Clue. Chutes and Ladders.  Life. Guess Who? Payday. Uno.  I have great memories from many years ago, playing these games with my siblings.  So, in the hopes of recreating these ancient good times with my own children, I stocked our playroom shelves with such games.  I didn’t realize, until now, how good these games really were for us.

As a parent, I’m always looking to engage my children, both intellectually and emotionally.  I want to foster their creativity and development. I love activities that don’t involve a screen.  I really like when they all play together, despite their different ages.  Board games offer all this and more!

Board games:

• Bring us face to face, not just side by side.  Game night is a positive way for us to spend quality time together as a family.

• Teach our children how to take turns.   Little ones may be tempted to skip ahead on the board or to sneak a peek at the next card, and board games provide ample opportunities for practicing self control and self discipline.

• Teach humility. Our children need to know that it’s ok to lose.  I said it – it’s OK to lose! And when they win, it’s a great opportunity to practice good sportsmanship.  

• Teach our children about following rules.  Following step by step instructions is another great skill to practice.

• Give an opportunity for our big kids to help or teach our little ones.  This fosters patience and kindness.

Some of my favorites by age are as follows:

Preschool (ages 3-5)

Great for fine motor development, counting, taking turns and matching:

• Hi Ho Cherry Oh
• Chutes and Ladders
• Memory (for the younger ages I use about half the cards)
• Candyland

School age (ages 6 and up)

Great for spelling:

• Zingo
• Boggle Jr

Good fine motor practice:

• Jenga
• Operation
• Guess Who (I prefer the old version, where the kids use various descriptive words to uncover their opponent’s person.  The “Disney Junior” version was awful.)

Family games

• Clue
• Ubongo (the board game version of tetris!)
• Life
• Pictionary
• Checkers
• Uno
• Mancala

I encourage you to play these games with your children.  An adult is often needed to explain rules, encourage fair play and keep things running smoothly.  When you play together as a family, you may have to adjust some rules. Explain that this is fair, as long as you do so before the start of the game.  Don’t let anyone cheat (even the little ones). In my family, sometimes we team up if a game is particularly difficult for the youngest. This time spent together is another great way to model the positive behaviors we’d like to see our children exhibit.  It’s also fun. Enjoy game night!