BOARD GAMES – The Six Board Games My 5 and 7 Year Old Ask to Play Most Lately

If you’ve been reading my blog for a few years. you know that I’m a bit of a gamer.  I used to play a ton of video games until I got so burned out on them that I rarely play them anymore.

Now a days, I play a lot more table top games like board games, card games and Role-Playing games.

I’ve gotten some of my kids into them too.  My five year old son and my seven year old daughter in particular.  I thought I’d make a list of the top five games they tend to ask me to play the most currently.

This is done in case you’re looking for games in this age group to either let your kids play together or games you would find fun to play with your kids.

So here we go:

6. Chess

This is new.  My son Dante suddenly got curious about this game out of the blue.  I showed him a few videos on Youtube explaining the game.  Some of them had little boys playing the game.

This got him REALLY interested.  He insisted on having his sister Elizabeth learn to play the game with him.

I taught them and they were off to the races.  They had a great time playing.  It was the craziest game of Chess I’ve ever seen but they had a good time.  They played by the rules.

Next time they asked to play, I brought out a board and I was surprised to find out that my son new exactly how to set up the board without any help. I walked away and let them play on their own. They then had yet another crazy game of Chess and still stuck to the rules.

So Chess is a good recommended game to play with five year old and older.

5. Carcassonne

This game is simple enough for my five year old to play.  This one is a big draw for my son.  He loves how the board ends up looking like a big map by the time the game ends.

He first became aware of it when he saw the game App on my wife’s Kindle Fire. I showed him how to play it.  He got a few turns in when I informed him that I had the table top version.

To my surprise he immediately put the Kindle down and asked to play the physical game. He’s been in love with it ever since.  My daughter and I like playing it with him.  This is a great game to play with them and it’s fun for me to play too.

I don’t let them play this game on their own though. Not yet.

4. Game Angry Birds: On Thin Ice Game

The kids got this game for Christmas and was a instant hit.  It actually plays a lot like the video game it’s based on.

You pick a card from a difficulty stack and build what’s on the card. You then attempt to knock off the pigs off with the number of birds indicated on the card. If you succeed you get the points on the card. Otherwise you fail.

The kids have fun playing the game.  Only complaint I have with this game is that the catapult that comes in the game is awful.  It barely works.  We’ve been substituting a catapult from another Angry Birds toy.

I really don’t know how to fix this problem otherwise.

3. LEGO HEROICA

I love this series of games.  It’s simple and creative.  It’s a fun hack and slash Lego board game.  We had two of the four boards games of this type.

We used to create the board according to the instructions and played by the rules. Problem is, I wasn’t able to play the game with them every time.  Now a days I leave them to play and they just go at it free form.  They make the board they way they want and make up the rules as they go.

Even my three year old gets in on the action.

It’s okay, the game lends itself to this kind of play.  It’s more of a toy now than anything else.  Still, it’s a fun game too.

2. SORRY! Sliders

This dexterity game is a huge hit with the kids.  Yet another game my three year old joins in on. I played this game with them for a long time, but they asked to play so much I got sick of the game.

Now they play on their own, playing with the rules.

You slide the pawns on the board trying to be the first person to score the points to get your scoring pawns home.  They love it.

I tried to introduce the regular Sorry game to them and they didn’t like it at all. To them, THIS game is “the real” Sorry game.

1. Uno Card Game

Yes, Uno is numero uno. Man dose this game get played a lot. I play this with the kids every time they ask to play it.

It’s really fun for me to play it with them and it’s fun for them.  I haven’t gotten tired of playing it with them.

We’ve actually got three versions of the game.  The regular game, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Uno , and UNO MOO.

UNO MOO is Uno but instead of using cards, it uses toy farm animals.  It’s a bit too simple for me so I don’t play it, but the kids really like it.

If I can’t play the card game with them, they have the option of playing UNO MOO.

The thing I like most about Uno is how simple it is to get into.  When we play with my three year old we usually play with the Disney version. We just have him play with cards up and ask him if he has a Mickey, a Donald, or a certain color.

It teaches the kids numbers and colors, while the older kids learn strategy. The best part is that everyone gets an opportunity to win and I don’t really have to hold back when I play.

Honorable Mention – POKEMON TRADING CARD GAME

When your kids learn to read and do simple math, this is THE game to play. It’s honorable mention because I can only play this with my seven year old daughter and only rarely.  We don’t play it more often because we try to play more inclusive games that allow my five year old son to play.

Otherwise, we’d play this so much more.  The kids practice reading comprehension, math, and they learn to think strategically. On top of all that, it’s just a fun game to play.  I highly recommend it.

What Games do You Play?

So that’s the list.  I hope this has given you ideas for game to play with you’re five year old and older kids.

What games have you found that work well with this age group? Let me know on the comments below.

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