My Favorite Family Games (That Also Teach Skills)

Founder Dr. Jessica Snowden Patel shares her trusted recommendations.

As a mom of 4 (and a psychologist), I can tell you — we really do have all of these on our game shelf. In our house, snacks, laughter, and board games keep everything running. We started around age 2 with simple cooperative games, and now our shelves look more like a mini game library.

These are my tried-and-true favorites. They’re fun, bring us together, and secretly (don’t tell the kids) they build patience, math, language, planning, creativity, and resilience.

And yes — I don’t let kids win. Losing is part of the lesson. What I do is give a fair chance: letting younger kids roll dice, count a few extra seconds, or narrating my strategy out loud. They win sometimes, they lose sometimes — and that’s exactly the point.

With warmth,
Dr. Jessica Snowden Patel

My Top 5 Favorites

If you only grab a few, these are my can’t-miss picks:

Squishyland – Candyland-style phonics game with different decks for each child’s level.

Boggle – Word-search speed fun for vocabulary and spelling.

Catch Phrase – Hilarious family wordplay, great for quick thinking.

Ticket to Ride – Strategy + planning, and everyone gets hooked.

Clack– Fast and fun for all ages and is fun for scanning/matching.

For Little Ones (Preschool – Early Elementary, Ages 2–6)

Squishyland – Each child uses their own phonics deck. Preschoolers and 1st graders can play side by side at their own level.
Feed the Woozle – Walk like a crab, spin in circles, then feed the Woozle. Gross motor + listening + giggles.
Willy’s Wiggly Web – The perfect way to teach scissor skills. Kids cut bugs out of a paper web… but cut too much and it all falls apart. Parent tip: get your own scissors — the ones in the box look “safe,” but mostly shred paper.
Stack It Up (Peaceable Kingdom) – A starter stacking game that teaches patience and turn-taking.
Hoot Owl Hoot! / Sparkle and Share Unicorn – Great cooperative games from Peaceable Kingdom. Fantastic for teaching rules, teamwork, and listening.

My First Castle Panic- Another cooperative game that is surprisingly fun!
Red Light, Green Light (with Purple Light = dance!) – Simple, silly, and secretly great for self-regulation and flexible thinking.

For Growing Players (Early Elementary, Ages 5–8)

Quick Cups – Kids race to stack cups to match a picture card. Builds visual-spatial skills and speed.
Spot It – Scan and match symbols before anyone else. Great for visual processing.
Clack! – Grab magnets with matching icons. Fun visual scanning and recognition practice.
Build Build Boom – Race to build structures before they collapse. Great for perseverance and quick thinking.
Buildzi – A more structured building game that teaches planning and design.
Simon Says – Classic listening + impulse-control practice.
Bop It – Reaction time + memory + laughter.
Uno – Number and color recognition with just enough strategy (and drama).
Sleeping Queens – A whimsical card game using math + strategy.
Sorry! / Trouble – Classic roll-and-move games that build patience and resilience when things don’t go your way.

Fidget Games (Sight Word Series) – Active and fun — sight word practice that doesn’t feel like school.
Ticket to Ride: First Journey – Simplified Ticket to Ride that builds route planning and executive functioning.
Blah Blah Blah (Mrs. Wordsmith) – A silly phonics/word game for early reading skills.

For Big Kids & Family Play (Ages 7 and up)

These are the games that bring the whole family to the table. They last longer, take more strategy, and have the most laughs.

Boggle / Boggle Junior – Fast-paced word search that builds spelling and flexible thinking.
Scattergories – Creative brainstorming by category and letter. Vocabulary + chaos.
Taboo – Quick wordplay that boosts verbal fluency and flexible communication.
Ticket to Ride (Classic) – Planning, strategy, and route-building. A family staple.
Chess – The original planning + strategy game (even if you’re learning alongside your kids).
Catch Phrase – A family party favorite. Quick thinking, teamwork, and a lot of laughter.
Stratego – A two-player head-to-head battle of memory, deduction, and foresight.
Telestrations – Like the game of telephone but with drawings. Builds visual-motor skills, flexible thinking, and humor (the sillier the drawings, the better).
Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) – My older kids love this one. It’s storytelling, creativity, math, and problem-solving rolled into one. You don’t have to know all the rules — start simple and let kids lead the storytelling

Younger versions: Magical Kitties Save the Day or Shared Fables — simpler, kid-friendly role-playing adventures.

Adapting for All Ages

Younger kids don’t have to sit out. Even if they’re not ready for the full rules, they can join in by having them:

Roll the dice.
Move the pieces.
Be the “helper” who makes sound effects or narrates the action.

Everyone gets to play — and honestly, the littlest ones often make the game the most fun.

Why We Play

Games are about connection first. They bring families together, spark laughter, and create traditions. The bonus? Every round secretly builds skills — math, reading, planning, self-control, and resilience. Win or lose, kids are practicing real-life skills every time they play.

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