Boardgames worth buying for kids

nesf · 08-12-2011 1:40am #1

I'd like to convert this thread into one where we can talk about good quality boardgames for kids. Ideally better than the usual crap put out in the Irish shops that breaks after a short time or is extremely gimmicky.

Kids of Carcassonne is a board game: http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/41010/the-kids-of-carcassonne

More specifically it's a German style board game based on an excellent adult board game called Carcassone. It's aimed at 4+ and I just picked it up for the 5 year old and he loves it.

It's a tile playing game with some strategic elements. Big bright colours and all that and good for the mind. Teaches you to think ahead and plan your moves in advance and all that yet is simple enough that a 5 year old can beat a 30 year old boardgame veteran in it.

Highly recommended if you want something other than the cheap plasticky crap that passes for board games in this country. I got it off amazon.co.uk for £22 which was a good enough price.

IvyTheTerrible · 08-12-2011 12:18pm

Oh I love the "adult" Carcassonne, would love to share the children's version with my boyfriend's nephew and nieces!

Thanks for sharing!

nesf · 08-12-2011 1:15pm

Another German board game I'm planning on getting: http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/5824/the-kids-of-catan

Under the brand of "The Settlers of Catan" another "adult" board game. Has a good reputation for younger children. Build completely out of wood, so able to take a lot of punishment. The problem is it's around the £40 mark, so not a trivial purchase.

LadyMayBelle · 08-12-2011 1:21pm

Suitable for an 11 year old? She went on hols with her parents to Carcassone, so this might be a good option! I can imagine her face when she sees a boardgame tho! Shock! But would be a better option than other gifts

nesf · 08-12-2011 1:42pm

LadyMayBelle wrote: »

Suitable for an 11 year old? She went on hols with her parents to Carcassone, so this might be a good option! I can imagine her face when she sees a boardgame tho! Shock! But would be a better option than other gifts

Too simple for an 11 year old I'd say. The full game would be better: http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/822/carcassonne

On Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rio-Grande-Games-RGG170-Carcassonne/dp/B00005UNAX/ref=pd_sim_b_12

Only £11 but it's a game I still play as an adult. There's that much depth and strategy in it. But very easy for a child of 11 to pick up. It's a bit like chess in that the rules are easy to understand but the game is very hard to master. There's a load of expansions and such if they get into the game.

Other good options:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mayfair-MFG3061-Settlers-of-Catan/dp/B000W7JWUA/ref=sr_1_1?s=kids&ie=UTF8&qid=1323347932&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rio-Grande-Games-195RGG-Puerto/dp/B00008URUT/ref=sr_1_1?s=kids&ie=UTF8&qid=1323347977&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dominion-Cards-Storage-Tray-Booklet/dp/B001JQY6K4/ref=sr_1_1?s=kids&ie=UTF8&qid=1323348010&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Abacusspiele-ABA13094-Ra/dp/B002G3ENES/ref=sr_1_1?s=kids&ie=UTF8&qid=1323348060&sr=1-1

There's loads more listed here: http://boardgamegeek.com/browse/boardgame?sort=rank&rankobjecttype=subtype&rankobjectid=1&rank=82#82

Just make sure to check the number of players needed and the suggested age by the users of the site. If in doubt ask on this thread and if I've played it I can give you an idea of whether it's suitable for an 11/12 year old or not. Though at that age they should be able to play almost every game available to be honest.

nesf · 08-12-2011 1:47pm

For anyone interested in the history of these games: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German-style_board_game

Yeah, I'm a bit of a geek when it comes to this kind of thing.

Moonbeam · 08-12-2011 1:56pm

I am an adult and we play Carcassone! Dominion is supposed to be great too.

silverharp · 08-12-2011 2:58pm

The German game Siedler is very good not sure if there is an English version of it. Other favourites in our house are Monopoly and Risk.

byhookorbycrook · 09-12-2011 1:13am

We have a shared maths programme in school,where we send maths boards games home over 6 weeks. It's amazing how many families say they have forgotten the fun of board games and would love the project to go no all year!!

nesf · 12-12-2011 2:08am

Moonbeam wrote: »

I am an adult and we play Carcassone! Dominion is supposed to be great too.

Dominion is great. Myself and my wife went through a good long phase of playing it every night. Best with more than two people though. Agricola is another very good one for adults and teens.

lonestargirl · 12-12-2011 9:31pm

Bohnanza is a good, fun card game. It's interesting how many of the best games originate in Germany?

Moonbeam · 12-12-2011 9:40pm

my 2(3 in January) year old is getting connect4 and snakes and ladders because they are the only age appropriate games that I can think of..does anyone know any other family games that we could play together?

nesf · 12-12-2011 9:46pm

Moonbeam wrote: »

my 2(3 in January) year old is getting connect4 and snakes and ladders because they are the only age appropriate games that I can think of..does anyone know any other family games that we could play together?

Apparently a 3 year old can play this, though I have not tested this theory myself (assuming they get a lot of help): http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/5824/the-kids-of-catan

Pricey though. Built to take a lot of punishment though (this is why it works for 3 year olds...)

Staph · 13-12-2011 9:28am

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

We have a shared maths programme in school,where we send maths boards games home over 6 weeks. It's amazing how many families say they have forgotten the fun of board games and would love the project to go no all year!!

Hi, I was wondering what these games were and are they suitable for 8-10 years? Thanks

LadyMayBelle · 14-12-2011 2:14pm

I have always found Cranium to be a lot of fun, and lat year discovered the kids version, and that went down really well..

Popel · 15-12-2011 2:38pm

WE have got this boardgame for our 2 and a half year old:

http://www.amazon.de/HABA-4655-ersten-Spiele-Obstgarten/dp/B001P4ZACS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323955963&sr=8-1

This is a game for up to 4 people, with an age range of age 2-4.

The instructions are printed in 4 or 5 languages, including english, and there´s no actual writing in the game itself, so the fact that it´s german isn´t important. It´s available on both the german amazon and ebay. And, like so many german games, it´s very sturdy, and the fruit, dice and crow are all made from wood painted in non-toxic, child-friendly paint.

oh look, and it´s available from the US too:

http://www.amazon.com/HABA-My-Very-First-Games/dp/B004BW8TYC

nesf · 15-12-2011 2:43pm

Popel wrote: »

WE have got this boardgame for our 2 and a half year old:

http://www.amazon.de/HABA-4655-ersten-Spiele-Obstgarten/dp/B001P4ZACS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323955963&sr=8-1

This is a game for up to 4 people, with an age range of age 2-4.

The instructions are printed in 4 or 5 languages, including english, and there´s no actual writing in the game itself, so the fact that it´s german isn´t important. It´s available on both the german amazon and ebay. And, like so many german games, it´s very sturdy, and the fruit, dice and crow are all made from wood painted in non-toxic, child-friendly paint.

oh look, and it´s available from the US too:

http://www.amazon.com/HABA-My-Very-First-Games/dp/B004BW8TYC

Suitable for a child just turning two?

Popel · 15-12-2011 2:51pm

nesf wrote: »

Suitable for a child just turning two?

I would say so, it´s a really simple concept, but I suppose when they´re on the younger end of the scale maybe it´ll take a few months for the game to be played how it´s intended.

My two and a half year old would be well able for it, but there is a big growth spurt thing at exactly two years where vocabulary explodes and the toddlers suddenly start looking and acting like small children, so it´s probably best from that point.

Plus if you buy it now you´d definitely be using it before spring/summer.

Morag · 15-12-2011 4:21pm

more of a card game then board game but http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/11231/snorta is like animal snap and a lot of fun.

Fluxx is another we play a lot of it's random and simple but complex at times
http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/258/fluxx

And the lego board games Minators maze and Atlantis.

cruizer101 · 19-12-2011 1:38pm

Anyone know any shops that would stock a lot of these games. I reckon for most you are looking at ordering of internet but this close to christmas if I could walk into a shop to pick up some be great. I'm guessing maybe some independant type toy shops maybe but if anyone knows any be great.

Morag · 19-12-2011 2:40pm

Gamers world in dublin just off jervis st
http://gamersworlddublin.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=88&zenid=c5ffcd7b94969bae89abf9ff6a9c0a8d

Other Realms Cork in St Pauls Shopping centre
http://www.galway.net/pages/kieran/index.htm

nesf · 19-12-2011 4:31pm

Sharrow wrote: »

Other Realms Cork in St Pauls Shopping centre
http://www.galway.net/pages/kieran/index.htm

Other Realms board game selection is small unfortunately.

Ordering off Amazon today and selecting Standard Delivery should get the game to you before Christmas so long as Amazon itself is selling it not a third party.

LadyMayBelle · 20-12-2011 7:28pm

Friends of ours bought us a great game called Articulate. You have to work in teams and describe the person/ action/ thing without saying the word .. You can use other words , gestures , actions etc. Great for teens and adults.. I i ordered Articulate for Kids on the back if how fun this game was for four adults!! It is good for teaching kids to get more descriptive and expressive and one game is about twenty mins to half hour. Had to order on Amazon tho as toy stores and Argos don't seem to have it. Highly recommend.

oranmoregal · 17-01-2012 11:05pm

These board games were recommended by parents: www.mykidstime.ie/d/10-best-family-board-games

Rummikub is a family favourite - recommended 8 up but our 6 year old has got to grips with it as well. It's like playing rummy but with tiles.

liliq · 18-01-2012 4:48pm

Has anyone played the Lego creationary?
It says suitable for 7 years+...

tro81 · 23-01-2012 7:15pm

oranmoregal wrote: »

These board games were recommended by parents: www.mykidstime.ie/d/10-best-family-board-games

Rummikub is a family favourite - recommended 8 up but our 6 year old has got to grips with it as well. It's like playing rummy but with tiles.

Its a brilliant game, very addictive. Does anyone know where you can get hold of it?

Gloomtastic! · 26-01-2012 8:52pm

We love a good board game! Will check out the ones mentioned already.
Dominos is a great traditional game for all the family, kids get it from about 4+

A couple of new ones we discovered in the last few years -
The first game that the kids were able to play from about 2 was Lucky Duckies. It's battery operated but good gun for all the family.
Soundtracks. A CD-based game that now comes in loads of varieties.
Pack Your Bags Game - a fun memory game.
Story Cubes is good and it's Irish.
UNO is a good card game for 6+.
Rain or Shine is not bad.
Frustration is good but it can be very frustrating!!!!

ladypip · 21-03-2012 10:13pm

My four year old got some great games from orchard toys games recently. He got the shopping list game here : http://www.orchardtoys.com/products/shopping-list/
He has played that in school and begged for it so I relented and I'm happy I did we have allot of fun playing it, Its a great memory game kind of like go fish.

And we also got a Jack in the beanstalk game but i cant find it on the website, the jack in the beanstalk game is a game for teaching shapes. Its really fun and he finds it exciting.

Both games have been great tools to teach him patience and to wait his turn and also to be a good sport when he loses.

We will definatly be buying more games from them and more games in general:D

Popel · 18-12-2012 10:26pm

Another Christmas, another boardgame, this time for our 3 1/2 year old. After a full year of enjoying the "My First Orchard" game by Haba, and it continuing to be one of her favourite things to play with, our adult patience has run out, and we NEED something new!

So this has been organised by Santa, and arrived here today:

http://www.amazon.de/Haba-4278-erster-Spieleschatz-Spielesammlung/dp/B0046UUO06

It's a compendium of toys, again made by the Haba company, which produces very high quality wooden-based toys and games. I think the english name is My first treasury of Games. This compendium has ten different games, which the reviews say range in difficulty from an appropriate age of 2 years all the way up to 8, 9, 10 year olds. I opened the box today and have to say, I'm really looking forward to playing it with her. There's a whole mix of board games, card games, and I don't know what else.

Instructions are in english too. And I ordered the game off another german website, mytoys.de, for only 28 euro.

lyonsm65 · 15-07-2013 3:44pm

We have a Mobile home and 4 kids they are 16-14-12-10.
And they have spent many a wet afternoon and evening playing dungeon and dragons,One of the parents on the site introduced them to and it has realy taken off.There is no board just manuals game sheets charachter sheets and one player is the dungeon master.

nesf · 15-07-2013 5:21pm

Yeah, 10 is a good age to start D&D. 4th Ed. especially is quite friendly to younger players.

Boardgames worth buying for kids

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