Home › Forums › Open Discussion › At what age can a child play a simple board game?
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April 24, 2012 at 9:36 pm #603005
skeeterParticipantNew parent here! Daughter is 14 months old. I was going through Babies ‘R Us the other day (spending too much money as usual) and strolled past the early child board games like Chutes and Ladders and Candyland. Those games said “ages 3 and up” on the box. That seems a little young to me. Can a three year old figure out even a simple game?
No special reason I’m asking. Just kinda curious. Thanks.
April 24, 2012 at 10:17 pm #756284
jissyParticipantskeeter: I’ve got a 2 1/2 & 3 1/2 year old….. just this past Christmas the older one got “Memory” and had it nailed in 4 games. I’m just getting ready to try Candyland, will let you know.
April 24, 2012 at 10:20 pm #756285
shihtzuParticipantTo really play a whole game, I think 4.
April 24, 2012 at 11:04 pm #756286
MarleyBMemberMy 2 year old niece, who admittedly is very precocious, has the hang of Memory and a fun game called “Feed the Kitty.” If you’re curious about what your kid is capable of, take them to toy store like Curious Kid Stuff, or a game shop and see what they’re interested in. Local toy stores will often let the kids play with the games/toys before you buy them.
April 24, 2012 at 11:15 pm #756287
MercyMoiParticipantMy son got Chutes & Ladders, Hi Ho CherryO, and Candyland for his 3rd birthday. Candyland he could play right away, Hi Ho too. But Chutes & Ladders was a little hard. The board is busy and the numbers are 1 – 100 so we put it away and brought it out when he was four. He was better at getting the hang of it then. Memory he LOVES. He started at four but he had a bigger card version at three and was great at that – I think we could have tried regular Memory at that age I second the recommendation to just explore the toys at Curious Kids Stuff. They generously display many too for kids to play with. They’re local and stock the store with toys you are less likely to find at Tarjay or Toys-R-Us. And don’t forget they gift wrap for free! /promoting rave of one my favorite local businesses.
April 24, 2012 at 11:18 pm #756288
skeeterParticipantCool. Thanks all. I had forgotten about Memory. That might be a good game in a year or so.
April 24, 2012 at 11:20 pm #756289
MercyMoiParticipantKeep in mind you want to get your child a board game that YOU don’t mind playing. Like, I wish candyland never entered our house. I HATE that game. I like Memory and don’t mind Go Fish. Puzzles are fun to do together and he’s just reached the age where he can play checkers and Mancala. It gets better! But some of those early games…oy! Beware.
April 24, 2012 at 11:26 pm #756290
skeeterParticipantGood point MercyMoi. I suppose the 370th game of Candyland could be torture for me. :-)
April 24, 2012 at 11:48 pm #756291
BostonmanMemberI think around 4, I have an 8, 7 and 17 month old with another on the way. The two older kids can play Jr Monopoly and we just got them into Clue. My son can play chess but for chutes and ladders you really need to be about 4.
I agree that memory is a great starting game and with all my kids that is where we started.
April 24, 2012 at 11:52 pm #756292
Spring ChickenMemberAs soon as they are old enough not to swallow the pieces?
Mine loved “Hi-ho Cherry O” but when younger they don’t sit for long and like to make up their own rules as they go along, everyone Wins! haha
April 25, 2012 at 12:47 am #756293
luckymom30ParticipantThe disclaimer ages 3 and up is basically because kids 3 and younger are more likely to place the games pieces in their mouths, don’t go by the ages of toys go by the development of your child. Our daughter also loved the memory game, and Elefun.
April 25, 2012 at 12:57 am #756294
wsmama3ParticipantI think it depends on the kid (and how much wine there is in the house – it takes some patience!). My oldest (6) loves Uno and it says it is for 8 year olds. My just 4 year old could not sit still long enough to “play” a real game – but he likes pretending. I love Zimbos as an early game. Curious Kids has a great selection of games that 2-100 would love. Great family time developing skills that they need to learn.
April 25, 2012 at 4:26 am #756295
ghar72ParticipantMy now 4.5 year old boy is not interested in board games. But he does like Go Fish. Has liked it for about 1/2 year. Have you heard of the game Zingo? It’s a bingo type game. He’s enjoyed that for about a year. Agree with others that it depends on the kid. Gotta say I’m not too sad about the lack of interest in Candyland and Chutes and Ladders…hmmm…maybe there’s some correlation between that and why he’s not interested!
April 25, 2012 at 12:35 pm #756296
maplesyrupParticipantWhen my kids were 3-4 we played Sorry a lot, though some picked it up faster than others.
We also played a lot of the games from Playroom (you can find them at places like Blue Highway). They have a lot of simple, fun, and inexpensive titles for younger children.
April 25, 2012 at 3:43 pm #756297
pattileaParticipantMy now 5 year old, loves board games. And has since about 2 1/2, we started with memory. With the younger children, just don’t use as many cards. We love Trouble, and UNO. Chutes and Ladders, and candy land. He also likes sorry and connect four. I love board games, so I am glad he loves them too. But, you have to teach them that not everyone wins all the time. That is a hard lesson to learn. So I have encouraged him that no matter if we win or lose, we have fun playing the game together. And spending the quality time together. I see so many parents that let their children win all the time. Life is not like that!
April 25, 2012 at 4:24 pm #756298
BostonmanMemberGood point pattilea, I know when we started playing board games both my kids would start getting upset and pouting if they didn’t win. My wife would always tell me to let them win and I would say that you aren’t going to always win in life and learning that you won’t always be first is am important lesson.
A lot of the games are just the luck fo the draw but some of the harder games like chess my kids will learn that if they want to be the winner they need to think about what they are doing and that no one is going to hand them a trophy.
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