Your 6-year-old is ready to play competitively with friends and join in on a good family game! Cue game night! The best board games teach them good gamesmanship, along with strategy skills, concentration, and how to tackle a challenge.
Here’s a vetted list of age-appropriate family board games to offer hours of entertainment for your six-year-old.
Best Board Games for 6-Year-Olds
Hasbro’s Guess Who? Game is a classic guessing game that is a perfect game for quiet, indoor play, while Kid’s Scavenger Hunt is a search and find game that keep kids active and can be played indoors or outdoors.
Hasbro Guess Who Classic Game
The Hasbro Guess Who Classic Game Is the perfect game to help children to pay attention to small details they would not learn to pay attention to without this board game. Each piece on the board has a face all of the faces with different characteristics and children need to guess which face the other player is hiding. Children love this game and will spend hours trying to beat their opponent and recognize the face first.
Use this game to teach your children a plethora of skills, such as turn-taking, attention to detail, and the process of elimination. As children figure out who is left through the process of elimination they learn to recognize important characteristics about people too. The gameplay is fast enough even for inpatient children so they can play multiple games in an hour.
Outfoxed! Game Board Game
Outfoxed! Game Board Game helps children to become a detective! They can follow the clues and rescue a pie stolen from an elderly lady as they outfox chickens feathering around the crime scene. This cooperative play game encourages kids to look everywhere for clues and solve a mystery.
Not only will your child learn to work with friends but also how to deduce information from clues. The skills from this game can help your child to understand logic and improve cognitive skills to help with many tasks in their lifetime. All this, and they get to laugh, have fun, and work together with friends without even realize they are learning!
5 Second Rule Junior
5 Second Rule Junior is a fast pace board game where kids need to list three things in five seconds. After their turn, the next player gets to list three things of the same topic without reusing any previously listed items. The first kid to get to the end of the board game wins the game.
The best part of this game is the silly answers the people come up with in order to beat the clock. Parents can enjoy this game with their children and even younger siblings, although you may have to compensate for younger players by offering them more time. All of the topics are made for children ages six and up for easier play in this Junior version of a classic game.
Super Mario Checkers & Tic-Tac-Toe Game Set
The Super Mario Checkers & Tic-Tac-Toe Game Set adds a new spin to the possibly the world’s oldest game – checkers – which actually dates back a couple of thousand years! Flip the game over and play tic-tac-toe for a change of pace all with two very popular video game characters.
Kids who love the Italian characters from their favorite Nintendo games can learn these classic games made new for the times. The game board and pieces come in a sturdy collectors tin to add a little value to the set. Choose from Mario or Luigi game pieces. Though, the best part is when you check the kings, they gain a cute little hat!
Connect 4 Strategy Board Game
Who hasn’t played the game Connect 4? The gameplay is simple enough, you need to make a row of four before your opponent makes their row. What’s truly great about the game is you need a strategy to win the game which teaches children several wonderful skills.
Before making a move you need to anticipate the other player’s needs and play on the offense to avoid having to play defense. Kids won’t care about any of the strategies as much as they will care about sliding the lever at the bottom of the game once someone has won. You don’t get to slide the lever, you have to let the kids do it. Sorry.
Operation
The classic board game Operation challenges kids to become a surgeon as they work hard to move pieces out of a fake body without touching the sensors. In real surgery, precision, like you would learn from this game, keeps blood vessels and other parts from being damaged. Children can learn to work on fine motor skills and avoid the buzzers and 13 different ailments.
Children will enjoy that the nose lights up when the tweezers touch the sides of the part that they are working on. Whichever player removes the most elements without touching the sides and lighting up the nose wins. Though, the best feature of this game is children can play with multiple people or try to beat their previous score. This is a great option for family game night!
Kids Scavenger Hunt
The board game Kids Scavenger Hunt – an Active Game offers two ways to play the game both indoors or outdoors with different items to search for any space. The game encourages children to be active and find specific items which may even help them find the socks that they lost, or their shoes, or maybe even your car keys. You can work together in teams to help encourage teamwork and other cooperative skills.
Each team is a signed seven items that they must find in the designated space like the backyard or the main floor of your house. The first team or player to find all seven items on their list wins the round. Each game will take a different amount of time and can be short or long allowing for multiple game plays or a single game in a setting.
Otrio Strategy-Based Board Game
For first graders who need a relaxing game with no reading should try Otrio. The wooden board uses multiple rings in a game of strategy to compete to line up three pieces of the same color. Great for 2-4 players of any age including parents!
Sorry! Board Game
The rules for the new Sorry! have been modified over the last decade to make it easier for young children to enjoy the game, though the gameplay is essentially the same. Each player gets four pawns and they need to get home before the rest of the players. Sounds simple until you add in the tricky cards with special instructions that send you backward, or allow you to switch places with other players and even a Sorry card which sends a player back to start.
Players rely on luck of the draw to win this game but the new version means you don’t need a special card to get out of start which allows younger children a chance to play with fewer issues. Older members of the family would probably prefer the older version of the game. Either way, this classic family game teaches patience and many other skills as kids learn about luck and saying Sorry!
DreamWorks Trouble: Trolls World Tour Board Game
The DreamWorks Trouble: Trolls World Tour Board Game is the classic game you know but with trolls. Sadly, their hair is plastic, so you can’t style the hair when the kids aren’t looking. It does have a pop-O-matic popper to roll the dice which always makes a game way more interesting.
Playing is simple and easy to learn as kids swap places and race to the finish line. A few Trolls character game pieces complicate the game as kids move around the board. Though the game only teaches how to play games and taking turns, it’s a nice break from reality for little kids.
Rooster Race Family Board Game
Rooster Race Family Board Game teaches kids about guessing, luck, and counting corn. A fun game with no reading required just a bunch of luck. Anyone can play this game no matter their age and up five people can play at once with the included cards and corn pieces.
To play deal the cards face down to each person and one card facing up. Everyone takes turns guessing if the next card will be high or low. If you guess correctly you get a piece of corn and if you guess incorrectly, you lose a piece of corn. When the cards are gone, the person with the most corn wins the game!
Pressman Mancala for Kids
Children can enjoy the classic mancala game, Pressman Mancala for Kids! Kids will use 48 elephants, dogs, lions, and more colorful animal “gemstones” to play with. No reading necessary, but kids still learn a ton of important skills all while collecting a bunch of animals in a variety of colors!
Best Board Games for 6-Year-Old Boys
The Peaceable Kingdom Dinosaur Escape Game is a perfect action-packed game for any dinosaur loving little boy, while the Bugs in the Kitchen involves bugs and mazes which is right up every boy’s alley.
Peaceable Kingdom Dinosaur Escape Game
The fun cooperative family board game, Peaceable Kingdom Dinosaur Escape Game, is for the dinosaur lover in your life. The game works for boys and girls ages three and up for two to four players.
Kids can boost their imagination, decision making, social skills, and teamwork with this action-packed game. Includes a favorite topic for this age group: dinosaurs, so kids can also learn about some of their favorite creatures too. Plus, there are dinosaur game pieces! It’s time to rescue dinosaurs and get them to safety with this fun cooperative game!
Bugs in the Kitchen Board Game
If your kids love hex bugs then you need to get the Bugs in the Kitchen Board Game. The gameplay is simple and works for up to four players and each game takes about 15 minutes. This new game by Ravensburger will be a new family favorite in no time at all.
Kids will roll the dice and set up the maze for their hex bug. Once the game is set up, they need to move spoons knives and forks to keep the hex bug from winning and getting through the maze or get through the kitchen. A fun game to teach strategy, logic, and so much more all with a fun little bug they can replace with any other hex bug.
Best Board Games for 6-Year-Old Girls
The Ravensburger World of Disney Eye Found It Board Game is a perfect choice for any Disney fan as you search for iconic characters or objects, and the Miss Bernard is a Wild Card allows kiddos to make crazy sentences that make everyone laugh.
World of Disney Eye Found It Board Game
The World of Disney Eye Found it Board Game is a great family board game for game night! A HUGE 6-foot game board unfolds to provide tons of colors and eye-catching visuals.
This game will help your 6-year-old develop their focus and cooperation skills as players work together to find Disney objects. Your child may recognize some or all of the popular Disney characters spread throughout the board! Includes “Mickey ears” game pieces too!
Miss Bernard is a Wild Card Game
If your kid loves to laugh, get them the Miss Bernard is a Wild Card Game. The game is based on a popular book series for this age group and allows kids to use cards to build sentences. Of course, Miss Bernard is a wild card! As players build crazy sentences, they can learn a ton of important skills.
The game teaches reading, math, strategic thinking, and so much more with easy to follow rules. Each game takes about 30 minutes for 2-4 players and is fun enough for the whole family to enjoy.
Best Educational Board Games for 6-Year-Olds
Stare Junior Board Game is a concentration and memory game where you look at a picture for 30 seconds and then recall everything you remember, while the Skillmatics Guess in 10 Animal Planet Game allows you to ask up to 10 questions to your opponent to guess the animal on the card they are holding, working on communication, critical thinking, and decision making.
Stare! Junior Board Game
The Stare! Junior Board Game – 2nd Edition offers unique gameplay that can help increase your kid’s memory and conceptual skills. Not only is the game fun but also an insanely educational game designed to help children improve their concentration. This game comes with everything needed for up to two players or two teams to play a quick-paced game.
In this game, one team stares at a picture for 30 seconds and then answer questions based on the image to move around the game board. Once the team gets a question wrong, it’s the next player’s or team’s turn. Stare is a fun game to improve focus, retention, memory, concentration, and attention to detail, and the whole family can enjoy the benefits of this game.
Ticket to Ride: First Journey
Adults love the original Ticket to Ride game and now kids can try out a junior version with Ticket to Ride: First Journey. The game uses trains to travel around the US to help kids understand geography and important places in America. Two to four adventurers work to build railroad tracks from coast to coast and win six tickets before other players.
The game takes less than thirty minutes depending on how many players are in the game. Games like this one work well for Asperger’s children with a fascination for trains as they become engineers and learn strategy. Kids can take the game to school for a fun geography lesson too.
Hasbro Scrabble Junior Game
Work together during family game night to letter-match and create words with Hasbro’s Scrabble Junior Game! The game board features two sides; one for beginners and one for more advanced players, making it a fun board game that grows with your 6-year-old as they grow! Choose from four cute game pieces that come in different colors.
Keep in mind that this is not the original Scrabble board layout nor is it the same classic Scrabble game you are used to playing. Instead, it is a revised Scrabble game specifically for younger kids who are learning to read and spell. The game pieces are not plastic and instead, are cardboard pieces. Start them out with this family board game and before you know it, they’ll be ready to play the real thing!
Skillmatics Educational Game: Animal Planet
The Skillmatics Educational Game: Animal Planet is a variation of 20 questions but based on animals with a few modifiers. Using cards, one player gives a targeted fact and the other player asks a yes or no question. The gameplay depends on how fast the other person guesses the right answers.
Both adults and children can enjoy this simple game and learn a bunch of animal facts in the process. Children can learn social and communication skills, decision making, problem-solving, and creative thinking. This is the perfect game for the animal lover in your home.
Stop, Relax & Think
Do you want a game to help your kids focus and think before they talk? Here’s a board game that will help. Stop, Relax & Think it’s a board game for active and passive children to help them learn motor control, relaxation skills, how to problem solve, and finally to help express their feelings.
Even though this game can be used as a diagnostic or treatment tool for counselors, therapists, or other professionals this does not mean parents cannot use the game as well. Up to six people can play the game at one time between the ages of six and 12 for a fun game that also helps children in a different way than a typical board game with strategy learning. Sometimes, getting kids to verbalize their feelings can be difficult now you can turn it into a game.
Quiddler Word Game
The Quiddler Word Game is a card game that requires an adult to play as scoring can be difficult for six-year-olds. Playing the game is simple enough though as you need to make words with your cards to win the game. Each of up to eight players takes a turn and try to make a word and get to discard or pick up a card.
Each round increases the number of cards in your hand provides more word making fun. The cards themselves come with unique images to help children recognize letters even when they don’t look normal. Kids can improve their reading and writing skills along with strategy and thinking skills as well for an innovative game designed to help kids love words.
Pressman Jumpin’ Monkeys
Jumpin’ Monkeys is a fun game with little monkeys who love to jump. Be the first to catapult all of your monkeys into a tree and you get rewarded with a bunch of bananas. The only downfall of this game is the many pieces you need to clean up after and set up.
Kids don’t have to read anything and with this game, they will not have to do much reading. Playing is super easy as you just follow the instructions and take turns moving the monkeys around. Up to four players ages five and up can play although as few as two-players can play too.
Mastermind for Kids — Codebreaking Game
The game Mastermind for Kids — Codebreaking Game is slightly complicated the first few times you learn, so if your child has a hard time focusing or doesn’t like complicated games, pick a different option. Otherwise, this STEM game teaches a non-digital version of coding to children with three different levels of play. It’s a game children can enjoy for years to learn a plethora of skills.
To play the game, you need two people over the age of six and the ability to use logic and deductive reasoning. The code-maker sets a secret code and the other player needs to figure out the code with answer pieces all with adorable jungle themed pieces. Who will be the ultimate code master?
Comparing Board Games for 6-Year-Olds
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Games for Similar Ages
Best Board Games for 4-Year-Olds
Best Board Games for 5-Year-Olds
Best Board Games for 7-Year-Olds
Best Board Games for 8-Year-Olds
FAQs About Best Board Games for 6-Year-Olds
What are the benefits of playing board games?
Kids benefit from board games in many ways.
The best board games for 6-year-olds help to improve upon many skills but one of the best is their self-esteem. Not only can a child win a game, but learn many other lessons they can apply outside the game board.
Another great advantage of board games is they improve attention spans, as there are no commercial breaks or flashing ads dragging the attention elsewhere.
Structured family board games can assuage anxiety and give kids an outlet to navigate friendships while learning about teamwork and cooperative play.
Also, board games teach the value of being a good loser. No one can win everything every time and playing games give children a chance to build upon their losing skills. Trust me, all kids need to learn with grace.
Another benefit of board games is getting kids thinking in a different and often directed way. This gets the juices flowing to more parts of their brain while increasing brain development. Skills like these are the precursor to organizing, planning, and good decision-making.
Finally, games give children an opportunity to interact in a structured manner with other people. Hello, game night! Learning how to interact with others improves social skills and strengthens bonds. Not to mention, they learn how to joke and play at the same time for added benefits.
Are classic games better for kids than newer games?
Not necessarily. The best board games for 6-year-olds are often classic games or similar to board games. But it doesn’t matter how old a game is, if kids won’t play the game, it won’t offer them either fun or educational value.
Try out the classics, since they are often super affordable, have staying power, and are great for game night.
But if your kids don’t like them, then move on to newer games.
Newer games often teach more dedicated ideas which will definitely benefit children. Games are often fun while sneaking in a bit of learning on a specific topic, as most people love showing off their skills and dedicated games help them to achieve this goal.
Find your child’s favorite topic, like dinosaurs, and get them a game centered around that topic and trust me, they will learn.
Is my 6-year-old ready for adult games like Catan or Monopoly?
This depends on the kid. Some kids are ready for adult board games and their cognitive skills are ready for the adult concepts in a game, but other children aren’t ready and that’s perfectly okay and normal. Some children master the game of chess at a very young age because of unique wiring in their brains. Most children age up with family games as they learn skills.
Neither way is right or wrong, each kid is different. While some kids can handle Monopoly early, they may not respond well to Scrabble. The only way to know is to let your child try the game and see if they can handle a game above their age level. Your child may surprise you!
Lastly, many board games come with an online version now and your child can try the game on their first to see if they understand how to play before playing offline. Another way you can use the internet to help is to use a YouTube video to show them how to play the game. Often, children can learn better from a well-structured video explaining all of the rules where they can pause and replay parts they don’t quite understand and they can do this for almost any board game of any age level.
