Board games can be a great way to bond as a family, and they have many benefits for toddlers and preschoolers. They can learn social-emotional skills like taking turns, helping others, and working together.
There are many games these days that don’t require competition between family members but instead encourage cooperative play, you and your little one working to beat the game together.
In addition, board games can help build motor skills needed during their school years, help your child learn or review school readiness skills like letter, number, and color recognition, and do all this without even knowing they’re learning.
To save you time and hassle, we thought we’d review a few board games for two, three, and four-year-olds and show you what we’ve found.
Best Board Games for 2 Year Olds
Bunny Bedtime The Make a Choice Game
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Peaceable Kingdom has great games that build social-emotional skills and help
young ones learn as they play. This game is not only adorable but also sturdy.
This simple, quick game fosters independence, gives young children an opportunity to make choices on their own, offers situations for solving puzzles, and lets children learn by matching colors and shapes.
Count Your Chickens Board Game
- FARM FUN: The baby chicks have flown the coop and Mama Hen needs help to bring them back. Spin and count numbers to travel and collect chicks while working together. Gather all the chicks and everyone...
- COOPERATIVE COUNTING: Remove competitive stress, empower young learners and teach kids that playing together can be fun! A counting game to help kids learn at a young age how easy it is to cooperate!
- EDUCATIONAL GAME: Cooperative games cultivate emotional development, shared decision making, positive self esteem, creative problem solving and develop a sense of community in a non-stressful play...
- WHO CAN PLAY: Count your Chickens was designed for 2-4 players ages 3 and older. This game includes 1 game board, 1 mother hen with stand, 40 baby chick markers, 1 spinner and instructions. Game play...
This game is perfect if you have several young children. They have to try to get all the chicks back into the coop before their mother hen comes home. Beware, though – there’s a tricky fox that sometimes takes the chicks back out of the coop when you least expect it (we love that the fox doesn’t eat them)!This game is a real crowd pleaser!
First Orchard Board Game
- These classic toddler games have been enjoyed by families for over 30 years. The perfect first board game for 1-4 players ages 2 years and up.
- Develop social skills such as taking turns and following directions while reinforcing color recognition, quantities and counting by ones with these best-selling preschool games.
- These cooperative board games allow players to work together as a team to roll the dice and pick the matching fruit from the orchard before the raven makes it down the path to steal it all.
- If the players harvest all the fruit before the raven reaches the orchard, they win together! If the raven gets there first, they lose together. Repetitive play helps teach winning and losing and...
HABA is another company that makes amazing, appropriate, safe, and fun gamesfor little ones. Parents love this game because the pieces are perfect for two-year-old hands (and mouths – nothing in this game is a choking hazard!). The brightly colored, fist-filling pieces are attractive and make the interactive cooperative game a pleasure to play. This game is highly recommended!
Magnetic Wooden Fishing Game
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Kids love fishing games, and they are great for building motor control and coordination. This game is colorful and includes a two-sided game board along with two-sided fish. One side of the fish have capital alphabet letters, so it’s a great game for letter identification.
Where’s Bear Game
- TODDLER FUN: Where's Bear combines two favorite activities- stacking blocks and finding hidden objects-into a game! Parents and kids take turns hiding and finding Bear under the sturdy nesting boxes.
- CREATIVE FUN WITH YOUR 2 YEAR OLD: Parents & kids take turns hiding and finding Bear under the sturdy nesting boxes. Each box illustrates the rooms in Bear's house and includes a matching game.
- LEARNING AND GROWING: Playing Where's Bear aids in understanding object permanence, problem solving using hands, demonstrating spacial concepts; up, down, top, bottom; sorting, classifying, matching.
- WHAT IS INCLUDED: With 5 quick games in total, young players will have lots to explore and play with Where's Bear? INCLUDES: 6 nesting boxes, 1 wooden bear figurine, parent guide and instructions.
This adorable hid and seek game includes 5 different ways to play so your toddler can master each one! This is a great game for teaching permanence and problem solving to your little one as they are exploring their world. We are huge fans for Peaceable Kingdom games and this one is sure not to disappoint! Check out the reviews.
Best Board Games for 3 Year Olds
The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game
- SPARK MORE TOGETHERNESS! Perfect for spending quality, unplugged time together as a family, The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game also builds key early learning skills and develops social emotional skills...
- BEST-SELLING PRESCHOOL GAME 5 YEARS RUNNING! Reinforce color learning, develop matching skills (a key early math skill!), encourage strategic thinking, and build hand-eye coordination and fine motor...
- A SWEET STRATEGY GAME FOR PRESCHOOLERS: Easy to set up, understand—no reading required!, play, and clean up (box doubles as game board and storage!)
- HOW TO PLAY: Spin the spinner, pick up the matching acorn with your Squirrel Squeezer, and place it in your log. Collect one acorn of each color first and you win but watch out: you could spin “lose...
This award-winning game comes with a very adorable ‘squirrel squeezer” which is excellent for building those fine motor muscles your child will need when he or she starts writing. It’s a matching game that focuses on colors, strategy, taking turns, and hand-eye coordination skills as children “squeeze” the squirrel, pick up acorns, and place them in their own personal stash on a little log. Kids and parents are nuts about this game!
Chutes and Ladders Game
- CLASSIC BEGINNER GAME: Do you remember playing Chutes and Ladders when you were a kid. Introduce new generations to the classic gameplay of this kids' board game for 2 to 4 players
- NO READING REQUIRED TO PLAY: For kids ages 3 and up, Chutes and Ladders can be a great game for kids who haven't learned how to read yet
- CLASSIC UP AND DOWN GAME FOR PRESCHOOLERS: Spin the spinner and move the pawn up the ladders and down the chutes. Chutes and Ladders is a classic game that children enjoy playing over and over
- BE THE FIRST TO REACH THE TOP: Players scramble to the top of the game board without slip-sliding down. Land on good deeds to climb ladders, but watch out for the chutes
Chutes and Ladders has been a childhood favorite for 60 years now! The current version is colorful and bright with more modern graphics. The positive character traits and kind deeds (like rescuing a cat) that give access to the shortcuts with ladders have been updated along with the negative things (like breaking a window) that send you sliding back down to smaller numbers via a chute.The learning possibilities grow as your child because while at three, they may not be interested in learning and counting large numbers, but they will still love the idea of getting to climb up ladders and tumble down slides.
Great Games for Learning
Super Why ABC Game
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This is great for kids who are fans of the show! Many of the parents who have purchased this game say that although it’s labeled for ages three and up, it may be a little better suited for older threes and even four or five-year-olds. Another parent commented that her little one plays an adapted version of the game, only using the letter identification cards for now. They will add the other cards as the child ages and matures. Either way, if your child loves Super Why, this may be a great game for them!
The Ladybug Game
- A NEW ADVENTURE EVERY TIME KIDS PLAY: Feed the ants, escape the praying mantis, and deliver Ladybug safely home in this colorful board game invented by a first grader. It's fun for the whole family!
- BOARD GAMES FOR EVERYONE: Our games for kids are designed to be inclusive and fun for all ages so the entire family can play together. This is a great first game for toddlers ages 3 and up.
- LEARNING MATH & READING DURING PLAY: The Zobmondo!! Ladybug Game introduces your child to basic math concepts as they learn addition and subtraction. They will even learn some cool stuff about bugs!
- BOARD GAMES FOR KIDS MAKE A GREAT GIFT: Our cheerful family games make a great hostess gift or housewarming present. Whatever the holiday or occasion, make any get-together more fun with a game for...
This game is attractive, and kids are drawn to it when they learn it was created by a first-grader! This game is great for preschoolers and 3 year olds that are learning how to count. Check it out using our link below.
Pete the Cat the Missing Cupcakes Game
- Best on the New York Times best-selling Pete the Cat
- Activities game for preschoolers ages 3+
- No reading required
- Learn to play in less than 5 minutes
Pete the Cat is a favorite among this age group! This teamwork teaching game is for 2-4 players and get kids moving by singing songs, acting out physical activities, and identifying animals.
Best Board Games for 4 Year Olds
Hungry Hungry Hippos
- Classic Hungry Hippos game is marble-chomping, hippo-feeding fun
- 4 hippo heads and bodies plus marbles for them to chomp
- 20 marbles
- One golden marble
Another beloved classic is here for the next generation – with a tiny, golden twist! Hungry, Hungry Hippos is the hilarious game where you compete to feed your hippo the most marbles. In this updated version, you can play the traditional way, or a new golden marble can end the game and make one player the instant winner.The updated version also comes with parent-pleasing, convenient storage container hidden under the “water” base for all those marbles (so you won’t lose yours during cleanup).
Feed The Wozzle
- SILLY SNACKS: The Woozle loves to eat hairy pickles and fuzzy donuts. Can you help feed him 12 crazy treats before all the snacks are gone? A monstrous game of mixed up fun!
- GROWS WITH YOUR CHILDREN: Comes with three levels so it grows with your child. Kids ages 3 and up work together to help feed the Woozle. No reading required, so even the smallest can participate!
- LEARNING AND GROWING: Kids learn dexterity, fine motor skills, body awareness, and counting all while having fun and cooperating. Kids learn about taking turns and develop valuable social skills.
- EDUCATIONAL GAME: Cooperative games cultivate emotional development, shared decision making, positive self esteem, creative problem solving and develop a sense of community in a non-stressful play...
Feed the Woozle is a fun game that focuses on team building, counting, boosting self-esteem, developing motor skills, and more! The game is so exciting for preschoolers, from the wacky Woozle food to the giant spoon. There are three levels of play, so the game can grow with your child, and it’s the kind of game children will want to play again and again. We’d give this game two fuzzy Woozle-thumbs up!
ThinkFun Zingo Bingo Award Winning Game for Pre-Readers and Early Readers Age 4 and Up
- Trusted by Families Worldwide - With over 50 million sold, ThinkFun is the world's leading manufacturer of brain games and mind challenging puzzles.
- Develops critical skills – Perfect for pre-readers and early readers, builds language and matching skills in preschool kids through fun, fast-paced play. Zingo is as popular in the classroom with...
- What you get - This is the Amazon exclusive version of the world famous game Zingo, one of ThinkFun's best games for kids ages 4 and up, and it includes an extra Zingo card so that up to 7 players can...
- Clear instructions – Easy to learn with a clear, high quality instruction manual. You can start playing right away!
All of the Zingo games are highly loved by parents and children alike, and Zingo 1-2-3 isno exception! With two levels of gameplay, young children can work on counting skills,number sense, pattern recognition, and addition. Zingo 1-2-3 is an award-winning educational game, so you know your child is not only having a fun time, but they are also learning.
Don’t Step In It!
- Blindfolded, poop-dodging fun; adult assembly and supervision required; contains wheat
- Mould the included compound to look like piles of poop; Includes game mat, blindfold, 4 cans of compound, plastic mold, spinner board with arrow, base and instructions
- Step in the fewest poops to win
- Play with friends or dodge the poop solo; ages 4 and up; for one or more players
Why are young children so entertained by bathroom noises and bodily function? No one really knows, but if this game doesn’t fulfill their need for potty humor, we don’t know what will. The poop is made by participants from dough included with the set and a “poop” mold. The game says kids can play in a group or even play alone, which not many games are able to tout. If it’s just too gross, you might consider the less “genuine” Unicorn poop edition.
Dinosaur Escape Game
- THE VOLCANO IS RUMBLING: Your dinosaur friends are lost in the ferns and a volcano is about to blow. Can you help them escape to safety on dinosaur island? Memory, logic and luck will be your guide!
- LEARNING AND GROWING: Kids work together, use their memory and incorporate simple strategy to rescue the dinos. Help each other remember what tokens are flipped over and save the dinos so everyone...
- EDUCATIONAL GAME: Cooperative games cultivate emotional development, shared decision making, positive self-esteem, creative problem solving and develop a sense of community in a non-stressful play...
- HOW TO PLAY: Work together to move the dinosaurs around the board. Uncover matching dinosaurs under fern tokens to rescue dinosaurs. Get the dinos to safety before the volcano erupts and everyone...
This is definitely a game your preschool paleontologist will “dig”! It’s a cooperative board game in which kids work together to help their dinosaur counterparts escape a volcano.
This is a game that helps build your child’s memory and problem-solving skills, helps them learn to strategize, and is great for building a sense of community. As with all Peaceable Kingdom games, it’s simple enough to play that adults don’t have to help, but it’s so fun, you’re pretty likely to want to play along anyway!
