior, Carcassonne and King of Tokyo.
- Exploding Kittens for the ones who like being mean to their siblings.
- Cluedo and Scrabble start working properly around here.
Cooperative games, if losing is a problem
- Outfoxed, Hoot Owl Hoot, Forbidden Island and Pandemic.
- Everyone plays against the game, which removes about eighty per cent of the tears.
How to write it so it lands
- Shorter than you think. Fifteen minutes is a full game at this age.
- Cooperative games are the fix for a child who hates losing.
- Let them explain the rules to someone else. They'll learn them twice as fast.
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Frequently asked questions
What board games are good for a 6 year old?
Dobble, Sleeping Queens, Rhino Hero and Labyrinth. All are quick, need little or no reading, and a six year old can genuinely beat an adult at them.
What board games can the whole family play with young children?
Dobble and Rummikub work across the widest age range. For younger children, cooperative games like Outfoxed keep everyone on the same side.
Do you sell board games?
No. We make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK, so these picks are simply what we'd recommend to a friend. The cards on this page are ours.