Does the thought of playing board games with your kids fill you with dread? Do you think you’ll end up playing an incredibly dull game or one that never seems to end. If so, I suggest your kids are playing the wrong games.
There has been an explosion in the development of interesting games over the last few decades. However, based on the repetitive recommendations I’ve seen over the last few months I’ve realised that people don’t know about the awesome games that are available, don’t know how to choose games or are overwhelmed at the choice.
If you’re stuck on the first one, there are lots of ways to find out about new games; ask friends, visit a board game cafe, do a web search or follow board game bloggers or vloggers.
But how do you tell if a board game is correct for your children? Below is my list of things to consider when choosing a board game for kids, but the most important thing is to not overthink it. If you get a game and:
- it is too difficult come back to it when the children are older
- if it seems too simple keep it for when you want a quick play game or pass it on to someone with younger children
- if you dislike it read the instructions / watch a video and try it again. I didn’t enjoy Hero Realms the first few times I played it but now I understand how it works I play it frequently
Things to consider when choosing board games for kids
Number of people playing
Games can be played by 1 player up to multiple player party games. Some games are flexible in how many players can join in, while some are fixed. Check the box before buying it or you may end up always having too many or too few people to play. The box will usually tell you the players for example:
- 2 players — 2 players only
- 2–5 players — a minimum of 2 players to a maximum of 5 players
- 2+ — at least 2 players with no maximum (this is often team games)
Age of the players
Most games have a recommended minimum age but, this doesn’t mean the child’s literal age. It is guidance but you can take into account their ability to participate, for example can they read any cards, and if they’ve played similar games before. my son played Chocolate Factory* (with support) when he was 7 years old, even though it is labelled as 14+ because he’d played other engine building and card drafting games.
Attention span
How long will your children be able to keep their attention on a game to complete it? There is a huge variety in the length of games from minutes to days. If you are just starting to play games or your children are young you may want to pick games with a shorter duration, because it is better to play a game more than once in a session than to have a game that feels like it is dragging. But older children may love the challenge of playing a longer game.
Focus
What is your children’s focus like? Will they be able to focus on the game during other people’s turns or could they wander off? If you need to keep calling people back to the table it will make the game longer and can lead to unwanted tension. If this is the case you may want to consider games with real time or simultaneous action, where players do things at the same time. Such as Sushi Go* or Dixit*.
Other real time games*
Theme
Some games have a theme such as Japan, Dinosaurs or World War 2. So if you’re children are particularly interested in a topic you may want to look for games to go with it.
Game Play
What games have your children enjoyed or not enjoyed before? This may give you an idea of a game mechanism they enjoy or may tell you some mechanisms to avoid. For example, if they’ve enjoyed Jenga you could look at Junk Art*, or if they’ve enjoyed Monopoly or The Game of Life you could try other Roll and Move games such as Talisman* or The Magic Labyrinth*.
Competition
Do your children like competition? If not there are an increasing number of co-operative games where you work as a team to win against the game. For example Forbidden Desert* or Stuffed Fables*.
Other co-operative games*
Complexity
Games come with different levels of complexity or weight. Although there isn’t an agreed definition of the complexity levels, the more complex games tend to have longer rule books, more time spent thinking and planning than taking turns and less luck. For comparison Monopoly which needs little thinking or planning has a light complexity rating of 1.66 / 5 on Board Game Geek. So think about your children do they like to think a head or prefer quick decisions?
Space to play
Some games need a lot of space to play them so consider how much space you have, and can you leave a game up if you don’t finish it in one sitting? We usually play games at our dining room table, however it is slightly narrow to have a board and cards around it, so we feel a bit squished for some games. We recently introduced our children to Terraforming Mars* and our first game took 4 hours over three sessions, so we ended up moving the game from the dining table into a different room so it wasn’t in the way.
My final advice to you is to try games out to work out what your family likes, and don’t limit yourself to “children’s games”. Expand yours and your children’s gaming experience.
How do you select board games for kids?
If you’re looking for suggestions please ask in the comments and I’ll do my best to help.
∗ Disclaimer – This post contains affiliate links which means if you buy something I may earn a percentage of the value. However it does not cost you any more.
