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Puzzle Games for Ages 3-5

Children ages three to five may not yet be able to help you complete a Sudoku or crossword puzzle, but there are plenty of other puzzle games to choose from to stimulate their minds. Puzzles can range from word games to physical pieces to be rearranged. Choose puzzles that aren't so difficult that your child will be frustrated, but are challenging enough for your child to feel pride when the puzzle has been completed.

Word Search
- A word search puzzle is a grid of randomly placed letters, with real words hidden within. Puzzles aimed at younger children usually have large-type letters and a small grid, making it easier for kids to find the words. If you create your own word search puzzles, you can choose whether you want the words to only read left to right, or include backwards, up, down, or diagonal words as well.
Jigsaw Puzzles
- Jigsaw puzzles are pictures that have been cut into interlocking pieces and then broken apart. Jigsaw puzzles range in size and in the number of pieces, based on age appropriateness. A jigsaw puzzle for young children would likely be between 12 and 24 pieces that are more than an inch in size (closer to two inches for three-year-olds). The pieces should also be sturdy, since children may bang them on tables. Small children can use the image on the puzzle box to help guide them into placing the correct puzzle pieces together.
Anagrams
- An anagram puzzle game is a word or phrase that has had its letters rearranged to spell a new word or phrase. For example: Christmas could be turned into "trims cash." For children ages three to five, anagrams are very simple. "Dog," for example, can be turned into "god"; and "cat" can be turned into "act." You can also create word finds: Children can look at one word, like the name of their favorite cartoon character, and come up with as many other words using the same letters as they can.
Mazes
- Mazes are puzzles of paths, some of which lead to dead ends and some that lead to the correct passage. Mazes for children usually have multiple correct paths and not as many dead ends as an adult maze puzzle. They're also smaller and can be shaped like different kid-friendly images, such as cartoon characters or fruits. Mazes help children learn problem-solving skills also teach the concept that a problem often has more than one solution.
Pictogram
- Pictograms, also known as rebuses, are puzzles where a group of pictures makes up a word or phrase. For example, the sentence "I love dogs" could be created into a pictogram with a picture of an eyeball, a picture of a heart and a picture of a group of dogs. These puzzles help young children learn basic sentence structure.

Kids Games