contacts
10 Exciting Games to Play with Kids
Children's game collection
As the holidays approach, you also need to think about the little ones and how different they are and how each one has their own interests. The most common question other parents ask me is whether this game is educational? Don't worry — all games are educational and develop different skills in a child. Be it dexterity, attentiveness, planning, or something else. It is often much more difficult to figure out what to buy for a child than for an adult, but don't worry, because as a father of three and a big board game enthusiast, I have quite a lot of experience in this matter. My wife would say that I am more of a game enthusiast than a father of children, but anyway, here are my recommendations for different games, for different ages.
For the youngest (2.5/3+)
I always tell all parents that it's never too early to start trying to play games with their kids, and for my kids, these were some of the first games we played together:
Coconuts
“Coconuts” is almost like a game where you have to put a coconut in a monkey catapult and try to hit it into a glass. When all the players have shot all their coconuts, the one with the most glasses wins. That's it! Those are almost all the rules. Of course, you won't tell your little one, but you will give him the catapult, the coconut and enjoy the joy on his face, seeing how the coconut flies through the air!
This is a great game for all ages, especially up to school age, because the game encourages children to explain and find connections between two things. Each player has several cards with things in front of them and in the middle of the table there is a property, for example, “warm”. Can a sock be warm? Is the sun warm? If the thing matches this property, the player can put it in the middle, turning it upside down. In this way, a new property appears in the middle of the table. The player who gets rid of his cards first wins. But that is not the main thing in this game.
Three little pigs
A very important thing that children need to learn is patience and the ability to work alone. If this can be learned in a very interesting way — together with “Smart Games” games — then absolutely great! A great game for this age is "The Three Little Pigs" , where the piglets have to hide in their houses from the angry wolf.
For active (4+)
It wouldn't be a child if he didn't want to run around and hit people all the time. It's great if you can combine such an activity with games that require manual dexterity or precision.
“Halli Galli” has already become a classic among board game fans. It is especially popular with children, as there is always action and no time to get bored. Will you be the first to ring the bell when the real clowns appear on the table?
Everyone on the same team and no need to argue (4+/5+)
Sometimes people tell me that they don't play games in their family because the children tend to get offended and argue. And then I ask if they have tried playing cooperative games? Cooperative games are those in which all the players play on the same team and win or lose together.
In this game, players work together to feed the mosquitoes with things of their favorite color. It doesn't matter if they are socks or things, the main thing is that the color is the right one. And the most unique thing is that it all happens with the help of a phone. Personally, I have never been so happy to give my children my phone as knowing that they will use it to play this game together.
Farm Rescue
One of the most popular games in the world is the good old memory game. “Farm Rescue” adds an interesting twist to the principle of the memory game. Players, rolling dice together, first turn all the drawings — farm animals — face down (the animals are hiding in the grass) and when they roll an already hidden animal again, they must remember together where in the grass it is hidden. Can you help the farmer catch the mischievous wolf before it gets to the farm animals?
For the patient (6+)
When we read books, we always feel and experience all the choices made by the main character. What if we could make these choices ourselves in the book? In this book, the reader helps the brothers, who have just become knights, complete a task that will take them across the kingdom and experience various adventures. But exactly where to go and what to do and in what order, is up to the reader!
The “IQ” series is an assortment of small and easy-to-carry brain teasers, where players have to fill in a field with given pieces. The tasks are at different levels, meaning that not only children but also adults will be able to challenge themselves.
With siblings and the rest of the family (6+)
This award-winning board game created in Latvia will bring fun and exclamations of surprise to the whole family. One player is a school janitor and the others are naughty students who run around the school during the lessons, catching fish. The most unique components of the game are the field, which consists of boxes, creating the feeling that it is really a school. And players use a stick to hit the penguins, moving them around the field. Who doesn't like kerenes?
This is one of the most played games in my family for the second year in a row. One game lasts only 10-15 minutes and is a great substitute for the game of “Uno” . Everyone chooses an animal and takes 8 cards, which they shuffle and then turn over to face the others. That's right - players only see part of their cards. Everyone plays one card and then the highest number wins all the cards, each of which is worth one point at the end of the game. BUT each card also has its own ability, which makes each play full of surprises!
Leave a comment