Embedded Files
In this article, Rylie Revercomb will talk about some of the best board games from our childhoods.
Top Five Kids Board Games
Top Five Kids Board Games
By: Rylie Revercomb
By: Rylie Revercomb
As kids, most people either play pretend or play games. Now, some might think of video games as their go-to source for fun, but other kids like a simple and fun board game. Something you do where you actually interact with people. Whether yelling at a little brother to hand over $200 in Monopoly, or trying to get to the end of the Candy Land map without stepping on one of those stupid licorice tiles, everyone had fun playing at least one of these creative and family-friendly board games.
Monopoly
Monopoly
First up on the list is Monopoly, which has been a family favorite since 1935! It has certainly been around a long time, but it has not gotten boring because of the new spinoffs Hasbro has created for the game. Players can play the original game, or switch it up and play something like, Monopoly; EMPIRE! or Monopoly; Cheater’s Edition! However, even though the games look all switched up, it still follows the same rule… Buy enough property to put the rest of your family in debt, currently patent pending. It’s everyone’s favorite game, where anyone can steal from a little brother or sister without getting in trouble! The game can be long, but it is worth it when you win, which is why everyone loves this classic game.
Image by: HasbroGaming
Candy Land
Candy Land
Next, we have Candy Land, of course. Most people can probably remember fighting with a sibling over the gingerbread you got, the selected colors for the pieces being red, blue, yellow, and green. The game spans across a board, where you have to avoid the evil Lord Licorice, and make your way to Candy Castle to win the game and claim your prize! The prize is bragging rights that you just so happened to have a lucky draw of cards. Invented in 1948, Candy Land has been a kid's favorite for years, and a review on Target supports that by saying, “I loved that it is toddler friendly to begin teaching kiddos about board games! Not too complex at all!” This game is a family favorite, and it is known for keeping even the most anxious and hyper children occupied with a nice and easy game.
Don't Break the ice
Don't Break the ice
Third on the list is a favorite for the patient and disciplined kids, Don’t Break the Ice. The game is just a small blue plastic stand-up that players squeeze little ice cubes onto. In the center of this ice kingdom is a little polar bear on skates. The object of the game is to break the ice, but slowly and not quickly. Basically, the player wants to wear the ice down enough so that, when the next person hits the ice, it is so weak that the polar bear falls. You don’t want to have the last hit. Well, at least, you don’t want the last hit if you’re trying to win. However, in some people’s experiences, they might have had an incident where their crazy little brother just started hitting the ice whenever they set it up. (Which is definitely not from personal experience). This game is slightly newer than the others, being invented in 1968, and getting plenty of upgrades to the point where they switched the classic polar bear out for a penguin.
Image by: VisualsSpeak
Battleship
Battleship
Coming up next is Battleship, a game for people who like ruthlessly destroying their family's ships and watching everything they worked for sink to the bottom of the ocean. Which is, of course, very sad… Unless you’re winning, that is. In this game, the player has to guess where the other player’s ships are, using strategy and pure unbridled luck to win the game. The game has a little graph at the top of your separate board (which the other player can’t see), and you have to map out your ‘hits’ and ‘misses’ to try to pin down where the next ship is. A review on Gamespot says, “Dense blue plastic, knobby little red and white pieces (which the dog always tried to eat), and really strategic guesswork. Now that was fun.” Basically pointing out that, while the game was cheap, it is still a source for Sunday childhood fun. This game has lived up to its title, being invented as a little escape from reality in 1967, and still being played to this day. This is a game for the most ruthless children, who just like blowing up everything in their paths.
Chutes and ladders
Chutes and ladders
Last on the list, but certainly not least, is Chutes and Ladders-- a game that has players angrily slamming their fists into the ground when they land on space 87 and slide down all the way back to 24. The game has ladders that get you closer to 100, the winning space, and chutes that can send you all the way back down to as low as space 6. This game takes about as long as 30 minutes because, if you are as unlucky as most people, you will just keep hitting slide after slide, after slide, after slide. The game can get a little frustrating, but the feeling of winning an annoying game is ten times better than winning an easy game. The player who wins will have bragging rights for sure. Family Rated, a review site all about family friendly games, says, “My daughter is in love with this game. She would have us play it every day if we would cooperate… Fun time for the whole family.” This is one of the most top-rated games, despite its history of being a little frustrating because... Even though you’re losing… You still get to have that quality time with your family, most likely glaring at a sibling after they hit a ladder and you slide down a chute.
Image by: HasbroGaming
There you have it, a list of five of the top kids' games. Games for the entire family, ages 4-6 and up! Although most people probably would not recommend playing Monopoly to a four-year-old, they should probably stick with Candy Land or Chutes and Ladders, both being fun for the whole family. That being said, these are great ways to spend lazy Saturdays or Sundays, just relaxing with the fam and laughing to your heart’s content as you play a classic board game.
Page updated
Report abuse