October 10, 2018 Leave a Comment. 10+ Best Board Games for 7 & 8 Year Olds. Board Games for Older Kids. Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. Oct 8, 2018 - Updated October, 2018. Our Favorite Board Games for 3, 4 and 5 year olds. [Looking for toddler games? You can find our list of the best games.
This is the time of year when I get asked A LOT… “what are good board games kids THIS age can play?” It’s not that easy… you have a niece or nephew who you want to get into board gaming… maybe it’s a secret Santa donation for a kid who asks for a board game. You want to introduce them to the hobby, but realize that Blood Rage might be a tricky place to start.
After years of gaming with kids (3 of my own and various other young people who have wandered through my world) I’ve got an idea about what works, and what doesn’t work for young board game players. When choosing board games for kids, the single most important factor is this-Who is the child playing with? What I mean is, Will the child be playing alone? With Peers? Or with Adults? And are the Adults board game fans?
As an example- My youngest has been playing Ticket to Ride since she was 5. She’s not a genius (although, she is a sharp cookie), she started out playing as my partner. Her older sibs were playing, and she wanted to be involved. She could understand basic rules, and I did the reading. This doesn’t mean I could hand a 5 year old Ticket to Ride. In fact, my 10 year old still needed some guidance. But, since I was there, moderating and playing along… the game went smoothly. A great alternative would be Ticket to Ride First Journey…
Giving a child a game that they can’t play is a drag. If a child wants a board game, there are plenty out there that encourage good gaming habits, like taking turns and thinking critically… that maybe aren’t for adults. But that’s ok. We have to walk before we can run. And it’s sad to give a kid a game they can’t play because the “adults” in their world don’t have the time to play along.
These games all have fairly simple rules, and can be played with our without adults. (Remember the days when you would just play a board game with your friends… and not your mom? Let’s start there). All have re-playability… and all should get kids excited about taking on other new games.
(As for the “classics”… don’t scoff… they are still out there for a reason… and some are well worth playing! And you can find them at a low price in loads of stores.)
Best of all! None of these games need batteries!
Contents
- 1 Good Board Games Kids LOVE to Play- Sorted By Age
- 1.2 Board Games for 6-7 Year Olds
- 1.3 Board Games for 8 -10 (and UP)
Good Board Games Kids LOVE to Play- Sorted By Age
I broke these down by age group… but note that a lot of these games can be played for years! So a game like Karuba says 8 and up… this means start with 8, then go up to 99. Don’t be BOUND to the age on the list, you can slide up or down a bit if you feel like the kid can handle it.
Good Board Games Kids who are 4-5 Year Olds Will Love
When you are shopping for Board Games for younger players, Haba and Ravensburger games are a good bet. The components are made to last, they are colorful, the games are simple and engaging… and the kids can play with or without adult supervision. These games teach matching skills, colors, and the fine art of taking turns!
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Board Games for 6-7 Year Olds
At this point, kids are reading, and should have the patience to sit still for more than 37 seconds…
You can start introducing memory, strategy, reasoning and other fun and interesting skills into the games. (Disclaimer… I never need to play another game of Monopoly for the rest of my life… HOWEVER! Monopoly Jr. is a great starter game for kids… and like Trouble, you can find it pretty much anywhere for a low price)
You can start introducing memory, strategy, reasoning and other fun and interesting skills into the games. (Disclaimer… I never need to play another game of Monopoly for the rest of my life… HOWEVER! Monopoly Jr. is a great starter game for kids… and like Trouble, you can find it pretty much anywhere for a low price)
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Card Games for 6-7 Year Olds
This is also a great time to start introducing Card Games… the cool thing is they tend to be small and inexpensive (so you can gift 2)
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Board Games for 8 -10 (and UP)
Now you are starting to look for games that are a bit more engaging. Games with more strategy and planning. Clue is a classic for a reason, it’s THE game to teach logic. I’ve always enjoyed Gobblet (it’s far more interesting than checkers). Our family just started playing Karuba, and honestly, it’s easy to pick up, and is great for kids. Ubongo is not a huge game in the US, but my daughter’s friend (who loves abstracts) enjoys the heck out of it (warning, the scoring is a bit odd, so we skip that part when teaching it). And I firmly believe Splendor will become a classic in time.
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Card Games for 8 – 10
A bit of reading is required… but these are more interesting than Go-Fish! Plus.. I’m betting that an adult will play 5 Crowns too.
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Board Games for 10 – 12 (and UP)
Ahh… finally, we are getting to board games that even adults will play. But, sticking with the theme, these games are the ones with straight forward game-play and rules that kids can work out alone!
Carcassonne is a great Tile Placement game. And Imhotep is a basic worker placement. Both Imhotep and Adventureland have multiple levels, so as the kid grows up, he/she can make it more complicated. Small World is just fun, and with all the different characters/characteristics, it’s never the same game twice.
Carcassonne is a great Tile Placement game. And Imhotep is a basic worker placement. Both Imhotep and Adventureland have multiple levels, so as the kid grows up, he/she can make it more complicated. Small World is just fun, and with all the different characters/characteristics, it’s never the same game twice.
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Christmas is the time to dust off your favourite board games and challenge friends and relations to a good old-fashioned game of Monopoly or Cluedo.
Forget video games like Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto, board games are having a resurgence, fuelled by board game cafés like Draughts in London’s Hackney and Waterloo and Thirsty Meeples in Oxford.
Here is our selection of board games new and old for the whole family to play during the festive season.
Read more
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They require varying amounts of skill but there’s something here for everyone.
We’re secretly hoping to see the return of a vintage 1970s board game called Exploration, where players had to mount successful missions to far-flung places and return to base in one piece. How does the current crop of games match up?
Scrabble 70th Anniversary Edition: £25.99, Amazon
Age: 10+ Players: 2-4
Scrabble was invented in 1938 by American architect Alfred Butts, who decided the value of each tile by measuring how frequently each letter appeared on the front page of The New York Times.
To celebrate the game’s 70th anniversary this year there’s a stylish new edition, complete with a chic black and gold board and black tiles embossed with gold letters. The appeal of Scrabble never fades, although most of us would be hard-pressed to match the skill of new world champion Nigel Richards, who clinched victory by scoring 68 points with the word “groutier” – meaning more cross, sulky or surly.
Mango Wood Chess and Draughts: £69.95, Nkuku
Age: 8+ Players: 2
Academics reckon that chess boosts intelligence and creativity so Christmas is the ideal time to polish your skills.
Handmade from sustainable mango wood, this elegant chess and draughts set is beautiful to look at as well as fun to play on.
Devon-based Nkuku (the name comes from a hut in Zambia) sells handmade home and lifestyle products from around the world, combining great design with traditional skills and natural materials. The set would make a stylish gift – and will stand the test of time too.
The London Board Game: £29.99, London Transport Museum Shop
Age: 7+ Players: 2-6
This is a fun way for players of all ages to get their heads round the complexities of the London Underground system – from tennis-mad Wimbledon to leafy Highgate.
The aim is to visit six of London’s sightseeing hotspots, such as the V&A museum at South Kensington and the statue of Eros at Piccadilly Circus, and be the first to get back to the mainline station you started from.
The board is a facsimile of the London Underground map so even if you’re a harassed commuter you’ll enjoy the race and learn more about London as you play.
Monopoly Cheaters Edition: £21.99, Argos
Age: 8+ Players: 2-6
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a skirmish on the Monopoly board.
The new Cheaters Edition brings a fresh twist to the property trading game, which was originally designed to warn players about the dangers of capitalism.
This fast-paced edition encourages cheating and subterfuge so it’s perhaps advisable not to play when tempers are frayed.
It includes 15 cheat cards – one allows players to steal money from the bank, another exhorts them to avoid paying rent. If you can manage to trick your opponents without being rumbled you’ll get ahead of the game. There’s also a nifty pair of handcuffs for trips to jail.
Trivial Pursuit Master Edition: £32.99, Amazon
Age: 16+ Players: 2+
We can’t think of anyone who doesn’t enjoy Trivial Pursuit. Devised nearly 40 years ago by two Canadian journalists who decided to invent their own game while they were playing Scrabble, it became an instant classic.
The game comes in a variety of editions, some for the whole family, others for 16-year-olds and up.
This one has a pie-shaped timer to speed the game up and features 3,000 questions in six categories – geography, entertainment, history, art and literature, science and nature and sports and leisure.
If you can answer questions like “What 1992 film starring Whoopi Goldberg was made into a hit stage musical”, this is the game for you. The answer is Sister Act by the way.
Pictionary: £24.99, Amazon
Age: 8+, Players: 2 teams
You don’t have to be any good at drawing to play Pictionary. In fact it’s more entertaining if you aren’t.
The latest edition of the game has been updated to make it fun for all ages, with two levels of clues – one for adults and the other for children – and a new popular culture category.
Grown-ups get words like Formula One and Bee in Your Bonnet while children have to sketch words like Spaghetti and Fireworks.
Players have one minute to draw the word on the card, using wipe clean markers and boards rather than the messy scraps of paper of old.
Mango Wood Noughts and Crosses: £34.95, Nkuku
Age: 5+, Players: 2
No one’s quite sure who invented noughts and crosses but it’s thought that the Ancient Egyptians played it as far back as 1300 BC.
Thousands of years later we’re still playing it, whether it’s on a scrap of paper or a bespoke set.
Nkuku’s traditional noughts and crosses set is hand-carved in sustainable mango wood by artisans in Rajasthan. It’s fun to play and a work of art too.
Pie Face Cannon!: £26.99, Argos
Age: 5+ Players: 2+
Ready, steady, splat. This probably isn’t the best game to play when you’re wearing your Christmas best but it’s wholesome and fun – and suitable for five-year-olds and up (under adult supervision, that is).
One player puts their chin on the chin rest behind a cardboard facemask, then another aims the cannon and launches the whipped cream. Yes, we did say whipped cream (which isn’t provided by the way).
The aim is for the person behind the mask to avoid getting splattered in cream.
Speech Breaker: £21.99, Argos
Age: 14+ Players: 4-10
Would-be journalists will enjoy this challenge game where players get the chance to try their hands as news reporters.
The reporter has to draw a card and describe the scene in 30 seconds without uttering any of the words shown on the card while their team tries to guess the story.
With challenges like “Winston Churchill is doing a jigsaw puzzle on a jet ski”, it’s more difficult than you might think. Just to add to the fun, reporters get to use an electronic microphone and headset. Three AA batteries needed.
The Verdict: Best board games
For sheer style and longevity, the ultra-good-looking Scrabble 70th Anniversary Edition is our winner this year. It’s a game you’ll never tire of and the celebratory 70th anniversary black and gold branding is stunning.
As a runner-up, we couldn’t resist Nkuku’s Mango Wood Chess and Draughts. As well as being fun to play on, it will add style to your coffee table.
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