Board games are not just for kids and adults. They’re a great way to teach young ones through play. Games for toddlers and preschoolers can help with skills like taking turns and solving problems. They also help with recognizing colors and learning early math.
I’ve picked out the best board games for toddlers and preschoolers for you. They’re sorted by age to help you find the perfect game for your child. From simple color-matching games for 1.5-year-olds to beginner strategy games for 4- and 5-year-olds, these games are fun. They also help with family bonding and social skills.
Looking to start a weekly family game night or need a fun indoor activity? These games will keep your child’s hands and mind active. Ready to find the best board game for your child? Let’s dive in! 🎲✨
Best Board Games for Ages 1.5 – 2 🎲👶
⬆️ these games are great for younger toddlers!
They focus on simple motor skills, recognition and exploration without being too much for little ones.
Board games are such a fun way to introduce “Brain Games Fridays” for 18-month-olds, helping with things like problem-solving and early executive functioning 💪🧠
Perfect for keeping those little brains busy! 💬 If I missed your favorite, let me know in the comments ⤵️ I’d love to hear what’s working for your little ones! 🎲👶
1️⃣ First Orchard – HABA 🍏🍒
✅ Type: Cooperative Color & Turn-Taking Game
✅ Skills: Color matching, turn-taking, teamwork
🔹 How to Play: Work together to collect fruit before the raven reaches the orchard!
💡 Why It’s Great: Easy rules, quick gameplay, and chunky pieces for little hands!
2️⃣ Roll & Play – ThinkFun 🎲🐄
✅ Type: Action & Movement Game
✅ Skills: Gross motor skills, early language, following instructions
🔹 How to Play: Roll the big, soft die and act out the simple instruction on the color-matching card (e.g., “Moo like a cow!”).
💡 Why It’s Great: Encourages movement and interaction—perfect for toddlers with endless energy!
3️⃣ Where’s Bear? – Peaceable Kingdom 🧸🔍
✅ Type: Hide-and-Seek Game
✅ Skills: Spatial awareness, problem-solving, object permanence
🔹 How to Play: Hide a little bear under stacking blocks, and let your toddler find him!
💡 Why It’s Great: Simple, interactive, and fun for tiny detectives!
4️⃣ Animal Upon Animal (My First Version) – HABA 🦒🦓
✅ Type: Stacking & Balancing Game
✅ Skills: Fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, problem-solving
🔹 How to Play: Stack chunky wooden animals on top of each other without letting them fall!
💡 Why It’s Great: Doubles as a free-play toy with adorable wooden animals!
5️⃣ Peek-a-Boo Learning Farm – Learning Resources 🚜🐷
✅ Type: Matching & Object-Permanence Game
✅ Skills: Color recognition, fine motor skills, matching
🔹 How to Play: Open barn doors to reveal hidden animals inside—match them by color!
💡 Why It’s Great: Perfect for little ones who love surprises!
6️⃣ Monkey Around – Peaceable Kingdom 🐵🎭
✅ Type: Movement & Activity Game
✅ Skills: Gross motor skills, balance, coordination
🔹 How to Play: Pick a card and act out the silly movement (hopping, balancing, stretching, etc.).
💡 Why It’s Great: Active, engaging, and a great bonding game for parents and toddlers!
7️⃣ Nibble Munch Crunch – HABA 🥕🦔
✅ Type: Simple Matching Game
✅ Skills: Color and shape recognition, fine motor skills
🔹 How to Play: Match the wooden food pieces to the correct animals!
💡 Why It’s Great: Perfect for short attention spans and introducing early game mechanics!
8️⃣ Match My Fish – The Learning Journey 🐠🎨
✅ Type: Memory & Matching Game
✅ Skills: Color recognition, matching, memory skills
🔹 How to Play: Flip colorful fish cards and match them by color or pattern!
💡 Why It’s Great: Bright, sturdy pieces make it perfect for little hands!
Best Board Games for Ages 2-3 🎲👶
Starting board games at 2 years old is such a great idea because it not only helps toddlers develop essential skills like
✨taking turns
✨recognizing colors
✨and counting
but it also fosters a ✨sense of teamwork and cooperation✨
It’s an amazing way to build ✨early social skills✨ and even helps ✨strengthen the bond between siblings or parents during play✨
Plus, these early board game moments can create lifelong memories and lay the foundation for a love of games that carry on into their childhood and beyond…
Personally, board games are one of our most beloved ways to learn.
Both my kids started playing board games at 2 years old, and in the beginning the sessions were often short or we simplified the rules to match their attention span and understanding.
It’s been such a gentle and fun introduction to learning through play, and now, as they’re 3 and 6 respectively, board games have become part of our family routine 💛
1️⃣ First Orchard – HABA 🍎🍐
✅ Type: Cooperative
✅ Skills: Color recognition, counting, turn-taking
🔹 How to Play: Work together to collect all the fruit before the raven reaches the orchard!
💡 Why It’s Great: Simple rules, chunky wooden pieces, and teamwork make it perfect for little hands!
2️⃣ Colorama – Ravensburger 🎨🟡🔺
✅ Type: Matching
✅ Skills: Color and shape recognition, sorting, fine motor skills
🔹 How to Play: Match colors and shapes by placing the correct pieces on the board.
💡 Why It’s Great: Bright, easy-to-handle pieces make it a great starter game for toddlers!
3️⃣ Snail’s Pace Race – Ravensburger 🐌🐌🏁
✅ Type: Racing
✅ Skills: Color learning, counting, patience
🔹 How to Play: Roll the dice and move the colorful snails across the board.
💡 Why It’s Great: No competition—just fun, slow-paced learning!
4️⃣ Acorn Soup – Peaceable Kingdom 🥣🌰
✅ Type: Pretend Play / Matching
✅ Skills: Counting, matching, fine motor
🔹 How to Play: Follow a simple recipe to make a “soup” using chunky wooden ingredients.
💡 Why It’s Great: Hands-on fun while learning basic math and pretend play!
5️⃣ Feed the Woozle – Peaceable Kingdom 🍪👹
✅ Type: Cooperative
✅ Skills: Counting, motor coordination, teamwork
🔹 How to Play: Feed the Woozle silly snacks while following different movement challenges.
💡 Why It’s Great: Encourages giggles and coordination while learning numbers!
6️⃣ Caterpillar Rainbow Game – HABA 🐛🌈
✅ Type: Color Matching
✅ Skills: Fine motor, hand-eye coordination, color recognition
🔹 How to Play: Arrange colorful caterpillar pieces to complete a rainbow!
💡 Why It’s Great: Bright colors and chunky pieces make it engaging and easy for little hands!
7️⃣ Monkey Around – Peaceable Kingdom 🐵🎭
✅ Type: Action Game
✅ Skills: Gross motor skills, turn-taking, following instructions
🔹 How to Play: Draw a card and perform fun movements like hopping, spinning, or balancing.
💡 Why It’s Great: Perfect for active toddlers who love to wiggle and move!
8️⃣ Don’t Break the Ice – Hasbro ❄️🔨
✅ Type: Dexterity Game
✅ Skills: Fine motor control, cause and effect
🔹 How to Play: Tap out ice blocks carefully—don’t let the figure fall!
💡 Why It’s Great: Simple, engaging, and exciting for little problem-solvers!
✍️⤵️What board games does your 2-3 year old enjoy? 🎲 I’d love to hear which games are a hit with your little ones!
Best Board Games for Ages 3-4 🎲👧👦
These are some of our favorite board games and now that my kids are 3 and 5 (soon 6), they can join in on these games together, making it even more special.
It’s lovely to see how they bond through play and it’s become a fun part of our family routine…
Many of the games I suggest for this age rely on
✨memory and recall✨ which are key for early 🧠 development, helping children
✨enhance their focus
✨concentration
✨and problem-solving abilities
I highly recommend setting aside 15-20 minutes to introduce 1-2 board games each week.
These early play moments not only create fun memories but also lay the foundation for a lifelong love of learning through play 💛
1️⃣ Zingo – ThinkFun 🔠🎰
✅ Type: Fast-Paced Matching
✅ Skills: Pre-reading, image recognition, quick thinking
🔹 How to Play: Slide the tile dispenser to reveal picture-word tiles and match them to your board.
💡 Why It’s Great: Exciting, easy to play, and builds early reading skills!
2️⃣ Classic Memory – Ravensburger 🧠🎴
✅ Type: Memory Matching
✅ Skills: Concentration, attention to detail, memory
🔹 How to Play: Flip two cards at a time to find matching pairs.
💡 Why It’s Great: A simple yet effective game to boost memory and focus!
3️⃣ The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game – Educational Insights 🐿️🌰
✅ Type: Fine Motor / Color Matching
✅ Skills: Hand-eye coordination, turn-taking, color recognition
🔹 How to Play: Use tongs to collect acorns in different colors.
💡 Why It’s Great: The tong action is fun and strengthens small muscles needed for writing!
4️⃣ Hoot Owl Hoot! – Peaceable Kingdom 🦉🌅
✅ Type: Cooperative Strategy
✅ Skills: Teamwork, color matching, decision-making
🔹 How to Play: Help all the owls fly home before the sun rises by moving to color-matching spaces.
💡 Why It’s Great: Encourages teamwork and problem-solving!
5️⃣ Candyland – Hasbro 🍬🌈
✅ Type: Color Matching / Race Game
✅ Skills: Turn-taking, rule-following, color recognition
🔹 How to Play: Draw a card and move along the sweet, colorful path to reach the Candy Castle.
💡 Why It’s Great: Simple, nostalgic, and exciting for young kids!
6️⃣ Count Your Chickens – Peaceable Kingdom 🐥🐔
✅ Type: Cooperative Counting
✅ Skills: Early math, teamwork, turn-taking
🔹 How to Play: Work together to gather all the chicks before Mother Hen reaches the coop!
💡 Why It’s Great: A fun way to practice counting while learning about cooperation!
7️⃣ Shopping List – Orchard Toys 🛒🛍️
✅ Type: Memory-Based Matching
✅ Skills: Memory, everyday vocabulary, matching
🔹 How to Play: Find and collect items on your shopping list before your cart is full!
💡 Why It’s Great: Great introduction to everyday objects and shopping fun!
8️⃣ Pengoloo – Blue Orange Games 🐧🥚
✅ Type: Memory Game
✅ Skills: Color recognition, memory, attention to detail
🔹 How to Play: Roll dice and find matching colored eggs hidden under penguins.
💡 Why It’s Great: Adorable penguins + fun memory play = win-win!
Top Board Games for Ages 4-5 🎲✨
These are some of our favorite board games 🤩 while my 3-year-old isn’t quite ready for the 4-5 year old games, my older child (5, almost 6) still loves them!
It’s been wonderful to see how board games help him unwind after a long day at school and they continue to be one of our favorite ways to bond as a family…
For my older child, many of the games I suggest focus on
✨memory
✨strategy
✨and problem-solving
which are fantastic for developing cognitive skills and keeping him engaged.
I love how these games build ✨focus and concentration✨ while still being a lot of fun.
I highly recommend introducing 1-2 board games each week. Whether it’s a relaxing way to end the day or a way to boost learning through play, these moments create memories that last 💛
1️⃣ Zingo – ThinkFun 🎰🔠
✅ Type: Bingo-Style Word & Matching Game
✅ Skills: Early reading, word recognition, focus
🔹 How to Play: Slide the tile dispenser, match words or pictures to your card, and race to complete your board!
💡 Why It’s Great: Fast-paced, easy to learn, and great for pre-readers!
2️⃣ Outfoxed! – Gamewright 🦊🔍
✅ Type: Cooperative Detective Game
✅ Skills: Teamwork, logical thinking, problem-solving
🔹 How to Play: Work together to find clues and eliminate suspects to solve the mystery before the fox escapes!
💡 Why It’s Great: Encourages critical thinking in a fun, engaging way!
3️⃣ Labyrinth Junior – Ravensburger 🌀🔑
✅ Type: Strategy & Maze Navigation
✅ Skills: Problem-solving, spatial awareness, planning
🔹 How to Play: Move maze tiles to create paths and find hidden treasures!
💡 Why It’s Great: Simple, strategic, and engaging for the whole family!
4️⃣ Dragomino – Blue Orange Games 🐉🧩
✅ Type: Tile-Laying Strategy Game
✅ Skills: Basic strategy, critical thinking, pattern recognition
🔹 How to Play: Match tiles to hatch dragon eggs and collect the most baby dragons!
💡 Why It’s Great: Easy to learn, rewarding, and fun for dragon lovers!
5️⃣ My First Castle Panic – Fireside Games 🏰👾
✅ Type: Cooperative Adventure Game
✅ Skills: Teamwork, turn-taking, decision-making
🔹 How to Play: Work together to defend the castle from invading monsters before they reach the walls!
💡 Why It’s Great: No winners or losers—just teamwork and adventure!
6️⃣ Race to the Treasure! – Peaceable Kingdom 🏴☠️💎
✅ Type: Cooperative Path-Building Game
✅ Skills: Strategy, planning, teamwork
🔹 How to Play: Build a path to the treasure while avoiding obstacles!
💡 Why It’s Great: Introduces kids to strategy in a stress-free, cooperative way!
7️⃣ Soggy Doggy – Spin Master 🐶💦
✅ Type: Surprise & Action Game
✅ Skills: Turn-taking, anticipation, motor skills
🔹 How to Play: Wash the puppy but beware—he might shake and splash everyone!
💡 Why It’s Great: Exciting, interactive, and full of surprises!
8️⃣ The Ladybug Game – Zobmondo!! 🐞🌿
✅ Type: Counting & Strategy
✅ Skills: Early math, simple decision-making, turn-taking
🔹 How to Play: Help ladybugs get home while avoiding obstacles and collecting aphids!
💡 Why It’s Great: Fun + educational = perfect for preschoolers!
9️⃣ First Journey: Ticket to Ride – Days of Wonder 🚂🗺️
✅ Type: Beginner Strategy Game
✅ Skills: Planning, map reading, decision-making
🔹 How to Play: Build train routes across the map while planning your next move!
💡 Why It’s Great: A perfect introduction to strategy games!
✍️⤵️What are your favorite board games? 🎲
I’d love to hear what games your little ones enjoy playing – whether it’s something to wind down after school or a weekend family favorite!
Share your go-tos in the comments!⤵️
