How To Pick The Right Board Game

When choosing a board game for your kids or for your whole family, the box is a good place to start. Games have information on the boxes that state which age range the game was designed for, and also how many players can play at one time. This is very useful information, because you dont want to accidentally buy a board game in which only two players can play at a time if you have three children. It is a good idea to keep a variety of board games in your home, as they are endless hours of fun and a very handy thing to have in your home on rainy days.

Games for little kids

Lucky Ducks and Hungry Hungry Hippos are some good examples of a game aimed at younger children. These games help with hand eye coordination as well as teaching small children that you have to play by the rules.

Card games

There are card games for every age group. Go Fish is a popular game for the little kids. Crazy Eights is another popular one. Games like War and Gin Rummy are card games played with a simple set of regular playing cards.

Strategy games

There are classic strategy games such as chess and checkers, in which players plan their moves in order to try and take the other players pieces. Checkers is a good game for elementary school kids, and it can be a very elementary introduction to chess as well. Chess is a good game to teach kids to play, because it can teach them to plan and think ahead as well as to anticipate the actions of another person. This game is pretty complicated, however, and even some adults have problems playing it well.

Quiz games

Trivial Pursuit is one of the most popular quiz or trivia games. There are also movie and TV versions, as well as versions designed for kids.

Race games

Backgammon is a good example of a race game. Basically, the object is to move all your game pieces from one side of the board to the other, one turn at a time, but still do it faster than the other player.

Roll and move games

These are some of the most popular board games available. Candy Land and Shutes and Ladders are two classic games designed for children. Monopoly is another game in this category, and it can be played by the whole family. Beware, though: A game of Monopoly can last for hours.

War games

Stratego is a miniature, board game version of capture the flag. Each player has 40 pieces that represent different officers and soldiers, and the object is to use strategy to defeat the other players army. Risk is also considered a war game, as is Battleship.

Educational games

Scrabble is one of the many educational board games available. This game is good for spelling and vocabulary, and it also sometimes requires the use of a dictionary, an item all kids need to know how to use.

Puzzle games

Classic puzzle games like dominoes are fun for kids of all ages and also teach counting skills. Connect Four is a puzzle game for two players, and is basically a vertical version of Tic- Tac- Toe.

You Just Can’t Beat a Classic Puzzle or Game

In a world full of technology, video games, and flashy objects, board games and puzzles are becoming slowly obsolete. In fact, these once-prized entertainers are now joining the ranks of “When I was a kid, we played board games and put puzzles together on Saturday afternoons.” Now, board games and puzzles find their home at the back of the closet as something out-dated and unused.

We parents are often looking for anything that will occupy our children for a good length time. Because we are so quick to want them out of our hair, video games, computer time, and movies become optimal choices. When was the last time you had to ask your child to go play on the computer or watch another movie? Unfortunately, this kind of boredom busting isn’t the most beneficial for our children.

Puzzles, though they can seem both tedious and more boring than boredom itself, are actually quite good for children. Some children can grow easily frustrated with the monotonous process of fitting little pieces together. However, with some proper teaching, putting puzzles together is a very rewarding process. Not only is there the reward of a completely finished picture, but the educational aspects and lessons learned through puzzle are beneficial in all walks of life.

Building puzzles requires patience, aptitude for detail, planning skills, focus, and a willingness to take on challenge. These skills can be developed as puzzles are put together piece by piece. Parents and children can work together, improving and mastering their abilities in these different areas. The skills required in making puzzles will be used in experiences life-long.

Board games are similar, requiring many important skills. However, board games present plenty of other learning opportunities that puzzles do not. For example, each game presents a new set of challenges, requiring players to adapt to new situations and follow directions. Some board games set a quick pace, challenging players to focus, think quickly, and act cleverly. Other board games are much slower, requiring logical thinking skills, strategy, and patient planning.

Although it is regularly shunned in our modern society, board games also present the idea of competition. We stray away from it so easily because we want everyone to be a winner or we want no hurt feelings. However, learning how to be a good competitor, a fair player, a gracious winner, and a good loser are all important skills for any child to gain.

Yes, video games may teach some of the skills gained from building puzzles and playing board games. Computer time may also help introduce some of these skills. But there is nothing that compares to siblings and friends sitting around the dining room table playing a game of Monopoly. There is nothing quite the same as a family game night, learning strategy, sharing laughs, and practicing good competition skills together. And there’s nothing quite the same as building a 2500 piece puzzle on a cold winter day, working steadily until the picture appears.

So before you push those board games and puzzles a little deeper into the closet, think again. Your children will benefit educationally, socially, and intellectually through their use and will have the opportunity to enjoy themselves through such pastimes. Let us be parents who bring board games and puzzles back into society.