While you're working from home and your kids are home from school, you may be looking for ways to engage them and keep them learning while having fun, and board games are a great way to do that. Games can teach kids teamwork, strategy, help with basic math skills, and even give their critical thinking skills a good test. Plus, board games are fun as heck, so here's a list of our favorite games you can play with your kids!
Then it all falls down
There isn't much to say about Jenga — it's just fun. Grab the blocks and stack them on top of each other, and if you knock over the tower, you lose. It's simple, inexpensive, and provides a good amount of entertainment when the tower falls.
Connect the routes
The kid's version of Ticket to Ride pretty much works the same as the regular version. Collect trains of different colors to connect the cities via the train routes. The routes are very straightforward, and the longest route is only four trains long, making it a much quicker and simpler version for kids to enjoy.
Find the toy
All the fun of the I Spy books in a game! Fill the bowl with all sorts of little plastic figures, then flip over a card with a picture on it—the first one to find the figurine that matches the card wins. Plus, when you're not playing the game, you can use the little plastic figurines as toys!
Roll the dice and battle giant monstrs
You're all giant monsters fighting to be the king of Tokyo and cause the most destruction. Roll the dice and collect the symbols to damage your opponents or regain health. You score points based on how long you can stay inside the city and cause havoc. It's a super fun and fast dice-rolling game that goes over well with kids and adults alike.
A kid-friendly dungeon crawler
Get ready to dive into this fantastic kid-friendly dungeon crawler where you play as stuffed animals that have come to life to protect the little girl that owns them. You'll roll dice, encounter friends and foes, pick up items, and finish an epic quest all in this cute and cuddly world displayed in the adventure book.
Board games aren't just for adults
Board games sometimes get a bad rap for being boring, stuffy, and mostly enjoyed by adults, but there are a ton of board games that are great for kids. Whether you have pre-teens or pre-schoolers, you can find a game that will entertain your children and hopefully leave them wanting to play more.
If you have smaller children, I Spy: Dig In is a great little game that is super simple. The small figurines are just fun to look at, and getting them to dive into the bowl frantically looking for a specific piece is pretty fun. Just be careful around really small children or babies; the little plastic parts are a choking hazard.
Luke Filipowicz has been a writer at iMore, covering Apple for nearly a decade now. He writes a lot about Apple Watch and iPad but covers the iPhone and Mac as well. He often describes himself as an "Apple user on a budget" and firmly believes that great technology can be affordable if you know where to look. Luke also heads up the iMore Show — a weekly podcast focusing on Apple news, rumors, and products but likes to have some fun along the way.
Luke knows he spends more time on Twitter than he probably should, so feel free to follow him or give him a shout on social media @LukeFilipowicz.
