Chutes and Ladders is Garbage
Back in 2015, FiveThirtyEight, wrote several articles about the worst board games and what to play instead. My son wasn’t even two yet, but I definitely took notes so I would be prepared when he was big enough to start playing games. The main point of the article was about how games based on luck are not fun and there are many better games out there to utilize strategy and skill that keep them entertaining. Some of the worst rated games on BoardGameGeek are Monopoly, Tic-Tac-Toe, Candy Land, Snakes and Ladders, War (card game), and The Game of Life.
My wife and I disagree on this, she loves candy land, but I cannot say that I have any fond memories of the game.
Best Games for Pre-School according to Data
Monopoly and The Game of Life may hold a special place in your heart, but the data says these are the games to enjoy with your 3 or 4 year old.
- The Little Orchard (3)
- Cartoona (3)
- Richard Scarrey’s Busytown: Eye Found It! Game (3)
- Loopin Louie (4)
- Coconuts (4)
- Animal upon Animal Balancing Bridge (4)
The above list is based just on data from BoardGameGeek. What are your thoughts on them? Leave a comment and tell me what you think of these games.
The Games We Play with our Four Year Old
Loopin’ Louie
First of all I love Loopin Louie. Anyone can win, it takes some skills and coordination, and we finish the games quickly. A motorized plane flies in circles while each player has a paddle to bounce the plane back into the air. Four people can play at a time and you are protecting your chickens from being knocked over by the plane. My boys are always left wanting to continue playing. We opted for the cheap Star Wars version called Loopin’ Chewie. It only has room for three players, and has been a great game for my four year old, myself, and even the 18 month old.
Ticket to Ride: First Journey
Ticket to Ride is one of the highest rated and beloved board games in the world. The junior version, First Journey, is a simplified version with all of the same strategies and systems. We modify it slightly to allow our four year old to play, we just leave his cards face up and help him with choosing routes. Each player gets a pair of train routes across the United States to complete and 20 colored trains to claim routes. We get to spend time counting and matching colors as we connect different cities across the US. Easy enough for non-readers to play since each city is identified by its name and a distinct picture. My son loves trains, so he especially enjoys playing this game. I especially enjoy it, since there is strategy involved and on any occasion either of us could win.
We play at the kitchen table and let the 18 month old play with the extra trains while he sits in a high chair.
Frida’s Fruit Fiesta Game
This game is fun for identifying letters and working on fine motor skills. Each player has a bingo card with 16 letters. You spin three spinners and choose which letter or activity you want to go with, and grab a letter fruit-bowl from the box using toucan squeezers. This game teaches turn-taking, fine motor skills, letter knowledge, and strategy.
Shelby’s Snack Shack Game
We enjoy this game to build up counting skills and fine motor skills. Similar to Frida’s Fruit Fiesta, you spin and then collect different numbers of bones with a puppy squeezer. Our four year old gets a lot of practice with counting and taking turns during this game. The 18 month old likes to use the squeezer to pick up bones and drop them in bowls while we play.
These are the games we play the most with our boys. With each of them we all have a fun time and I would be happy to sit down and play any of these games with him. I plan on getting Connect Four and maybe Coconuts as our next games to add to the game closet.
Heading photo by Park Troopers on Unsplash