Have you tried introducing board games to your kindergartners?
If so, are you perhaps looking for the best board games out there?
You’ve landed on the right page! In this post, we share with you a list of the best board games for kindergartners that your kids can try.
Each board game has been carefully reviewed before being included on this list.
You might already be familiar with some of them (you probably played them when you were young), so this read will surely make you feel nostalgic.
Let’s check them out!
1. Connect 4
Connect 4’s classic version for adults is already a blast, but its kid version is equally endearing. As the manufacturer says, it takes the whole gaming experience “one step further with a sleek style and cool colors” that will consistently keep the children overjoyed and interested.
The same rules and objective apply—be the first to get four of the same color discs in a row. Its concept is simple to understand, so it is pretty easy to explain to kindergartners. There are three ways to play it, all of which are explained in the manual that comes with the game when you purchase it.
We recommend this game since red and yellow (the color of the discs) stimulate the brain. It is also a fun way to introduce math skills and strategic thinking to very young children.
Pros:
Cons:
2. Trouble Game
Trouble Game is a fun and exciting game best for kids ages five years old and up. It can accommodate a minimum of two and a maximum of four players and is an excellent recreational activity for families, since it is also suitable for older kids and adults.
Starting the game requires the players to press the “Pop-O-Matic” bubble and roll the die. The kids then race to get all their pieces on and around the board. What makes it exciting is the need to play with strategy and not get bumped and sent back to the start.
There are also power-up spaces that add magic to every move you take, as well as double trouble and warp spaces that may change your movement if you land on them. The game is a combination of luck and strategy.
Pros:
Cons:
3. Candy Land: Kingdom of Sweet Adventures
Candy Land is a classic game for beginner board gamers, particularly kids ages three years old and up. No reading is required, so even toddlers can learn how to play.
The game allows players to encounter “delicious” surprises (cookies and candies) while they race and compete with each other. The objective is to be the first to arrive at the candy castle.
This game has been around for decades and entertained generations of young people. Introduce your kids to this sweet game as they start their journey into board gaming.
Pros:
Cons:
4. Sorry!
Here’s a bit of trivia: Sorry! is actually based on Pachisi, an ancient Indian cross and circle game. It is such a classic that it was first patented in 1930 by William Henry Storey. It was then adopted by the Parker Brothers in 1934. Currently, it is manufactured by the toys and games giant Hasbro.
Playing the game is quite easy—you just need to be the first player to get all four of your colored pawns into the final position. The pawns’ movements are directed by rolling dice and drawing the “sorry” cards.
Even without much strategy, the game can provide fun for the whole family. It is suitable for children ages six years old and up.
Pros:
Cons:
5. Zingo!
This is a bingo-style board game that is meant to help pre-kindergarten to grade 2 students test and enhance their reading abilities.
That being said, kids don’t necessarily have to know how to read before they can play it. In fact, you can treat this game as their first steppingstone if they are at the stage when they are about to learn to read.
The rules are relatively easy, since you will just be following the mechanics of the popular Bingo game. If you are not familiar with Bingo, the board game comes with a high-quality instruction manual that explains the rules and mechanics.
Zingo! was originally made by teachers for their fellow educators, so it makes a great gift for friends and family members who are teachers managing toddlers and kindergartners.
Pros:
Cons:
6. Sight Words Bingo
Trend Enterprises takes pride in providing high-quality products for parents and children, and their Sight Words Bingo board game is no exception. They specify that the product is made of Foamies and that it comes with a sturdy box for storage.
The set includes 36 playing cards, 264 playing chips, a caller’s mat, and an answer guide for parents or teachers. The game is great whether played by a small group or the entire class. It is also friendly for children with learning disabilities.
Pros:
Cons:
7. Yeti in My Spaghetti
This game has some of the simplest rules in gaming history. It’s not a board game, per se, but you still have to set up the bowl and the noodles to play.
Basically, the goal is to pull all the noodles from the bowl while ensuring that Yeti does not fall. The Yeti has to stay on top, no matter what—and if he falls, the person who made him fall is kicked out of the game until there is only one person left (who eventually becomes the winner).
Yeti in My Spaghetti received the 2017 Toy of the Year Award.
Pros:
Cons:
8. Chutes and Ladders
Nothing beats a classic, and Chutes and Ladders will never get old, regardless of age group. That being said, this version is specifically for kids who are ages three and up.
What’s interesting about this game is that it’s just not a matter of playing. Your kids also get the chance to familiarize themselves with numbers and counting. They also learn to identify good deeds and distinguish them from bad ones.
We highly recommend this game, not just because it’s a classic, but also because it is easy to play. It’s fun for everyone!
Pros:
Cons:
9. Sight Words Swat!
Swat! is for helping children develop their reading, spelling, and vocabulary skills. It has the element of speed and urgency, which develops confidence, fluency, and accuracy in reading.
The Sight Words Swat! board game consists of 110 double-sided flies, giving you a total of 220 sight words. They are also color-coded: blue for pre-primer, red for primer, green for first grade, orange for second grade, and purple for third grade. This allows you to determine the difficulty of a certain word.
Swat! is best for children five years old and up.
Pros:
Cons:
10. Charades for Kids
Who doesn’t love charades? This is yet another classic game for both kids and adults. It’s an excellent family game that can definitely take your game night to another level.
Charades for Kids makes it friendly for non-readers to join, since the cards have clues consisting of pictures. Even four-year-olds can join in, as long as they are guided by their older brothers and sisters. Moreover, the game offers three levels of play, with the easiest level meant for the youngest players.
Pros:
Cons:
11. Guess Who?
In Guess Who?, there are 24 possibilities, and players need only guess which character their opponent picked. It is a two-player game, so it is perfect for children who are still shy about being in the company of a lot of people.
This classic game of guessing develops deduction and critical thinking skills. What makes it quite difficult for children is that the questions are only answerable by yes or no. It is best to play under the guidance of parents or older siblings.
Pros:
Cons:
12. The Game of Life Junior
The Game of Life Junior is not really different from the adult version, except that it is a lot easier to play. All of the game’s components are kid-friendly, as well. It still features the 3D car movers and tones, the spinner and base, and the 96 cards available in two decks.
The objective is still the same, as well—collect 10 stars before anyone else so you can claim the winning streak. Enjoy the adventures and actions along the way and choose the best car that you think will give you a ride to victory.
Pros:
Cons:
13. Outfoxed!
Outfoxed is your classic “whodunit” game for kindergartners and preschoolers. It is recommended for kids four years old and up and is a cooperative board game that emphasizes the value of unity and camaraderie.
The rules are easy—the kids just need to guess which fox stole Mrs. Plumpert’s pot pie. As it is a cooperative game, all the players have to work together to gather the clues and deduce whodunit.
What makes the experience exciting is the time pressure element of the game, which teaches kids the value of working fast together toward a common goal to defeat injustice.
Pros:
Cons:
14. Sequence for Kids
The first with four chips in a row wins—indeed, it is as simple as that. This version of the classic game Sequence for Kids is the same as the one for adults, but a lot easier to understand.
From the name of the game itself, you have probably guessed that kids need to create sequences. They play an animal card from their hands and place a chip corresponding to that particular animal on the board. Wilds cards (unicorns and dragons) are available, too, for some added fun and adventure.
Pros:
Cons:
15. Sum Swamp
Sum Swamp provides kids a fun way to practice and develop their math skills. It uses basic math drills and incorporates them into exciting gameplay. Whether your kid is homeschooled or attending school, this is an excellent board game to include in their lessons.
The gameplay is built around a racing concept. Each of the players competes by rolling dice. It’s like your usual dice game, but with added mathematical challenges. Plus, there is extra excitement because you have various swamp creatures as game pieces.
The math drills included in this game involve addition and subtraction. Hence, it might be best suited to kids who already know how to do these operations.
Pros:
Cons:
16. Found It!
Found It! is an indoor scavenger hunt game that is both engaging and educational. Kids develop and improve their logical reasoning while enjoying the experience of trying to find various items.
The game includes a set of 50 cards in a mess-free case, as well as an instruction manual. The game is quite simple, and you don’t have to worry about small parts that may be a danger to very young children. It is also friendly for non-readers, as long as there is parental guidance.
Found It! was the recipient of the 2022 National Parenting Product Awards (NAPPA). It has been praised by experts in the field of early childhood education.
Pros:
Cons:
17. Pete the Cat: The Missing Cupcakes Game
Pete the Cat: The Missing Cupcakes Game has a basic premise: to get the missing cupcakes back by completing all the actions necessary before the game ends. Such actions include singing songs, doing physical activities, and identifying animals, foods, and words.
According to the manufacturer, the game is a mixture of luck, memory, and cooperation. It develops literacy and social skills, and also cultivates creativity and imagination. It is highly replayable because the scenario can change every time.
Pros:
Cons:
18. Alphabet Bingo!
Alphabet Bingo! is for kids who have just started learning their ABCs and who are excited to begin their reading journey. Letters are pulled from a bag by the host and the kids simply place their tokens in the matching squares of their cards, like in the traditional game of Bingo.
There are three other ways to play it, as well. You can opt for Letter Sound Bingo, Cooperative Bingo, and Picture Bingo. There are instructions for all three alternative games in the manual.
This game won the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award and serves as a valuable teaching tool that improves children’s letter recognition, letter and object association, and concentration.
Pros:
Cons:
19. Monopoly Junior: Dinosaur Edition
Monopoly is a classic game, but with Monopoly Junior: Dinosaur Edition for kids, the whole experience is leveled up.
The rules are simple and almost the same as the adult version, except without the elements of jail and stealing. Kids get to feed different types of dinosaurs with leafy banknotes and play with them as dinosaur tokens.
The gameboard also features phonetic spellings of the names of the dinosaurs. While playing, children can practice reading and spelling these names for added knowledge.
We recommend this game for parents who wish to introduce the normal Monopoly game to their children. It is ideal for kids five years old and up—especially those who love dinosaurs!
Pros:
Cons:
20. Beat the Parents
We intentionally picked this game because we believe in equality. Children, even if they are young, need to learn that they are equal to everyone else—even their parents. Parents may know better when it comes to a lot of things, but that doesn’t invalidate the decisions children make or the feelings they experience.
This is a wonderful game that can help encourage children to become more confident. This “parents versus kids” game is filled with trivia and challenge showdowns, and there’s even a wager at stake. The wager is written on the “wager board” before the game starts.
What’s wonderful about Beat the Parents is that it understands the generational gap. Hence, the set of cards for parents is different than the set for their children. This game also tests whether or not parents know what their children know, and vice versa.
Pros:
Cons:
21. Don't Spill the Beans
Don’t Spill the Beans is a two-player balancing game. Each player has to put their beans in the wobbly plastic jar, and whoever gets rid of their beans first without their jar tipping is the winner.
Young kids will definitely love this game, since it consists of over 60 plastic beans in different colors. It also has labels that create a funny face on the plastic jar. The game is perfect for children as young as three years old.
Pros:
Cons:
22. Count Your Chickens
Mama Hen needs your help in bringing her chicks back. In this fun-filled board game set on a farm, your goal is to put the chicks back in their coop by spinning and counting numbers. It is a cooperative game, so everyone is expected to help in gathering all the chickens.
Count Your Chickens is a counting game that also cultivates the ability of children to make decisions and solve problems. In addition, it improves self-esteem as children develop a sense of belongingness in a competition-free environment.
The game is available for a minimum of two and a maximum of four players. It is appropriate for children who are three years old and above, and the gameplay lasts approximately 15 minutes.
Pros:
Cons:
23. Tiny Polka Dot
Tiny Polka Dot is a game for one to six players, ages three years old and above. It focuses on improving kids’ math abilities, like logic and counting. It features vibrant and colorful designs to make playtime more fun and exciting.
This game was designed by married couple Katherine Cook and Dan Finkel, both of whom are mathematicians. Their love for math and kids helped them create a game that encourages more children to love numbers and arithmetic!
Pros:
Cons:
Final Words on Best Board Games for Kindergartners
Now that you have had a chance to review all of these board games for kindergartners, you might be ready to purchase one.
Think carefully about what your children will enjoy and what skills they need to practice, then get them started on the lifelong pursuit of board gaming!
And if you're looking for more board games, be sure to check out these blog posts:
- 15 Best 4-Player Board Games
- 9 Best Horror & Scary Board Games
- 9 Best Cooperative Board Games for Families
