Advice and reviews for games targeted towards kids under 5 years old.
young children
302 – How to Raise Little Gamers – The Family Gamers Podcast

“One of the best ways to get your kids excited about doing something is by being excited about doing something.” Can you get your kids to love games the way you do?
» Read moreTalk, Read, Sing, Write, Play

Learn how a San Francisco librarian uses board gaming to affirm English Language Learning and welcome people of all literacy levels.
» Read moreSNAP Review – My Very First Games: Animal Upon Animal Junior

Right away you’ll notice some differences, but this Junior game keeps the DNA of its big brother without dumbing it down or making it less fun.
» Read moreBuilding Reading Skills with Boardgames

Even games that don’t require any reading can help your child build important reading skills, including: Fluency, Cohesion, Background Knowledge, and Executive Function.
» Read moreSNAP Review – Peek-a-Mouse!

Work together to peek into the mice’s house and see what kinds of tchotchkes they’ve stolen from us humans!
» Read more288 – Teaching Board Games – The Family Gamers Podcast

We get asked, “How do you get your kids to play games with you?”
First you have to get them interested, but then you have to teach them the rules and how to play!
SNAP Review – Magic Mountain
SNAP Review – Yummy Yummy Monster Tummy

Scan object cards to “feed” the monsters and match the color of their fur in this app-driven card game.
» Read more276 – Five Tools for Easier Gaming – The Family Gamers Podcast

Dice and cards can be hard for little hands. What can you do to make game components – especially from “grown up” games – easier for kids to handle?
» Read moreEcologic Puzzle: Respect the Earth

Ecologic Puzzle: Respect the Earth comes with 12 two-piece puzzles showing two versions of the same action. The left-side puzzle piece shows an action that is harmful to the earth. The right-side, green-edged puzzle piece shows a more earth-friendly approach.
» Read moreSNAP Review – Disney It’s a Small World

We thought this might be a Disney-themed Candy Land… but we were surprised! This game is an absolute delight, and perfect for young children to play with their families.
» Read moreEcologic Memory: Animals at Risk!

The following is a guest post written by Sara Tedrick Parikh. Matching memory games are a rite of passage for pre-schoolers, and Adventerra Games has hands-down the cutest one I’ve seen on the market. Seriously, I considered just linking directly to their website shop with a “d’awwww!” caption and calling it a day, but I decided to push through with
» Read moreBoard Game Holiday Gift Guide 2021

Over the past year, I think many families have been reminded how great it is to sit down and play board games together. If you’d like to add a few games to your holiday shopping list, we have suggestions for all ages and situations.
» Read moreHungry Bins

Do you like getting your kids involved in sorting the recycling? Perhaps most importantly, do you like games that clean themselves up?
» Read moreSNAP Review – Off to Bed!

It’s time for bed, and we’re going to use a game. But Andrew’s too old to help with this review – so we get Elliot instead!
» Read moreSNAP Review – Rhino Hero Junior

Anitra reviews this game for very young children. They’ll practice stacking, matching, memory, and sequencing.
» Read moreSNAP Review – Popcorn Dice
SNAP Review – Inspector Mouse: The Great Escape

An unusual memory game for 1-4 players, ages 5+. Turn the Inspector and listen for criminals sounding the alarm as they try to escape! Can you figure out which criminal was last in the cell where the escape tunnel was dug?
» Read moreSNAP Review – Hedgehog Haberdash

The baby hedgehogs are playing dress up, but they don’t have spiky quills like mom and dad. How can they dress up and pretend to be adults? Maybe with this bag of pointy leaves?
» Read more