Finding board games for toddlers is sometimes tricky. I want to find a game that will keep them interested for longer than 5 minutes, but that wont take up hours of my time. I especially love games that occupy them without actually having to have me play too.
That is a major bonus!
Granted I do enjoy playing games with them too, so there is a balance.
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Here is a list of my family’s favorite board games for toddlers.
Actual Board Games for toddlers (with boards)
Eye Found It
We got this one for the kids for Christmas and it was a hit. We played it at Grandma’s and even she got all invested. You’re supposed to find all of the items before the timer runs out and reach the finish line before the clock turns 12. If you have poor eyesight you may want to skip this game. You are looking for items on a very large board, but with very small graphics.
Bluey Scavenger Hunt Game
This game is super sweet and fun to play with the family. My kids LOVE Bluey so this game was an instant favorite. It is fun. You get to pick one of many Bluey characters and then as you move through the board you collect toy tokens by completing tasks that involve doing certain movements (i.e. jumping jacks), finding items in your home (i.e. something black), or answering trivia.
Don’t Wake Daddy
I used to love this game as a child. It can be pretty intense because you know Daddy is going to wake up eventually and that mean you have to go back to bed. So nostalgic to play this game with my kids.
Chutes and Ladders
Who doesn’t like Chutes and Ladders? My 3yo loves this game and it has really helped his numbering sequence. He does get upset when he lands on that giant chute at the end, but that’s part of the game.
Hi Ho Cherry-o
This is a great game for kiddos learning to count. The objective is to fill your bucket with 10 cherries from your tree before your opponents. It is a lot of fun!
Trouble
This one is fun for all ages too. My kids love to get each other into Trouble. Although my kids get worked up if their pieces end up having to be sent back to the beginning. It is simple for toddlers though.
Candy Land (the original version)
The original version is way better than the watered down mainstream version being sold now. If you never played with Lord Licorice or get stuck in the sticky Molasses Swamp than you haven’t lived through the real Candy Land. If you can find the 2002 version than you are sitting on gold, if not the new version is still fun for my kids to play.
Card Games
Charades for Kids
You do not need to know how to read to play this version. You do need to be able to distinguish pictures obviously, but otherwise it’s pretty little kid friendly. If you’ve ever seen the Charades episode of Bluey then you’ll understand how it works.
Go Fish
I don’t know anyone who doesn’t know Go Fish. My kids enjoy it and for my younger kids that can’t read, I find the decks with pictures very helpful. That way my 3yo can play along too.
Activity Games
Elefun
Childhood favorite of mine. I could have played this game all day, e’er day. I was the master at catching all of the butterflies, although I usually only went after the blue ones because that was my favorite color. Great game, keeps the kids up and active, but can get a little physical. Just to warn you.
Baby Shark Fishing Game
This game is nice because it works on hand-eye-coordination, BUT it is really loud and annoying, so BEWARE! Also a positive to this game is that my kids, even my 3yo, can play it all on their own.
*After further investigation… you can turn the song off and play on silent mode, which is an amazing feature for a toddler game!
Hungry Hungry Hippos
This one is fun for everyone. I especially love that there are so many different themed games to suit your kids interests. We have Hungry Hungry Dinos, but I have seen hippos, unicorns, turtles, etc. So much fun! My only precaution for this one is that the little balls the animals eat are choking hazards for small children.
Connect 4
Connect 4 is so fun for the kids to play even if they don’t play it correctly. They just enjoy putting the coins in and watching them all drop down when you press the lever. It’s like a giant fidget for them to play with.
Don’t Break the Ice
This is also a game that has a lot of themes to it. My daughter got it last year and it totally suited her. Of course, she got a Frozen themed Don’t Break the Ice. It is a little tricky for the kids to set the game up, but after that it’s smooth sailing, until the 3yo decides to hit one of the other kids in the head with the hammer.
Kerplunk
I enjoy playing this one with the kids. Pulling out all the sticks without letting all the balls fall is suspenseful and super fun.
If you’re more into the Montessori style games and really like the wood aesthetic. I found this super adorable version.
Pop-Up Pirate
This was a game introduced to me by my kids’ Speech teacher. It isn’t really speech related, but my kids enjoyed it so I thought I would give it a whirl. Well my kids could play this game for a solid hour. They really enjoyed the suspense of waiting for the Pirate to pop.
Pop the Pig
My kids were introduced to this one by their Speech Therapist as well. It even has a great moral about the consequences of gluttony… sort of. You take turns feeding the pig hamburgers and whoever feeds him the hamburger that makes his belt buckle pop, loses.
These are all tried and true board games for toddlers that my kids enjoy and play over and over again. They keep them busy and entertained and most of them are quite fun to play for me too. I love finding games that I want to play and enjoy with the kids too.
Please leave a comment if you have any other game suggestions for me to add to my list.