Games to play with my 5 yr old son
James Nicholls
(grumpyllama)
United Kingdom
Glastonbury
Somerset
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Hi I'm looking for suggestions for games to play with my son. His current favorites are Heroica, Pitch Car and Survive. We did have heroscape but my wife vetoed it, saying to was too geeky/violent. Any ideas?
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1. Board Game: Formula D [Average Rating:7.02 Overall Rank:526]
Board Game: Formula D
James Nicholls
(grumpyllama)
United Kingdom
Glastonbury
Somerset
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I'm thinking of getting this. How simple is the basic game?
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2. Board Game: Castle Panic [Average Rating:6.65 Overall Rank:1048]
Board Game: Castle Panic
James Nicholls
(grumpyllama)
United Kingdom
Glastonbury
Somerset
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Another possiblity
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3. Board Game: Forbidden Island [Average Rating:6.79 Overall Rank:730]
Board Game: Forbidden Island
Tom Builder
(jellyfish1)
United States
Redmond
Washington
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This is also a good choice.
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4. Board Game: King of Tokyo [Average Rating:7.18 Overall Rank:317]
Board Game: King of Tokyo
Marcel Sagel
(mac_s_1)
Netherlands
Groningen
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This might also classify as too geeky/violent, but it's so far from reality that it shouldn't be a problem I think. My boys (5 and 8) love it. In fact, almost every adult I play this with loves it too.

Some more suggestions based on what my 5-year-old actually plays with us:

Cartagena - Pirates!
Emerald - Dragons!
Meltdown 2020 - To the rescue!
Winner's Circle - Not a theme that instantly appeals to boys, but the game is fine and the screwage factor is good (let's block daddy's horse haha!)

And with a little help from a parent, he's also played Settlers of Catan and Ticket to Ride already (and did pretty well).
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5. Board Game: Carcassonne Junior [Average Rating:6.70 Overall Rank:1499]
Board Game: Carcassonne Junior
Jerbear
(Syvanis)
United States
Loveland
Colorado
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He likes this
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6. Board Game: The Magic Labyrinth [Average Rating:6.83 Overall Rank:1071]
Board Game: The Magic Labyrinth
Jerbear
(Syvanis)
United States
Loveland
Colorado
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He loves this
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7. Board Game: Animal Upon Animal [Average Rating:6.82 Overall Rank:931] [Average Rating:6.82 Unranked]
Board Game: Animal Upon Animal
Jerbear
(Syvanis)
United States
Loveland
Colorado
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Good fun for all
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8. Board Game: Hey, That's My Fish! [Average Rating:6.70 Overall Rank:864]
Board Game: Hey, That's My Fish!
Chris Dugas
(SilentCat)
Canada
Toronto
Ontario
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Sure, if two adults playing this they can get all thinky about their moves, but without that overstrategizing, this is just "move and take" over and over until all the penguins are stranded on ice floes. Easily played by young kids. The penguins in the deluxe version are adorable.
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9. Board Game: Château Roquefort [Average Rating:6.84 Overall Rank:1490]
Board Game: Château Roquefort
Paige Watson
(paigew)
United States
Snohomish
Washington
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This game hits the table quite a bit at my house.

Originally, my 5 year old just wanted his mice to fall into the dungeon, but lately, he has been playing to win and doing really well at it.

I think it took a few games to understand using 4 actions, but not as long as I thought. Actually, it took my wife longer to grasp the concept.
 
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10. Board Game: Junior Labyrinth [Average Rating:5.71 Overall Rank:10224]
Board Game: Junior Labyrinth
Nicolas Varela
(nvarela)
Chile
Santiago
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My kids love to play this game. The picture posted is my daughter Isidora when she was 4 years old!
 
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11. Board Game: Ticket to Ride [Average Rating:7.42 Overall Rank:178] [Average Rating:7.42 Unranked]
Board Game: Ticket to Ride
L. Somer
(lsomer)
Canada
Calgary
Alberta
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My 6 year old likes ticket to ride. He hasn't figured out how to maximize his points yet but the colour coding (he needs 4 red cards to make a red connection with 4 spaces, for instance) is easy for him to figure out.
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12. Board Game: Drakon (Third Edition) [Average Rating:6.49 Overall Rank:2072]
Board Game: Drakon (Third Edition)
Luis Fernandez
(Luisjoey)
Venezuela
Caracas
Miranda
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Simple enough to be played by a kid and be fun enough!
 
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13. Board Game: Can't Stop [Average Rating:6.85 Overall Rank:747]
Board Game: Can't Stop
Mike K
(Coyotek4)
United States
Fairless Hills
Pennsylvania
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In all seriousness, I think this game is great for teaching number skills. My son's gotten to the point that, on his own, he'll roll the four dice, pair them off AND state the totals of each pair. Very simple to learn, educational, AND he wins more often than I care to admit.

(For curious folks, I linked to a Session Report in the 'Comments' section.)
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14. Board Game: Flash Point: Fire Rescue [Average Rating:7.20 Overall Rank:346]
Board Game: Flash Point: Fire Rescue
James Nicholls
(grumpyllama)
United Kingdom
Glastonbury
Somerset
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I have this on order for me. Not sure how basic the basic game is. Its co-op and the little wooden firemen may swing it, but it may be a bit ambitious!
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15. Board Game: Jaipur [Average Rating:7.51 Overall Rank:140]
Board Game: Jaipur
Maverick Reborn
(Maverickreborn)
United Kingdom
Brighton
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Me and my Daughter love this one.
 
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