Board games are a great way to teach your kids about rule-following, taking turns, winning graciously, losing calmly, and have a lot of fun. Also, board games are classic, timeless games, and overall a fun activity that will keep on passing to other generations. They also let kids spend some quality time with their friends and family. Moreover, such games are good for your little one as they improve their behavior, cognitive abilities, and coordination skills.
Being a parent, the only thing you need to ensure is to select the best board game for your tiny tot. There are a lot of board games available in the market. Finding the best board game for your little one could be a tough task.
Well, to help you out with this situation, we are here with some tips. You should go through the following points before picking any board game.
Enhances Social Skills
Playing with board games sometimes involves fewer people or sometimes may involve a larger group. You should select one for your child that allows him to interact with almost 4+ people. This is an amazing way to develop their social skills. Moreover, meeting and interacting with more people will boost his confidence and interactive skills.
Develop Cognitive Abilities
Among all the board games available in the market, select the one that helps in the development of your child educationally, and further develop their cognitive skills. The board game should enhance their critical thinking, problem-solving abilities, counting, and language abilities.
Strengthen Coordination and Motor Skills
Since your child is at a developing stage at the moment, you should buy a board game that strengthens his coordination along with the motor skills. These skills are very important for a developing kid as these will help them to walk properly and use their hands in proper coordination.
In case you still want to know more about other points of considerations before buying ,scroll fast and head towards the end of this article to check out the Buying Guide.
Best Board Games For Toddlers
| Board Games | Best for | Suitable for | Buy Now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Think Fun Roll and Play Game | Improved creativity and fun-learning | 1.5 years old kid | CHECK ON AMAZON |
| Peaceable Kingdom Monkey Around Game | Overall skill development | 2 to 4 years old kids | CHECK ON AMAZON |
| Hasbro Gaming Hi Ho! Cherry-O Game | Enhanced Math skills | 3 months to 6 years old kid | CHECK ON AMAZON |
| CozyBomB Magnetic Wooden Fishing Game | Non-toxic and eco-friendliness of material that's used | 2 to 10 years old kid | CHECK ON AMAZON |
| Peaceable Kingdom Count Your Chickens | Learning different skills | 3 to 5 years old kid | CHECK ON AMAZON |
| Briarpatch Welcome to Mainstreet | Overall Skill development | 2 to 6 years old kid | CHECK ON AMAZON |
| Hasbro Gaming Candy Land Kingdom Game | Improvement in vision and imagination | 3 years old kid and above | CHECK ON AMAZON |
| Pressman Lucky Ducks Game | Color-Matching and recognition | 3 years old kid and above | CHECK ON AMAZON |
| Wonder Forge Disney Classic Game | Enhanced focus and sharp memory | 3 to 5 years old kid | CHECK ON AMAZON |
| Hasbro Gaming Chutes & Ladders Game | Learn to count, add, subtract, etc. | 3 to 7 years old kid | CHECK ON AMAZON |
10 Best Board Games For Toddlers Reviews
1. Think Fun Roll and Play Game
Suitable for kids that belong to the age group of 18 months and up, this “Roll and Play game” by Think Fun is an ultimate choice for a parent. This is because this game motivates a kid to develop various skills and grow while playing with it. The game comes with 48 cards along with one plush cube.
This game further involves rolling the plush cube and recognizing the color. On the cards, there are different illustrations to help the child in identifying and learning about things like colors, sounds of animals, emotions, body parts, counting, and more. This game can enhance motor skills in your kid, along with creativity. Overall, it’s a fun-filled activity for children that keep them engaged for a longer duration.
Features:
- It comes with a guide of instructions
- High-quality product
- This game weighs only 1 pound
- It measures 7 x 7.3 x 6.7 inches
Pros:
- Multiple kids or players can play it
- Safe for toddlers
- Doesn’t require batteries to run on
Cons:
- The child may lose the cards or damage it.
2. Peaceable Kingdom Monkey Around Game
Monkey around, the wiggle and giggle game, comes with a box that contains the cards, a beanbag banana, and the main tree where the cards have to be placed. It mainly focuses on playing along with learning and then exploring things and connecting with others. This game can ideally be played by kids that are 2-year-old. It helps them with the identification of spatial concepts, exploration of vocabulary, and knowing more about the body parts.
This game further enhances the coordination of hand and eyes as well as motor skills. Moreover, when an elder person plays with a kid, it ensures better bonding and interaction between the two of them. And hence, a wiggle and giggle game like this one can help him/her get better at social abilities.
Features:
- It weighs 1.4 pounds
- The product measures 8 x 3 x 8.1 inches
- Ideally made for 2 to 4 years old kid
Pros:
- No batteries needed
- Improves hopping, imitation, balancing, and marching in kids
- Improves skills like listening
Cons:
- A bit expensive
3. Hasbro Gaming Hi Ho! Cherry-O Board Game
If your kid is between the age group of 3 months and 6 years old, this is a perfect choice to opt for as a parent, especially in board games. It could be played by 2 to 4 kids or players at a time. Since it’s a board game for preschoolers, kids grow out to be more confident and skilled.
This game ensures making your kid good at counting things such as fruits or others as they have to either put back or pick fruit from the bucket or tree.
The number or the move required is decided by the spinner that comes along with the game. This game allows the kid to learn or practice skills such as addition or subtraction. The winner of the game is decided when he or she completes picking every fruit off the tree.
Features:
- Weighs 6.4 ounces
- The box comes with 10 of each apple, cherries, blueberries, and a basket.
- It comes with instructions.
- The product measures 1.9 x 10.5 x 10.5 inches
- It requires to be assembled by an adult
Pros:
- No batteries needed
- Multiple kids can play it together
Cons:
- Pieces or game parts like fruits can get lost
4. CozyBomB Magnetic Wooden Fishing Game
Best suited to the children that belong to the age group of 2 to 10 years old, this magnetic wooden fishing game has it all that a kid needs to learn or play with. It comes with a playboard that is made of wood, 26 visually appealing fishes to learn alphabets from, and one storage bag for fishes.
It further involves a cat doll with a magnet, 2 fishing rods, etc. Since it’s full of colors and consists of amazing craftsmanship, kids like playing with it a lot.
Moreover, kids learn to get used with various colors, their identification, along with the learning of different English alphabets. They further learn to count, catch fish by using creativity. Also, there is an enhancement of hand movement and brain evolution when they try techniques to find and catch the fish with the rod.
Features:
- Weighs 12.3 ounces
- The product measures 9.8 x 9.8 x 1.6 inches
- Multiple kids can enjoy it
- High-quality wood and non-toxic material has been used
- Environmentally-friendly paint
Pros:
- No batteries needed
- No rough or harsh wooden edges and hence, more safety
Cons:
- A child might end up losing fishes or other parts of the game.
5. Peaceable Kingdom Count Your Chickens
A child will learn to count numbers, identify things and colors, and develop or grow to be socially interactive. This game involves one spinner, one main game board, 40 colorful baby chicks, and one mother hen that come with a stand. All that is required to be done is to help the mother hen collect back all the baby hens and get them back home.
He or she will be able to solve issues efficiently and will feel connected with elders or partners.
Along with growing emotionally strong, they will understand the value of the community too. Since they have to play together, they learn to make decisions by sharing thoughts with each other. Moreover, this game is highly-suggested to children that are 3 to 5 years old.
Features:
- Weighs 1 pound
- The product measures 9.1 x 1.5 x 12.6 inches
- Product quality is good enough
- 2 to 4 kids can play it together
Pros:
- No batteries needed
- Cognitive skill development
- Visually appealing and hence, attractive for kids
- Improved self-esteem
Cons:
- Baby chicks can get lost
- Choking hazard for kids that are less than3 years old
6. Briarpatch Welcome to Mainstreet
Formulated or designed for kids to make them acquire knowledge to count things or numbers, “Welcome to Mainstreet” game is a perfect gifting option. This game comprises of 30 Bingo chips, game instructions, 4 Bingo cards, and 30 character cards. It is highly recommended to be bought for a child that is 2 years to max. 6 years old.
It is not to be given to a child who is smaller than 2-year-old because of choking hazards. It can be, at one time, played by 2 to 4 kids max. This further enhances skills, such as cooperation and social interaction. Furthermore, it is visually exciting and appealing to engage kids for a longer duration.
Features:
- It weighs 1.68 pounds
- The product measures 10.5 x 2 x 10.5 inches
- Good enough quality and durable
Pros:
- No batteries needed
- Skill development and growth like color recognition
- Very well-crafted game
Cons:
- Cards are prone to get lost
7. Hasbro Gaming Candy Land Kingdom Board Game
The Candy Land Kingdom is ideal to be played by a maximum of 2 to 4, at max., kids. It’s a sweet adventurous play, Best suited for children that belong to the age group of 3 years or more. It helps the kids to identify various different colors and have fun playing with the appealing illustrations that come with the game. It involves the main gameboard, a deck of cards, play instructions, and 4 pawns.
The player who first reaches the candy land kingdom is the one that wins it. This game is quite simple and doesn’t need much knowledge of understanding to enjoy paying it with his/her. They go through little adventurous activities while they move ahead to reach the castle before other players.
Features:
- It weighs 1.12 pounds
- The product measures 1.2 x 15.8 x 10.6 inches
- Enhanced imagination
Pros:
- No batteries needed
- High-quality product
Cons:
- Not best suited for small kids as they can put small parts of the game in their mouth
- Expensive or unworthy of the cost it’s sold at
8. Pressman Lucky Ducks Game
Comprised of a sheet of stickers, a pond-shaped game unit, and 12 ducks, this game is ideal for children that are 3-year-old and up.
Around 2 to 4 kids can enjoy playing this game together, which improves their bonding and interaction with each other. They are further able to develop skills like memorizing or recognition of things, their shape or color, etc.
The kids are required to collect a certain number of ducks of the same color. This way, all a kid has to do is collect ducks (using color-matching skill) as fast as possible to win the game.
This is not ideal for children that are below 3 years of age for safety purposes. Moreover, the overall look of the game, especially colors and ducks, is quite cute for kids. They love playing with these little ducks, and this game on the whole promotes fun-learning and safe activity.
Features:
- It weighs 1.15 pounds
- The product measures 10.5 x 2.5 x 10.5 inches
- It has an easy setup and hence, no adult supervision is needed as such
Pros:
- Promotes fun-learning activity
- High-quality product
Cons:
- 2 AA batteries are needed separately for this game as they don’t come with the box
9. Wonder ForgeDisney Classic Characters Matching Game
Highly-suggested for kids with age limit 3 to 5 years, this Disney matching game with classic characters comes with 72 Picture-Tiles. The kid requires matching the tiles by flipping them over and finding the ones that belong to the same family, such as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.
For this, all the tiles are laid flat on the surface, and the more matching faces that you pick, the higher are the chances to win.
And hence, this game helps in enhancing the remembering of the characters, color recognition, and more. Furthermore, it teaches a kid the art of problem-solving and staying patient. A kid can play the game with an adult as well as their friends. And hence, the chances of bonding and interaction over a game can grow more with time.
Features:
- It weighs 12 ounces
- The product measures 10.5 x 8 x 1.5 inches
- It comes with a manual that has clear game instructions
Pros:
- No need to use batteries for this game
- Enhanced focus and sharp memory development
- It doesn’t take much time to be learned
- High-quality product
Cons:
- Choking hazard
10. Hasbro Gaming Chutes & Ladders – The Classic Board Game
Well, this is one game that a majority of kids have grown up playing. Considering this is the most popular game worldwide. This is very easy to get used to for kids who are just 3 years old or more. However, kids that are below 3 years of age must not be given as the Chutes and ladders game involves little parts.
It is usually played by 2 to a maximum of 4 players (at a single time). Kids use the spinner to play the game and move to a higher number box.
On reaching a position on the board where the ladder starts, they climb higher, and the opposite happens with a chute as they slide down. The one who reaches the top box marked 100 wins the game. Since the boxes are numbered, children learn to count, add, subtract, and more.
Features:
- It weighs 1.4 pounds
- The product measures 1.2 x 15.8 x 10.6 inches
- Best-suggested toa kid who belongs to 3-7 years of age group
Pros:
- No need to use batteries for this game
- High-quality product
Cons:
- Choking hazard
Some Tips To Buy The Best Board Games For Toddlers
1. Goal and how complex the level of the game is
Many board games are just a fun way to pass the time, but many of them teach kids to use their analytical skills. You should look for a board game that is strategic and entertaining at the same time.
Strategic games can be a lot of fun for them, plus they require a little patience. Moreover, this will help your child think wisely before making any move. This will enhance their critical thinking and problem-solving abilities.
Additionally, it should be entertaining for your child. If the game is a bit more imaginative, then it will be best suited for your toddler. Also, the game should not bore them at any stage.
2. Entertaining, however not at all boring
While looking for a board game, it is important to maintain a balance between keeping them engaged for a longer time and ensuring that they do not lose interest in the game. As little kids have shorter attention spans and may get frustrated on losing, you should look for a game that does not extend more than 30 minutes per round.
A board with a shorter playtime will bind your kids to the game. They may even think of playing it a couple of times over the span or may push up to more number of hours.
3. Easy to understand or learn
Complex games will lead to boredom. And hence, look for a game that is easy to understand and learn by kids. Before buying a game, make sure to check if the board game’s rules are fun as well as understandable easily. Choose a game that is both interesting and easy to play.
Even more, the game should be easy to set up and clean up. If the setup is taking more time than playing the game, kids will undoubtedly try to avoid it at any chance. Easy clean up will make them learn to arrange their stuff and keep them all together at a place.
4. Phenomenal Quality and Safety measures
Quality or/and safety should be one of the most components before choosing anything. Choosing a board game with phenomenal quality will benefit you in the future. This will save your money and give your child an extraordinary experience of playing a board game.
Additionally, you should look for safety measures in the board game. Board games with small parts may pose a choking hazard to your little one. And hence, select the one that is appropriate according to the age of your child.
Conclusion
Board games encourage many skills at this critical development phase. So, now that you know so much about the board games, you will be able to select a good one for your little one. Be sure to find a perfect board game for your toddler after reading the tips mentioned above. Choose a wise and meaningful game to brighten up your kid’s day.
If you ask us, the “Roll and Play Game for Toddlers by Think Fun” and “Monkey around – The Wiggle & Giggle Game” are the 2 highly-advised ones. This is because of the high-quality of making along with the number of skills they develop in a kid. Moreover, these 2 are our favorites for another reason that is, Its safe for your kids, and they grow social bondings with you and their friends.
Any queries or recommendations related to the above would be highly appreciated. Until then!
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