11 best family games that kids and all ages will love to play together (2024)

Our family loves board games. Tee and I have shared many family game nights and played countless board games with friends. Now that our twins are three years old, we've been introducing them to the fun of game night and they absolutely love it. Some of the games are specifically made for kids their age, while others are ones that we play "off-label" — making games designed for older kids or adults accessible to younger kids with a few tweaks to the rules or gameplay. Our off-label play can be really fun — we get to reimagine games that we love and share them with our kids. (For younger children, just be aware if there are small parts that might present a choking hazard.) Not only does game night bring the family together for quality time, but these games also reinforce a lot of things that kids are learning and practicing at this age — taking turns; following directions; developing motor skills; and learning colors, shapes, and numbers. This is a list of some of the games that have been huge hits with our kids, along with how we play when the rules might be too tricky for younger players. Most of these are classics that we remember playing as kids growing up. (And we've never met a kid who doesn't love spinning the bingo wheel.) You don't have to wait to get started with family fun that the kids will love. Start 'em young!

Candy Land — Kingdom of Sweet Adventures Board Game

Candy Land is an absolute classic. I remember playing this over and over when I was a young kid. Game play is fairly simple — each turn, a player draws a card that reveals a color or candy, and moves their piece along the board's path to that space. Our kids milk every drop of fun they can out of just drawing the card and celebrating whatever it is that they draw. Plus, there are new versions of Candy Land now, too — Disney Princess, Unicorn Edition, and Bluey. This game is great for reinforcing taking turns, color matching, identifying objects, and following a path from start to finish. Just be ready, you'll probably have to play more than one round!

Jenga — Wooden Block-Stacking Tumbling Tower Game

We had this game long before our kids were born, and we've used it in many different fun ways for them. Each player takes a turn removing a wooden block from a stacked tower and placing it on top of the tower, all while trying not to knock the tower over. It's a fun game for any age, and we found it totally accessible for our three-year-olds. We've played variations where the kids stack their own towers however they want. After a few rounds of play, we often end up in building play, using the wooden blocks to create structures all our own. There are a lot of different ways these pieces can be used, giving kids hours of potential fun.

Twister — Body-twisting Color-matching Mat Game

This is another great one that we've been playing for decades and perfect for times when you want something a little more active. Just as fun playing it as a party game as it is on family game night. This is played on a big floor mat with different colored dots, someone spins the wheel and calls out a color and a part of the body (right hand, left foot, etc.), and everyone has to try to find an unoccupied space to place their hand or foot. Sure to bring hilarious moments of being all tangled together. This is especially a great one for kids who are learning their colors, parts of their body, and how to distinguish between left and right. We adapt it to kids younger than six by helping them with their directions and finding a spot on the mat that might work well for them. Easy and fun for all ages.

Connect 4 — Disc-dropping Strategy Game

We've seen versions of this game included in play kits for toddlers, but the classic still delivers. Two players (or teams) take turns dropping their discs into the board in an attempt to get four in a row. This game works well for younger kids as it develops hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, encourages color matching, has interesting textures on the discs, and has a fun release mechanism to let all the discs fall out of the board. We've had fun asking the kids to find specific colors and make big rows or designs in the board, or filling it up with one color before moving on to another.

Chutes and Ladders Board Game

A great board game with unpredictable twists and turns. Players spin the spinner and move their piece along the board, climbing ladders and sliding down chutes. This is great for work on counting, following the path, and taking turns. The playground theme is especially relatable for kids like ours who love spending a ton of time at the park.

UNO Card Game

Just as fun for adults as it is for kids, this is one that our kids ask for by name all the time. With younger kids, we take a "cards on the table" approach, where everyone has their cards laid down face up in front of them, then on each turn someone tries to match the number or color that has been flipped on the main pile. This game is fantastic for identifying numbers and colors, and with the reverses and skips, it challenges kids to not only think about taking turns, but also the order and direction of play. It also helps them with counting as they keep track of how many cards they have left. Kids *love* shouting UNO! when they only have one card left. This is just as fun with two players as it is with 10, so it works well for groups and families of all ages and numbers. And for a fun twist that excites kids, UNO Attack brings an unpredictable twist with a machine that shoots out a flurry of cards.

Don't Break the Ice (Mammoth Edition) Board Game

In this fun and unique game with a fresh update from the original, players use a colorful mallet to tap through the blocks of "ice" that are suspended in the board, with the hope that they don't hit the wrong one and send the entire tray falling through. This update also includes a die if you want a twist on the game — only tap the block corresponding to the color you roll. This game is great for identifying colors, strategy, and motor skills. Kids love the action of tapping through the ice, and the cute mammoth character and colorful ice blocks keep them engaged and excited.

Bingo Game Set with Spinning Wheel Cage

Who doesn't love a good ol' game of Bingo? Spin the wheel, call out the letter and number, and if it's on your card, mark it with a colorful chip. This is great for all ages, and especially perfect for kids who are learning to identify letters and numbers, sequences, and counting. The spinning wheel cage is definitely a main draw for kids — they love spinning it endlessly. A fun twist is to try to guess which color ball the wheel will spit out. Hours and hours of fun.

Hi Ho Cherry-O Board Game

Another classic that encourages counting, color matching, and turn-taking. Players spin to find out whether they get to pick their fruit or have to put it back on the tree — the first to fill their bucket wins! This game not only reinforces turn-taking and counting, but it also introduces addition and subtraction as players have to add or remove fruit pieces from their trees. A fun and easy one to return to whenever you want a good laugh.

SEQUENCE Card and Chip Board Game

SEQUENCE is great for kids and adults. Younger kids especially like this one because they get to use real playing cards. Players take turns playing a card from their hand to place a chip on the corresponding space on the board and create a sequence of five in a row. This is another great one to encourage matching, number and letter identification, learning colors, and counting. For younger players, we've found it can be fun to match just numbers or colors, instead of requiring them to match the entire card.

Hungry Hungry Hippos Board Game with Marbles

Kids love this fast-paced, action-packed game. Each player picks a hippo, marbles are dropped in the middle of the board, and players use their hippo to try to chomp down as many marbles as they can before they all get eaten up. This game is great for counting and learning which numbers are greater than others as players have to count up their marbles after each round to find out who has the most. It's a classic for a reason!