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Challenging Games to Play With Children

Many families that enjoy spending time together find board, card and outdoor games to be fun for everyone from small children to teens and parents. Many board games can help children learn to think strategically, learn new words and work together. When you are trying out a new game don't forget that you don't always have to play the game as written. You can modify a game or create rules that work for your family.

Word Games
- Word games are an excellent way to help children develop vocabulary, spelling and reading skills. Word games on the market extend past Scrabble to Boggle, Bananagrams or even Mad Libs. Many quality word games can be played in such a way that younger and older children are evenly matched. For example, during a game of Boggle, younger children can be allowed to use 3-letter words, while older children can be limited to words that are 4 letters or longer. Children can even play in teams so that younger children are paired with older siblings.
Card Games
- Card games are an excellent choice for many children because most are easy to learn and economical. With a single standard deck of playing cards it is possible to play hundreds of games with anywhere from 1 to 8 or more players. Some commercial games like Uno can actually be played with a standard deck of cards. In the case of Uno, the original game is called crazy eights. Rummy is another game that is good for children, as are war and spite and malice.
Outdoor Games
- Many children spend more time playing inside than outside. Much of that outside time may be spent playing organized sports, however, there are many fun and easy games that can be played outside with only minimal equipment. Many of these games are best played with larger groups of people, and rules can be adapted whenever necessary. Outdoor games range from very simple ones such as tag or hide and seek to longer games like capture the flag and ball games like four square.
Eurogames
- Eurogames are a particular class of strategic board games, mostly designed and manufactured in Europe. The games are designed to be easy to learn, engaging and balanced so that children and adults are equally matched. The best-known Eurogame in the United States is Settlers of Catan, but there are many other games that are excellent for children such as Carcassonne, Ticket to Ride and Lost Cities. Eurogames can be difficult to find at major retailers, but many small game and hobby shops stock a large selection and can help you to choose games your children will enjoy.

Kids Games