Gift Guides: My First Games (Kids Games)
On this next instillation of Gift Guides, we have compiled a list of the perfect games for the young gamers in your life. It’s never to early to share the love of board games. We even have games for kids as young as 2 years old!
As of the posting, all of these games are in stock.
Animal Upon Animal
- 2-4 players
- 15 mins
- 4 years +
The animals want to show how good they are at making tall pyramids! They must be skillfully careful: Who will position the penguin on top of the crocodile, the sheep on top of the penguin, the serpent on the sheep? The hedgehog wants to stand on top of the pyramid but the height is making him dizzy. In Animal Upon Animal players roll the die and either places one or two animals on to the stack of animals, passes one of his or her animals to another player for them to place, or places an animal on the table, extending the base for other players to build upon. Of course, if any pieces fall off whilst you are building, you get up to two of them back. The first player to have used all of their animals wins.
My Very First Games: Off to Bed
- 1-3 players
- 10 mins
- 2 years+
It’s time to go to bed — but the rabbit, bear and cat are unable to settle down because their beds, pillows and covers are all muddled up! What’s more, the animals each want their favorite stuffed toy. If the children have good powers of memory and a bit of luck in turning over the tiles in My Very First Games: Off to Bed!, they can succeed in getting their animal into bed first.
Rhino Hero
- 2-5 players
- 15 mins
- 5 years+
Rhino Hero presents players with an incredibly heroic – and regrettably heavy – rhinoceros who is eager to climb a tall building and leap other tall buildings in a single bound. First, though, you need to construct that building. Players each start the game with five roof cards, and they take turns adding walls and roofs to a single building. On a turn, you first place walls on the highest floor, then you choose a roof card in your hand and place it on the wall. Each roof card bears markings that indicate where the next player must place walls on the card. In addition, some roof cards force a player to perform special actions, such as placing a second roof, changing the direction of play, or moving Super Rhino to a new location on the tower. Keep your hands steady!
Dr. Beaker
- 2-4 players
- 15 mins
- 8 years+
In Dr. Beaker, each player has a beaker with six compartments around the edge for molecules, which are represented by plastic balls in three colors; two spaces for molecules are in the center of the beaker, with the beaker having a rotating platform in it. Each player also has a stirring rod, and when someone turns over a challenge card, everyone must race to arrange the molecules in their beaker to match the pattern showing on the card — but they must use only their rod to do so, moving the molecules around the beaker through the openings in the compartments. As soon as a player matches the pattern, they claim the card, then flip over a new one, with everyone continuing to play with whatever arrangement of molecules they currently have.
Go Away Monster!
- 2-4 players
- 15 mins
- 3 years+
Reach in the bag to find the puzzle pieces that fit your bedroom game board. Try to distinguish between the different puzzle pieces and decide which one feels like the size and shape of a piece you need. If you pull out a monster, don’t be scared… You take charge, and the monsters will take off! Being afraid of monsters is a normal part of growing up. Go Away Monster! encourages kids to conquer that fear by acting it out and taking control. It also lets them experience some of the apprehension and excitement in deciding what is real and what is imaginary.
