There's a great group of games for kids ages three through six including classics and some new hits.
Board games are a great way to spend a rainy afternoon with your kids. They can be educational or just a fun time. Some of these can last through generations, handed down to their kids and their kids's kids (if kept in good shape!). Here are some of the best board games for the pre-reader ages: three, four, five, and six year olds. Some of these games could even be played by younger ones while others of them are entertaining for adults.
The Top Board Games for Young Children
- Chutes and Ladders - It's a classic that has been parodied in shows such as Spongebob Squarepants (Eels and Escalators). It also helps children learn their numbers.
- Candyland - Even one-year-olds who know their colors can play this game. All a child needs is an understanding of colors and a decent attention span.
- Hi Ho Cherry-O - Another classic game that helps children with numbers from zero to ten. The player has to try to pick all the cherries off their tree first without a bird or dog stealing any, or the dreaded "spilling the bucket".
- Sorry - Who can be the first to get their colored pegs safely home? This game teaches children to be good sports even if the game is not going their way, to say they are sorry after each move they make against another player, and that anyone can win, no matter how good or bad someone's start is.
- Bingo - The classic game is now found on shelves with the fun old "spin the cage and a ball drops out" method. This is a good game to help teach kids larger numbers. But it is also found in many permutations for other subjects, such as Solar System Bingo.
- Mastermind - This is a classic game that is just as much fun for adults, but can also be played by children. You hide from one to five colored pegs and your opponent must guess what colored pegs they are and in which precise spots you placed them. You can give extra clues to the littlest players.
- Boggle Jr. - Less of a game than a learning strategy for teaching how to spell and read words. Take a card that has either three or four letters on it and find the letters you think spell the word on the cubes. Put the letters into their spots and check to see if you are right.
- Cariboo - Cranium has some excellent games on the market and this is one of them. Another game that is great for the littlest players, you put colored balls into holes that fall into the bottom of the game and then draw cards to see which squares you open with your key. If a ball is under one of them you put it into the chute by the treasure chest. The person to get the sixth ball will open the treasure chest and win! Cariboo has two levels and teaches colors, numbers, letters, and shapes.
- Hullabaloo - Another game by Cranium, this one gets kids moving. There are different colors, shapes, and pictures on the pads you place on the floor. Then start the machine and it will play music and tell you how to move from one shape to the other. For example, "Tip toe to a musical instrument." At one point the voice tells you to freeze, and then calls off, "Whoever is standing on ___, You Win!"
- Littlest Pet Shop Game - Although the toys in this game are slightly geared toward little girls, boys love it too! Move the bobble-head animals around the game board and collect the four colored pieces by landing on the right circles to win the game. But watch out for Monkey Business! This game is a very simple concept but clever and enjoyable for adults to play along too.
- Scrambled States of America - All ages can play along with this game although some of the little ones may need a bit of help. Players are dealt cards that have states on them and and then a game card is turned up that asks for states that start and end with a vowel or states that have one eye (they are little cartoon characters). One fun spin on this game is to deal out all the state cards and then every time a playing card turns up, they get to rid themselves of every card that fits that category. Whoever runs out of cards first, wins!
- Buckaroo - Here is a game that the littlest players like more than older people. Can you put all the gear onto the donkey before he bucks? You have to have a steady hand not to knock into him too hard and cause him to buck. The good news is that Buckaroo can easily be played by one person.
For a couple other game ideas, try the classic card games such as Old Maid, War, Go Fish, and Crazy Eights. These card games are made with all sorts of character cards now too, such as Dora or Strawberry Shortcake or Nemo. Another idea is to play dominoes, either the old classic kind or the newer ones that also portray popular cartoon characters.
The copyright of the article Best Board Games for Preschoolers in Kids Games is owned by Kelly Whitt. Permission to republish Best Board Games for Preschoolers in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
