Board Games That Can Keep Kids Busy, Teach Logic And Planning

Swimming classes? Maybe martial arts. How about voice, or piano lessons? Whatever it is, you’re probably going a little crazy trying to figure something out to keep your kids busy during the summer vacation. They definitely can’t spend every day on video games and Netflix!

When my own son was 6, he really enjoyed playing Uno. A friend gave him a set with waterproof cards, so we could actually play by the pool if we wanted! Another friend gave us a Save Doctor Lucky board game, and my son really loves it. It was a good opportunity too to teach him about the Titanic and how ships are built.

Save Doctor Lucky: Doctor Lucky is a charismatic and well-respected philanthropist with a heart of gold. You’ve decided to save his life , and to do it while someone else is looking. That way, even if you go down with the ship, you’ll at least go down in history.

I have many friends who enjoy a variety of card games and board games, and I’m happy to see him enthusiastically try them all. We love looking at the art, figuring out the game play, and deciphering the rules. It’s also a good way for him to learn strategic thinking and planning.

In case you don’t have anything planned yet, maybe you can keep the kids busy with some board games that the whole family can enjoy.

Parents share why you should play board games as a family

Competition and relaxation

Iloilo-based Johann Ong and his wife Khristine have always been fond of games: board games, card games, you name it! “My wife and her siblings opened a comic book store, and that’s where we met. A customer in their shop introduced us to Settlers of Catan, and I was impressed with the rules, game play. It was definitely not Monopoly!”

Settlers of Catan: Catan is an island nation, and your goal is to settle, and expand your territory using cards featuring different kinds of terrain. The player with the highest number of victory points by the end of the game wins.

Johann and Khristine, both aged 45, have two kids, Anya, 14, and Seth, 16. Johann recalls, “I remember introducing Seth to (a board game called) Arkham Horror, at the very young age of 5 or 6. He couldn’t really read much, but he liked the brains and heart counters (for sanity and health), and it got to a point that he memorized all the places on the board too!”

Arkham Horror: The Card Game is a cooperative card game set amid a backdrop of Lovecraftian horror. As the Ancient Ones seek entry to our world, one to four players–called “investigators”–work to unravel arcane mysteries and conspiracies.

“Anya’s first board game was 7 Wonders, and I highly recommend this to families with kids. It’s a card drafting game that doesn’t really rely on words, just icons, so even kids who are just starting to read can easily pick it up. There was an app released with the game, and you could use it to track your scores and the number of games played. We logged roughly 200 to 300 games each summer!”

7 Wonders: You are a leader of one of the seven greatest cities in Antiquity. Develop your city by increasing your scientific discoveries, military conquests,commercial agreements, and prestigious structures to lead your civilization to glory! All the while, keep an eye on your neighbors’ progress since they share similar ambitions.

No matter their ages, kids can pick up plenty of lessons from board games. “Frustration tolerance, strategy and tactics, resource management, trading and planning. Anya has gotten used to winning most of our board games, but on the few occasions that someone else wins, she throws a fit! The games we have in our collection require careful planning and rewards skill rather than luck, although of course there’s always a bit of that.”

But of course, they discover and find a fondness for new titles. “YouTube released an anime about a Japanese card game called Cardfight!! Vanguard, and it was basically a product ad for the game, with tutorials. Both my kids got hooked on the card game, and they still play it occasionally till now."

Want to check out a few games with the kids? Here are the Ong family favorites. “For Anya, it’s Paladins of the West Kingdom. She ALWAYS wins this. Undefeated for all time!”

Paladins of the West Kingdom is set at a turbulent time, circa 900 AD. Despite recent efforts to develop the city, outlying townships are still under threat from outsiders. Saracens scout the borders, while Vikings plunder wealth and livestock. Even the Byzantines from the east have shown their darker side. As noble men and women, players must gather workers from the city to defend against enemies, build fortifications and spread faith throughout the land. Fortunately you are not alone. In his great wisdom, the King has sent his finest knights to help aid in our efforts.

“For Seth, it’s Root, a great asymmetrical game!”

Root is a game of woodland might and right. Stalk the woods as one of the Vagabonds, seize the initiative with the Eyrie birds of prey, rule over your subjects as the Marquise de Cat, or command the Woodland Alliance to create a new order. With creatures and cunning, you'll rule a fantastic forest kingdom in the ultimate asymmetric board game of adventure and war.

“My personal favorite is Lost Ruins of Arnak. I love the theme of being archeologists exploring unknown lands, and finding clues about a vanished culture, like Indiana Jones!”

Players lead rival expeditions to a newly discovered island. Explore jungles, find artifacts, and discover the Lost Ruins of Arnak!

“My wife likes Wingspan, a very relaxing game with beautifully painted art of actual birds, which also includes facts about each bird.”

You are bird enthusiasts—researchers, bird watchers, ornithologists, and collectors—seeking to discover and attract the best birds to your network of wildlife preserves. Each bird extends a chain of powerful combinations in one of your habitats (actions).

Keep it simple

Julia Sta. Romana is an online worker based in Davao City. “I grew up playing board games and card games with my cousins. My favorites growing up were Scrabble and Word Factory.” Her child, Bianca, is now 13, and she recalls, “We started playing simple card games with our daughter when she was three, mainly to help her prepare for preschool. We would play matching games to improve her memory, teach her shapes and colors. And when she got older, we continued playing card games to help her with her math.”

For the Sta. Romana family, it’s not just games between parents and child; grandparents play too! “We stuck with ‘classic’ board games so we can also play with the grandparents. When you have three generations playing together, you need to really work on getting along. I can see that it has also helped my child with her patience and communication skills. Blackjack is our favorite as a family because it’s fast paced and we can play it anywhere. No gambling, though!”

Bianca says she also likes Cards Against Humanity. “I like the humor!”

Each round, one player asks a question from a black card, and everyone else answers with their funniest white card.

Fun, short, easy to play

E.J. Padero is a Senior Tech Support Engineer who lives in Mandaluyong with his wife, Jam, and their three kids: Johann (14), Anton (13), Moira (9). “Jam and I grew up playing board games such as chess, Scrabble, Monopoly, M.A.D., checkers, Chinese checkers, Cluedo, Snakes & Ladders, and card games with family and friends. The power failures (‘brownouts’) and boredom of the '80s were good times for them.”

It was only natural that their kids follow in their footsteps. “As soon as our boys could throw dice and count, we got them playing Snakes and Ladders. I think they were maybe 3 and 4.” He even got them to try Star Trek: Attack Wing once.

Attack Wing is a fast-paced tactical combat miniatures game, featuring collectible figures based on the Star Trek Universe and the Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms®.

What are their favorites? Exploding Kittens, because it’s “fun, short, easy to play,” says Anton.

Exploding Kittens: In the deck of cards are some Exploding Kittens. You play the game by putting the deck face down and taking turns drawing cards until someone draws an Exploding Kitten. When that happens, that person explodes and they are out of the game. All of the other cards will give you powerful tools to help you avoid exploding!

Johann says Uno is his favorite, and it’s pretty cool that there are so many variants to choose from!

Portable fun

Pia Soledad Saveron and her husband Neal are based in Cavite with their son Tristan, who is 12. “We started playing with our son when he was 6 years old. We started with simple games like Ghost Blitz, Toc Toc Woodman and Gobblet Gobblers. These games are quick, fun, and even when playing against adults, kids can win. After that, we introduced him to other types of games like deck building, resource management and worker placement. Since our friends are also into board games, we get to play different titles often.”

In Ghost Blitz, five wooden items sit on the table waiting to be caught: a white ghost, a green bottle, a cute grey mouse, a blue book, and a comfortable red chair. Each card in the deck shows pictures of two objects, with one or both objects colored the wrong way. With all players playing at the same time, someone reveals a card, then players grab for the "right" object – but which object is right?

In Toc Toc Woodman, players get to play lumberjack and use an axe to chop down a tree. And they can be as wild as they want with the chopping. Of course, if they’re too wild, they’re going to lose the game.

Gobblet Gobblers: Cartoonish wooden characters bring pizzazz to this Tic-Tac-Toe style game. Just line up three of your Gobblers in a row to win. But watch out! These Gobblers are hungry for fun…and other Gobblers.

“Each family member has their own favorite game. My husband tends to go for long-playing games like Scythe and 7 Wonders.

Scythe is an engine-building, asymmetric, competitive board game set in an alternate-history 1920s period. It is a time of farming and war, broken hearts and rusted gears, innovation and valor.

“I like shorter games such as Splendor and Ticket to Ride.

Splendor is a strategy and card game set in the Renaissance. You play to become the most influential and rich merchant at the jewelry market by optimizing your trading strategy.

Ticket to Ride is a cross-country train adventure in which players collect and play matching train cards to claim railway routes connecting cities throughout North America. The longer the routes, the more points they earn.

“Tristan loves games like King of Tokyo and Tiny Epic Mechs. We bring smaller board games when we travel by car, so that we can play them where we are staying. Tiny Epic Games are portable, have different types of games and the boxes are as small as a pocket book. Toc Toc Woodman is also fun!”

In King of Tokyo, you play mutant monsters, gigantic robots, and strange aliens—all of whom are destroying Tokyo and whacking each other in order to become the one and only King of Tokyo.

Tiny Epic Mechs is an arena-style player-vs-player action-programming game. It features ITEMeeples with plastic molded power armors and a Mech suit that the ITEMeeples actually go inside of.

Have you tried any of these games? Which one do you think the family will enjoy?