Board games help kids learn in many ways. There are learning board games that help with colors, shapes, numbers, counting spaces, and developing hand-eye coordination.
Further lessons can be about critical thinking and decision-making: detecting patterns, planning, and anticipating the outcome of moves. There are game publishers like Smart Games with themes about economics, biology, space travel, and math.
Board games also improve the emotional quotient by graciously considering and following rules, team building, and winning or losing. On top of that, board games are fun!
In this guide, we list fun learning board games suitable for different age groups: toddlers, school-age kids, and kids at heart. We’ll also provide tips for parents and teachers on ensuring these games are engaging and beneficial for learning.
How Board Games Can Encourage Learning
Board games provide a structured way for children to learn important life skills while having fun. The interactive nature of board games helps reinforce concepts and fosters an engaging environment for critical thinking and problem-solving.
Here’s how to make learning through games a winning experience:
Make Learning Fun
Choose games that align with the child's interests. If they love puzzles, go for games that require problem-solving or pattern recognition. Ensure the game’s theme is appealing.
Focus on Skill Engagement
During gameplay, actively encourage the use of the skills the game promotes. Ask questions like "What do you think will happen if we do this?" to enhance critical thinking.
Play with Patience
Games teach patience and teamwork. Let your child take their time and highlight the importance of sharing turns. It’s all part of the fun!
Encourage Reflection
After playing, ask children to reflect on their strategy or decisions. This will help solidify the lessons learned through play.
Adapt to Skill Levels
Adjust the game’s rules to match your child’s abilities. This way, the game stays challenging but not overwhelming.
Board Games for Pre-School and Primary Level (Ages 7 and below)
For young learners, focus on simple games that enhance basic skills like hand-eye coordination, pattern recognition, and early vocabulary development.
Safari Park Jr.
Safari Park Jr. is an exciting game that takes children on an adventurous journey through the wild, where they must match animals with their correct habitats. Players can sharpen their memory and animal recognition skills while learning about different creatures and environments in a fun, engaging way.
Skills Developed: Memory, pattern recognition, and animal identification
Why It's Fun: The colorful animal tokens and vibrant safari-themed board make this game visually captivating. The variety of animals keeps children entertained as they learn through play.
Sleeping Beauty Deluxe
Sleeping Beauty Deluxe allows children to engage with this classic fairy-tale while developing their spatial reasoning, decision making, and visual perception. Armed with a maze board, tokens, and a family-friendly picture book, players can make the story their own. Do they help the knight reach the castle to rescue Sleeping Beauty or do they help Sleeping Beauty escape on her own? Or do they help dragon by blocking all paths to the castle?
Skills Developed: Spatial reasoning, planning, and problem solving
Why It's Fun: With 60 different challenges, this game offers ample amounts of replayability and a variety of challenges to keep the game fun and engaging. The picture book also features a modern retelling of the original story.
Dobble Kids
With 30 beautifully illustrated cards showcasing 31 vibrant symbols, Dobble Kids offers a visually stimulating experience for young players. The game is designed to enhance recognition and quick thinking through a variety of 5 exciting mini-games, each crafted to challenge and engage children.
Skills Developed: Pattern recognition, visual perception, matching
Why It's Fun: With its colorful symbols and various mini-games, Dobble Kids keeps toddlers entertained while developing essential cognitive skills.
Games for Intermediate Level (Ages 8-12)
As children become students, board games need to become slightly more complex to promote logical thinking, math skills, and social cooperation.
Katamino Family
This geometric puzzle game is a hit for school-aged kids, helping them understand spatial relationships and enhance problem-solving skills. Katamino Family offers progressive difficulty, which allows children to continually challenge themselves.
Skills Developed: Geometry, spatial reasoning, logic
Why It's Fun: With an interactive board that’s perfect for tactile learners, Katamino keeps kids hooked with its puzzle-solving excitement.
IQ Gears
IQ Gears is a single-player puzzle game where kids must build gear mechanisms that work correctly to solve each puzzle. The game involves arranging gears to make them interlock and turn, which enhances their problem-solving and spatial reasoning skills.
Skills Developed: Spatial reasoning, problem-solving, critical thinking
Why It's Fun: The game features colorful gear and progressively challenging puzzles that keep kids engaged while honing their logical skills.
Dragon Inferno
In Dragon Inferno, players aim to destroy their opponent’s kingdom by having powerful dragons fight at their side. This competitive game sees players taking turns placing kingdom tiles on the board. When a player’s kingdom tiles surround a dragon egg, that player summons a dragon to burn the opponent’s kingdom.
The burned kingdom is then covered with a dragon tile. Points are based on how many tiles a player has that are still visible (not covered by a dragon tile) on the board at the end of the game, with castles giving additional points.
Skills Developed: Spatial insight, logic, flexible problem-solving
Why It's Fun: The game’s simple but efficient mechanics create an action-filled, fast-paced game that will make players feel like powerful dragon lords straight out of a high fantasy novel.
Games for High Schoolers and Above (Ages 13+)
For older students, more complex board games can engage them in critical thinking, long-term planning, and deeper strategy.
Ticket to Ride: Europe
This train adventure game challenges players to build the longest railway route while collecting train cards. Ticket to Ride:Europe is a strategy game that encourages planning and pattern recognition, making it an excellent tool for teaching math and geography concepts.
Skills Developed: Logical thinking, geography, math (counting and resource management)
Why It's Fun: Ticket to Ride keeps kids engaged with its simple rules but offers depth as they strategize to create routes and block competitors.
Pandemic
Pandemic is a cooperative game where players work together to prevent global outbreaks of diseases. This game is perfect for teaching teamwork, planning, and decision-making under pressure.
Skills Developed: Teamwork, strategy, critical thinking
Why It's Fun: The urgency of saving the world from a pandemic makes every decision feel vital, offering thrilling gameplay that’s also highly educational.
Power Grid: Recharged
Power Grid: Recharged is a strategy game where players compete to build and manage energy networks across different regions. The game encourages resource management, critical thinking, and long-term planning, making it ideal for older students interested in economics and environmental science.
Skills Developed: Strategic thinking, resource management, economics
Why It's Fun: The dynamic marketplace and competition to power cities create an intense and rewarding gameplay experience.
Tips for Engaging Educational Board Game Sessions
Want to add some extra fun to your educational board game time? These tips will help keep kids interested and eager to play!
Encourage Interaction
Keep children actively engaged by asking them questions, encouraging them to explain their reasoning, and having them narrate their thought processes during gameplay. This helps build communication and critical thinking skills.
Create a Reward System
Implement small rewards for creative strategies or thoughtful gameplay. This keeps kids motivated and reinforces learning, turning game time into a fun and rewarding experience.
Allow Free Play
Let kids explore the game without the pressure of winning. Free play encourages creativity and problem-solving, allowing children to discover new approaches and enjoy learning through the game.
Build a Routine
Make board games a regular family activity. By incorporating games into a weekly or daily schedule, kids start to look forward to this engaging form of learning.
Foster Teamwork
Encourage cooperative games where players work together to achieve a common goal. This promotes collaboration, communication, and empathy while still reinforcing educational concepts.
Make Learning Fun with Educational Board Games from the Gaming Library
Fun learning board games provide a unique way to combine learning with quality family time. They are not just tools for education but also bonding, as they bring families and friends together in engaging and interactive ways. Whether for a classroom, a family night, or a party, these games can turn any moment
into a fun learning experience.
Many other board games can be used as a teaching tool. Do you have any other favorite educational board games? Explore all these educational games and more at the Gaming Library, where you’ll discover a range of board games perfect for teaching and entertaining kids of all ages. With the right game, learning
doesn’t have to be a chore—it can be an adventure!
