Guides

Choosing a game is mostly a question of age. A game that is a year too advanced gets abandoned halfway; a year too young and a child will not take it seriously. These guides set out what actually works at each age, which of our games fit, and what to expect when you sit down to play.

Browse by age

Games for 3 Year Olds

Picture-led activities with no reading and no winner. Flipbooks and a magnetic feelings chart for children who have the feelings long before the words.

Games for 4 Year Olds

A little more structure than age three. Choosing, sorting and pointing, with the vocabulary handed over by showing the face first.

Games for 5 Year Olds

Turn-taking clicks at five, so matching, memory and snap become real games. The first age where a simple board game is realistic.

Board Games for 6 Year Olds

Card games with a question on every card, built on rules children already know from Go Fish and Crazy Eights.

Board Games for 7 Year Olds

Full board games with a route, a goal and real strategy. Thirty to fifty minutes, and a child who plays to win talks most freely.

Games for 8 Year Olds

Longer games about choices, consequences, past and future, for children who can reflect on their own thinking.

How to use these guides

Each guide opens with the games that suit that age, including what is in the box, how many can play and how long a game runs. After that come practical notes: what to look for at that stage, how long to set aside, and what a realistic session looks like.

Ages are a guide rather than a rule. A confident six year old will enjoy the seven-plus board games, and a five year old who has not played much will do better with the picture-led activities. If in doubt, choose down rather than up.

Reading on children and feelings

Our articles cover ADHD, anxiety, confidence, behaviour and mindfulness in more depth, written for parents rather than professionals.