Board games for children by age

HABA ZOO pyramida (Czech-Slovak edition)

Children take turns stacking chunky wooden animals on a crocodile’s back, and whoever knocks animals off takes them back. A steady hand and an eye for where a sheep will balance win it; the die only says whether to add one animal or two. With little to think about, it’s best as one game among several.

Albi Ubongo Junior (Czech edition)

When the sand timer is turned, everyone races to fill the white shape on their board with two or three animal pieces, and all who finish in time get gems, the quickest the most. Spotting where the pieces fit matters far more than which board comes up, and a parent can take the harder boards to keep it fair.

MINDOK Děti z Carcassonne (Czech edition)

Children lay square tiles so the roads join up, and when a road is closed, everyone whose colour is on it puts a figure down. The tile you draw is luck, but where to lay it so the road helps you and not the others is a real choice. Children used to other games may find it too easy by five or six.

MINDOK Dragomino (Czech-Slovak edition)

Children lay landscape dominoes so that matching lands touch, and each match lets them turn over an egg that holds a baby dragon or is empty. Four-year-olds get better at choosing the domino and its spot, but the eggs are pure chance.

MINDOK Mlsné myšky (Czech edition)

Wooden mice run round the board towards a big cheese, with a cat on their tail. Each turn you pick which mouse moves and whether it ducks into a side room for a smaller, safe piece. The die moves mice and cat, but a child who never weighs the risk mostly loses.

Haba Monza (Czech-Slovak edition)

Wooden racing cars move along a track of coloured spaces, one space for each die that matches the next colour. Lining up the dice is a small puzzle four-year-olds enjoy, though what you roll decides most of the race. The box says 5+; parents play it from three or four.

MINDOK Kulišák (Czech edition)

Everyone plays together to find out which of sixteen foxes is the thief before it gets away. Hunting for clues or revealing suspects looks like a choice, but the right move is nearly always plain, so the dice decide. That’s fine at five, though adults tire of it sooner.

Asmodee Mysterium Kids: Poklad kapitána Skřípa (Czech edition)

Players take turns as a ghost who can’t speak and imitates sounds on a tambourine, such as a cannonball or a cat’s claws, while the others listen and agree which object it was. How well the ghost plays and how closely everyone listens decide the game, with little left to chance. The box says 6+, but it works younger.

ADC Švábí salát (Czech edition)

Players turn over cards and call out each vegetable, but must name a different one when it’s the same as the last; whoever slips takes the pile. The deal barely matters; keeping your head while saying the wrong word on purpose does, and children are often better at it than adults.

MINDOK Duch! (Czech edition)

Five wooden objects lie on the table, a card is turned, and everyone grabs the right one: the one shown in its true colour, or else the one missing from the card. A quick eye and a cool head decide it, hardly ever luck. The box says 8+, yet five-year-olds often beat their parents.

ADC Spící královny (Czech edition)

Sleeping queens lie face down: kings wake them, knights steal them, and number cards are thrown away in small sums like 2 + 3 = 5. The draw decides nearly everything, so a parent can’t win by trying harder, which children love. The box says 8+, but it works from five or six for a child who can add small numbers.

Asmodee Zombie Kidz: Evoluce (Czech edition)

Children defend their school from cartoon zombies together, and every few games a sealed envelope adds new rules and pieces, so the game grows over weeks. A die decides where zombies appear, and until new rules come the right move is usually plain. The box says 7+, and an adult can easily end up deciding for everyone.

Mattel Blokus

Each colour has 21 pieces to fit onto a shared board, touching its own colour only at the corners, and every piece placed can block someone. With no dice or cards, the better planner wins, so a practised adult nearly always does. The box says 7+, but the rules are simple enough for five-year-olds.

Albi Ubongo (Czech edition)

Everyone races a sand timer to fill a shape with three or four puzzle pieces, then takes gems from a bag. The puzzles and gems add a pinch of luck, but a quick eye for shapes decides almost every round, and with an easier and a harder side to each board, a six-year-old can race an adult fairly.

Asmodee Kids Jízdenky, prosím! Junior (Czech edition)

On a map of Europe, children collect train cards in a route’s colour, claim it with their carriages and link the two cities on each ticket. For a six-year-old, reading the map and planning routes is the real game, while the colours drawn set most of the pace. One reviewer finds it’s outgrown in a year or two.

MINDOK Kingdomino (Czech-Slovak edition)

Children pick landscape dominoes to build a small kingdom, and the better the one they take, the later they choose next round. Which dominoes come up is luck; weighing a good one now against an early pick later is where the thinking is. Scoring takes multiplying, so a six-year-old needs help.

Asmodee Qwirkle

Wooden tiles in six shapes and six colours go into rows that share a shape or a colour without repeating, and longer rows score more. The tiles you draw play their part, but placing them for the most points takes real thought. With three or four players it can take 45 minutes.

ALBI Quoridor

Each player races a pawn across a wooden board, and on any turn can put down a fence instead to make someone else’s path longer. There’s no luck in it: as in a short, friendlier game of chess, thinking two or three moves ahead wins, and a seven-year-old can beat an adult who isn’t paying attention.

Albi Karak (Czech, Slovak and Polish edition)

Each hero explores the catacombs under a castle tile by tile, fighting skeletons and mummies and collecting treasure until someone beats the dragon. Where to go and which weapons to keep are choices, but the dice decide the fights, and losing one to a bad roll can upset a child. Adding up the dice is good counting practice.

ADC Kroniky Avelu (Czech edition)

Heroes the children draw and name themselves explore a kingdom together, fill a little backpack with equipment and set traps before a beast attacks the castle. Fights are rolled, but good equipment and traps shift the odds. It takes an hour or more plus setup, and an adult can easily end up deciding for everyone.