Roundup
The Best Board Games for Kids
Age ratings on board games are set by the publisher and they are usually honest. This page uses those numbers and nothing else.
By Scooter M. · Published · Last updated
How this page is funded: the buy links below are affiliate links. If you buy through one, we earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It does not change the order of the picks or what we say about them. Full disclosure.
Games we claim to have play-tested: 0. Every gift guide in this category implies a shelf of played games behind it. We do not have one, and we would rather say so. What we do instead is on this page: the publisher’s own player count, playing time and age band for every pick, cited to the publisher; a live price rather than a remembered one; and a plain answer on who should skip each game.
The short answer
The publisher-stated age floors on this page run from 4 to 8. For a four- or five-year-old, buy My First Carcassonne (Z-Man: 2-4 players, 4+) or Outfoxed! (Gamewright: 2-4 players, 5+, 20 minutes). For a seven-year-old, buy the full Carcassonne, which Z-Man rates 7+ and which they will not outgrow.
Board game age ratings are set by the publisher, and in this category they are unusually honest - they reflect what a child can actually hold in their head, not a safety label. So the useful thing a page like this can do is print those numbers and get out of the way.
| Game | Stated age | Players | Time | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| My First Carcassonne | 4+ | 2-4 | 30 min | Z-Man Games |
| Outfoxed! | 5+ | 2-4 | 20 min | Gamewright |
| Happy Salmon | 6+ | 3-8 | 90 sec | Exploding Kittens |
| CATAN Junior | 6+ | 2-4 | 30-40 min | Catan Studio |
| Carcassonne | 7+ | 2-5 | 30-45 min | Z-Man Games |
| Dragonwood | 8+ | 2-4 | 20 min | Gamewright |
| Sushi Go! | 8+ | 2-5 | 15 min | Gamewright |
| Qwixx | 8+ | 2-5 | 15 min | Gamewright |
Buy at their age, not above it
The instinct with a bright child is to buy up a year or two. It is usually a mistake, and not because they cannot cope - because the failure is social rather than cognitive. A game slightly above a child’s level needs an adult to explain every turn, which turns playing into being taught, and children work out the difference very quickly.
The exception worth making is a game that spans a range. Carcassonne is rated 7+ and is genuinely played by adults, so a seven-year-old given it is being handed a real game rather than a children’s one. That is a better shape of gift than anything aimed precisely at their year.
Cooperative games for children who mind losing
Outfoxed! is cooperative: the children work together to identify the culprit before the fox escapes. Gamewright rates it 5+, which makes it the earliest point at which a child can play a genuine deduction game without losing to an adult.
Beyond it, Forbidden Island (Gamewright, 10+) and Pandemic (Z-Man, 8+) are the natural next steps, both on our family page.
How to choose between them
Match the stated age exactly, then check the playing time against the child’s attention span rather than yours. My First Carcassonne is rated 4+ but stated at 30 minutes by Z-Man, which is at the top end for that age - Outfoxed! at 20 minutes is often the more realistic first game.
If several children of different ages will play together, take the lowest age and buy for that, or take a game with no reading at all. Carcassonne and Happy Salmon both work across a wide range at the same table.
Quick picks
Ranked on how well each one fits the job in this page’s title, using the publisher’s own player count, playing time and age band. Tap any row for the full write-up, including who should skip it.
| # | Product | Best for | Gift fit | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  My First Carcassonne2-4 players · 30 min · 4+ | Lowest age floor anywhere here | 8.6 | Check price on Amazon |
| 2 | Outfoxed!2-4 players · 20 min · 5+ | Best for a five-year-old | 8.9 | Check price on Amazon |
| 3 |  Happy Salmon3-8 players · 2 min · 6+ | Best for burning off energy | 8.0 | Check price on Amazon |
| 4 | CATAN Junior2-4 players · 30-40 min · 6+ | Best for a six-to-nine-year-old | 8.0 | Check price on Amazon |
| 5 |  Carcassonne2-5 players · 30-45 min · 7+ | Best game they will not outgrow | 8.8 | Check price on Amazon |
| 6 | Dragonwood2-4 players · 20 min · 8+ | Best if they want to roll dice | 7.9 | Check price on Amazon |
| 7 | Sushi Go!2-5 players · 15 min · 8+ | Best cheap card game | 8.9 | Check price on Amazon |
| 8 | Qwixx2-5 players · 15 min · 8+ | Best with no waiting | 8.0 | Check price on Amazon |
#1 - Lowest age floor anywhere here
My First Carcassonne
Z-Man Games · A four-year-old, honestly
Carcassonne with the scoring taken out and an age floor of 4 - the lowest on this site after nothing. Children place tiles and put their people on matching roads, and adults can play it without pretending.
#ad We do not hold a current price for this product, so we do not show one. How we make money.
What it actually is
A tile-laying game for young children. You add a tile to the growing town and place one of your figures wherever your color appears.
Does it fit this page?
Z-Man states 2-4 players and an age floor of 4 - the lowest of any game we cover.
What the publisher states
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Players | 2-4 | Z-Man Games, published product page |
| Age | 4+ | Z-Man Games, published product page |
| Playing time | 30 min | Z-Man Games, published product page |
Read from the publisher’s own page. Where a publisher does not state a figure, there is no row for it here.
What is good about it
- Age 4 is the publisher's own figure, and the game genuinely works there
- No reading, no counting, no scoring to explain
- A real path into the full Carcassonne later
What is not
- Adults get nothing out of it beyond watching a child enjoy it
- Thirty minutes is at the top end for the age it targets
- Caps at four
Who should skip it
Skip it for a household whose youngest is already 7 or 8 - buy the full Carcassonne instead, which they will grow into rather than out of.
How it scored as a gift
- Easy to explain9.6
- Works for non-gamers9.4
- Group size range6.8
- Repeat plays7.6
- Feels like a gift8.4
Gift fit 8.6 / 10. That is our editorial judgment of how safe and well-aimed this is as a present, read off the published specifications - not a verdict on how good the game is, and not a test result. It is deliberately not marked up as a rating in this page’s structured data. How we pick.
#2 - Best for a five-year-old
Outfoxed!
Gamewright · A five-year-old and an adult who has to play too
A cooperative whodunnit for young children. Gamewright's stated age floor is 5, which is the lowest of any game on this site, and the children work together rather than against each other.
#ad We do not hold a current price for this product, so we do not show one. How we make money.
What it actually is
A cooperative deduction game. You gather clues and use a plastic decoder to eliminate suspects before the fox escapes.
Does it fit this page?
Gamewright states 2-4 players, 5+, 20 minutes, and it is cooperative so nobody loses.
What the publisher states
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Players | 2-4 | Gamewright, published product page |
| Age | 5+ | Gamewright, published product page |
| Length | 20 min | Gamewright, published product page |
Read from the publisher’s own page. Where a publisher does not state a figure, there is no row for it here.
What is good about it
- Age floor of 5 with genuine deduction underneath it
- Cooperative, so a five-year-old does not lose to an adult
- Twenty minutes, which matches the attention span it is aimed at
What is not
- Adults playing without children will be bored
- The clue decoder is a small plastic part that can be lost
- Caps at four players
Who should skip it
Skip it for an adult game night. Outfoxed is aimed at young children and does not have a second layer for grown-ups.
How it scored as a gift
- Easy to explain9.2
- Works for non-gamers9.4
- Group size range6.8
- Repeat plays7.8
- Feels like a gift8.6
Gift fit 8.9 / 10. That is our editorial judgment of how safe and well-aimed this is as a present, read off the published specifications - not a verdict on how good the game is, and not a test result. It is deliberately not marked up as a rating in this page’s structured data. How we pick.
#3 - Best for burning off energy
Happy Salmon
Exploding Kittens · Ninety seconds of chaos, over and over
The publisher lists the play time as 90 seconds and that is not a typo. Everyone shouts an action at once until somebody empties their hand. As a stocking filler for a house with children it is close to unbeatable.
#ad We do not hold a current price for this product, so we do not show one. How we make money.
What it actually is
A card game with no turns. You call out the action on your top card until you find the person calling the same thing, do the high-five or the fist-bump, and move on.
Does it fit this page?
Exploding Kittens states 3-8 players, 6+, and a play time of 90 seconds.
What the publisher states
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Players | 3-8 | Exploding Kittens, published product page |
| Age | 6+ | Exploding Kittens, published product page |
| Play time | 90 sec | Exploding Kittens, published product page |
Read from the publisher’s own page. Where a publisher does not state a figure, there is no row for it here.
What is good about it
- An age floor of 6, so young children genuinely play on equal terms
- Ninety seconds means it fits anywhere - before dinner, at a table, in a queue
- Ships in a cloth pouch rather than a box, so it travels
What is not
- Extremely loud and physical
- No strategy at all, which is not what every recipient wants
- Needs three people minimum, so it is not a two-person gift
Who should skip it
Skip it for anyone with limited hand or arm mobility - the game is built entirely on physical gestures - and skip it for a quiet household.
How it scored as a gift
- Easy to explain9.8
- Works for non-gamers9.6
- Group size range8.0
- Repeat plays7.0
- Feels like a gift7.0
Gift fit 8.0 / 10. That is our editorial judgment of how safe and well-aimed this is as a present, read off the published specifications - not a verdict on how good the game is, and not a test result. It is deliberately not marked up as a rating in this page’s structured data. How we pick.
#4 - Best for a six-to-nine-year-old
CATAN Junior
Catan Studio · A six-to-nine-year-old who has watched adults play CATAN
CATAN rebuilt for ages 6 and up, with pirates instead of settlers and 2 to 4 players in 30 to 40 minutes. Catan Studio describes it as being for families with children aged 6 to 9, which is exactly right.
#ad We do not hold a current price for this product, so we do not show one. How we make money.
What it actually is
A simplified CATAN. Children collect resources and build pirate hideouts, with the trading rules cut down to something a six-year-old can hold in their head.
Does it fit this page?
Catan Studio states 6+, 2-4 players, 30-40 minutes, and describes it as being for families with children aged 6 to 9.
What the publisher states
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 6+ | Catan Studio, published game page |
| Players | 2-4 | Catan Studio, published game page |
| Playing time | 30-40 min | Catan Studio, published game page |
Read from the publisher’s own page. Where a publisher does not state a figure, there is no row for it here.
What is good about it
- Lets a young child play the game the adults keep talking about
- Simplified trading is the right cut - it keeps the interesting part
- Playable at two, which the full CATAN is not
What is not
- Thirty to forty minutes is long for a six-year-old
- Adults will not choose it for themselves
- Redundant once the household moves up to full CATAN
Who should skip it
Skip it for children over about 9 - Catan Studio's own framing is families with children aged 6 to 9, and older children should go straight to the full game.
How it scored as a gift
- Easy to explain8.6
- Works for non-gamers8.6
- Group size range6.8
- Repeat plays7.6
- Feels like a gift8.8
Gift fit 8.0 / 10. That is our editorial judgment of how safe and well-aimed this is as a present, read off the published specifications - not a verdict on how good the game is, and not a test result. It is deliberately not marked up as a rating in this page’s structured data. How we pick.
#5 - Best game they will not outgrow
Carcassonne
Z-Man Games · A family with a genuinely mixed age range
You draw a tile, you put it down so the roads and fields line up, and sometimes you put a little wooden person on it. Z-Man's stated age floor is 7, the lowest of any full board game here, and it plays two to five.
#ad We do not hold a current price for this product, so we do not show one. How we make money.
What it actually is
A tile-laying game. The board is built as you play, one square tile at a time, and you claim the roads, cities and fields you help complete.
Does it fit this page?
Z-Man states 7+ and 2-5 players, so it works for a seven-year-old and still works at seventeen.
What the publisher states
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Players | 2-5 | Z-Man Games, published product page |
| Age | 7+ | Z-Man Games, published product page |
| Playing time | 30-45 min | Z-Man Games, published product page |
Read from the publisher’s own page. Where a publisher does not state a figure, there is no row for it here.
What is good about it
- An age floor of 7 with no reading required at all
- Genuinely playable at two, which most family games are not
- No two games start the same, because the board is different every time
What is not
- Field scoring at the end confuses almost everybody the first time
- A run of unhelpful tiles feels like bad luck rather than a decision
- The little wooden figures are exactly the size a toddler will eat
Who should skip it
Skip it for a group of six or more, and skip it for anyone who wants the scoring to be obvious - the farms rule is the one everybody argues about.
How it scored as a gift
- Easy to explain8.6
- Works for non-gamers9.0
- Group size range8.6
- Repeat plays9.2
- Feels like a gift8.8
Gift fit 8.8 / 10. That is our editorial judgment of how safe and well-aimed this is as a present, read off the published specifications - not a verdict on how good the game is, and not a test result. It is deliberately not marked up as a rating in this page’s structured data. How we pick.
#6 - Best if they want to roll dice
Dragonwood
Gamewright · A child who wants something to happen on their turn
Collect cards, then spend them to roll dice at a goblin. Gamewright states ages 8+, 2 to 4 players, 20 minutes - and the dice-rolling is what keeps a child at the table when a quieter game would lose them.
#ad We do not hold a current price for this product, so we do not show one. How we make money.
What it actually is
A card-and-dice game. You gather sets or runs of cards, then trade them in for dice to attack the creatures laid out in front of you.
Does it fit this page?
Gamewright states 2-4 players, 8+, 20 minutes, with dice rolled at monsters every turn.
What the publisher states
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Players | 2-4 | Gamewright, published product page |
| Age | 8+ | Gamewright, published product page |
| Length | 20 min | Gamewright, published product page |
Read from the publisher’s own page. Where a publisher does not state a figure, there is no row for it here.
What is good about it
- Rolling dice at a monster is a much easier sell to a child than set collection
- Twenty minutes, which is the right length for that audience
- Teaches sets and runs without ever calling them that
What is not
- Caps at four players
- The dice mean a well-planned turn can still fail
- Adults playing alone will find it slight
Who should skip it
Skip it for an adults-only game night - it is aimed squarely at families with children and it does not pretend otherwise.
How it scored as a gift
- Easy to explain8.8
- Works for non-gamers8.8
- Group size range7.0
- Repeat plays7.8
- Feels like a gift7.6
Gift fit 7.9 / 10. That is our editorial judgment of how safe and well-aimed this is as a present, read off the published specifications - not a verdict on how good the game is, and not a test result. It is deliberately not marked up as a rating in this page’s structured data. How we pick.
#7 - Best cheap card game
Sushi Go!
Gamewright · A small, cheap gift that is actually good
A tin of cards, fifteen minutes, and one of the best value-for-money gifts in the whole category. You pass hands of cards around and try to collect the sets that score well together.
#ad We do not hold a current price for this product, so we do not show one. How we make money.
What it actually is
A card game where you pick one card from your hand, pass the rest to your neighbor, and repeat - so every hand you see has already been picked over.
Does it fit this page?
Gamewright states 2-5 players, 8+, 15 minutes, in a tin that survives a school bag.
What the publisher states
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Players | 2-5 | Gamewright, published product page |
| Age | 8+ | Gamewright, published product page |
| Length | 15 min | Gamewright, published product page |
Read from the publisher’s own page. Where a publisher does not state a figure, there is no row for it here.
What is good about it
- Fits in a coat pocket, so it travels and it fits a stocking
- Fifteen minutes means a household plays it three times in a sitting
- Cheap enough to give alongside something else
What is not
- Caps at five - Sushi Go Party! is the version that seats eight
- Scoring is fiddly the first time through
- Almost too small to feel like a main present on its own
Who should skip it
Skip it as a sole main gift for an adult - it reads as a stocking filler no matter how good it is. Give it alongside something larger.
How it scored as a gift
- Easy to explain9.2
- Works for non-gamers9.2
- Group size range7.8
- Repeat plays8.6
- Feels like a gift7.4
Gift fit 8.9 / 10. That is our editorial judgment of how safe and well-aimed this is as a present, read off the published specifications - not a verdict on how good the game is, and not a test result. It is deliberately not marked up as a rating in this page’s structured data. How we pick.
#8 - Best with no waiting
Qwixx
Gamewright · A table where somebody always complains about waiting
Six dice, a pad of scoresheets, and fifteen minutes. Everybody uses every roll, so nobody is ever waiting for their turn - which is exactly why it works with grandparents and children at the same table.
#ad We do not hold a current price for this product, so we do not show one. How we make money.
What it actually is
A dice game. One person rolls, but every player marks something off their own sheet from that roll, so there is no downtime.
Does it fit this page?
Gamewright states 2-5 players, 8+, and every child marks something off on every roll.
What the publisher states
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Players | 2-5 | Gamewright, published product page |
| Age | 8+ | Gamewright, published product page |
| Length | 15 min | Gamewright, published product page |
Read from the publisher’s own page. Where a publisher does not state a figure, there is no row for it here.
What is good about it
- Nobody waits - every roll is used by every player
- The scoresheets make the rules self-explanatory
- Very cheap, and about as portable as a game gets
What is not
- It is a dice game; luck decides more than skill
- Score pads run out and need replacing
- Does not look like much when unwrapped
Who should skip it
Skip it for someone who wants meaningful decisions - Qwixx is mostly about making the best of what the dice gave you.
How it scored as a gift
- Easy to explain9.6
- Works for non-gamers9.4
- Group size range7.8
- Repeat plays8.0
- Feels like a gift6.6
Gift fit 8.0 / 10. That is our editorial judgment of how safe and well-aimed this is as a present, read off the published specifications - not a verdict on how good the game is, and not a test result. It is deliberately not marked up as a rating in this page’s structured data. How we pick.
How these were picked
We have not played these games and we do not pretend to have. What we did was read each publisher’s own page, take their stated player count, playing time and age band, check that every pick genuinely fits the constraint in this page’s title, confirm it is still being sold, and pull a live price rather than a remembered one. Every figure here names the publisher it came from, so you can check it yourself in about a minute.
How we pick sets out the full method, including what would change a ranking.
Questions people ask
+−What board game is best for a 5 year old?
Outfoxed! - Gamewright states 2-4 players, ages 5+, 20 minutes. It is cooperative, so a five-year-old is not losing to an adult, and there is real deduction in it rather than just luck. My First Carcassonne goes lower still at 4+.
+−What board game is best for a 7 year old?
The full Carcassonne. Z-Man states 2-5 players and an age floor of 7, there is no reading involved, and unlike a game aimed only at children it is one adults genuinely play - so it stays in use for years.
+−Should I buy a board game above my child's age?
Usually not. A game a year or two above needs an adult explaining every turn, which changes playing into being taught. Better to buy at the stated age and pick something with a high ceiling - Carcassonne at 7+ is the clearest example.
+−What is a good board game for children who do not like losing?
Cooperative ones. Outfoxed! (Gamewright, 5+) is the earliest, and Pandemic (Z-Man, 8+) and Forbidden Island (Gamewright, 10+) follow on. In all three, everyone wins or loses together against the game.