Best Board Games For Preschoolers

By the time children reach the age of three or four, they are ready to participate in one of the most cherished family events - game night! Board games help your child develop social skills, learn basic math and language concepts and give you an opportunity to do something fun together. Your preschooler will need special board games selected for their age and abilities.

Check out these ideas to add to your game closet and build special memories with your child.

Classic Games

These games are perennial favorites that you probably remember playing as a child. They have all been updated for the next generation without losing the basic concepts that you remember.

Chutes and Ladders - This game is a family favorite even beyond the preschool years. Players move their pieces along the board and travel up ladders or slide down chutes (slides). The action is fast-paced as winners can fall to the middle of the pack.

Candyland - This bright and cheery game teaches preschoolers color recognition. Gingerbread man pieces are moved along the board by drawing colored cards. Kids learn how to match the colors on the cards to the colors on the board.

Hi Ho Cherry O - This game combines fun with math...not an easy task! Children spin the spinner and then get the chance to pluck adorable plastic cherries from the cherry trees.

Cranium Games

Cranium is a game for grown-ups that has been so successful it launched a game company with many different titles.

Cranium Cariboo - This game allows children to act out silly phrases, draw pictures and unlock secret doors. The fifteen-minute span of each game is perfect for small children. They learn numbers, colors, letters and shapes during game play.

Cranium Hullabaloo - This game really gets your kids moving. The concept is that your child will recognize shapes by jumping to different shape mats on the floor. A pre-recorded song plays from a music console that comes with the game and it instructs kids where to go. It also instructs kids to "Do a silly dance" and other fun activities in between the shape instructions. When the console says "Freeze!" the player on the special mat wins.

Old Favorites Get New Faces

Some games last decades without having an official package or board to play with. These games combine old favorites with new graphics and some twists on game play.

I Spy Preschool Game - This favorite car games gets a facelift as a card game for preschoolers. Instead of looking at things out in the world, this game brings the action indoors for one to four players. The players match the riddles on one set of cards to the pictures on another.

Kids on Stage Board Game - This variation of charades is easy for preschoolers to play and perfectly suited for younger attention spans. The actions are in pictures so kids can play without parent help. Everyone gets to act something out on every turn, so there's no waiting!