These best board games of all time aren’t just fun, they have a lot to offer! These board games inspire competition, build spelling skills, math skills, and teach turn taking and sportsmanship.

While we’ve ordered these best board games of all time by age, the ages are just guidelines! Some kids take to these games much younger, and some games don’t click until kids are older. You know your kids best.

Best Board Games of All Time For Preschoolers

Don't get stuck in the licorice spaces by evil Lord Licorice! Photo of Candy Land courtesy of Amazon

1. Candy Land

Ages 3-6; 2-4 players
This game has stood the test of time: Candy Land made its debut in 1949, and kids continue to play it (and parents continue to indulge them because parenting requires some sacrifice). No reading is required, and it's a great intro to gameplay for preschoolers.

2. Chutes and Ladders

Ages 3-6; 2-4 players
A childhood classic, this simple board game doesn't require any reading skills. Land on a slide, and you go back spaces, land on a ladder and you get to climb ahead!

3. Hi Ho! Cherry-O

Ages 3-5; 2-3 players
Build math skills subliminally by letting little ones count fruit to place in their baskets (or back in the tree).

4. Hungry Hungry Hippos

Ages 4 & up; 2 or more players
Simply chomp the most marbles to win! Kids love that this isn’t a game where they have to sit still and wait their turn, parents love that there aren’t complicated rules to learn and that it’s over quickly!

5. Perfection

Ages 4 & up; 1 or more players
Kids have to match all the shapes into spaces on the board before the timer runs out. When it does—pop! Everything pops out of place. Kids can play alone to beat the clock or challenge each other to see who can get the most pieces in before the timer runs out.

6. Dominoes

Ages 4 & up; 2-5 players
This is a great counting game for kids, all they have to do is match the number on one end of their domino to one that has already been played.

Best Board Games of All Time for Kids Ages 6-10

There's nothing quite as fun as sending your opponent home in Sorry! Photo by Sara Marentette

7. Sorry!

Ages 6 & up; 2-4 Players
This game spans age groups—younger kids, tweens, and teens all get sucked in! The goal is to "get home," but players can send each other's pawns back to the starting line, thus forcing one another to lose ground and begin all over again. Revenge is part of the fun, which can be a little difficult for younger kids to appreciate until they have a chance to exact it themselves.

8. Connect 4

Ages 6 & up; 2 players
Get 4 discs of your color in a row and you win. Easy peasy. Or is it? Lots of strategy, lots of fun. And when the game is over, it’s almost as much fun to pull the slider bar out so all the discs fall as it is to play the game!

9. Operation

Ages 6 & up; 1 or more players
“It takes a very steady hand.” And a little strategy. Remove a funny bone or broken heart without touching the sides of the incision; if you buzz and the patient’s nose turns red, your turn is over. Kids can play alone, or see who can remove the most “ailments” to win.

10. JENGA

Ages 6 & up; 2 or more players
This classic building block game tests the laws of gravity as players attempt to remove one block at a time without knocking over the entire tower. If you've got outdoor space, consider investing in the larger-than-life Jenga Giant version for some supersized fun.

11. Mancala

Ages 6 & up; 2 players
This is a lovely game that can absorb young gamers for hours. It not only requires strategy, but it's also one of those sneaky STEM-building games that teach little ones to count and think ahead without realizing they're learning essential skills.

12. Guess Who

Ages 6-10, 2 players
Like 20 questions, Player 1 and Player 2 ask each other yes or no questions about the opponent's mystery person, and by the art of deduction, eventually make the identification and win.

13. Battleship

Ages 7 & up; 2 players
This classic naval combat game lets players position their fleet in an ocean and then try to guess their opponent's quadrant by calling out a radar position. Be the first one to sink the entire fleet, and you win.

14.  Life

Ages 8 & up; 2-4 players
While the way to win imparts a dubious life lesson (much like Monopoly, the one with the most money at the end wins), the game has changed a little over the decades to keep up with the times. Move about the board collecting a spouse (or not), kids (or not!), careers, vacations, and yes, money. It’s a fun way to get kids talking about what they want to get out of life!

15. Stratego

Ages 8 & up; 2 players
This game moves capture the flag indoors and ups the strategy factor. Plot your attack and work your way across the board to net the coveted prize before your opponent foils your plans.

16. Apples to Apples Junior

Ages 9 & up; 4-8 players
This game of crazy comparisons lets players be the judge. Each turn, the judge rotates and draws a card from the green pile; other players choose a card they think fits the theme, and the judge picks the winner—sometimes it's serious; others silly, but it's always entertaining. There’s a pictures-only version that pre-readers can play, too!

Best Board Games of All Time for Tweens & Teens

It was Miss Scarlet in the Ballroom with the Candlestick! Photo by Sara Marentette

17. Clue

Ages 8 & up+; 2-6 players
Part skill, part luck, and a little bit of playacting thrown in, Clue is a fun whodunnit game that rewards deductive reasoning.

18. Monopoly

Ages 8 & up; 2-6 players
There are almost as many versions of Monopoly now as there are stars in the sky—you can find games based on Star Wars, Frozen, Toy Story, Fortnite, the national parks, and many more. It's still the granddaddy of family board games and serves as a great way to spend an hour or an afternoon.

19. Scrabble

Ages 8 & up; 2-4 players
Another classic, but beware, things can get pretty heated when you play! Keep a dictionary (or, you know, your smartphone) handy. 

20. Yahtzee

Ages 8 & up; 2-4 players
Ah, this one’s for the math heads more than the word nerds. Yahtzee is basically poker played with dice. It’s loads of fun to shake the dice, with just enough strategy thrown in to keep it interesting.

21. Boggle

Ages 8 & up; 1-6 players
Another family favorite, this game has the advantage of being something one child can do on his or her own—racing against the hour-glass timer to achieve some personal bests. Family gameplay with older kids is competitive and fun. We find younger kids feel a bit frustrated if they're not as quick to find words, but if you have a younger whiz kid, you could try limiting word-finding to words with three or four letters to level the playing field.

Rummikub is the original Rummy tile game for families. Photo courtesy of Amazon

22. Rummikub

Ages 8 & up; 2-4 players
Rummikub is easy to learn and fast-moving, and it has the added advantage of being different every time it's played. It combines luck and strategy, and it changes quickly, so every player has a chance to win until the very end.

23. Risk

Ages 10 & up; 2-5 players
In the game of Risk, the goal is simple: players aim to conquer their enemies' territories by building an army, moving their troops in, and engaging in battle. Depending on the roll of the dice, a player will either defeat the enemy or be defeated.

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