Top 27 Best Board Games For 5 Year Olds
Board games are a fun way to spend quality time with your kids and they offer lots of learning opportunities for kids of all ages. There are so many games to choose from now-a-days so I have complied a list of the best board games for 5 year olds (all tested by our family :)). These games are simple to learn and fun to play!
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As a developmental pediatrics nurse and mom of 3 I’m convinced game playing with your children is one of the most underrated activities to do with kids. Game playing can lead to incredibly rich leaching opportunities for your child (Scholastic has a great article that goes over so many benefits of game play with kids). In short, games give kids opportunities to learn about team work, communication and social emotional skill building. They also are great at working on logic, critical thinking and can be a great intro to understanding strategy play. We love using games to teach our kids about turn taking and how to respond when winning or losing a game.
Board games make a great birthday present, Christmas gift or Easter basket filler. It is a gift that doesn’t contribute to toy clutter, promotes time away from screens and fosters quality family time together. This list of the best board games for 5 year olds is intended to make that gift buying a bit easier for you.
If you are short on time here is a quick recap for you:
- Best Cooperative Game For 5 Year Olds: Outfoxed
- Best Family Game Night Game: Taco Vs Burrito
- Best Strategy Game: Ticket To Ride: My First Journey or Catan Jr.
- Best Single Player Game: Rush Hour Jr.
- Best Game For Groups: Guess In 10
- Best Game For People Who Don’t Like Games 🙂 : Story Time Dice
Best Board Games For 5+ Year Olds
1. Outfoxed
Outfoxed has quickly become a go to game in our family. Players work together to solve the mystery of who stole Mrs. Plumpert’s pot pie, but you have to work quickly before the fox gets away! This is a great game to start learning about cooperative play, teamwork and deductive reasoning. It is so engaging and my older kids love this just as much as my preschooler, making it a great choice for the whole family.
Ages: 4+
Players: 2-4 (but we have often played with more)
This is the kid version of the top rated game, Carcassonne and is a great introduction to strategy play. You lay tiles to create roads with the goal of collecting animals (I promise it is not as confusing as that just sounded :)). This tile laying game is a great way to teach your child how to make strategic choices when playing a game and is really fun for older children to play as well.
Ages: 4+
Players: 2-4
Travel across North America in this fun strategy game for kids. If you are wanting to introduce your children to strategy and critical thinking in game play this is a great game choice. This is one of those games that is fun to play as an adult as well, making it a great family game night option!
Ages: 5+
Players: 2-4
This is our go to game to throw in our bag when we go out to eat, we will take it out while waiting for our food to pass time. Rat-a-tat Cat introduces basic math concepts like memory, strategy and simple addition. This game has different variations for kids of all ages which allows this game to grow with your child!
Ages: 4+
Players: 2+
5. Zingo
Zingo is like bingo, with a twist! It is a great game to work on sight words and matching. This also is an excellent choice for a group game. It allows kids to experience winning and losing a game and gives you opportunities to talk with your child on how to be a good sport at the end of the game.
Ages: 4+
Players: 1-7
This game is perfect for kids who are not yet reading. It is a good introduction to strategy play and works on logical thinking as the child works to get 4 chips in a row on the board. This is a great choice for family game night, your child will be so excited to play the game independently and it is fun for older kids to play too!
Ages: 3+
Players: 2-4
7. Uno
If you are looking for a quick game to throw in your bag to bring along to pass time waiting at a restaurant, doctor or other outing with your child this is a great choice! Uno works on both color and number matching. The game lasts less than 10 minutes and the whole family can play!
Ages: 4+
Players: 2-10
8. Guess Who
This classic game is so much fun to play! It teaches your child deduction skills and helps them critically think about questions to ask to solve the mystery of who is on the back of their opponent’s card. You can play this game in 10 minutes which makes it a very easy game to play in the middle of busy days.
Ages: 5+
Players: 2
9. Trouble
As a child I remember playing this game at my grandparents, my grandma never played easy on us. 🙂 You work to move your pegs from home base to your finish line, without getting sent back home by an opponent. This game is an awesome way to each kids 1:1 counting, turn taking and even some strategy play.
Ages: 4+
Players: 2-4
10. Gnomes At Night
If you love cooperative games this is a must have! This search-and-find maze game can be played with 2-4 players and you work together to move the magnetic gnome around the board to find the hidden gems before the sun comes up. This is is a fantastic game to work on communication skills and using descriptive language as well as how to work together as a team.
Ages: 5+
Players: 2-4
12. Tiny Poka Dots
This was the 2017 game of the year, and for good reason. There are over a dozen variations of this game, some single player options (perfect for a quiet time activity for your child) and others are multi-player variations. This is a game that can grow with your child, starting around the age of 3 and growing with the child until they are around 8 years old. This game is a great way to work on early learning math skills in a really fun way!
Ages: 3+
Players: 1+
13. Memory
This game is a great way to work on memory skills with your child. I love that there are so many different versions of Memory which gives you options to tailor the game to your child’s interest creating buy-in and motivation to play it. If you are playing with younger players you can decrease the number of matches you put out when playing to make it easier and more engaging for them.
Ages: 3+
Players: 2+
14. Spot It
This card game is a great option for a group game! This quick pace of this game is perfect for little ones with short attention spans. There are 5 different games you can play with these cards, all of them work on racing to spot different objects that match between any two cards. This is a great way to challenge your child’s observational skills and is a lot of fun to play!
Ages: 5+
Players: 2+
15. Rush Hour Jr.
This is a game of logic and works on critical thinking and spacial reasoning skills. It is a single player game, making it an awesome choice for a quiet time activity or to bring along when a child is going to be waiting (we use ours a lot when our kids are waiting for a sibling sports practice to be done). There are 40 challenge cards including which go up in difficulty. Once your child has mastered this game they will be ready for Rush Hour!
Ages: 5+
Players: 1
This cooperative game is a great way to work on teamwork, problem solving and introduce strategy skills to younger kids. In this game everyone works together to collect 3 keys as they race to get to the treasure before the Ogre does.
Ages: 5+
Players: 2-4
17. Guess In 10
In this game the goal is to guess the animal on the game card in less than 10 questions. This is a good game for road trips or large group play. The junior version doesn’t require any reading skills and is quick to learn. This game is frequently requested during family game nights at our house.
Ages: 5+
Players: 2+
19. Catan Jr.
If you love strategy games this is a great first game to introduce your child to to. This is the kid version of the popular game Settlers of Catan and it does not disappoint! It keeps kids engaged as everyone is involved at each player’s turn and it takes 20-30 minutes to play, just long enough to build strategy and short enough to keep your child’s attention.
Ages: 5+
Players: 2-4
20. Sorry!
This classic family game night game is so simple but also has some fun strategy making it fun for kids of all ages. The rules are simple to understand allowing younger children to play right alongside of their parents or older siblings.
Ages: 5+
Players: 2-4
21. Taco vs. Burrito
If you are looking for a simple game that will bring laughter to your game nights- this card game is it! This is one of my kids favorite games to play. The rules of the game are simple and easy to learn and you can play this game in about 15 minutes. The biggest question to ask is are you team taco or team burrito?
Ages: 5+
Players: 2-4
22. Enchanted Forest
Enchanted Forest allows your child to go on a magical treasure hunt in a land of fairy tales. It is a great game to work on problem-solving skills and memory and the game board is adorable. Ravensburger games are always quality games and this one does not disappoint.
Ages: 4+
Players: 2-6
This is a junior version of Mastermind, introducing the concept of deductive reasoning and logic to your child. This game has 3 levels of play allowing it to grow along with your child. You take turns to set and solve secret codes with your jungle animal pieces. It is a great STEM game that both young kids and big kids will enjoy!
Ages: 5+
Players: 2
24. Story Time Dice
If your family isn’t into games or competition this game would be a perfect fit for you. With 4 different game variations you roll your dice and create a magical story based off of the images shown on the dice. This can be an independent play activity but is also a great choice for a group activity and is a perfect way to foster young players imaginations.
Ages: 5+
Players: 1+
25. Labyrinth Jr.
In this game you are working on finding the shortest route through the Labyrinth to win. It is great for young children and as your child masters this game you can move them up to Labyrnith. Labyrinth Jr. works on critical thinking skills and strategy play.
Ages: 5+
Players: 2-4
26. Shut The Box
This fast-paced game is a great way to work on math skills with kids. It works on quick addition and number recognition and is lots of fun to play. The simple rules make it easy for kids to learn and they will want to to play over and over!
Ages: 5+
Players: 1-4
27. Blockus
This is a perfect game for the whole family. The rules are easy to learn and it is challenging for all ages. Players take turns putting their pieces on the board, each piece must touch another of the same color, but they can only touch at the corners! The goal is to see how many pieces you can fit on the board before your opponents block you and you can no longer play. This game also a great way to work on fine motor skills with your little one!
Ages: 5+
Players: 2-4