The Best Board Games for Kindergarteners
There is so much brain stretching and growing between four and five that kindergarten is a milestone that warrants its own board game refresh. Your baby is a big kid now!
By kindergarten, your kiddo has a strong set of preferences and interests. So, sit down together with this list and let them pick one, two, five, or even all ten games to add to their collection. You’ll find classic board games you didn’t know were for five-year-olds, as well as new-to-you titles that will keep your whole table laughing up until bedtime.
See our favorite board games for kids of all ages in our Family Game Night Hub.
Monopoly Junior
Monopoly Junior is a simpler and faster version of Monopoly created especially for kids five and up. Players land on kid-friendly spaces like the Zoo, Ice Cream Parlor, or Movie Theater and either buy the property or pay rent. The player with the most money after any other player goes bankrupt wins the game!
As far as we’re concerned, you’re never too young to start learning about money management and real estate investing, and playing Monopoly Jr is a solid introduction.
Outfoxed!
What makes Outfoxed! extra fun is that it feels like a combination of Guess Who? and Clue, two classics that will never go out of style! It’s a whodunit game where all players work together to figure out which fox is guilty of stealing Ms. Plumpert’s prized pot pie.
Move around the board to gather clues and then use the special decoder to narrow down the suspects. But, be quick—the fox is high-tailing it toward the exit!
The Fairy Game
In this game, to save the fairies’ flowers from Mr. Winter, everyone works together. Players must match fairy playing cards to gather jewels for the Magic Wand before four snowflakes land on one flower.
The Fairy Game is a cooperative game that uses simple strategy and teamwork to win. It’s a great introduction to board games for five-year-olds!
HedBanz Junior
Hedbanz Junior makes an already fun-for-the-whole-family game even more accessible to its youngest members. HedBanz is a fast-paced, easy-to-play question game of “What am I?” and the Junior version follows an animal theme.
Perfect for kids five and up, this kindergarten-appropriate board game tasks players with grabbing a headband and card, then asking “yes” or “no” questions to figure out what animal they are. Don’t worry about them getting stumped: kids can turn to the game’s clue cards and mats to narrow down their choices.
Race to the Treasure! Board Game
In this cooperative board game for kids five and up, players try to beat an ogre to treasure by creating a path from START to END. Along the way, littles are tasked with collecting three keys to open the treasure.
They’ll strategize, work together, and build the path as a team. If they complete their path before the ogre gets there, they all win!
Zingo! Word Builder
This word building version of Zingo! (BINGO with a zing!) is the perfect confidence booster for early readers. The Zinger dispenses tiles and fun as young minds quickly race to be the first player with a full card and yell “Zingo!”
It’s ideal for players just learning how to put letters together to form words and great for teaching spelling and vocabulary. With two levels of play, this word game engages and supports both beginner and more experienced readers. Players slide the Zinger and claim tiles to fill their Zingo! card with three-letter words—pure and simple Zingo “F-U-N!”
Coconuts
On Monkey Island, players enjoy a hidden paradise where they see sunny skies, lush jungles, and have all the coconuts they can eat!
Once a year, the island’s native monkeys compete in a unique sport called Coconuts, where they must gather coconuts and skillfully shoot them into baskets. Kiddos pick their monkeys and shoot coconuts to try to win the whole lot.
This is a dexterity game that charges young players with skillfully shooting coconuts into a field of cups. Sink a shot, and they take the cup. Take six cups, and they win the game!
Sounds easy, right? Well, don’t let your littles start beating their chests yet—their opponents might aim at their cups and try to steal them away!
Trouble Board Game
If you were a 90s Hasbro kid, you remember Trouble, the game that’s peg-popping fun! The excitement begins as soon as a player presses the Pop-O-Matic bubble to roll the die. In the Trouble board game, kids race to get all their game pieces around the board—but be careful! A player could get bumped and sent back to the beginning.
Littles can play the classic Trouble game or a more challenging version with Power Up spaces. Be the first player to get all four pegs into the Finish zone to win.
Gathering a Garden Board Game
Gathering a Garden is a simple game that develops important life skills like patience, counting, and understanding different categories of plants and gardening-related elements. It’s the perfect board game for kids five and up!
Players try to be the first to fill their gardens—they move around the board collecting garden items from each shopkeeper and try to be the first to return to plant a garden. If you’re working with your kiddos on planting a garden in real life, this game is especially perfect for your house!
Add something to your stack from this list? We’d love to see! Tag us: @thriftylittles on Instagram.
If you liked this post, you might like these too:
