Kids these days have what seems like endless choices of board games. Playing board games can help children learn cognitive and fine motor skills in a playful stress-free environment. They develop skills to last them a lifetime and learn the values of teamwork, patience, and how to gracefully lose.
We’ve picked a series of children’s board games, especially for 5-6-year-olds that focus on cooperation, strategy, and memory skills. Our list is tailored for children’s playing needs. We concentrated on features like short playing time, high replay value, simple rules, and colorful characters.
With their brains buzzing, one of the most important benefits of board games for children is fun! Let’s look at these cute, colorful, and child-friendly board games for 5 to 6-year-olds, including educational board games.
Our Top Picks for Best Board Games for 5-6-Year-Olds
In a hurry? Check out our favorite games for 5 to 6-Year-Olds below.
YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY (BEST GAMES BY AGE GROUP): Toddler & Preschool | Kindergarten | 2-Year-Old | 3-Year-Old | 4-Year-Old | 5-Year-Old | 5-6-Year-Old | 7-Year-Old | 8-Year-Old | 9-Year-Old | 10-Year-Old | 11-12-Year-Old | Teens & Teenagers
Best Games for 5 to 6-Year-Olds
Outfoxed!
Players: 2-4
Playtime: 20-30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Outfoxed is a cooperative board game that teaches kids to become little detectives! By solving the mystery of Mrs. Plumpert’s stolen prize-winning pie, Outfoxed teaches kids deduction skills, memory techniques, and most importantly, to find the sneaky fox.
Essentially a cooperative deduction game, in Outfoxed, players move around the board to gather clues and rule out suspects. Working together helps the game move faster and makes it more likely to catch the guilty fox.
What we liked
This is a great introductory to cooperative and deduction games for kids.
What could be better
Outfoxed is pretty easy to win and the deduction gimmick boils down to basically asking 20 questions. Depending on your child’s experience with games, this may be way too simple.
Ticket to Ride: First Journey
Players: 2- 4
Playtime: 15- 30 mins
Difficulty: Easy
A favorite among adults, Ticket to Ride has been a staple on our game shelf for years. Now First Journey is available for children to join in on the fun!
The First Journey edition follows the same premise of the original with route building and networking to connect cities together. To make it kid-friendly, the rules have been simplified and the playtime has been shortened. Different colored train cards help connect your own routes.
What we liked
With icons for cities and no reading required, this game is great for young players. Although the game has been simplified, it’s definitely not missing its original charm. The whole family can enjoy this kid-friendly edition!
What could be better
Somehow, even in a 3-player game, the board did feel more cramped, and was easier to cut someone off than in the original.
Hoot Owl Hoot!
Players: 2- 4
Playtime: 15mins
Difficulty: Easy
I mean, if the name doesn’t draw you in, well, the number of awards it’s won surely will.
Hoot Owl Hoot! Is a cooperative pattern recognition game. It’s color-coordinated and players have to cooperate to help the owls fly back home before the sun comes up. If the owls get home before Sunrise, every player wins!
What we liked
There are lots of benefits to this game such as creative problem-solving, shared decision-making, and developing a sense of community. With no reading or math involved, this is a perfect, stress-free game to play with 5-6-year-olds!
What could be better
We’re not fans of the card system in this game. The sun cards can sometimes result in a lot of skipped turns, which gets quite frustrating.
Robot Turtles
Players: 2-5
Playtime: 15mins
Difficulty: Easy
Robot Turtles is the most-backed board game in Kickstarter history. It’s a 21st-century game that teaches young children the basics of programming and coding. It may sound complicated but with simple rules and funny turtle sounds, Robot Turtles ensures learning opportunities and a lot of fun.
So, how to play the game? Set up the board with the turtle tile in one corner and the jewel tile in another. Using ‘coding’ cards, (forward, left, and right), players move their turtle card along the blocks. Reach the jewel tile and play the next level!
What we liked
Robot Turtles has great adaptability to make it more difficult to suit your child’s learning level. A simple and fun introduction to the world of coding!
What could be better
While a fantastic educational tool, Robot Turtles isn’t really a “game” in the strictest sense of the word. It doesn’t have any player interaction or social component.
Dragomino: My First Kingdomino
Players: 2-4
Playtime: 15mins
Difficulty: Easy
Dragomino is a kids’ strategy board game all set to a fun dragon fantasy theme. Become the best dragon trainer and find all the baby dragons!
As a part of the Kingdomino family, Dragomino is also a pattern-building board game. It’s a card drafting and tile-placement game that helps children build up patten-building skills. Players build up their landscapes and collect as many eggs as possible.
When playing, try to match dominoes and gain one egg for each matching domino. The twist is that the egg may be empty or have a beautiful baby dragon inside!
What we liked
With quick playtime, everyone will want to play again! Dragomino has a high replay value so children can learn strategy when placing tiles. The components in this game look and feel great, there is a great balance between important decisions and luck involved, and kids have real chances to win here.
Have fun and find out who is the best dragon trainer of all!
What could be better
As a simplified version of Kingdomino, there’s an added luck component that I find quite unnecessary.
Wildcraft! An Herbal Adventure Game
Players: 1-4
Playtime: 45-60mins
Difficulty: Easy
Wildcraft! is a herbal adventure game that teaches kids about medicinal plants. It requires no prior plant knowledge and in fact, no reading either, making this a fun and easy-to-follow board game for the whole family.
Educate your kids about the environment with this fun, cooperative game. Players must work together to harvest edible and medicinal plant cards. Slide down waterfalls, cross logs, and deer trails, all while identifying the correct plant cards.
What we liked
Wildcraft not only teaches about the environment but is also helping to try and save it. The game is made 100% from recycled materials. Only vegetable oil-based inks and water-based coating is used so parents don’t have to worry about toxic materials.
Teach kids about nature all while encouraging cooperation, fun, and adventure.
What could be better
While a simple roll and move board game, there is not much connection here between the theme and the gameplay.
My First Stone Age
Players: 2-4
Playtime: 15mins
Difficulty: Easy
Travel all the way to the past, to when humans first settled and discover the dawn of mankind! My First Stone Age is a memory card game in which players must build their own settlements by collecting various goods.
Join some funny cartoon characters, Martin the mammoth and Guffaw the wolfhound, as you adventure through a prehistoric valley and experience the Neolithic way of life.
What we liked
With big, colorful, chunky wooden pieces, that are perfect for small hands, the component quality is absolutely top-notch for the category.
My First Stone Age teaches kids valuable skills like learning to wait your turn and how to memorize cards. A history lesson can be taught too, all while having fun!
What could be better
In my opinion, the memory factor in this game is a bit too important and there are very few meaningful decisions for players to make.
Enchanted Forest
Players: 2- 6
Playtime: 30- 60mins
Difficulty: Easy-Medium
In the land of fairytales, a magical treasure hunt begins. Enchanted Forest is a magical memory-focused board game in which players move along the forest from tree to tree, all in search of treasure!
Cinderella’s glass slipper, Rumpelstiltskin’s spinning wheel, and Jack’s magical beanstalk beans are all hidden treasures players can find.
Enchanted Forest follows the king’s request to find the hidden treasure, where players have to remember where the treasure is and race to the castle to give the right information.
Roll the dice and remember all the once-upon-a-time treasures with this magical game!
What we liked
Kids will feel like they’re playing in a fairy forest with the beautiful plastic trees and fairytale artwork. It introduces children to simple addition and subtraction (dice rolls) and helps hone their skills.
I have wonderful memories of playing this game as a child. Remembering the locations of all of the treasures was a challenge, but was such fun to play!
What could be better
Aside from the memory component, there’s not much skill required here. Also, landing on the same space as another player and getting sent back to the village is super frustrating.
Catan Junior
Players: 2-4 players
Playtime: 30mins
Difficulty: Easy
Ye want to be a pirate, eh?
Catan Junior is the board game for aspiring pirates. This Junior version of the extremely popular Settlers of Catan is perfect for the whole family to play.
Catan Junior is modified to give young players the opportunity to experience the world of Catan. It takes place on a spooky pirate island inhabited by ghosts.
The aim of the game is to control the seven pirate hideouts — but watch out! There’s a ghost captain who tries to stop players from building their resources.
What we liked
Although Catan Junior is simplified in its rules, building networks is still important and even some strategy is involved. This is not a watered-down version of the original, it’s a great standalone game in its own right.
What could be better
I find the imbalanced coco tiles lead to a bit too much randomness in this version. Also, the alternating lairs/ships create somewhat restrictive gameplay.
Get your pirate on and check out Catan Junior — Avast Ye!
Mermaid Island
Players: 2- 6
Playtime: 15mins
Difficulty: Very Easy
Mermaid Island is a cooperative board game in which players work together to help their mermaids swim to mermaid island. But watch out! The sea witch is out to get the mermaids!
So how easy is it to play? First, a player spins the spinner and the group decides which mermaid to move. If the sea witch is coming, you can pick up magic wands to send her away and swim back to safety.
What we liked
This game is very easy and simple to learn as well as win. With a beautiful board and fun mermaid tokens, Mermaid Island is sure to be a hit for under-the-sea princes or princesses.
This game includes a lot of great learning skills. Strategy and following directions all help in making decisions together as a group. Mermaid island helps kids to develop their cooperation skills and social and emotional development.
What could be better
As a roll-and-move game, you’d think the spinner wouldn’t be so faulty.
The Little Orchard
Players: 1- 4
Playtime 15mins
Difficulty: Very Easy
This is a great little educational board game that focuses on memorizing, naming colors, and cooperating with other players. Can you harvest the cherries before the sneaky raven reaches the tree?
Roll the dice and collect the cherries — but if the Raven is rolled on the dice then it gets to move closer to the orchard to try and eat your yummy fruits.
What we liked
The Little Orchard is a wonderful first game that’s designed for small kids. The fruit pieces in the game are large and sturdy as well as the dice, making it great for young kids to safely play with.
The cooperative and memory facets help children learn teamwork skills. This game has a great design to play and fold up neatly, A perfect game to entertain the kids on a weekend away.
The Little Orchard definitely fosters social skills and recognition skills, and teaches counting; a great introductory game for young kids.
What could be better
More complex and better than First Orchard, but the components are not as good.
Risk Junior
Players: 2- 4
Playtime: 15- 60mins
Difficulty: Easy
Introduce your children to the classic game of Risk. With Risk Junior, children can learn the classic strategy game, just with a little twist. Another pirate theme!
Risk Junior will have kids moving their pirate ship tokens all around the board to collect treasures and gold. With loads of different aspects to the game such as defending territories, controlling treasures, and moving pirates, Risk Junior has high replay value, meaning your kids have endless hours of entertainment.
What we liked
The game itself has bold and beautiful artwork colorful enough to engage kids in this pirate world.
With fun boat tokens to move around and treasure tokens to win, Risk Junior brings children into the pirate’s lair and, who knows? They may even start talking like pirates!
What could be better
The placement of pirates at the beginning of the game is the only tactical aspect of the gameplay, the rest is pretty luck-based.
My First Castle Panic
Players: 1- 4
Playtime: 20mins
Difficulty: Easy
In My First Castle Panic, children have to catch the adorably scary monsters and throw them in the dungeon to protect their castle.
Playing the game is very simple. First, you draw cards and try to catch a monster (don’t forget to ask your friends for help!). Once you’ve moved the monsters around the board, you get a new monster token to add to your collection.
Put all the monsters in the dungeon for good and keep your castle safe — all while learning and having fun!
What we liked
My First Castle Panic is a super fun cooperative game with the cutest little monsters. It’s a fantastic game that encourages many educational skills like recognizing colors and shapes, problem-solving, and, of course, taking turns.
What could be better
The game is pretty simple when played in normal mode. When played in Monster Rush mode, we found it nearly impossible to beat, especially without the Super Hero or Any-Color Power-Up variants.
Clue Junior
Players: 2- 6
Playtime: 20mins
Difficulty: Easy
Clue Junior is based on the case of the broken toy. It follows the classic ‘whodunit’ game but with simple rules for kids.
Players have to try to solve the mystery of which toy is broken, who broke it and at what time the crime occurred. The game includes old favorites like Miss Scarlet, Mrs. Peacock, Colonel Mustard, Mr. Green, Professor Plum, and the rest.
What we liked
This game has many learning skills like the process of elimination and memory skills. Clue Junior has even been simplified a bit more so that players can alternate taking on the role of a detective when players roll the dice.
What could be better
Occasionally this game plays as more of a race to efficiently travel to all of the rooms first, rather than who can connect the clues together the best.
Eliminate choices and find out who is the top detective in town!
The Fairy Game
Players: 2- 4
Playtime: 15mins
Difficulty: Easy
Oh no! Mr. Winter is trying to freeze over all the fairies’ treasured flowers! Only by working together can players help the fairies by gathering the hidden magic gems.
The Fairy Game is a really sweet game with lots of magic unicorn cards, snowflake stacks, and beautifully colored flowers. If players work together they can fill the fairies’ magic wands and banish Mr. Winter from the garden for good.
Players must cooperate to discover and collect all four color tokens before Mr. Winter freezes everything.
What we liked
The Fairy Game is a wonderful cooperative game that fosters emotional development, decision-making, and all within a non-stressful play environment.
What could be better
The card quality in this game isn’t the best. Be sure to sleeve the cards to avoid card bending during shuffling.
Help the fairies keep their beautiful flowers!
Race to the Treasure!
Players: 1- 4
Playtime: 20mins
Difficulty: Easy
Race to the Treasure is a very simple cooperative board game in which players have to work together to beat the ugly ogre. With everyone working together, sharing decisions, and strategizing, players can beat the ogre in a race to the treasure.
In this game, players have to create paths to collect three keys that open the treasure. If you take too long, the ogre will capture the treasure for himself!
What we liked
Race to the Treasure encourages many learning skills like strategy, math grid concepts, and cooperation.
What could be better
Sometimes it seems like there are way too many ogres in the game which can mean losing a lot. For young kids, I would have made the game with fewer ogres.
The race is on!
Cauldron Quest
Players: 2- 4
Playtime: 20 mins
Difficulty: Easy to Medium
An evil wizard has cast a spell that will destroy the kingdom. In order to break the spell, players must work their magic together.
Cauldron Quest brings spellbinding fun to all aspiring wizards and witches. It’s a cooperative game that ensures everyone is a winner if they work together to brew a magical potion. Players have to use strategy and problem-solving skills to find three different ingredients before the evil wizard blocks the path.
What we liked
Cauldron Quest is fast-playing, has enough choices to stay interesting, and makes use of identifying numbers and adding them. This is a simple game but the odds are stacked against you unless everyone works together!
What could be better
Without good rolls of the dice, you may lose through no fault of your own. The luck aspect can be quite frustrating, but also encouraging to try again!
Stone Soup
Players: 2- 6
Playtime: 20mins
Difficulty: Very Easy
Originally based on a European folktale, Stone Soup is a classic cooperative board game in which players “cook” a delicious soup together by matching ingredients.
But be careful! You have to match all the ingredients before the fire under the kettle goes out! The time element encourages quick thinking, memory abilities, and teamwork.
What we liked
This is a great memory game and at the same time can be a learning moment about vegetables, the importance of nutrition, and sharing.
What could be better
This game is almost impossible to lose, unless you draw the “fire” card, which ends the game much too quickly.
Stories of The Three Coins
Players: 2- 5
Playtime: 20mins
Difficulty: Easy
Set in the land of Storia, a traveler is in search of a happy ending. It’s up to the players to choose how the character’s adventure will play out.
This cooperative game uses dice and cards to tell the story. The only way you can lose is if you incorrectly guess what someone else is going to say to continue the story. If players work together and communicate, they can finish the story with a happy ending before the inkwell runs out of ink!
What we liked
Stories of the Three Coins is a beautifully-designed board game that develops imagination and sparks creativity.
The game is super easy to play and a great way to encourage creative thoughts and storytelling. If you’re a fan of fantasy or creativity, this is the game for you.
What could be better
There’s no way to actually “win” this game, as everyone is just telling a story together. If you’re looking for a competitive challenge, this may not be the game for you.
Robot Face Race
Players: 2- 4
Playtime: 15mins
Difficulty: Easy
A crazy inventor needs your help. He’s created dozens of robot bodies but needs you to match the heads.
It’s a frantic, fun, feature-finding game! Robot Face Race, yes it’s a fun name, is a fast-paced color recognition game in which players have to match robot bodies to their faces.
The game has a randomizer that shows the robot’s eyes, nose, mouth, and face’s color features. Players have to look at the board and find a matching head. The randomizer can give out 120 different robot heads with four different colors so there’s a high replay value.
What we liked
Robot Face Race develops many educational skills like sharpening visual discrimination as well as honing concentration. This is a fun, quick-moving game that can also help improve your little one’s cognitive processing time.
What could be better
This game requires a lot of concentration. Some children will get it right away and it may become too easy. Others may struggle a bit and need to narrow their scope.
Wrap-Up
With so many different board games out there, it’s hard to choose just a few. Key life and educational skills can be learned all while having fun! Ogres, pirates, fairies, detectives — which board game would your kids choose?
We’d love to hear your thoughts on our best board games for 5-6-year-olds. Drop a comment below and let us know if you’ve tried any before!
Kendra has always been a hardcore fantasy nerd. Growing up in the worlds of Tolkien, Sanderson, Jordan, and Abercrombie, DnD & board games just came naturally. She and her husband, Bryan, started GameCows.com in 2018 as a fun passion project that just took over their lives. An avid board gamer since childhood and chronic DnD chronicler for more than two decades, she loves to play, write, travel, and learn dead languages.