I am not an expert on what games are developmentally beneficial for kids.
I am, however, an expert on what games you can play with your kids that won’t make you want to poke your eyeballs out.
I hate playing Candy Land. I don’t love playing pretend. A few days ago, I pretended to be a horse with Nate for approximately 17 lifetimes, which ended up only being about 17 minutes. Look, I love my kids to the moon and back and love to be with them, but at this stage of life, the things we both truly enjoy doing don’t overlap all that much. I keep trying to pitch various mother-son hobbies such as “group naps” and “quietly play with mom’s hair while she scrolls Instagram” but I’m just not getting any traction there.
Enter these games. I grew up in a big time game household. We still reach for cards and games every time we get together, and it’s my favorite thing to do with friends and family. And while Nate isn’t quite ready for Ticket to Ride or Cover Your A$$ets yet (two big time favorites for the grown up crowd), we have found several games that we both actually enjoy playing! Click the title of the game for an Amazon link! (Not affiliate) (I’m not that fancy)
Race to the Treasure
This game is awesome, because it is cooperative! There is no crying about wanting to win or things being unfair- you win or lose together! It’s cute and simple, and as a bonus, Nate has learned how to use a grid system (i.e. A6- find the A column and the 6 row and put it where they intersect.) This game never ends in tears and is quick and fun. It’s a big win over here.
Zingo
We were introduced to Zingo when my little nonstop chatterbox wasn’t chatterboxing at all, and spent 6 months in speech therapy. They played this game together, and when we spotted it at a store and Nate exclaimed, “Dat ‘peech game!”, I had to get it for him! This game is great for taking turns, vocabulary, and the little slider for the tiles is highly enjoyed by Nate and my neighbor kids who come play it often. It’s all luck, but it’s painless for parents and so fun for kids.
Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game
This game holds the title for my favorite! It is so cute, fun, and clever. Nate loves the squirrel grabber. And this is going to sound so weird, but the little acorns are the most amazing texture. They are kind of smooth and soft rubber that weirdly makes me want to eat them. I dunno, man, I just like holding them and playing with them! Okay I am weird, but this game is great and you should get it. It’s another game that is mostly luck, but it does require a tiny bit of thinking about which nuts you still need to fill your stump, and which nuts you should steal. Boy, I wish there was a different way to phrase that; it makes me feel uncomfortable talking about nuts so much.
Sequence for Kids
This game introduces the idea of strategy to a kid. The cry risk is higher in this game, as it does occasionally require the grown up to sabotage the carefully laid coins of the child. But most of the times, no tears are shed and it a good time is had by all.
Uno
Uno takes the prize for Nate’s current favorite game. We play at least 5 games of Uno a day lately. And Nate beats me 90% of the time, and I’m trying my best! I just can’t catch a break, man! This game has a treasure trove of learning opportunities- matching colors and numbers, taking turns, skipping turns and still being a good sport. But mostly I just love that it’s quick and easy and Nate absolutely loves that he almost always beats me. And he is not going to learn from me how to be a good sport about being on the business end of a Draw 4 Wild Card because that just makes me mad, man.
Loopin’ Louie
This one is just pure silliness, but boy do we all love it! It is a perfect blend of luck and skill. You can actually get pretty good at launching the air plane just right to knock down the opponent’s chickens, but you can also be terrible at it and still win, so it’s perfect for any ages to all play together. Except baby Max, because he plays dirty and just rips the whole thing apart. Some people’s babies, I tell you what. But we love this, and play it often!
And of course, none of this is sponsored. Because who would sponsor a blog with 10 readers? Ha. I mean if anyone wants to sponsor me and send me free games to review, I totally would. *tap tap* Is this thing on? Anyone? Bueller?
I get nothing if you buy any of these games except the smug satisfaction of feeling like an expert in entertaining the 3-4 year old crowd. And I will ride that high into the sunset. In Loopin’ Louie’s crop duster.
Leave a Reply