Board games toddlers can play

Popular links under Pregnancy First Trimester. Popular links under Baby Baby Month by Month. Popular links under Toddler Toddler Month by Month. Baby Products. By Emily Platt. Image: Courtesy Manufacturer. Purchases made through links on this page may earn us a commission. Image: Courtesy Think Fun.

Image: Courtesy Haba. Image: Courtesy Peaceable Kingdom. Image: Courtesy Hasbro Gaming. Image: Courtesy Wonder Forge. Image: Courtesy Educational Insights. Image: Courtesy Hoyle. Image: Courtesy MasterPieces. Image: Courtesy Hasbro. Image: Courtesy Thinkfun. Image: Courtesy Asmodee. Image: Courtesy Pressman. Image: Courtesy Mattel Games. Image: Courtesy Winning Moves. Image: Courtesy Spontuneous.

Next on Your Reading List. Article saved. If you need to keep this game simple at first, try taking out the dragon and unicorn cards. To work on letters with your toddler, Sequence Letters is another fun educational game for 3-year-olds. When it comes to toddler board games, this is one of our absolute favorites. The game is similar to the regular version of Spot It! The small tin holding the cards also makes this game the perfect fit as a stocking stuffer for kids.

If your toddler loves this game, be sure to check out Spot It! To play this fun little game, you lay the spaghetti pieces across the bowl then put the yeti on top. No logic or story behind this setup — just go with it.

Then each player takes turns pulling out one piece of spaghetti. If the yeti falls to the bottom of the bowl on your turn, you lose. This is usually the point where the kids collapse into giggles, which can be contagious!

This game is perfect for toddlers because it helps develop their executive functioning skills when they learn the hard way to be patient and pull the spaghetti pieces out slowly. The game has several variations, but our favorite is this: Each player takes turns picking a random card. The stories we come up with as a family always leave us giggling. You can play this with a 2-year-old too, but just be prepared for their stories not to make much sense quite yet!

Another bonus with this game is that you have several versions to choose from, and to kick it up a notch you can even mix different sets together:. In the category of cooperative board games for toddlers, these are two more favorites. But because the game play for these two games is so similar, I recommend picking up either Hoot Owl Hoot or Orchard. The wooden game pieces for Orchard are super well-made and sturdy, but if that game is a bit outside your price range, Hoot Owl Hoot is just as fun.

My kids regularly pull out both games to play together independently! Warning: If your child tends to put small objects in their mouth, I recommend starting out with the First Orchard edition see below because it has larger game pieces perfect for younger kids. This is a cooperative game, so you work together to fight off a horde of monsters who are trying to tear down your castle walls and destroy your castle. When your child is ready to move from cooperative to competitive toddler board games, this is a fun stacking game for older toddlers.

In this game, you stack different wooden animal figurines on top of a large alligator, trying to see how high you can stack them before it all comes crashing down. And unlike some other stacking games for kids that are made with low-quality plastic, these sturdy wooden pieces are made to last.

Side note: This game is made by the same company who makes Orchard , which my kids also love. At first, start by just stacking the pieces like you would with blocks. As your toddler gets more confident and comfortable with the physics of the game, you can follow the game rules.

Warning: If your child still tends to put small objects in their mouth, I recommend starting out with the First Animal Upon Animal edition because it has larger game pieces perfect for younger kids, then later you can get this edition that works best for 3-year-olds and up.

Plus, the artwork is adorable! We play with my 5 year old who loves it and my 2 year old who is starting to understand. I highly recommend this game. It is great quality and great design! This stacking game is a cooperative game where all the players work together towards a common goal. As your toddler gets familiar with the rules, the game rules include a couple variations to keep things challenging and fun.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission , a good rule of thumb is to use pieces that are larger than the diameter of a quarter. Look for pieces that are also fairly rugged and durable, and can survive being handled roughly. In some games, you also may want pieces that are easy to clean. While some of the best board games for toddlers involve simple skills like color or shape matching, keep in mind that games teach a lot of social skills unrelated to game play, like turn-taking, manual dexterity in moving or manipulating pieces, and rule-following and sportsmanship.

We love collaborative games for kids, where players have to work together to reach a common goal, rather than competing against each other, because those games create a greater opportunity for players to practice communicating with each other.

Perhaps the most challenging aspect of choosing a board game for a toddler is considering who is playing the game. A small child may enjoy a color-matching game, but may outgrow it in just a few months after they have mastered that skill, unless it also incorporates some strategy or further challenges. Some things to keep in mind are:.

Is this game for siblings or play dates to enjoy together? Do you want a game that will appeal to two or more children of different ages? Is it suitable for children to play independently, or do they need the help and participation of an adult?

Is this game for the whole family? There are only a few games and we have our top picks below that are simple enough for a child to play, while being interesting enough for teens and adults to enjoy as well. Game play is simple and visual, so kids can play it independently, and it gives hours of visual exploration, promoting attention to detail. The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel game is a great board game for toddlers, because it involves simple color matching with no reading required, but also requires strategy and decision-making that keep it fun for kids after they have learned their colors.

In this game, a spinner tells kids what color of acorn to collect with the squirrel squeezer. The gameplay combination of randomness from the spinner, and strategy in choosing and collecting acorns, gives it replay value and longevity, so that kids can enjoy the game for several years, or siblings of different ages can play together. This board game features the beloved character and familiar artwork, with a cooperative game play and fun, physical activities that kids will love.

Winning this game requires kids to work together, practicing memory and matching skills, and performing fun physical activities in order to win back the lost cupcakes. Game play promotes social skills like collaboration and turn-taking, literacy and memory by associating words and pictures, and physical activity and storytelling by acting out situations.

Players may find themselves sliding down the slide again and again. Yeti in My Spaghetti is similar to Kerplunk but without the small marbles. While I do love Kerplunk, this version keeps small marbles out of the reach of toddlers. Some children will find joy and fun in the Yeti falling! Roll with it! Whatever your child enjoys that keeps him engaged and playing something that requires fine motor skills is a winner for parenting and child development! This game is played by placing marbles on the bottom row of caterpillar feet, turning on the wriggly critter, and trying to move the marbles up to the top without them falling off.

However, with adult supervision, I believe it can be a beneficial game for older toddlers, so it made the cut. Candy Land is a true classic that has been around since It has stood the test of time for good reason. This game contains a lot of fun and vibrant colors, pictures of tasty treats, and adorable characters.

Candy Land is beneficial for toddlers for its ability to grow counting skills and ease of use with pictures instead of words! Our family has gone through more than 2 Candy Land board games and will continue to play it until there are grandkids to take over!

One of the most appealing things about this game is that it can be fun for the WHOLE family while still very much including and benefiting the toddler in your home! Headbandz is played by placing a cardholder on your head, then placing a card image facing out, inside the holder.

The other players can see your image, though you cannot. The goal is to guess what your image is by asking questions. Headbandz is what we pull out every time nothing really sounds that appealing. It is always a winner! Hoot Owl Hoot is played by working together to get the owls back to their homes. Color cards are played to move the owls closer to home. This game is another fun color matching game that will be a delight for the youngest of toddlers. This game will make precious memories with the youngest of toddlers as you spend time together, adding and mixing fun ingredients.

Benefits of this game include fine motor skills, learning to take turns, and following instructions. A lot of liberty could be taken with this game. Follow the rules as loosely or closely as desired.

Here on MDP, I am passionate about investing as much time and energy as possible into proactive parenting.