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Our Top 10 Board Games Picks

Our Top 10 Board Games Picks

There are many different board games that are great for kids to learn and fun for family play, but the classic games are still at the top for good reason! Who doesn’t love a great game of Monopoly or Checkers?  This is a brief overview of the popular classics.

1.  Monopoly
No game is better suited to the budding capitalist than this classic real estate game! Monopoly is an American-originated board game published by Parker Brothers. Subtitled “The Fast-Dealing Property Trading Game”, the game is named after the economic concept of monopoly, the domination of a market by a single entity.

It is currently published by the United States game and toy company Hasbro. Players move around the game board buying or trading properties, developing their properties with houses and hotels, and collecting rent from their opponents. The ultimate goal is to drive the other players into bankruptcy.

Play the Classic Edition
– or check out the variety of themed versions – from The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Edition to Disney Monopoly!   Ages 8+

2.  Clue
Was it Colonel Mustard in the conservatory with the candlestick? Junior detectives will love playing the challenging, ever-changing mystery game of Clue.

3-6 Players – Ages 8+

3.  Chutes and Ladders

In the Chutes and Ladders game, children who break the rules (as in life) slide down long chutes, and kids who behave climb the ladder of success.

It’s a classic story of good and evil, with a little luck thrown in.  No reading required and single digit numbers makes this a fun game for preschoolers.  Ages 4+

4.  Game of Life

If real life were only as simple as the Game!

Choosing a profession, spouse, and kids is as easy as spinning a dial. Series of choices and chance where you try to get to retirement wealthy. Ages 8+

5.  Candy Land

This game is more than 50 years old!
 Who doesn’t remember the colorful cards and tempting treats pictured along the path in Candy Land?

Candy Land is a simple racing board game. The game requires no reading and only minimal counting skills, making it suitable for young children.

Due to the design of the game, there is no strategy involved. Players are never required to make choices, just to follow the directions. The winner is predetermined by the shuffle of the cards. The classic first game for Ages 3-6.

6.  Checkers

Whether it’s the marbles or the star-shaped board, kids love to play checkers. Checkers are a great first game for young children to learn strategy and problem solving. There are many varieties of checker games from oversized pieces to classic wood games. Ages 5+

7.  Sorry

Who can resist those candy-kiss-shaped Sorry pieces? Your kids will love this perennial classic from 1934.

Sorry is a board game that is based on the ancient Cross and Circle game Pachisi.  Players try to travel around the board with their pieces faster than any other player. Distributed by Parker Brothers, Sorry is marketed for two to four players, ages six through adult.

The game title comes from the many ways in which a player can negate the progress of another, while issuing an apologetic “Sorry!”

Ages 6+

8.  Scrabble

Remember the feeling of sitting down with your mother or father for a leisurely game of Scrabble on a rainy Sunday afternoon?

 

Family time may have shrunk over the years, but there’s no reason to keep it that way with this classic game in the updated version.  Play it and e-x-p-a-n-d the afternoon. Ages 8+

9. Chess

Start the kids early on this classic strategy game and you just may find a prodigy on your hands!

While Chess may not be as popular as it once was, there is no doubting that it is the most complex strategy game available.

 

Millions of people play chess on a daily basis, but how did chess originate, and why is the game so popular?

Chess is a strategy board game which comprises of 64 spaces on an 8×8 board. Each player begins each game with 16 pieces which can be moved in different ways. Your objective of each game is to checkmate your opponent’s king. To checkmate your opponent’s king you have to position your ‘attack’ so that their king is in check (a position where the king can be taken on the next move) and cannot move to defend itself in any way.

While variations of the game have been around for thousands of years, the game as we know it today has only been around since the 15th century. Originally, the game came from an Indian game known as Shatranj, an Indian game invented in the 3rd century.

Our favorite site for some good deals on beautiful themed chess sets and classic sets with elegant style is The Chess Store.

The Chess Store Theme Chess Sets

10. Battlship

Battleship is an all time classic game of strategy and memory!

Battleship game for kids

The enjoyment of classic board games is a timeless way to learn and grow that’s great for the whole family.

 

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