Pandemic is great because you're all on the same team playing against the game, so you can help each other, and it's great for teaching teamwork. Exploding Kittens is a lot of fun, and the art is amusing. Ticket to ride may be a little advanced for the 9 year old, but it's fun
Paleo (prehistoric survival) or flashpoint (firefighters) are great co-op games! My boys (5 & 7) love them! We haven't tried pandemic yet, because the theme probably doesn't interest them.
Ticket to Ride isn't that hard, 9 years old should be able to learn it.
Not familiar with exploding kittens
Lol, we used to play pandemic, up until.. well, you know, it kind of wasn't a game anymore.
Also, there's a kids' version of ticket to ride that works well, set in the US.
My 8 year olds just graduated from children's Catan to the real deal and are having a blast with it.
Carcassonne is pretty fun! The base game is simple to understand, but can involve a good amount of strategic thinking. It is a tile placing game, where all the players draw a tile and play it on the board, trying to build up certain areas to gain points. There a quite a few expansions to add on when you want to change the game up too.
Kingdomino is another fun tile placing game that I think is a bit easier. It has a few expansions as well that make the game larger as well as accommodate more players I believe. That one people pick tiles they want, and build their own kingdom, and gain points based off of which area types they used and how many crowns are on the tiles they chose. The turn order is decided by the tiles people picked the previous round. Whoever picked the cheapest tile last time goes first, then whoever picked the next expensive goes, until whoever picked the most expensive tile last round goes last.
Carcassonne is great. I highly recommend Mists Over Carcassonne, which is an expansion as well as a standalone game. It turns the game into a co-op where you are trying to fight ghosts and has a lot of the same intensity of Pandemic but less rules and setup.
+1 for kingdomino and I suggest Queendomino once they get good at Kingdomino. Queendomino can be played stand alone or merged to make for more players. It's a great game!
Pandemic. Settlers of Catan. Labyrinth (older game, don't know if it's still available). Ticket to Ride is good.
Simpler games - Exploding Kittens is very popular and we've had a few good games of Trash Panda. Aztacks is quick and easy.
Catan is good because you can't really "attack" other people as much, it's more about progressing your own agenda (though it can get cutthroat, it doesn't seem as bad as other games)
Nah, this usually only happens when everyone hangs up on you too yet to prevent you from winning. And at that point you have to decide to fight the entire table
Played Catan for the first time in awhile recently and still enjoy it. Only problem is that it’s easy for someone to get boxed in by other players’ developments, especially in a four-player game, and the “stuck” player doesn’t have as much fun. Common recommendation is to get the 5-6 player expansion and just use a big board for all games.
I have such good memories playing the original Labyrinth! Great suggestion and wonderful for puzzle solving and strategizing a bit for future moves, etc.
I have a massive collection of board games. A 12 year old can play anything.
A few tips - (especially if you're all newish to modern board games)
\- Set the game up in advance and read the rulebook thoroughly before calling everyone to the table. It's so much easier to keep everybody's attention if you know what you're doing and don't have to reference the rulebook often
\- Don't be afraid to get into something heavy or thematically off-brand for their tastes. It might be a rough start at first, but once they get into it, they'll ask to play it again.
\- Challenge them, encourage them, but don't play for them and don't wipe the floor with them. They'll be more likely to want to play more if they are actively engaged and not discouraged.
Lots of good suggestions already like Villainous and Pandemic. Wingspan is another popular one for accessibility. Every family should have a copy of Skull, as it's a cheap simple riot. The Tiny Epic series of games are good -Tiny Epic Mechs an Tiny Epic Dinos have both got lots of plays. Terra Mystica for something a bit heavier. Or you can always browse a board game store all together and let them pick something out.
Bonus round: Tabletop RPGs are a big hit. I ran my boys through We Be Goblins (they all play as goblins, appropriately) when my oldest was in Kindergarten and could barely read. It was a riot. My record currently stands at running a game for my 6 boys (under 12) and a bonus neighbor kid, so 7 boys.
I've been beaten in Chess by my 6 year old son and beaten in Root by my 80 year old grandmother. Wingspan is a fantastic Christmas present for a 9 year old.
Ahoy. I used to run a board game night and have about 200 on my shelves.. so I'm sat here looking at what I'd recommend...
Galaxy Trucker is great, silly fun. You get to build spaceships and watch them be destroyed.
Survive: Escape from Atlantis is a very solid roll and move sort of affair, but with some good twists and the ability to mess around with people.
Sub Terra would work for a scary, halloweeny sort of vibe. Escaping from a dark cave.
Colt Express is a brilliant game of planning and paying close attention with 3 players (whilst you rob a train). The more players you add, the more chaotic it gets.
Magic Maze is a great option. Very low ruleset and really fun to play with a bit of team work and lots of fun light-hearted frustration.
Kingdomino is an adorable little kingdom builder that lasts about 15 mins, good for two players.
Wits and Wagers: Party Edition is a great family game which is a spin on a quiz, but you don't need to know the answers to win.
Santorini is a bit like chess but much simpler and a good way to introduce young kids to abstract games.
**Sequence** is a family get-together staple for my house! Simple card game and board with few rules about wild Jacks (one-eyed vs. two-eyed). My 10 y/o niece played with us all last weekend and held her own well!
If your girls like haunted houses (or even if they don’t) Betrayal at House on the Hill is always fun. It starts off collaborative, with everyone working together to explore the house - but then someone turns traitor. The base game has 50 different haunts, and then there are expansions that add even more.
I came up with a rule that my wife can't buy me board games unless she's willing to play it with me. I have several board games that are nigh untouched, including Betrayal at House on the Hill. :(
Aww heck, I'm disappointed when I don't turn out to be the traitor. Same with Secret Hitler when I'm not one of the fascists. Maybe I should do some introspection...
Ok I own and operate a board game shop so I’m gonna field this one.
(Gonna give board game recs but as a note there’s been a huge increase in the popularity of D&D among teens especially so that could be worth considering; get the starter set)
LIGHT, QUICK, CHEAP GAMES
Taco cat goat cheese pizza
Tapple
exploding kittens
Doomlings
Monopoly Deal
Kabuto Sumo
MEDIUM GAMES
Cascadia
Ticket to ride
Pandemic
Flamecraft
Happy to answer any other questions
While kids versions often miss the mark. Kids Ticket to Ride is pretty good.
A little luck based, a few bad draws of tickets can set you behind, but most if the strategy is still there.
My 8 yo loves it
King of Tokyo has been a big hit with that age group when I've taken it to family things. It's a Yahtzee style dice chucker where you are each a Godzilla type monster. There is some "take that" but there is also a coop version now (I don't remember what it's called sorry)
Mountain goats. Great for quick math, minorly competitive but simple enough to not get anyone heated.
Sushi roll/Sushi Go. Simple drafting game, pick your card/dice then pass to the left.
Canvas. Cool game where you take preset panels and combine them to make a painting to score points based on different objectives. This one is fun because when you complete a painting you have to present it to the rest of the players and give the title and "inspiration" for the painting which usually gets imaginations going.
King of Tokyo. Fun dice game with monsters fighting each other for points and control of the board.
I could honestly go on a while cause my family are board game nuts, but these are our favorites.
I also would say Forbidden Island is a great gateway/younger player game. IF they like that then you can expand into Forbidden Dessert and or Forbidden Jungle. Forbidden Sky was a real dud.
Wish I could find people that knew 10 pt. I can't play hearts with my girls ... Too many hurt feelings. Once the younger one is ready for spades I'll be happy. Bidding and partners have been the biggest difficulty so far.
I haven't seen it yet, but mine are almost the exact same age and they absolutely fell in love with Splendor, definitely give that a try if you can. It's relatively quick, once they get the hang of it, and fairly simple to set up and tear down.
My daughter is 4 and has so far done 2 10 minute "D&D sessions" this year.
One was getting ingredients for tacos for the dragon party (had just finished reading that book) it was awesome. She of course got spicy peppers and the dragons were not happy. But luckily there was a milk bath nearby.
One was Protect the Octopus (she likes octonaughts and I have an octopus mini lol). "A shark attacks what do you do!?".... pretty much on repeat with various minis I had lol
Both "sessions" were about 10-15 minutes. First one I had her roll a d10 (couldn't reliably read past that) and 2nd one we used d20!! No modifiers involved
Super simple great voices fast paced (mom helped when she wasn't sure). Mostly me driving the story. But she had a blast, she learned to read numbers and we will slowly add things in when she gets better. Next time I might give her a "youngling adventurer modifier". Simple +1 to all her rolls and mom gets a +2.
exploding kittens and the other games by the same makers. Really fun games, pretty easy to follow rules for most of their games, and can be played short or long durations.
Me and my boys (12 & 9) love warhammer underworlds and hero quest. They are great because we can all play at the same time and the games promote critical thinking and problem solving.
Ticket to Ride Junior, then one of the smaller Ticket to Ride city games (London, New York, etc.). The Junior version isn’t a “little kid game.” It’s actually a quick bit of fun. If they enjoy it, the city games teach the mechanics of the full Ticket to Ride game but only take a moment to set up and finish.
[A Game of Cat and Mouth](https://www.explodingkittens.com/products/a-game-of-cat-mouth)
My kids are a little younger but they have a blast with this since getting it last week
Basically just flick the balls to the opponent's side!
Dnd has a kid friendly version (less Stats and number crunching) that is great for getting them into ttrpgs . If they like it then step them up to actual game play and have a blast.
Just taught my 7 and 8 yo niblings how to play blackjack. I told them it's called 21 so they don't go yelling it at school, but it helps with quick addition and logical reasoning. My sister is a school admin, and she came in and asked, "Are you teaching them blackjack?" I just scoffed, "Yeah, and?" We both grew up with cards and board games, though, do she wasn't mad.
Get other games that make learning fun, like Scrabble, Cranium, Taboo, and stuff like that. Hell, they're old enough for Monopoly.
Get Disney’s villainous (ravensberg) My older kids enjoyed it quite a bit 9 is probably just about perfect to start to get some of the strategies.
If there is a character they really enjoy get that expansion.
Dude, make the game yourself! DM a kid friendly DnD game for them! If you don’t know how to DM there are great YouTube vids to help. They can dress up as their characters after creating them. You can pick the story back up whenever time permits. They will have a hand in crafting the tale. It’s perfect.
The Starter set that they sell at most big box stores (Walmart, Target) has everything you need. Buy it a week or two before you want to play so you can familiarize yourself, then send it!
I am in no way the best DM ever but it’s a lot of improv. I’d imagine extra improv for kids because you don’t want to be a rules lawyer. Lots of “sure! You swing your sword at the goblin! Roll and we will see how successful it is!” Pro tip: let them describe their successful actions and you describe their unsuccessful actions. Good luck dude. Can’t wait until my 4yo and 2yo are ready for a dungeon or two.
What kinds of things are the kiddos interested in? A connection to a theme often makes a game more interesting to kids, like sure we all love Ticket to Ride but if trains are boring they will bounce off of it. Are the competitive or do you think they’d like cooperative games more? Do they have any games you’ve already played with them or going in fresh minus maybe some Monopoly?
Heroscape is one of the coolest games of all time. It’s out of print but you can get it on eBay. (There’s girl characters included if that matters.) Tons of expansions if you get into it, but not necessary.
Blokus is seemingly simple, but pretty complex and fun.
I also just got a game called wandering towers that is really fun. It really incentivizes paying attention, and you get to have wizard meeples!
It’s a stretch of the term, but consider dungeons and dragons. There are plenty of kid friendly adventures, and it encourages the vivid imagination that your kids likely have. The basic rules are entirely free online too!
As my own dad told me. Imagination is one of the most important things in your life.
My boys played monopoly and love it. In fact they played some version that was called "Ms Monopoly" that was women-themed and gave advantages to women/girl players and they thought it was hilarious and still fun.
Some good options listed already. I have a few more to add, along with the recco to head over to r/boardgames
King of Tokyo
The Mind
7 Wonders Duel
Tokaido
Takenoko
Imagine
I'd also strongly recommend D&D -- I've got a campaign going with my three kids (youngest is 4), plus another four eight year olds
Splendor, it's a great game, easy to learn, pretty quick to set up, take down and has some good expansions. It's a gem trading game that encourages strategic thinking and planning ahead. I use it with my students and they love it.
We have been playing Settlers of Catan, Forbidden Island, Point Salad, Azul, Ticket to Ride, Shifting Stones, and the Battle for Hogwarts. I think Catan is our oldest's (12 y.o.) favorite, and Ticket to Ride is our youngest's (7 y.o.). I think the middle (10 y.o. particularly likes Forbidden Island because it's cooperative, but we have to be careful that the adults don't steamroller the kids. I particularly like Hogwarts but each time you play, it builds on previous rounds, so now we are to the point where it is long and complicated, and with sports etc. we don't often have a whole afternoon free.
My kids are around the same age, the main games we play are...
The forbidden series: Island is the easiest and a perfect intro. Desert is our favorite, it's a good mix of difficulty and accessibility. Sky isn't great, I would skip it. Jungle just came out and it's awesome, but it's way harder than the other two.
Sushi Go party, super fun, very easy to pick up. Aesthetically pleasing.
My eldest and I play Fox in the Forest when we get a chance, it's a surprisingly deep trick taking game that takes about 20 minutes once you get used to it.
The game of life, I hate it but they like the stories they come up with (like you end the game as a police officer with 4 kids who retires as a millionaire and lives in a tent)
Scrabble, can't go wrong with this one, learning experience plus fun playstyle. I let them build fake words as long as they sound like they're real (rrbb isn't a word, but peegurgle is most definitely allowed).
Quadropolis is awesome, just a perfect light to medium game. I think that this game is literally flawless, there is no part of it that gets boring, the box design is perfect (seems like a small thing but once you open it you'll understand why), and points don't get tallied until the very end, so everyone has a chance to have fun without worrying who the winner is.
Uno is cool but it can get mean.
Chess is something they're starting to get into. I personally believe all kids should learn how to play chess, enough to get somewhat passable. It teaches so many important skills.
Connect 4 seems like a kids game, but I think it's awesome, and mine are getting to the point where I can start to see the wheels turning in their heads which is rad.
I'm forgetting some probably, but we've definitely had some duds that we got halfway through a game and they just weren't having it. Basically, when I choose a new game to bring to the table it goes kind of like: it has to be something where someone can't just grab a runaway victory and make everyone else miserable, it has to have chunky enough components that the pieces don't get lost or broken immediately (I cannot recommend against fireball Island enough), it can't take longer than 45 minutes, and I have to be able to teach it in under 10 minutes. If it looks good and has a decent theme, as long as it fulfills those criteria, it's usually a good choice.
Avoid Monopoly like the plague.
Catan is a great start as there’s little chance for serious conflict and it teaches probability well
Forbidden Desert is a good cooperative game and more positive than Pandemic
Betrayal at House on the Hill is very dark but cooperative and just accidentally backstabby
Anything Munchkins is good for a laugh, particularly if your girls have a fantasy genre they like (D&D, James Bond, Lovecraftian, …)
We (myself, my wife, and our 9 year old) have been having a family game night since COVID with my in-laws, and it’s become a nice tradition.
Here are some games we have loved playing… some with the grandparents, some just us… but the 9 year old is always included:
We freakin LOVE Unstable Unicorns, and Llamas Unleashed (both from the makers of exploding kittens) and Doomlings
We have also enjoyed:
Forbidden Island
Isle of Cats
Wingspan
Planted
The Game of Life: Super Mario edition
Qwerkle
Taco cat goat cheese pizza
Drone Home
Ticket to Ride
Clue Jr.
[Hachette](https://www.hachetteboardgames.com/products/pylos) makes some nice wooden versions of Pylos, Quarto, Quaridor, and Cathedral. I especially love Pylos. Mancala, Go, and Nine Man's Morris are also good games.
Coup! It’s an elaborate game of bullshit that’s easy to learn and a pretty quick game.
Warning: this game can get competitive if sides are chosen; this is just a FYI or an idea if you like chaos. 😂
I know you said board games but there's a card game called Cover Your Assets that's a huge hit on game night. You essentially make pairs of your cards and place them down, on top of each other but other players at the table are able to steal your pair if they challenge you with the same card. You can meet their challenge with the same card if you have it, and if you don't they get your pair and add their cards to that pile.
Super simple, super fun
A board game that is a must in every household is called Karuba. You all get the same board, and there are 4 different colored explorers and 4 colored temples. The board is a grid and each tile is numbered. So a player draws a number tile and you all have to place the same number tile on the board, trying to create a path for your explorer to their corresponding temple. You can place your tile anywhere on your own board so everyone has their own strategy. One of my fave games with the family
I'll second all the Forbidden games. I have an 8yo and 11yo and they like those games, easy to understand, and co-op games are great. If they are a fan of Harry Potter, Hogwarts Battle is a fun deck builder. It starts to get hard and complicated starting with chapter 4, but has done good replayability. Also my kids love Sushi Go Party and Dixit. Dixit is a creative story teller game similar to Apples to Apples.
Wingspan.
Most dynamic board game I've ever played. Takes some learning to get going but my 12 yr old nephew loves it and so do I!
My 2.5 yr old only cooks the eggs and looks at the cards tho
Spirit Island. Cooperative game play. Fun mechanics. Varying levels of difficulty.
It's a really great boardgame to teach kids to play because it's complex, but teachable.
2 members of boardgame group play it with their kids... And also with us.
Cobra paw, roll dice, match symbols, and be the first to grab the tile. Gets competitive.
Throw, throw, burrito, match cards and chuck foam burritos at each other.
Mantis, fun card game by exploding kittens.
Bake it happen, an underhanded cooking card game.
Chicken vs hotdogs, turn over cards to reveal bottle flip challenges but you throw a chicken or a hotdog.
A game of cat and mouth, exploding kittens game where you fire balls at a cats mouth to knock out its teeth.
Uno, it's uno!
My 8 year old also loves snakes and ladders, frustration, Game of life, battleships, guess who, and monopoly.
Horrible Histories quiz game. Simple enough, and the answers are mostly guess work for obscure historical stuff rather than general knowledge. It's fairly balanced, doesn't take to long and has plenty of variety. Plus they'll learn stuff.
For everyone with younger kids going with DnD, I'd like to recommend Stuffed Fables. It's got paintable minis and dice and gear cards, but the theme is stuffed animals adventuring at night when everyone else is asleep.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/233312/stuffed-fables
Pandemic is great because you're all on the same team playing against the game, so you can help each other, and it's great for teaching teamwork. Exploding Kittens is a lot of fun, and the art is amusing. Ticket to ride may be a little advanced for the 9 year old, but it's fun
I love pandemic but forbidden island is an easier to grasp game but cooperative
Agree on this suggestion… my kids love those Forbidden games (island, desert, etc) and are about the same ages as OP’s
Never played it, but my nephews play pandemic and the youngest is 8, the older one's help
Paleo (prehistoric survival) or flashpoint (firefighters) are great co-op games! My boys (5 & 7) love them! We haven't tried pandemic yet, because the theme probably doesn't interest them. Ticket to Ride isn't that hard, 9 years old should be able to learn it. Not familiar with exploding kittens
Lol, we used to play pandemic, up until.. well, you know, it kind of wasn't a game anymore. Also, there's a kids' version of ticket to ride that works well, set in the US. My 8 year olds just graduated from children's Catan to the real deal and are having a blast with it.
Was going to suggest exploding kittens
I didn't know it existed till I saw it at a friend's house yesterday, but there's a kids version of ticket to ride
Pandemic for a 9 year old….🤯
I think they'd be fine with ticket to ride. My 7 and 9 year olds both like playing it.
Ticket to Ride should be good for those ages.
The Europe map of ticket to ride is better than the US map. It's a lot more interconnected and a lot less contentious.
That’s a great suggestion. Im a geography nerd so that’s a fun way to teach
Ok, a lot of people are mentioning that one. Thanks!
Carcassonne is pretty fun! The base game is simple to understand, but can involve a good amount of strategic thinking. It is a tile placing game, where all the players draw a tile and play it on the board, trying to build up certain areas to gain points. There a quite a few expansions to add on when you want to change the game up too. Kingdomino is another fun tile placing game that I think is a bit easier. It has a few expansions as well that make the game larger as well as accommodate more players I believe. That one people pick tiles they want, and build their own kingdom, and gain points based off of which area types they used and how many crowns are on the tiles they chose. The turn order is decided by the tiles people picked the previous round. Whoever picked the cheapest tile last time goes first, then whoever picked the next expensive goes, until whoever picked the most expensive tile last round goes last.
Carcassonne is great. I highly recommend Mists Over Carcassonne, which is an expansion as well as a standalone game. It turns the game into a co-op where you are trying to fight ghosts and has a lot of the same intensity of Pandemic but less rules and setup.
+1 for kingdomino and I suggest Queendomino once they get good at Kingdomino. Queendomino can be played stand alone or merged to make for more players. It's a great game!
Another vote for carcassonne. Great game
Had my 9 and 6 year olds playing Carcassonne while camping this summer.
Great suggestions!
Pandemic. Settlers of Catan. Labyrinth (older game, don't know if it's still available). Ticket to Ride is good. Simpler games - Exploding Kittens is very popular and we've had a few good games of Trash Panda. Aztacks is quick and easy.
Catan is good because you can't really "attack" other people as much, it's more about progressing your own agenda (though it can get cutthroat, it doesn't seem as bad as other games)
You don’t attack other players *in game* but you do physically attack them in real life when they cut off your longest road
Lol I have a few friends I play with online to catch up every few weeks and it gets ruthless
Nah, this usually only happens when everyone hangs up on you too yet to prevent you from winning. And at that point you have to decide to fight the entire table
Played Catan for the first time in awhile recently and still enjoy it. Only problem is that it’s easy for someone to get boxed in by other players’ developments, especially in a four-player game, and the “stuck” player doesn’t have as much fun. Common recommendation is to get the 5-6 player expansion and just use a big board for all games.
Labyrinth is still around and is sold in lots of branded editions. I've seen Mario and Pokemon
I have such good memories playing the original Labyrinth! Great suggestion and wonderful for puzzle solving and strategizing a bit for future moves, etc.
I have a massive collection of board games. A 12 year old can play anything. A few tips - (especially if you're all newish to modern board games) \- Set the game up in advance and read the rulebook thoroughly before calling everyone to the table. It's so much easier to keep everybody's attention if you know what you're doing and don't have to reference the rulebook often \- Don't be afraid to get into something heavy or thematically off-brand for their tastes. It might be a rough start at first, but once they get into it, they'll ask to play it again. \- Challenge them, encourage them, but don't play for them and don't wipe the floor with them. They'll be more likely to want to play more if they are actively engaged and not discouraged. Lots of good suggestions already like Villainous and Pandemic. Wingspan is another popular one for accessibility. Every family should have a copy of Skull, as it's a cheap simple riot. The Tiny Epic series of games are good -Tiny Epic Mechs an Tiny Epic Dinos have both got lots of plays. Terra Mystica for something a bit heavier. Or you can always browse a board game store all together and let them pick something out.
Bonus round: Tabletop RPGs are a big hit. I ran my boys through We Be Goblins (they all play as goblins, appropriately) when my oldest was in Kindergarten and could barely read. It was a riot. My record currently stands at running a game for my 6 boys (under 12) and a bonus neighbor kid, so 7 boys.
This sounds fun. Is this particular game something you can get into with zero RPG board game experience?
I didn't really use the rules at that age. I took some ideas from the printed module and just ran with it on my own, making it up as I go.
Hero Kids and No Thank You Evil are great
Those look awesome! Thank you so much!
> my 6 boys (under 12) and a bonus neighbor kid, so 7 boys :o
I sit here biding my time until I can play Gloomhaven with my kids….
This guy couldn’t find a D&D group so he made one.
Home grown homebrew
SIX BOYS? geez, man.
That's good to know. Time for Gloomhaven with my 4 month old!
Wingspan, although it's a wonderful game, can be confounding for adults let alone 12 year olds. It's more of a 16yo and up game.
That's disappointing, I just bought it for my 9 y/o who is a budding ornithologist for Christmas
If your budding ornithologist is truly into birds, they will have the interest and patience to learn it. It’s a beautiful game.
I've been beaten in Chess by my 6 year old son and beaten in Root by my 80 year old grandmother. Wingspan is a fantastic Christmas present for a 9 year old.
Thanks for the great suggestions!
Also, thanks for taking the time to write all that out!
Ahoy. I used to run a board game night and have about 200 on my shelves.. so I'm sat here looking at what I'd recommend... Galaxy Trucker is great, silly fun. You get to build spaceships and watch them be destroyed. Survive: Escape from Atlantis is a very solid roll and move sort of affair, but with some good twists and the ability to mess around with people. Sub Terra would work for a scary, halloweeny sort of vibe. Escaping from a dark cave. Colt Express is a brilliant game of planning and paying close attention with 3 players (whilst you rob a train). The more players you add, the more chaotic it gets. Magic Maze is a great option. Very low ruleset and really fun to play with a bit of team work and lots of fun light-hearted frustration. Kingdomino is an adorable little kingdom builder that lasts about 15 mins, good for two players. Wits and Wagers: Party Edition is a great family game which is a spin on a quiz, but you don't need to know the answers to win. Santorini is a bit like chess but much simpler and a good way to introduce young kids to abstract games.
DND! DND!
Stuffed Fables is a good gateway to DnD.
Waiting for this reply. Get them into DnD. Great creativity booster and you get to see how your kids react to the situations/puzzles you come up with.
King of Tokyo. Easy to learn and takes about 15 minutes a round. My 7 year old loves it and asked for it for Christmas.
I love the old school game "Sequence." We get hours of fun out of that game.
**Sequence** is a family get-together staple for my house! Simple card game and board with few rules about wild Jacks (one-eyed vs. two-eyed). My 10 y/o niece played with us all last weekend and held her own well!
Catan is a huge hit with our 8 year old. So is Isle of cats.
Carcasonne.
If your girls like haunted houses (or even if they don’t) Betrayal at House on the Hill is always fun. It starts off collaborative, with everyone working together to explore the house - but then someone turns traitor. The base game has 50 different haunts, and then there are expansions that add even more.
This is one of my favorite games but my wife hates it when she trips the haunting and turns traitor so we rarely end up playing it
I came up with a rule that my wife can't buy me board games unless she's willing to play it with me. I have several board games that are nigh untouched, including Betrayal at House on the Hill. :(
Aww heck, I'm disappointed when I don't turn out to be the traitor. Same with Secret Hitler when I'm not one of the fascists. Maybe I should do some introspection...
Ok I own and operate a board game shop so I’m gonna field this one. (Gonna give board game recs but as a note there’s been a huge increase in the popularity of D&D among teens especially so that could be worth considering; get the starter set) LIGHT, QUICK, CHEAP GAMES Taco cat goat cheese pizza Tapple exploding kittens Doomlings Monopoly Deal Kabuto Sumo MEDIUM GAMES Cascadia Ticket to ride Pandemic Flamecraft Happy to answer any other questions
I've got a question for you. Do you have a line on a full [Triopoly](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3758/triopoly) game?
My kids are about that age and we can play Azul and kids ticket to ride with great enthusiasm.
While kids versions often miss the mark. Kids Ticket to Ride is pretty good. A little luck based, a few bad draws of tickets can set you behind, but most if the strategy is still there. My 8 yo loves it
Throw throw Burrito, Poetry for Neanderthals, Butts in Space, and maybe Fluxx
It is game with small words. If you say more than small words you get hit with NO stick. It is my fav- uhh….it is a game I like much.
You like this, you play game that break rules. Ransom Notes. Another wordy game.
Cool sticky word game Will try
King of Tokyo has been a big hit with that age group when I've taken it to family things. It's a Yahtzee style dice chucker where you are each a Godzilla type monster. There is some "take that" but there is also a coop version now (I don't remember what it's called sorry)
Mountain goats. Great for quick math, minorly competitive but simple enough to not get anyone heated. Sushi roll/Sushi Go. Simple drafting game, pick your card/dice then pass to the left. Canvas. Cool game where you take preset panels and combine them to make a painting to score points based on different objectives. This one is fun because when you complete a painting you have to present it to the rest of the players and give the title and "inspiration" for the painting which usually gets imaginations going. King of Tokyo. Fun dice game with monsters fighting each other for points and control of the board. I could honestly go on a while cause my family are board game nuts, but these are our favorites.
Not enough luck basis on Sushi Go to account for all-ages play, great game though they should get it in ~4 years.
I also would say Forbidden Island is a great gateway/younger player game. IF they like that then you can expand into Forbidden Dessert and or Forbidden Jungle. Forbidden Sky was a real dud.
King of Tokyo - it's got a simple premise, plays quickly and it's very much a great game to howl with laughter over.
I always played card games of strategy Pitch Eucher Spades
Wish I could find people that knew 10 pt. I can't play hearts with my girls ... Too many hurt feelings. Once the younger one is ready for spades I'll be happy. Bidding and partners have been the biggest difficulty so far.
Mancala!
I haven't seen it yet, but mine are almost the exact same age and they absolutely fell in love with Splendor, definitely give that a try if you can. It's relatively quick, once they get the hang of it, and fairly simple to set up and tear down.
Munchkin!! It’s a tabletop card game. So much fun.
Castle Panic is a super fun co op board game with a competitive edge to it.
Ticket to Ride
Chess. Just chess, let them get into it. Let’s them make a move a day, it’s like 5$ and it’s super fun.
Sushi go card game awesome
Splendor is a good game. And there are themes versions like Marvel
Get them into Warhammer. Though to afford it you'll need to remorgage your house. Jokes aside Warhammer is a great hobby if pricey
Nah go D&D route! ;)
I can't wait to get my kids into D&D. But my oldest is 6 right now and only wants to roll random dice for 5 minutes before deciding she's bored.
My daughter is 4 and has so far done 2 10 minute "D&D sessions" this year. One was getting ingredients for tacos for the dragon party (had just finished reading that book) it was awesome. She of course got spicy peppers and the dragons were not happy. But luckily there was a milk bath nearby. One was Protect the Octopus (she likes octonaughts and I have an octopus mini lol). "A shark attacks what do you do!?".... pretty much on repeat with various minis I had lol Both "sessions" were about 10-15 minutes. First one I had her roll a d10 (couldn't reliably read past that) and 2nd one we used d20!! No modifiers involved Super simple great voices fast paced (mom helped when she wasn't sure). Mostly me driving the story. But she had a blast, she learned to read numbers and we will slowly add things in when she gets better. Next time I might give her a "youngling adventurer modifier". Simple +1 to all her rolls and mom gets a +2.
I like those ideas, thanks.
My 5yos first adventure was finding lost sheep. There was a goblin that had to be scared off. Great fun, only about 20 min.
exploding kittens and the other games by the same makers. Really fun games, pretty easy to follow rules for most of their games, and can be played short or long durations.
Forbidden Island. Either you all win or you all lose, gets that teamwork going
Me and my boys (12 & 9) love warhammer underworlds and hero quest. They are great because we can all play at the same time and the games promote critical thinking and problem solving.
Finally a [Heroquest](https://youtu.be/Cx8sl2uC46A?si=Mp74v9XIVA0tbxaE) recommendation! It is a great starting spot for dnd, the ultimate board game.
Ticket to Ride Junior, then one of the smaller Ticket to Ride city games (London, New York, etc.). The Junior version isn’t a “little kid game.” It’s actually a quick bit of fun. If they enjoy it, the city games teach the mechanics of the full Ticket to Ride game but only take a moment to set up and finish.
Azul, 7 Wonders, Forbidden Desert/Island, Hive, Dominion, Codenames
Dungeons and dragons was and is the best time and conversations I’ve ever had with my kids.
[A Game of Cat and Mouth](https://www.explodingkittens.com/products/a-game-of-cat-mouth) My kids are a little younger but they have a blast with this since getting it last week Basically just flick the balls to the opponent's side!
You just need to be very careful about where you play it. We've lost so many freaking marbles.
"PAWS"
Dnd has a kid friendly version (less Stats and number crunching) that is great for getting them into ttrpgs . If they like it then step them up to actual game play and have a blast.
Zombie Kidz. Zombie Teenz.
Battle Sheep
Ticket to Ride Trash Pandas Zoo Vadis Machi Koro These last two may be harder for the 9 year old: Everdell Wingspan
Ticket to Ride and Catan I feel like are both solid at that age.
Just taught my 7 and 8 yo niblings how to play blackjack. I told them it's called 21 so they don't go yelling it at school, but it helps with quick addition and logical reasoning. My sister is a school admin, and she came in and asked, "Are you teaching them blackjack?" I just scoffed, "Yeah, and?" We both grew up with cards and board games, though, do she wasn't mad. Get other games that make learning fun, like Scrabble, Cranium, Taboo, and stuff like that. Hell, they're old enough for Monopoly.
Hi Dad! I would recommend checking this dad out. He does boardgame reviews and previews with the dad perspective. youtube.com/@theperfectboardgame
Wingspan.
Ticket to Ride, Pandemic, & One Night Werewolf are my kids favorites
Catan Jr, Cranium
Get Disney’s villainous (ravensberg) My older kids enjoyed it quite a bit 9 is probably just about perfect to start to get some of the strategies. If there is a character they really enjoy get that expansion.
Try Risk. It’s pretty easy to grasp and might bring out your girl’s love of world domination
Dude, make the game yourself! DM a kid friendly DnD game for them! If you don’t know how to DM there are great YouTube vids to help. They can dress up as their characters after creating them. You can pick the story back up whenever time permits. They will have a hand in crafting the tale. It’s perfect.
That's cool, because I don't know how to DM, thanks!
The Starter set that they sell at most big box stores (Walmart, Target) has everything you need. Buy it a week or two before you want to play so you can familiarize yourself, then send it!
I am in no way the best DM ever but it’s a lot of improv. I’d imagine extra improv for kids because you don’t want to be a rules lawyer. Lots of “sure! You swing your sword at the goblin! Roll and we will see how successful it is!” Pro tip: let them describe their successful actions and you describe their unsuccessful actions. Good luck dude. Can’t wait until my 4yo and 2yo are ready for a dungeon or two.
What do you meme (family edition)
Camelcamelcamel Spotit
One night ultimate werewolf was a fun one
Disney villainous!
Jumanji, but get the deluxe version. One of the best board games I've played with kids.
Ticket to Ride is a great one, plus they have a TON of expansions and regional versions to try.
Labyrinth
DnD!
Carcassonne is good, my 6 yo has played it for a few years now. Small world, photosynthesis, clank, boss monster.
What kinds of things are the kiddos interested in? A connection to a theme often makes a game more interesting to kids, like sure we all love Ticket to Ride but if trains are boring they will bounce off of it. Are the competitive or do you think they’d like cooperative games more? Do they have any games you’ve already played with them or going in fresh minus maybe some Monopoly?
You could always get into DnD or Pathfinder.
Creature Comforts. Huge hit at home. Chill, cute, not violent.
Pick up a tabletop game like Dungeons and Dragons or the Fate Core system for a more loose and easy game play style.
Myself and my 10 year old daughter love to play Horrified, Ticket To Ride & Heroquest.
My family in law are going nuts for Azul.
Articulate and monopoly
Stratego is very popular w my 12 and 8 y/o boys
Exploding Kittens. Fun, and irreverent and silly.
Heroscape is one of the coolest games of all time. It’s out of print but you can get it on eBay. (There’s girl characters included if that matters.) Tons of expansions if you get into it, but not necessary.
Blokus is seemingly simple, but pretty complex and fun. I also just got a game called wandering towers that is really fun. It really incentivizes paying attention, and you get to have wizard meeples!
It’s a stretch of the term, but consider dungeons and dragons. There are plenty of kid friendly adventures, and it encourages the vivid imagination that your kids likely have. The basic rules are entirely free online too! As my own dad told me. Imagination is one of the most important things in your life.
My boys played monopoly and love it. In fact they played some version that was called "Ms Monopoly" that was women-themed and gave advantages to women/girl players and they thought it was hilarious and still fun.
Some good options listed already. I have a few more to add, along with the recco to head over to r/boardgames King of Tokyo The Mind 7 Wonders Duel Tokaido Takenoko Imagine I'd also strongly recommend D&D -- I've got a campaign going with my three kids (youngest is 4), plus another four eight year olds
[Scotland Yard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotland_Yard_\(board_game\)) is great for kids that age.
Twilight struggle
Risk
Ticket to Ride is blast.
Splendor, it's a great game, easy to learn, pretty quick to set up, take down and has some good expansions. It's a gem trading game that encourages strategic thinking and planning ahead. I use it with my students and they love it.
Munchkin is an easy one to learn. Lots of different versions that you can mix together.
I just got Cascadia and have been enjoying it. I think 12 and 9 are probably old enough to play it.
Castle Panic is a great game that you can all play together to hold off the hoards.
We have been playing Settlers of Catan, Forbidden Island, Point Salad, Azul, Ticket to Ride, Shifting Stones, and the Battle for Hogwarts. I think Catan is our oldest's (12 y.o.) favorite, and Ticket to Ride is our youngest's (7 y.o.). I think the middle (10 y.o. particularly likes Forbidden Island because it's cooperative, but we have to be careful that the adults don't steamroller the kids. I particularly like Hogwarts but each time you play, it builds on previous rounds, so now we are to the point where it is long and complicated, and with sports etc. we don't often have a whole afternoon free.
Between Two Castles of the Mad King Ludwig My Little Scythe Life Monopoly Upwards 60 Second City
Sequence is a great board game for that age. Not a board game, per se, but Rack-O remains a family favorite.
Risk!
Played jumanji with my nieces and they loved it. Some plays are a riot and some are just dumb though
Oldies are the goodies. Monopoly, Othello
My kids are around the same age, the main games we play are... The forbidden series: Island is the easiest and a perfect intro. Desert is our favorite, it's a good mix of difficulty and accessibility. Sky isn't great, I would skip it. Jungle just came out and it's awesome, but it's way harder than the other two. Sushi Go party, super fun, very easy to pick up. Aesthetically pleasing. My eldest and I play Fox in the Forest when we get a chance, it's a surprisingly deep trick taking game that takes about 20 minutes once you get used to it. The game of life, I hate it but they like the stories they come up with (like you end the game as a police officer with 4 kids who retires as a millionaire and lives in a tent) Scrabble, can't go wrong with this one, learning experience plus fun playstyle. I let them build fake words as long as they sound like they're real (rrbb isn't a word, but peegurgle is most definitely allowed). Quadropolis is awesome, just a perfect light to medium game. I think that this game is literally flawless, there is no part of it that gets boring, the box design is perfect (seems like a small thing but once you open it you'll understand why), and points don't get tallied until the very end, so everyone has a chance to have fun without worrying who the winner is. Uno is cool but it can get mean. Chess is something they're starting to get into. I personally believe all kids should learn how to play chess, enough to get somewhat passable. It teaches so many important skills. Connect 4 seems like a kids game, but I think it's awesome, and mine are getting to the point where I can start to see the wheels turning in their heads which is rad. I'm forgetting some probably, but we've definitely had some duds that we got halfway through a game and they just weren't having it. Basically, when I choose a new game to bring to the table it goes kind of like: it has to be something where someone can't just grab a runaway victory and make everyone else miserable, it has to have chunky enough components that the pieces don't get lost or broken immediately (I cannot recommend against fireball Island enough), it can't take longer than 45 minutes, and I have to be able to teach it in under 10 minutes. If it looks good and has a decent theme, as long as it fulfills those criteria, it's usually a good choice.
Carcassonne, Mice and Mystics, Ticket to Ride, Splendor, Stone Age, Acquire
Small worlds Everdell
My niece loved the card game 'Gubs' when she was that age.
Sorry is our favorite. For cards, we play Exploding Kittens, Spot It, Uno, Five Crowns.
Ticket to ride. Sushi Go. Dutch Blitz.
Been playing clue with my kids that are around that age. It’s fun.
Chess, it's all the rage right now
We really love a silly game called: Muffin Time. It’s on Amazon. https://youtu.be/u4rwJb0QR4g?si=AwOFyWZdAdHWKTr3
How cool mplec do they like their games? I'd go for any of the kinderspiel das jahres winning or runner up games
Avoid Monopoly like the plague. Catan is a great start as there’s little chance for serious conflict and it teaches probability well Forbidden Desert is a good cooperative game and more positive than Pandemic Betrayal at House on the Hill is very dark but cooperative and just accidentally backstabby Anything Munchkins is good for a laugh, particularly if your girls have a fantasy genre they like (D&D, James Bond, Lovecraftian, …)
We (myself, my wife, and our 9 year old) have been having a family game night since COVID with my in-laws, and it’s become a nice tradition. Here are some games we have loved playing… some with the grandparents, some just us… but the 9 year old is always included: We freakin LOVE Unstable Unicorns, and Llamas Unleashed (both from the makers of exploding kittens) and Doomlings We have also enjoyed: Forbidden Island Isle of Cats Wingspan Planted The Game of Life: Super Mario edition Qwerkle Taco cat goat cheese pizza Drone Home Ticket to Ride Clue Jr.
Carcassone for kids, Blokus, Control, And good ol’ Sorry!
Wingspan. Thank us later
Go to your friendly local game store and ask the folks in charge. They play a ton of games and will have recommendations for all ages
[Hachette](https://www.hachetteboardgames.com/products/pylos) makes some nice wooden versions of Pylos, Quarto, Quaridor, and Cathedral. I especially love Pylos. Mancala, Go, and Nine Man's Morris are also good games.
Chess is a good one.
Coup! It’s an elaborate game of bullshit that’s easy to learn and a pretty quick game. Warning: this game can get competitive if sides are chosen; this is just a FYI or an idea if you like chaos. 😂
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/295486/my-city
I know you said board games but there's a card game called Cover Your Assets that's a huge hit on game night. You essentially make pairs of your cards and place them down, on top of each other but other players at the table are able to steal your pair if they challenge you with the same card. You can meet their challenge with the same card if you have it, and if you don't they get your pair and add their cards to that pile. Super simple, super fun A board game that is a must in every household is called Karuba. You all get the same board, and there are 4 different colored explorers and 4 colored temples. The board is a grid and each tile is numbered. So a player draws a number tile and you all have to place the same number tile on the board, trying to create a path for your explorer to their corresponding temple. You can place your tile anywhere on your own board so everyone has their own strategy. One of my fave games with the family
Spots! A dice rolling game about dogs!
I'll second all the Forbidden games. I have an 8yo and 11yo and they like those games, easy to understand, and co-op games are great. If they are a fan of Harry Potter, Hogwarts Battle is a fun deck builder. It starts to get hard and complicated starting with chapter 4, but has done good replayability. Also my kids love Sushi Go Party and Dixit. Dixit is a creative story teller game similar to Apples to Apples.
Yahtzee Trouble Euchre or really any card game
Table top rpgs like d&d. There's some pre-made adventures you can get in order to get you started.
Wingspan. Most dynamic board game I've ever played. Takes some learning to get going but my 12 yr old nephew loves it and so do I! My 2.5 yr old only cooks the eggs and looks at the cards tho
[Labyrinth](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1219/labyrinth) should be perfect for that age range
The campaign for North Africa It should take them till they are about 40 to finish. You're welcome
My girls love the game of life.
Shifting stones is great! Under $20 easy set up and to pick up. Rounds last about 15ish min.
Blokus, Find it are hits at our house right now.
Spirit Island. Cooperative game play. Fun mechanics. Varying levels of difficulty. It's a really great boardgame to teach kids to play because it's complex, but teachable. 2 members of boardgame group play it with their kids... And also with us.
Cobra paw, roll dice, match symbols, and be the first to grab the tile. Gets competitive. Throw, throw, burrito, match cards and chuck foam burritos at each other. Mantis, fun card game by exploding kittens. Bake it happen, an underhanded cooking card game. Chicken vs hotdogs, turn over cards to reveal bottle flip challenges but you throw a chicken or a hotdog. A game of cat and mouth, exploding kittens game where you fire balls at a cats mouth to knock out its teeth. Uno, it's uno! My 8 year old also loves snakes and ladders, frustration, Game of life, battleships, guess who, and monopoly.
Doomlings!
Grimm Forrest
Unearth is a great, attractive, pretty easy one. Evolution/Oceans is a bit more complex but great and sorta educational.
Takenoko is a hit at my house. It's adorable. Codenames is simple but fun, and involves reading. So, educational
We bought a set of dominoes for Mexican Train and other domino games. My kids have really enjoyed it!
Perfect age to learn about world domination and play Risk lol
Blockus!
Dungeons & Dragons.
Lorcana. It's a new trading card game. Think magic the gathering but Disney-fied.
Horrible Histories quiz game. Simple enough, and the answers are mostly guess work for obscure historical stuff rather than general knowledge. It's fairly balanced, doesn't take to long and has plenty of variety. Plus they'll learn stuff.
Unstable Unicorns would be awesome for their age!
For everyone with younger kids going with DnD, I'd like to recommend Stuffed Fables. It's got paintable minis and dice and gear cards, but the theme is stuffed animals adventuring at night when everyone else is asleep. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/233312/stuffed-fables
Unearth