Family Games That We Love

Isn’t it fun to play games with the family? Our kids are five and three, so we are entering that time when they’re capable – and interested – in playing family games! From cards to board games, we bring you the favorites in our collection. And we’d love to hear your suggestions!

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As of winter 2018, my two kids are aged three years and five years old. Just to give you some perspective.

Family Games Honorable Mention: Cooties

I remember playing Cooties with my sister when we were kids. The concept is that you gradually build your Cootie bug by earning their body parts one by one. 

I made this game an honorable mention because my kids, aged three and five, aren’t really interested in playing the game the traditional way. They just want to build Cooties! But they do like playing with the pieces.

Board and Boxed Family Games That We Love

We are so excited to demo Lumpy Cubes by RoosterFin Games! This game is quick, fun, educational, and easy to clean up. So basically perfect. See our full review here including a video demo! And for the record, my oldest child did say in a verbal survey that this truly is his favorite game out of all the ones that we own.

Surprise Slides is the new version of Chutes and Ladders. This game has big, durable pieces and a brightly colored playing board. My daughter loved being a part of playing this family game even when she was two years old! And it helped our oldest follow sequencing (e.g. going the right way on the path). This game can take just a few minutes to play, or a lot longer, depending on how many of the chutes you end up with. But it’s a creative take on a classic game (and there are lots of versions with different characters). Safe for ages 3+ and up to 4 players.

Count the Chickens! is a hilarious cooperative family game. A cooperative game is one in which the players work together – not compete against each other – for a common goal. In this game, you have to help the Mama Hen save all the chicks and get them safely back into the coop. The only downside to this game is that the 40 chick pieces are pretty small, and may go MIA if you’re playing with littler ones. Safe for ages 3+ and up to 4 players.

Another cooperative family game we love is Snug as a Bug in a Rug. This time, you’re working together to get all 24 bugs under the rug. But if you can’t find the right bug to put under the rug during your turn, a stink bug comes out instead! Get all of your cute little bugs under the rug before all three stink bugs emerge! This game, along with Count the Chickens mentioned above, are both award-winners from Peaceable Kingdom. Safe for ages 3+ and up to 4 players.

Star Wars Loopin’ Chewie was a random find in my local moms group, and my son is a total pro at it! There’s a bit of quick assembly required, but then you try to make the flying Chewie and his Millenium Falcon bounce off of your playing piece, or else he’ll knock off one of your Storm Troopers! It’s a game of eye coordination and timing, and is really fun to send Chewie flying towards your family’s pieces! Batteries required, but it’s not a loud game to play. Safe for ages 4+ and 2-3 players.

Let’s Go Fishin’ also brings back memories from my childhood. This version of the classic fishing game is new and improved (so, you know, it won’t tear up fingers of curious little kids). It’s not loud nor clunky at all, and my kids laugh like crazy every time they play! There are 21 fish in various colors and 3 fishing rods. The coordination and timing can be practiced alone, but it’s also a no-mess, fast-paced family game that we love. Bonus, it’s really affordable! Safe for ages 4+ and 1-3 players.

Speaking of fishing games, we love the creative fishing version by Top Bright for little kids. This magnetic fishing game also has fishing poles but has a higher emphasis on education. I love how the pieces fit into the little handled bucket, and it’s easy to clean up.

Another throwback brings me to Candy Land, which of course had to be in our family game collection. While the introduction card will crack you up, the game itself is pretty simple: Make it all the way through the various parts of Candy Land! And hey, with no reading required to play, it really is safe for ages 3+, and 2-4 players.

We recently were gifted Monkeys Jumping on the Bed, after the famous children’s song, and it’s hilarious! Kids take turns shaking the bed to see if any monkeys fall off. This game is well-designed and easy for my kids to set up and put away on their own. Designed for ages 3 and up; 2-4 players.

Our kids also love playing Don’t Break the Ice! This is a really entertaining game where you take a hammer and try to pop out a block of ice, without making all the blocks – and your adorable purple penguin – collapse! Think of it as kid-friendly Jenga plus penguins and hammers. The only complaint with this game: You have to “assemble” the blocks of ice on the table to get it back into the box. Our five year old can do this, but our three year old can’t. Ages 3+; 2-4 players.

Last on this section, everyone needs to have dominoes! These durable smooth objects are great for kids young and old. You can play the traditional way, or let kids sort by number and color, or just let them stack and build! I love having toy that serve multiple purpose and can be used many ways. This set comes with 28 dominoes in a sturdy tin, and is labeled safe for ages 8+ and 2-4 players.

And if you’d like more ideas of toys that inspire imagination and creativity, check out my suggestions here!

Card Games That We Love

Go Fish has to be first on this list! We actually got started with family card games when we were gifted the three-game Paw Patrol set. While War and Old Maid were a bit too advanced for my little ones at that time, Go Fish was an instant hit. We did two teams of parent+kid until our children were a bit older and could hold their own.

Old Maid is another fun family card game (which came in the Paw Patrol set above). No special cards are needed – a normal 52-card deck is fine, just take one queen out so you have an odd number. This card game is matching pairs too but is more competitive and a bit more advanced. Two or more players can play. I honestly had never played it before, so check out this guide here.

War is the best card game for teaching numbers and value! You can use a regular deck and you play others to get the higher card. My son got really good really quick at this game, and it’s excellent for helping teach “Greater than”. Plus it’s fast-paced and entertaining!

I wanted to list the basic matching card game on here because it’s another fun family game that teaches skills. You could certainly make your own matching cards – I’ve gotten a free deck from Shutterfly before that uses our own photos! Mix up the deck and lay all cards face down. It’s a memory challenge!

Robotic Family Games That We Love

Hexbug Battle Spiders are a really creative way for two players to battle after the dinner dishes are cleared. These leggy robots each come with a small remote control and are equipped with lasers and an “eye”. Shoot your opponent before they shoot you! I like these because the simple controller is easy for smaller hands to maneuver, and the robots aren’t terribly quick. Games go by quickly so everyone can take a turn, and no mess! A match usually takes less than 5 minutes and these are listed for kids 8+.

You can see more info on the Hexbug robots we have on my review about the best STEM/STEAM toys.

Since my kids have a set of Hexbug minis, they asked for the Bugs in the Kitchen board game for Christmas. You use a set of the Hexbug minis and take turns trying to build a path and catch the bug! It’s really creative and I love the problem solving skills. It comes with one Hexbug and batteries, and is for ages 6+ and 2-4 players.

Did I give you some ideas for some new family games? I hope so! Let me know which family games you love to play by posting in the comments. And thanks for sharing!