Preschool Board Games

Hi! Today I wanted to share some of my favorite board games for preschool. Board games are one of my favorite ways to connect with my daughter, and I think they are such a great tool for learning important skills. I’ve shared some of my favorite board games for early elementary here. This blog post is great for grown ups who have preschoolers at home, but preschool classrooms could also benefit from these games! You could also use these in speech, occupational therapy, and even play therapy.

Each of these board games can be found on my Amazon list, but I encourage you to check out local retailers too! Because these games usually don’t need all of the pieces, you can also check out local thrift stores and buy nothing groups!

This post contains affiliate links. That means I receive a small portion when you use my link at no cost to you. Each of these games are games I personally own, and I wouldn’t ever recommend something I don’t use. Using my links helps me keep this website up and running, so that I can keep sharing information with you.

Roll and Play

I love this game for so many reasons. It is super accessible for all kids, even young toddlers. For kids who really struggle with turn taking, you can all play this game together. It’s super simple to play!

The “dice” is a soft cube, so great for little ones who might throw the dice too hard, or don’t have the dexterity for regular dice. Each color has a set of cards with actions. Our favorite is the green cards (animal noises), but I also love the blue scavenger hunt cards. If your child at home isn’t challenged enough with this game, you can have them create their own cards to play with. The colored block could be used for other games and activities, too!

Seek a Boo

Seek a Boo is similar to Roll and Play in that it’s super inclusive, and almost every kid could play…no matter their age or ability to attend to tasks, take turns, etc. Seek a Boo is basically a scavenger hunt, but you can make it a lot more challenging if you want.

There are small cards to “draw” and large cards you can place all over the floor. You can place the pictures face up, or play like a memory game. Here are 4 ways to play! The game comes with a grown up guide, and has lots of fun ways to use the cards.

Easiest- Keep the cards face up, and find the matching picture card

Medium-Put the cards face down, and find the matching picture card.

Medium-Put the cards face up, and ask a question like “what do you eat?” or “which animal says NEIGH”

Hardest- Put the cards face down and ask a question like, “what smells good” or “find something that is soft.”

Bull’s Eye

This is definitely my daughter’s favorite game! It’s similar to Seek a Boo or traditional Memory, but with a fun twist. The game comes with pairs of cards and 5 “plungers” that stick to the cards.

To make a “match,” players use the plunger to grab the matching card. We usually leave the cards face up, but you could also place them around the room to add more gross motor into your game. This game works on quick thinking and turn taking. If you have multiple kids, you’ll want to set up some ground rules so they don’t fight over who gets to “plunge” the card. No matter what, though, this is a great game to have in your collection!

Pop Up Pirate

I think every special education teacher and OT has this in their collection, but it’s perfect for home too! It’s similar to Perfection that I played as a child. The pirate clicks into the barrel, and players place the swords in the gaps. Eventually, you’ll hit something inside the barrel and the pirate will POP up.

This game is great for fine motor work, because the swords are small and they have to fit in a really narrow hole. It also works great to practice taking turns, and planning/strategy.

Acorn Soup

I think this game is genius, and we love playing it! It’s very well thought out. I love that the “box” doubles as a soup pot for making soup. It includes little wooden ingredients, so they are really sturdy. I appreciate they’re not cardboard, because we’re less likely to lose them! It also comes with a really great little wooden spoon for fine motor practice. You could place the pot farther away, so they have to balance the ingredients on the spoon, or play while sitting.

The game includes recipe cards, and the goal is to make your soup together. It’s a collaborative game, but you could play it individually if you wanted. This game is great for picture discrimination and counting.

Noodle Knockout

Noodle Knockout is very similar to Acorn Soup, but it’s more challenging. It has tongs instead of a spoon, and even has 2 sizes of noodles to practice size discrimination.

Instead of working collaboratively, players take turns spinning the spinner and collecting ingredients. We also frequently just sort the ingredients in the bowls, and practice grabbing them with the tweezers. I also really appreciate that the game has you make ramen, and includes rice cakes and eggs. Anytime we can bring diversity into the toys and games in our house, I count that as a win.

Monkey Around

Monkey Around is so cute, and perfect for kids who need to MOVE. I also really, really love the collaborative aspect of this game, because it includes cards for “solo,” and “together.” This game is my favorite for kids who need to work on their coordination and motor planning.

Each of the cards has an action…many of them include the little banana. The banana is weighted, so it’s much easier to toss back and forth. This game would be great for any family or classroom, but especially for families with little ones prefer to be active than sit on the ground and play a game. If your kids like this game, Get Up for Pup is very similar!

Yeti in My Spaghetti

This game is like the preschool version of Jenga, and so fun! It’s excellent for building patience and self control, as well as thoughtful planning and strategy. My daughter loves to see the Yeti fall, so it’s a great opportunity for practice taking turns and waiting.

I love playing this game, but she will actually play with it by herself pretty frequently. You set the noodles up over the bowl, and choose one noodle at a time to pull out. Eventually, the Yeti will fall into the bowl and you can play again. I appreciate how simple the set up is, as well as how engaging it is!

Friends and Neighbors

This game is SO sweet, and works on social emotional skills. It also builds on so many academic skills, including counting, literacy, and problem and solution. It even comes with a little book to read while you’re playing. To play, players draw a “solution” disc from the bag, and try to find the matching problem.

There are multiple cards, similar to BINGO, so you might not have a match for every problem. That makes it a little more challenging, which I really appreciate! To win, you have to find 5 matching problems and solutions.

Zingo!

I was first introduced to this game when I was mentoring a first grader, and I think it’s genius! It’s basically bingo, but with a fun card “device.” My daughter LOVES to put the cards in and out, and it’s excellent fine motor work.

It comes with enough cards for everyone to play, so we love to play it as a family. This game works on matching, visual discrimination, and even introduces letter/sound match. There is also a number version and a sight word version.

Feed the Woozle

This game is so cute! It comes with a little cardboard “Woozle,” which is just a fuzzy monster. The first few times we played, I set the game up on the floor and we used the spoon to feed the monster the yucky food. To make it more challenging, I moved it further away, so she had to balance the food on the spoon. The game comes with a movement spinner, so players have to walk backwards, dance, or bunny hop to feed the Woozle. She LOVES when I hold the Woozle, and make funny noises after it eats.

It includes a dice, so players practice counting 1, 2, and 3 food discs. It also includes counters to ekep track of how much you have successfully fed the Woozle.

What are your favorite games for toddlers and preschoolers? I created this little infographic, in case you want to see the games at a glance.

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