Ok, parents. Let’s get real here. I’m a HUGE advocate for spending time with my
My oldest is only five, and then there is the
Remember- playing games with kids is an excellent way to learn and practice real life skills! Not only do most of these games engage the brain in new and exciting ways, but game playing also can increase the attention span, it can teach kids to not blurt out every idea that comes into their heads, and it can teach critical sibling rivalry resolutions. Plus, there is ALWAYS a chance to discuss winning and losing and how to behave either way!
I’d love to hear from you- what are your favorite kids games that the adults can also enjoy?
Sleeping Queens: If you only buy one game for your elementary aged kids, make it this one! We have played this game at least 15 times since Christmas. It’s fun, it’s challenging for the kids but unpredictable enough for the adults to not feel bored. It’s fast paced and fairly interactive and also involves addition if you want to play that way! Seriously- add this one to your list!
Memory Matching Game: Ah, the classic memory matching game! My kids LOVE this and they are SO GOOD at it. Both Tera and Kiah can beat me without me letting them. We have the emoji memory match, which the kids think is really fun. I love this set because it’s really big! Sometimes memory games have only 12 pieces and I feel like that is way too easy, so we love that this one actually takes some memory work! I also linked some other memory matching games that my kids would love- a princess set and a good night construction site set!
Bingo: Another classic that can be played by many players of varying levels. We have Bird Bingo and the kids have a blast finding the birds! I have my eye on several of the other animal sets- dog and cat, especially! I will say that this game is high quality and very detailed. The birds are varied and many are exotic, so it took a few times playing before my kids were able to start identifying the birds on their own. I would say this would be a great game for elementary age and above (ages 5-12), although my 3 year old does play, too.
Busy Town: This is such a fun and interactive game! The players all work together to spot different items- for example, the card might say “traffic cones” so all the players work together to find all the traffic cones on the board. It’s like an I Spy on a board. Super fun!
Charades: We started playing charades a few months ago, and we would just whisper words into the ki
Outfoxed: This is a cooperative game that is similar to Clue. Players need to work together to figure out who stole the pie. The kids LOVE this game. I will say that the game is a little advanced for our kids, so we don’t do the part where you have to beat the fox – we just skip that part and work together to solve the clues. It’s a blast!
Count Your Chickens: This is another cooperative fun game involving a small amount of counting and math! We have to collect all the chickens who have flown the coop and bring them back to Mama Hen. This is super fun!
Sequence: I mentioned how much we love sequence and play it all together as a family, but I also have my eye on this kid version of sequence! It’s so fun to play a game that they can actually grasp what is happening and participate instead of just being told what to do.
Spot It: This is a small game that is great for traveling or sticking in the diaper bag if you are waiting at a restaurant! Every single card in the deck has two items in common, and the goal of the game is to be the first one to spot it. There are many different games that can be played with the one deck of cards, which makes it versatile and endless!
Candy Land: Ok, ok….this might not be an adult favorite. But how can I say no to counting along on the classic colored tiles? This is a favorite around here, too!