Board game suggestion for 5 yr old girl

[pianojazzgirl]

My dd has been invited to the b-day party of a girl who will be turning 5. We don't really know her (she is the younger sister of dd's classmate and dd does play with her at recess but doesn't know her all that well). I was thinking of maybe getting her a board game and am looking for suggestions for sort-of universally loved ones that would be not too hard or too easy for a child of that age (ideally it would appeal to a wide-ish age span/ability level since who knows if she's already really into board games or if she doesn't have any or somewhere in the middle, iykwim).

[limabean]

My DS is 5, and some of his favorites are Hullaballoo, Cariboo, Trouble, Yahtzee Jr., and Jenga.

[mizzoh]

Candyland is one of my sons favorites ( he is 4)

[beanma]

The Cranium brand games are really well done. My kids loved "Cariboo Island" when they were younger. I think it's a little young for 5, but the Hullabaloo a PP mentioned might be right on, especially if she has an older sibling.

[lonegirl]

Not a boardgame but Hopscotch Twister is a fun one. I gave it to my neices 7 and 4.5

[staceychev]

We like Uno. DD's friend has some sort of spinny version of it which might be more appropriate for a gift. She also really likes The Ladybug Game, although DH and I find it somewhat annoying. At almost 5 (next month), DD is pretty much over Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, and Hi-Ho Cherrio, so I wouldn't suggest one of those.

There are always jigsaw puzzles, too.

[pianojazzgirl]

Thanks for all of the suggestions everyone!

We love the Cranium games here too, but they are a little more than I wanted to spend (at least here in Canada they're pricier than a lot of other games). Uno is a fave of my dd's too and I had thought about it for this gift (the spinny version sounds cool!).

I'm going to pop in to our local game store tomorrow and check out some of your suggestions. Trouble, Yahtzee and Jenga are all ones I remember enjoying as a kid. Another one I thought of was Monopoly Jr (dd's friend has this and they enjoy playing it). I'm thinking a classic game with a not too high price tag will fit the bill.

And any other suggestions are more than welcome!

[sweetcheeks]

My 5yo DD loves the Operation game. She's also big into UNO and we've checked a couple of the Cranium games from our toy lending library that she really enjoyed. Her and her older brother received Froggy Boogie from their aunt and love it!

[LaLaLaLa]

My DD is five and really enjoys Mancala (the game with the little pebbles in the wells) and Sequence for Kids. I like both of these, too, which makes it much more likely I'll play with her.

[LynnS6]

Another thought, if you can find it, is Kids on Stage. It's basically charades for kids, and it's nice.

I don't know if your local toy store has the Family Pastime games (they're made in Canada, I know). They're nice cooperative games and they aren't too expensive. We have both the Princess game and the Secret Door, both aimed to the 3-7 crowd.

[akmbloom]

My 5 year old loves Mancala. might take a little bit to teach her the rules, but I really like playing it with her because the games go pretty quickly (instead of dragging ON and ON like some kids' games do).

[dolcedaze]

My 4 year old and I both really love this Fairy Tale Spinner Game. She asks to play it every day, and it's the only board game she loves that doesn't bore me to tears.

It's also nice because it's a more unusual one, so it's not a gift a kid is likely to already own.

[limabean]

Oh, Connect Four is another one my DS really likes, and IIRC it was less than $10 at Target.

[mainemommy1]

We really like The Ladybug Game and my almost 5 year old son loves it! I got it at Target around Christmas time and it was under $10 on sale. I think it runs about $12. We also like the Curious George Beach Game-it's a twist on memory-also at Target. UNO is another great game.

[bestjob]

Connect Four is fun. A chess set is also fun. It makes a kid feel very grown up, and all kids can learn how to play the pawn game.

[pianojazzgirl]

Oh wow, more great ideas! Thanks mamas!

I'm going to write these down and see which ones they have to choose from at our local store. Dd and I are going there after school today.

[Hokulele]

I love this thread! Great ideas. My DD turns five next week!!

Right now her favorite games are Candyland, Chutes and Ladders and other games like that. Her hand isn't steady enough yet for Operation, but she'd getting there. She loves Jenga (her hands are steady enough for that) and Hullabaloo.

I just saw a game at Target that I think she'd like. It is called Pictureka (http://www.amazon.com/Parker-Brother...6833502&sr=8-1) and since DD is really into search and find books (like Where's Waldo) I think she'd love this game.

[Vancouver Mommy]

My just turned 5yo dd loves checkers, Chutes and Ladders, Trouble, go fish (not exactly a board game) and a game called the shopping game by Orchard.

[Danielle283]

My 5 year old likes Pretty Pretty Princess, Jenga, Scrabble Jr., Monopoly (not Jr. but a Littlest Pet Shop edition) and Blokus 3D the best.

[pianojazzgirl]

Update

So we went to the game store to pick out the gift. They had many of your suggestions - some too expensive (for this gift), but some at a price I was happy to pay. Of course dd picked out one that wasn't suggested here, lol. She chose Guess Who. She has it in her kindy classroom and likes playing it and apparently the other kids like it too.

That said, your suggestions have added fodder to my own "wish list", so thank you mamas!