The Best Board Games to Play with Kids (While Keeping Your Sanity)

Board games are a great way to entertain your kids, but you want to have some fun too, right? We’ve looked at the best tabletop games to play with your children that are still thrilling for you too.

After all, as anyone who’s played Chutes & Ladders for the 300th time can attest to, some board games can be pretty dull even if your children love them. All of the games listed here are a ton of fun whether you’re young or old. They also work brilliantly as an introduction to more grown-up tabletop gaming so you’re on the path to creating a board game addict in the future.

Here’s our pick of the best board games to play with kids, while maintaining your sanity.

Best For Cooperative Puzzle Solving: Whowasit? ($35)

Cooperation is a valuable life skill and who doesn’t want to encourage their kids to cooperate with each other a little more? The game Whowasit? is a fun way to encourage such healthy habits while also reinforcing memory and tactical skills. Better yet, it’s interesting enough that you’ll enjoy playing along.

The game is set in a mystical castle. The king’s magical ring has been stolen and it’s down to your team of private eyes to figure out who did it. Players accomplish that by talking to the animals around the castle. Designed for kids aged 7 and up, it works well for between two and four players. There’s a lot of replay value too thanks to the electronic clue chest that guides the game along ensuring each playthrough is different. It also supports different difficulty levels so no one is left behind.

Best Tile Based Game: My First Carcassonne ($35)

The popular tile-laying game Carcassonne is a worldwide hit thanks to the simple but elegant game design that’s easy to teach and enjoyable to play. This My First Carcassonne version is ideal for kids from age 4 and up to jump in on the tile-laying fun. Play sessions only take about 20 minutes with no setup to speak of so it’s perfect if your kids are a little impatient (as most are).

The idea is that the streets of Carcassonne are filled with kids trying to catch animals. Rather than needing to count points or deal with the complexities of the original Carcassone game (where you get points for capturing different parts of the tile-world you’re building), players simply place tiles to build the city with every time you close a street with one or more children of your color, you get the chance to place pawns on the board. Be the first to place all your pawns and you win. It’s simple enough that kids of all ages can understand, but also tactical enough that you’ll enjoy it too.

Best For Tactile Gaming: Animal Upon Animal ($21)

Sometimes it’s good to get more hands-on with a board game, and Animal Upon Animal scratches that itch perfectly. It’s a stacking game for 2 to 4 players, ages 4 and up. Players have to compete to be the first to place all their wooden animals upon the animal pile before anyone else.

The gameplay is quite simple—roll the dice to see how many animals you can place or whether you can add to the alligator base to make the pyramid shape longer. Other variants include having the other players choose which of your animals you can stack. There’s even a solo variant if your child is dying to play but nobody can play at the moment. It’s a really tactile experience and kids are sure to enjoy playing with the animal pieces. It’ll even improve their dexterity skills as they work to be more careful with their placements.

Best For Introducing A Classic: Catan Junior ($20)

Read the remaining 12 paragraphs