The shelf

Pick a game. Each lesson walks you through one turn at a time on a live board, so the rules stick.

Board games

Play lesson Carcassonne Draw a tile, fit it to the map and claim what you build. 2 to 5 players. Easy. 6+ with an adult. Play lesson Catan Settle an island, trade with rivals and race to 10 points. 3 to 4 players. Medium. 8+ with an adult. Play lesson Ticket to Ride Collect cards, claim train routes and link your cities. 2 to 5 players. Easy. 7+ with an adult. Play lesson Rhino Hero Stack walls and roofs as high as you dare without a collapse. 2 to 5 players. Easy. 5+ with an adult. Play lesson Dragomino Match landscapes, collect eggs and hope they hatch into dragons. 2 to 4 players. Easy. 4+ with an adult. Play lesson Bandido Team up to wall off every tunnel before Bandido escapes. 1 to 4 players. Easy. 5+ with an adult. Quick guide Catan Junior A simpler Catan: roll, collect tiles and build pirate lairs. 2 to 4 players. Easy. 6+ with an adult. Play lesson Ticket to Ride: First Journey A kid-sized Ticket to Ride: collect cards and link cities. 2 to 4 players. Easy. 5+ with an adult. Play lesson Kingdomino Pick dominoes and grow a kingdom of high-scoring lands. 2 to 4 players. Easy. 7+ with an adult. Play lesson Azul Pick coloured tiles, fill your rows and build a scoring wall. 2 to 4 players. Easy. 7+ with an adult. Play lesson Splendor Collect gems, buy cards and build a discount engine to 15 points. 2 to 4 players. Medium. 9+ with an adult. Quick guide Forbidden Island Work together to grab four treasures before the island sinks. 2 to 4 players. Medium. 9+ with an adult. Quick guide Pandemic Team up to cure four diseases before they overwhelm the world. 2 to 4 players. Hard. 10+ with an adult. Quick guide Castle Panic Work together to hit monsters with cards before they knock down your towers. 1 to 6 players. Easy. 7+ with an adult. Quick guide Forbidden Desert Work together to find a flying machine in the desert before the storm buries you. 2 to 5 players. Hard. 9+ with an adult. Quick guide Colt Express Plan your moves, rob the train and watch everyone's plans fall apart. 2 to 6 players. Medium. 9+ with an adult. Rated My First Castle Panic Team up to catch the monsters before they reach the castle. 1 to 4 players. Easy. 4+ with an adult. Rated Happy Bunny Roll, hop and pick carrots; beat the farmer's pile together. 1 to 4 players. Easy. 3+ with an adult. Rated Animal Upon Animal Stack wooden animals on a wobbly pile and be the first to run out. 2 to 4 players. Easy. 4+ with an adult. Rated Syllabus Say a word, count its syllables and fly your astronaut to your stars. 2 to 4 players. Easy. 5+ with an adult. Rated Garden Getaway Race four animals out of the garden, and help your favorite escape first. 2 to 4 players. Easy. 4+ with an adult. Rated Dragon's Breath Lift the ice rings and see which sparkling stones fall your way. 2 to 4 players. Easy. 4+ with an adult. Rated Turtle Splash Flick the turtle, flip the tiles and remember where the animals hide. 2 to 4 players. Easy. 5+ with an adult. Rated Crazy Copter Flip puzzle pieces, fit what you can and race your mouse around the box. 2 to 4 players. Easy. 5+ with an adult. Rated Lamalaya Roll dice, jump your llamas up the mountain and score by height. 2 to 4 players. Easy. 5+ with an adult.

Card games

Play lesson Pokémon TCG Two players battle with Pokémon cards and race to take their Prize cards. 2 players. Hard. 7+ with an adult. Play lesson Outfoxed! Team up to roll for clues and catch the pie-stealing fox. 2 to 4 players. Easy. 5+ with an adult. Play lesson Sushi Go! Pick a card, pass the hand and build the best sushi set. 2 to 5 players. Medium. 7+ with an adult. Play lesson Sleeping Queens Play kings to wake queens and steal them back with knights. 2 to 5 players. Easy. 7+ with an adult. Play lesson Exploding Kittens Play cards, draw one and avoid the exploding kitten. 2 to 5 players. Medium. 7+ with an adult. Play lesson Dixit Give a clue for a picture so some, not all, guess it. 3 to 8 players. Easy. 7+ with an adult. Play lesson Just One Write clues that stand out so your teammate can guess. 3 to 7 players. Easy. 7+ with an adult. Play lesson Codenames Give one-word clues to help your team find its agents. 4 to 8 players. Hard. 9+ with an adult. Quick guide Sushi Go Party! Choose a menu, pick a card, pass the hand and build the best sushi set. 2 to 8 players. Medium. 7+ with an adult. Quick guide Abandon All Artichokes Build a deck and dump the artichokes before anyone else. 2 to 4 players. Medium. 9+ with an adult. Quick guide 7 Wonders Duel Build a city and wonders in a tense two-player duel with three ways to win. 2 players. Hard. 9+ with an adult. Quick guide Hanabi Hold your cards backwards and give clues so the team can build fireworks together. 2 to 5 players. Easy. 7+ with an adult. Rated Little Dinosaurs Roll the die to feed your baby dino until it grows up. 2 to 4 players. Easy. 3+ with an adult. Rated Forest Festival Peek at a show card, then cheer for the animals you remember. 2 to 4 players. Easy. 4+ with an adult.

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.