Board Games - Brooklyn,MI

Uno is a good one too. My daughter also loves Mancala. It's a two person game, but it's fast. Same thing with connect 4. My kids like "trouble" but I find it annoying (pop pop pop pop).

Have fun.

I love the thinkfun games too, but a most of the ones we have are single player. Sorry is a good board game that we like.

We are going through a card game phase. Crazy 8s, War, Go FIsh, Match Game, and UNO. My 4 and 5 yr old are just old enough to get the concept without having to explain the rules 100 times. Dad doesnt care to play any of thise games, except UNO. Dad and I play dice and spades.

Yahtzee! **
Stratego
Don't Make me Laugh Jr.**
checkers
chess
chinesse checkers**
twister**
connect 4**
deck of cards for things like War, Crazy 8's, Slap jack, etc.
I have a 7 and 4 yo and they have both loved these games the younger one tries to keep up and I help him, his faves are the ones I **

I think card games like UNO are hard for kids who can't hold the cards, but they are good if they team up with someone who holds them. They can do the matching but not the strategy. There are also little devices you can buy to help them hold the cards, or just put up a barrier and have them lay their cards on the floor out of the other players' view. Simple card games like War are easier - you don't have to hold a lot, and just deal off the top of the deck. Bingo is fun - you can use picture bingo vs. numbers if you want. Our kids also loved travel bingo in the car - they made cards with sliding covers so you didn't have to deal with loose chips falling all over the place.

"Guess Who" was a favorite in our family with the 4-6 set. "Sorry" can be played with help - most of the work is counting and the littlest one can do that, plus they like to "slide". I think you want short games with minimal reading for this age group - "Life" and "Monopoly" and "Clue" take too much time. The 6-8 year olds in our family like "Pay Day" - it will be good in a couple of years.

"Dominoes" is a good one - you can use the traditional ones for counting or the thematic, picture-matching ones. "Connect Four" has some strategy but also pattern recognition, so anyone can play (though it's for 2 people).

Good luck.

i just had my grandchildren for spring break 8 days. there favorites to play were: sorry old maid and go fish and puzzles. but their number one favorite was taking turns on the computer at pbs.com and jig a zone .

Board games for young children are hard. Usually they are pretty boring for adults. A couple good games for kids are Balloon Lagoon, Elefun (butterflies come out of an elephants trunk and you catch them with a net), whackamole, hungry hipo, hullabaloo. All of these games are pretty interactive and less dependent on strategy and patience. I find Candyland REALLY boring to play with them but all of the above mentioned games are somewhat fun for an adult.

I have a 6 and 11 year old. We love Uno and Yahtzee. My 6 year old has been playing Uno since he was 4 (with some help) and Yahtzee since almost that time (also with some help). Now he plays both by himself. Another game we have that we like is the I Spy Game. It has cards, a bell, and 4 large double sided cards. You pick a large card and then each person draws a small card. You pick an item on the small card and find it on your large card. The first person to find their item rings the bell. It's a lot of fun.

There's a terrific game I found called Richard Scarry Busytown. It's fun for all ages ... really! This is the one game I don't roll my eyes at for having to play it yet again because it's different every time you play it. You move pieces along a board individually and then meet up as a team at the end to try to win. Our four and eight-year-olds love it.

It's a very detailed game board with pictures on it and one of the activities you may spin and land on is a timed hunt and find activity. So, you might choose "balloons" from the card stack and within about a minute or so, you have to find as many balloons as possible within the pictures (kind of like a Where's Waldo activity). Everyone who's playing looks and if you find five total, for example, each person advances five, so there's incentive for everyone to look as best they can.

Love this game!

All I know is, I LOVE the brand "Think Fun."
They make awesome games that me/Hubby/our kids all love.

You can find it at places like Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

I personally like "Guess Who" b/c it gets you to think a lot. (it's the one where you say "Does your person have a beard?" "No" so you put down all the faces that have beards.

My mom just bought Quirkle. She heard that it had won so many awards for cognitive thought and such. You really do have to think. Fun even if you don't keep score. http://www.amazon.com/MindWare-32016-Qwirkle-Board-Game/d...

I also really like Scattergories, but sadly, this is too advanced for your kids right now. In middle school/high school age they'll like this one.

Try Apples to Apples Disney version or kids version. I like regular apples-to-apples, so I bet the regular version is fun too.

What about UNO. Cards, not a board game, but fun and easy enough.

Added: go to amazon.com and search "card holders for playing cards" and you will see many selections of card holders. As a kid, my dad made us some using a solid wood board and he routered a small long line (groove) for our cards to sit in.

Our family loves games of all kinds, video & board. My oldest is 8 and he always wants to play along with us when we have company over. A lot of times we play the DVD games of "Scene It". There are many versions out there and all are family friendly. Even if the kids can not answer the questions on the cards - there is a "party play" version on the DVD that you then only answer after seeing a video clip.
I know someone already suggested "Apple to Apples", we like that too. However the newest game inte house that my son loves - we do too - is a game called "Wits and Wagers" Even if my son does not know exactly what they are asking - we can tell him to just guess a year...or a number. The whole game is based on numbers so his guess is just a fair game as everyone elses. It's a lot of fun. Good luck

I second Zingo. It's a fun fast game, and because of the pictures and words on the tiles, you can be any age to play. My 2 & 4 year olds love it! And so do all of us!

caribou island, hubaloo (not sure of the spelling) both by Cranium games are fun. My children are 6 and four and they love them!

My kids (6.5 year old boy & 4 year old girl) love Zingo. Also my son love to play Mancala. We also got Clue and my daughter usually teams up with an adult and we can all play together.

Our 2yo loves the Busytown Game (by I Can Do Games); they also have some other games out there. Squint Jr is good, but might be a little old for the youngest ones--but they might be able to play with help.

My DH is a boardgamer; here are some suggestions of places to look for well reviewed kids boardgames:
http://www.kidgameratings.com/index.aspx
http://boardgamegeek.com/childrensgames/browse/boardgame
(this is the best site, according to DH)

There are tons of games out there that are actually really good! (as in, you will never want to get out Candyland or Chutes & Ladders again after discovering truly wonderful board games!) :)

Try the Ladybug Game. Even your youngest can play it because you don't need to read. My kids have been playing since they have been 3.
http://www.theladybuggame.com/

Oh, and another great one is Max. It is a co-operative game so everyone wins or everyone loses, but you have to work together to finish. Youngest to oldest would love this game.
http://www.amazon.com/Cooperative-Consultation-Decision-N...

Hi!

If you kids can read, with help is OK too, our favorite family board game is called Whoonu. It is a Cranium game. We all enjoy playing it.

Qwirkle! So much fun and great for all ages-each age can play at their own level. For real little kids they can concentrate on matching shapes or colors. For older kids and adults there is a ton of strategy involved. One of the only games that I really do like to play....so many of them I have to "pretend" to like.

Sorry Sliders is also a good all age game.

Trouble:) An oldie but a goodie!

I cannot recommend Feed the Kitty highly enough.

http://www.amazon.com/Gamewright-5510-Feed-The-Kitty/dp/B...

We have a blast with this game. It's a great way to teach taking turns and being a good loser/winner. There's no reading or real counting and no strategy. It's all luck and it's hysterical! We spent hours playing it the last two New Year's Eves. It's great because everyone can be involved and it doesn't take long to play.

I did not read all of your responses, but I will say my son absolutely LOVED the game Brown Bear-Panda Bear, What Do You See? It is based on the books by Eric Carle and it is easy to learn and for youngsters to play. Great Game :)

as a child i liked playing Hungry Hippo and Checkers. (competition games)

My nephew around the age of 4 was ALL into UNO...and all of us played it.

or War witha plain deck of card..the 3 year old will probably like that

EDIT..Just remembered Jenga :):)

We like Mancala, Parchessi, card games too like Uno, Crazy 8's. all of which can be understood even by a 3 year old.

We used to play a lot of chess, but my kids got so serious and competitive we don't play it so much anymore. :(

we have tons, the ones you mentioned, the lady bug game, guess who,jenga,scrabble junior,boggle, operation, pictionary junior, connect 4, hungry hippos, mousetrap

some more advanced ones... life, clue , monopoly, scrabble, uno, pictionary man, trivial pursuit,...........

i think dominos is good for kids, teaches fast counting