Board Games

Board Games for Every Age

Board games are a great, inexpensive way to have fun with friends and family. There are board games designed for all age groups and requiring varying skills.

Which board games are good for kids?

Board games are a good way to make learning fun. Most board games exercise specific skill sets. For example, board games that involve money, such as Monopoly, Payday, and Life can greatly help with math skills. Strategy games help kids practice reasoning and thinking ahead. Some great strategy games include Clue, Checkers, and Connect Four. Manual dexterity and hand-eye coordination can be practiced with games like Operation, Jenga, and Don’t Break the Ice. Word games such as Scrabble and Boggle can help to improve children’s spelling and vocabulary. The fun of playing games helps kids to hone their skills without even realizing that they are learning.

What about manufacturer’s age ranges?

Age impacts a child’s ability to play a game and, in turn, their interest in it. Game manufacturers usually include an age range on game boxes. These are important to note because a game like Monopoly may be fun for a nine year old, but boring or discouraging for a six year old. Fortunately, game manufacturers have created ‘Junior’ versions of many popular games. ‘Junior’ versions are tailored to the abilities of younger children and still help them to develop the skills that each game utilizes. Some popular ‘Junior’ games include Monopoly Junior, Trivial Pursuit Junior, and Scattergories Junior. These games are generally meant for children aged 4-8. But remember, you know best what your child’s skills are. Be sure not to rely solely on the manufacturer’s age range. Also, though certain games are made for younger children, adult supervision is often necessary to help children understand how to play the game.

Though games generally target certain age groups, games that are fun for the whole family are not hard to come by. Games like Clue, Life, Monopoly, and Scrabble can challenge and entertain both children and adults. The interactions that these games foster help families to bond and teach children sportsmanship as well as the skills mentioned earlier.

Which games are for adults?

Board games can be great fun for adults. Classic games such as Scrabble, Monopoly, and Scattergories can be fun and challenging for adults. In addition, new games and updated versions of classic games have a lot to offer adults. Trivial Pursuit has new editions such as 1990’s Edition, Trivial Pursuit SNL DVD, Pop Culture DVD, and Star Wars DVD. These specialized games allow one to choose a game appropriate to their interests, making for more exciting game playing. Quarto, Settlers of Catan, and Sudoku are strategy games that can be challenging for adults. Because of its diversity, Cranium is a good game for playing at parties and has gained popularity over the past few years. Cranium calls on players to use both their knowledge and their creativity to perform tasks or answer questions spanning 30 different topics.