Top 10 Games for Kids Age 7-10
Top Ten Games for Kids 7-10 Years Old
By the time your child is in school, they will likely have very pronounced likes and dislikes. Between the ages of 7-10, we struggled to get our kids to play games – unless they loved the theme.
But an attractive theme doesn’t always make for a fun game, or one that a seven year old can handle.
So we’ve compiled a list of our favorite games for elementary-aged kids, covering ten themes, with challenges that are just right for kids under ten years old.
Looking for simpler games? Check out our lists for younger children:
- Top 10 Games for 6 Year Olds
- Top 10 Games for 5 Year Olds
- Top 10 Games for 4 Year Olds
- Top 10 Games for 3 Year Olds
1. Zombies: Zombie Kidz Evolution
This is a perfect fit if your kid has been reading books like The Last Kids on Earth and Diary of a Minecraft Zombie, or playing video games like Plants vs. Zombies.
Up to four players will defend their school from oncoming zombie adults, locking the gates to prevent any more from getting in. Every time you play, you’ll add stickers to the rulebook progress chart. Win challenges to place even MORE stickers and open secret envelopes full of new abilities and new challenges. Our kids were 7, 10, and 12 years old when they first played this game, and they couldn’t get enough of it.
And no worries, parents! There’s nothing gory or gross here.
Find Zombie Kidz Evolution on Amazon.
2. Superheroes: 5 Minute Marvel
Who wouldn’t want to fight side by side with superheroes like Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel, or the Hulk? Race against the clock to defeat supervillains and their henchmen in this cooperative game.
There are no turns in 5 Minute Marvel; instead, everyone looks for cards to match the current Crisis, while also using special abilities to help their teammates. Get through the whole deck and beat the super-villain in under 5 minutes to win the game. With six super-villains and ten Marvel heroes, there’s a lot of variety here for kids who want to try different things.
Find 5 Minute Marvel on Amazon.
For a less frantic and slightly more complex game, your 10 year old might prefer Marvel United.
3. Cute Food: Sushi Go!
Some kids just love cute food illustrations. And the king of cute food games is Sushi Go! It’s the first closed-drafting game our kids played, and highly recommended in our community.
To play, look at your hand of cute sushi cards and pick one to keep, then pass the rest. Score all your sets at the end of a round (paper and pencil is handy here).
Find Sushi Go! on Amazon. This cheapest version of Sushi Go! is also the simplest, and makes a great stocking stuffer.
Looking for something with fewer secrets or less to keep track of? Build a deck full of cute veggies while getting rid of artichokes in Abandon All Artichokes (our review) or vote secretly for your favorite donuts in Go Nuts for Donuts.
4. Dragons & Fantasy: Tsuro
There are lots of dragon-themed games out there. But Tsuro strikes just the right balance for a kid with a serious dragon obsession. It’s simple to play but feels very “grown up”, with gorgeous illustrations and dragon pawns.
Every player starts on the edge of the board. Place a tile and move any dragons on the affected path(s) to the end of their paths. If dragons collide or run off the board, they are eliminated. The last dragon remaining on the board is the winner! Since the whole game only takes about 15 minutes, you might hear “can we play again?” over and over.
On the other hand, if you’ve got a kid who wants to slay dragons, try Dragonwood (our review). And if you’re looking for cute dragons, take care of them with Tea Dragon Society Card Game (our review).
5. Giant Monsters: King of Tokyo
Some kids seem like they’re always looking for someone to wrestle or rough-house. In King of Tokyo, they can pretend to be giant kaiju monsters brawling for control of Tokyo.
Your goal is to gain points by staying in control of Tokyo, but the monster in Tokyo is open to attacks from everyone else. And if you lose all your hit points, you will be eliminated! You’ll also spend power cubes to buy power-ups, which extends the strategy as kids get older.
6. Car Racing: Downforce
Plenty of 7-10 year old kids love racing cars around a track. Downforce hits the sweet spot between Monza (which we recommend for younger children) and more complex games like HEAT.
Although Downforce is a racing game, your goal is actually to successfully bet on who the winner of the race will be. The way you move cars is to play a card from your hand that will move several cars, and kids will start to see the strategy in moving cars that are not their own.
Check out our review for Downforce and find the game on Amazon.
7. City Building: Happy City
Your child may protest that they’re too grown up for blocks, but most will still enjoy the satisfaction of building a model city.
Although we love Kingdomino (and suggest it for younger children), our favorite in this category is Happy City. Balance income (to buy more buildings), population, and happiness as you build out your 10-card city in about 20 minutes.
Read our review of Happy City, and find it on Amazon.
8. Need to Move: IceCOOL
Kid can’t sit still? IceCOOL requires players to move around the table. Take turns to flick your penguin around the cardboard “school”, collecting fish and tagging your fellow students. Pump up your game by learning trick shots, or simply race around the board.
You can also combine IceCOOL and the nearly-identical IceCOOL 2 to make giant layouts and accommodate up to eight players! But if you’re only going to get one, we recommend IceCOOL 2, which has some minor improvements to the game.
Read our IceCOOL 2 review and check out both games on Amazon.
9. Disney: Codenames Disney or Sorcerer’s Arena: Epic Alliances
We couldn’t make a list of kid-friendly themes without mentioning the mammoth mouse in the room. Your kid probably has a favorite Disney movie. So why not a Disney game?
We love Codenames: Disney Family Edition – it’s slightly more forgiving than the original Codenames, and can be played with all words, all pictures, or a mix of both, at several difficulty levels.
Read our review of Codenames Disney and find it on Amazon.
But maybe you’d rather focus on a few favorite characters.
In Disney Sorcerer’s Arena: Epic Alliances, you’ll choose three characters to fight in an arena, knocking out your opponents and earning victory points. The rulebook is structured in four “chapters” that slowly introduce more features. The first chapter is perfect for a 7 or 8 year old, and can be played over and over again without feeling stale.
Read our review of Disney Sorcerer’s Arena: Epic Alliances, or find it on Amazon.
10. Tons of Themes: Similo
We’ve already suggested Similo for younger children; but this cooperative game comes in myriad themes that will grab your older kid’s attention. From Greek mythology to Harry Potter, and even a “Spookies” collection, you’re sure to find a theme your kid will love.
Read our full review of Similo, and check out the variety of themes available on Amazon or direct from the publisher.
Looking for More?
This only scratches the surface of games that are great for older elementary aged kids. Check out our yearly holiday gift guides for more inspiration.
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