About Board Games for Kids
This site is for parents who want to find a game their kids will actually enjoy, and learn it well enough to teach it tonight.
Who's behind it
I'm a parent with young kids, and I made this site because game time kept stalling in the same places.
The box says 8+, but is that right for my 6 year old? The rulebook is written for people who already love games, not for someone with a child waiting across the table. And by the time I'd worked out the first turn, the moment had often passed.
So the site answers the three questions I kept asking: is this right for my child's age, how do we get started tonight, and what do we do when we get stuck?
How it works
A lesson walks you through one turn at a time on a live board, so you can try each move before you play for real. Some games also have a full guide with a setup checklist, a quick refresher and scoring help, for when you're mid-game.
Every game page shows the publisher's age beside ours, plus difficulty, players, play time and setup time. See how we rate games.
You can also browse games by age, or by situation, like games for two players or games with little reading.
How we check
Every age on the box, player count, play time and rule comes from the publisher's rulebook or website for a named edition. Each game page links its sources. If two sources disagree, we leave the fact off rather than guess.
Our own age rating is a judgement, and each game says how we made it. Rated from the rulebook means we worked it out from the rules. Played with our kids means we've played it at home and written down what happened.
Spotted a mistake? Email hello@boardgamesforkids.com. We fix errors quickly and update the date the game was last checked.
Free, with no ads
There are no ads and no accounts, and everything here is free. If the site helps your family, you can buy me a coffee. It helps cover the costs and keeps new games coming.
If we ever add links to shops, they'll be clearly labelled, and they will never change a rating.
Who we are not
Board Games for Kids is an independent guide, and the disclaimer below says what that means for game names and pictures.
Disclaimer
Catan, Carcassonne, Ticket to Ride, Kingdomino, Azul, Splendor, Dragomino, Outfoxed!, Bandido, Sleeping Queens (Gamewright), Just One (Repos Production), Codenames (Czech Games Edition), Dixit (Libellud), Exploding Kittens, Rhino Hero (HABA), Sushi Go!, Sushi Go Party!, Castle Panic, Forbidden Desert, Abandon All Artichokes, Colt Express, 7 Wonders Duel, Hanabi, My First Castle Panic (Fireside Games), Happy Bunny (Blue Orange), Little Dinosaurs, Animal Upon Animal, Forest Festival, Dragon's Breath, Crazy Copter (HABA), Syllabus, Garden Getaway, Turtle Splash, Lamalaya (Gigamic) and Pokémon are trademarks of their owners. Board Games for Kids is an independent guide, not affiliated with or endorsed by the publishers or owners of these games.
- The Pokémon lesson uses invented cards.
- The Splendor lesson uses a made-up set of cards and Nobles.
- The Dragomino lesson uses a made-up set of dominoes.
- The Ticket to Ride: First Journey lesson uses a made-up map and tickets.
- The Outfoxed! lesson uses a made-up set of suspects, items and board.
- The Bandido lesson uses a made-up set of tunnel cards.
- The Just One lesson uses a made-up card, clues and names.
- The Codenames lesson uses a made-up set of words, a made-up key card layout and made-up clues.
- The Exploding Kittens lesson uses our own drawings of the cards, made-up Cat Card names and made-up hands.
- The Rhino Hero lesson uses our own drawings of the foundation, walls, roof cards, symbols and Rhino Hero, and made-up names and hands.
- The small pictures on the All games page are our own drawings.