Ready to play board games? 3 yrs old.

[AlmostAPpropriate]

How can I gage if my 3 yo is ready for board games. Money is tight and I really dont want to buy him anything he cant play with NOW. When did you start playing table board or card games?

[LynnS6]

we started at age 3-4. BUT the type of game you play depends on your child's development. Don't rush out and buy games that require them to count off spaces unless your child is very very good at numbers. Our just turned 3 year old is fantastic with numbers, can accurately count objects up to 15 (so not just rattle off the numbers but actually link number with object), and she still has a hard time wtih counting games.

Games to consider that are great beginner games:
Matching games of any sort. If money is tight, you can do this with a deck of cards. Take 1/4 of the cards (say, Ace, 2, 3, 4) turn them all face down and then play a memory game where you have to find pairs.

Uno is a good kids card game, and they sell "beginner" versions that aren't quite so tricky (and don't have so many 'mean' cards so kids don't get so upset).

Candyland is a good beginner game. Just be warned, it's so dull it makes me want to cry.

Cranium Cariboo is a fantastic first game (my kids LOVE it, and even I can stand to play it).

Chutes and Ladders is a good game for a child who can count reliably.

Family Pasttimes makes some nice cooperative games, but again, they're a bit pricier.

[PiePie]

here are some good cheap games for 3s: animal bingo, i never forget a face, caterpillar race, color dominoes, cookin cookies, dora the explorer candyland (why is it cheaper with dora? no idea). it's not really a game, but also consider the lacing and tracing sets by lauri.

[Ceili]

ds loves Cranium Cariboo. He got it for Christmas at 2.5 and at first he needed a lot of direction in terms of how to play by the rules, but we still had a wonderful time playing with it and learning to take turns. We still play "Magic Key" (what ds calls it) several times a week.

[bdavis337]

We played basic games at age 3, but I personally can't stand the kiddie games, so we dove right in with things like Sorry, Trouble, Bingo, etc. We just paired up, and played as a family so that our then 3-yo played with daddy or mummy. He learned quickly, and by age 4 1/2 he could play alone with most games, and he's now at age six playing lots of fun card games, Daddy is teaching him poker and chess, and he can kick my a#$ in checkers.

[KyleAnn]

At that age ds was given I Spy Bingo and he loved it, still plays it to this day.
It was fun for him, and good for recognizing his letters...not to mention they love looking for those teeny little hidden pics!

[Momily]

My son had zero interest in board games until we went on vacation the summer he was seven and there was a monopoly board. He taught himself how to play and made us all play until we got bored, then continued the game by himself, playing all the rules, counting out the money for everyone, reading the card.

Can you make a real simple "file folder" type game and see if he likes it? Maybe a matching type game with colors or handdrawn pictures (draw a card, put it on the matching picture, you work together to fill up the board) or a candy land type game where you color the squares different colors, draw a card and move to that color?

[peachpie]

at age 4 my dd has a lot of trouble with games where one person wins. We do have a small assortment that includes Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, some card games, Memory, Feed the Kitty and The Princess and the Pea (Haba toys). We often modify the rules to make it more "cooperative" than competitive.

[TEAK's Mom]

My dd2 who will be three at the end of August LOVES "Uncle Wiggily." She can't read the rhymes on the cards, but she can "read" the number and count her moves and her big sister reads the rhymes to her. They have a blast playing it together.

[jtbuko]

My three year old LOVES bird bingo
http://www.lucybingogames.com/games.html

We have also had some success with Hi Ho Cherry O and dominoes. 24 piece puzzles are a fun challenge too.

[heket]

Nana bought dd Chutes and Ladders last Christmas. She'll be 4 this Christmas, and I think it would've been more appropriate now.

At 3.5, matching and sorting games were the best she could master.

I love board games, but I'd honestly would've preferred to wait until at least 4 yo.

[miasmommy]

My 3 yr. old DD loves:

Cranium Cariboo
Animal Bingo
The Picnic Game
Zingo!

We also have the Good Night Moon Game & Candyland but she doesn't enjoy those as much.

[lucyem]

Cooties was a favorite of my DS when he was 3-4. Not a board game but still a family game.

[velochic]

We started when dd was about 2.5 to 3 years old. At the time we were living in Germany, so we had access to a host of Haba and Ravensburger games. These are expensive in the US, but I've found them at garage sales. I also find other board games at garage sales. I buy them even if the age range is beyond dd's age. They are usually only one or two bucks. Garage sales are wonderful for finding inexpensive games to try out. Good luck!

[beanma]

i recommend cranium's cariboo island, too. it's got super bouncy balls with it and the magic key so it's almost more like a toy than a board game.

have you tried just playing tic tac toe with him? you can make Xs and Os on pieces of cardboard and draw the grid so it's more like a board game if you want. it might be a good first step to gauge interest.

[gaialice]

It really depends on the child. DD1 was ready at age 3, dd2 is starting to be ready, but still prefers to team up with me at 4 and a half. You can look at this list of board games and if money is tight buy on e-bay. I do not list my favorites b'se I do not live in the US and I suspect games are different here.

[pinksprklybarefoot]

Originally Posted by LynnS6

Candyland is a good beginner game. Just be warned, it's so dull it makes me want to cry.

Yep. My thoughts exactly.

Be careful with Chutes and Ladders, too. That sucker can go on FOR-EVAH.

We have had a lot of luck with Memory. We started out using just a handful of cards as to not overwhelm anyone.

[Ceili]

Yeah I'm not a big fan of Chutes and Ladders, it takes too long. Candyland we play with modified rules, we use one person and both take turns drawing cards and moving the person down the road.

ds likes memory and matching type games. We have several, but we also like to play with post cards from places that we've been. ds picks out one post card when we go somewhere and we buy two of them to add to our collection and use them to play Memory with. I mount them on construction paper so they're all the same size and I'm considering laminating them contact paper soon, as they get lots of use and starting show some wear.