The Best Old and New Board Games for Kids. Which ones do you play?

[Cafe MichelleP]

The Best Old and New Board Games for Kids

Turn off the TV and sit down with your children for a family board game tournament! Here are some classic games you may remember from your own childhood as well as new games that are sure to become family favorites.

I remember when I was a kid (though it seems so long ago the memories have faded a bit around the edges), I didn't have 500 channels of television and 100 DVD movies at home. I didn't have a graphics-rich video game system—heck, I didn't even have a computer. With the wealth of audio-visual stimulation available to our kids today, I sometimes wonder how I ever survived my digitally deficient childhood. Oh, now I remember: I read, I played outside with my friends, and on nights and weekends when there was nothing else to do, my family and I got together and played board games.

For those who grew up before the "electronic-everything age," board games were a big part of childhood. They stimulated our imaginations, encouraged conversation—they even educated us. These days, board games are too often overlooked in the mad rush to buy our kids the latest action figure, handheld video game, or miniaturized sports car. Board games may not be the splashiest presents, but they are still a great way to bring friends and family closer together. (Plus they're often less expensive than the flashy electronic gadgets!)

This article features some of the best board games, from the old favorites you may remember from your own childhood to the innovative new games that are sure to become classics. Our age-by-age guide will help you pick the perfect game for your child's development stage and skill level.

Preschool (ages three to six)

Candy Land: This childhood favorite is still around, delighting a whole new generation of kids. Candy Land is all about sugary treats—and what's not to love about that? Kids pick a card and move a gingerbread man to the matching colored space on the candy-lined trail. The first player to reach the Candy Castle wins. For Winnie the Pooh fans, there is also a Pooh-themed version of the game. 
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Retail Price: $6.99
Ages: three to six

Cariboo: Cranium is the maker of several brain-charging games for adults and older kids, but they've designed this one specifically for the younger set. As preschoolers explore the island of Cariboo, they'll discover castles, unlock magic doors, and even open a treasure chest to see what's inside. While they're playing, they'll be learning about colors, shapes, and numbers. 
Manufacturer: Cranium, Inc. 
Retail Price: $19.99
Ages: three to six

Chutes and Ladders: Another nostalgic favorite, Chutes and Ladders is almost perfect in its simplicity. Kids spin the spinner to find out how many spaces to move. Along the way, they're rewarded for good deeds by getting to climb up a ladder, or instead they're punished and must slide down a chute. The first one to reach the number 100 wins. 
Manufacturer: Hasbro 
Retail Price: $6.99
Ages: three to six

Duck Duck Goose: This favorite childhood game is now available in a board game version. Rather than sit in a circle themselves, children play with thirteen little ducklings who sit in a circle around a pond. As they move the Mother Goose around the circle and press her head, and she says, "Duck…Duck…Duck." When she says, "Goose!" the player picks up the duckling to see if the color dot on the bottom of its shell matches the color in his or her nest. Whoever collects three matching ducklings wins the game. 
Manufacturer: Milton Bradley
Retail Price: $19.99
Ages: three to five

Goodnight Moon Game: The cherished bedtime story is now a colorful matching game. The beauty of the game is it can be used in conjunction with the book or on its own. Preschoolers build memory skills by matching cards to the game board. The difficulty increases as kids master their matching skills. 
Manufacturer: Briarpatch, Inc. 
Retail Price: $19.99
Ages: two and up

Early Grade School (ages five to seven)

Letter Factory Game: This Parenting magazine "Toys of the Year" winner is really two games in one: a color and letter-matching game for preschoolers, and a letter-sound association game for early grade-schoolers. At the first level, "Counting Colors and Letters," Professor Quigley asks kids to pick a color card and then to identify the letter on the card. At the second level, "Leaping Letters," kids race around the board, trying to locate letters by their sounds. Each time they get it right, they're rewarded with a song. 
Manufacturer: LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. 
Retail Price: $24.99
Ages: three and up

Guess Where? Is Mommy in the bedroom? Is the cat in the laundry room? Kids each get a model of a house, complete with an eight-member family. Each player hides the family around his or her house. Then the players take turns asking "Yes" and "No" questions to find out where the other player has hidden their family members. This game not only encourages kids to ask questions, but it also teaches problem-solving skills. 
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Retail Price: $14.99
Ages: six and up

Toads of Fun: Kids have so much fun moving their toads around the lily pad and trying to "catch" flies, they don't even realize they're learning about numbers and colors. But if another frog or a bee knocks them off their lily pad, it's back to the beginning! 
Manufacturer: Dad's Ink, Ltd. 
Retail Price: $14.95
Ages: four and up

Zingo: Think Bingo, but with pictures instead of numbers. Kids match picture tiles from the "Zingo Master" to their cards. While they play, they learn shape and pattern recognition, and build short-term memory skills. The first player to fill his card and yell "Zingo!" is the winner. 
Manufacturer: ThinkFun
Retail Price: $15
Ages: four and up

Grade School (ages eight to ten)

Cranium Hoopla: This fast-paced card game has players creating skits, coming up with brainteasers, sketching pictures, and solving word challenges—all before time runs out. It gives kids the chance to work as a team and stretch their creativity in entirely new directions. 
Manufacturer: Cranium, Inc. 
Retail Price: $16.95
Ages: eight and up

Operation: Although it's not technically a board game, Operation is so much fun to play that it's worth a mention. Kids take turns trying to remove body parts from a patient whose ailments include a broken heart and butterflies in the stomach. It takes a lot of motor coordination to pull out the tiny body parts without touching the sides and setting off the alarm. The game still uses the same character that we played with when we were kids, but it also comes in a new Shrek edition. In the new version, the lovable green patient suffers from ailments ranging from ear wax, to humongous fungus, to toe jam. 
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Retail Price: $13.99
Ages: six and up

Rush Hour: Kids have a blast playing traffic cop and trying to maneuver the little red car out of a traffic jam. They move it by answering questions on one of 40 challenge cards. Rush Hour is a clear winner—it took home both the 1999 Parents' Choice award, and the national Mensa award. 
Manufacturer: ThinkFun
Retail Price: $16
Ages: eight and up

Trouble: This classic popping, peg-jumping game is just as much fun today as it was when we were kids. The dice popper makes the game what it is—kids can't wait to hear that popping sound when it's their turn. Then it's a race to see who can get their peg to home base first. 
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Retail Price: $9.99
Ages: five and up

Which ones do you have or play?

[jbyrd898]

no board games yet, too little!

[brrmom81]

 Sorry, Battleship, Candyland, Connect Four.

[Babybear89]

still too little here too 

[tamidawn]

Candy land and chutes and ladders :)

[eds6619]

 We have a lot and dd loves games.  Candyland is a favorite; she likes her new angry bird game(you catapault the birds just like on the e-version); cooties....I could go on and on.  She has a lot of games.

[Iluvmy2kiddies]

DD likes Littlest pet shop guess who and candy land. DS (3) likes Elefun LOL (not a board game...but close!!)

[our3]

We dont play any of the ones on the list. We have Monopoly, connect 4, pictionary man, battleship, ratoullie, uno attack, last word, disney monopoly, chess, yahtzee, eh I think that about it for board games.

[Christiansmom44]

We have candy land, operation, monopoly jr., jenga, and memory. We also play go fish, war, and rummy.

[Bethbeth]

 oh yeah!

Quoting tamidawn:

Candy land and chutes and ladders :)

 

[sheena696]

I don't think I have ever played CandyLand or Chutes and Ladders..