Check out our game closet! It is jammed full of different games and we keep the ones that are his favorites and age appropriate on the bottom shelves so that he can reach them himself. This closet is in our guest bedroom and we have so many games fit in there that there isn't a lot of extra room. We even have a pile of adult games in the other closet in the room too!! We are a game family so we look forward to a time where we have family game night!
Here are some of my four year olds favorite games and a little reason why we all like them:
1. Candy Land- He has loved this game for awhile and he enjoys moving the cards around and pulling out all of the special cards. The cards are starting to get a little worn because they aren't standing up to the abuse of a four year old but this is still a favorite game and one that everyone has to finish before he says the game is over. This one picks the color and doesn't really involve counting higher than two but the color recognition and paying attention is a great skill. The other thing that we were trying to teach him with this game is that it doesn't matter whether you win or lose but just having fun playing the game.
2. Chutes and Ladders- This one is one that he likes to play over and over when he in the mood. It isn't always a Chutes and Ladders day but when it is, get ready to play over and over because he starts and doesn't want to stop. When he first started playing this game, it was hard to figure out which way to go on the squares and he was often going backwards and not following the arrows. Now at four, he likes to follow the arrows but still wants to slide up or down if he lands in the middle of the ladder or slide. It is one of those rules that is hard to explain because when do you move over and find yourself in the middle of a ladder that you can't climb up. It does seem to be a strange game when I think about it like a four year old but still a fun one.
3. Parchessi- He loves the animals and played this before he wanted to follow rules so he often switched animals in the middle of the game which made it a little confusing for the adults to keep up with the game because we thought we were supposed to change too but couldn't figure out how to do it correctly. As adults, we were often corrected but it seems that he is much more into the rules now and how to play correctly so we are getting much better at this game. It is another fun game for counting and colors that they can enjoy being a certain animal while playing the game.
4. Sorry- He loves counting the number on the dice and moving the different pieces. He usually decides what person is all of the colors and then we start from there. It tends to end up working out that someone is drastically in the lead and it always seems to be my little guy! I am not sure if it is another one of the beginners luck but we play with the easy rules which I have a little trouble remembering so I sometimes have to make them up at the last minute to make sure that they work out best for him. Make sure you know the rules before you start with someone that likes to follow the rules because they will hold you to whatever you make up because you can't find the answer quick enough.
5. Mastermind- This is possibly his new favorite. I pulled it out the other day to teach patterns and we can't stop playing it. He has pulled it out probably at least once a day and when one parent gets sick of it, he makes the other one play! He also made grandma play it when she came to visit. He gives some fun clues like that one is a color that starts with a B. It is really funny because we don't need to give clues but he finds that part very fun. Of course, what game includes quiet thoughtful time when you are a playing with a four year old? None! It is a great one for colors and patterns and a little logic. I hope that this one helps him think in years to come and we will start playing with even harder directions when he gets older.
6. Memory Match- We have a few different ones and he loves them all. My little guy likes to match the things even if he isn't playing the game. He makes piles and puts the sets together while putting them away at the same time. I also set up smaller sets of matches so that he doesn't have to do the whole set at the same time. He used to play a version on the ipad that he really liked so I tried an approximate amount based on the number of matches until he got used to it and then I added more. We have the old Fronts and Backs from my childhood and he also have Thomas and Toy Story. I think that we also have a Sid the Science kid still in the package that we haven't even given him. It is always good to get the ones that would be interesting to your child because they will play with it more often.
7. Yahtzee Junior- We have the regular one too but he likes the pictures of the Mickie characters to play on the card. We got it at the consignment sale for just a few dollars. He loves playing with the dice and the board and the pieces even if he isn't playing with the game so I think that we might have already lost some of the pieces but he has really enjoyed it so I guess that it all balances out in the end. I am sure that we will move up to the regular one too since he loves numbers too but there are some more things on the score card that make the Yahtzee a little more challenging so I might have to make a four year old score card!
8. Boggle and Boggle Junior- He actually likes to play with the letters in Boggle more then spelling the words in Boggle Junior but he loves the letters in both and likes to make up words to spell and ask what he just spelled. Since he was about two, he would take the big boggle out and see if he could make words with the letters. It was awhile before he could actually make words with it but he spelled his own words which never had any vowels. Now with Boggle Jr, there are words to spell and they just have to put the dice up to match. It is a fun one but it doesn't keep his attention for a long time. I figure that a little time spelling and playing is better than none at all.
9. Go Fish- We have a One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Go Fish from Doctor Seuss that he really likes to play. It is just the cards and board with a space for the cards to go but the fun words make it that much more interesting for my little guy. The cards have the fish in different colors and with different numbers. Depending on your child's age, you can play the game differently but we started with the cards on the table and now that he is 4, we hold our cards in our hand and ask the other person for a specific card. He usually ends up makes most of the matches but it is always a fun game. (Sorry if you can't find this one but I got it through a sale at a school where I had to buy something as a fundraiser long before I had my son).
10. Tic Tac Toe- He loves this game on paper or with his crayola dry erase marker set or especially with his Bug Tac Toe that he made on Valentines Day through a foam kit that we got from his bank. He really enjoys trying to beat the adults and sometimes he does a great job and other times you have to throw in a win or else he is sad. Here is hoping that we are close to overcoming that and having him take enough time to pay attention before playing.
I hope that you pull out a few games that you might already have to play with your kids and see what they like. There are a few others that rise to the top which my four year old likes to play with but doesn't really follow the game but still loves to play. Have you ever played Blokus?
I hope that you try out some new games and see what every one's favorite games are in your family!
