A good board game has many benefits. It enhances learning, is fun and engaging, and families can bond over them! Now, that’s killing 3 birds with a stone. So, here’s the next question, “What is a good board game?”

In this post, we’ve compiled a list of favourite games that our students (5-12 years old) love to play! This is not an advertorial post, just a sharing of resources.
For younger students (5-8 years old)
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/22889/pictureka
#1.  Pictureka! 
  • This comes right on top of the list, for all age groups!
  • Pictures are quirky and fun, that some kids just laugh just by looking at it
  • Finding pictures helps children to practice their ability to discriminate visual information and attend to visual stimulus
  • This improves reading skills
  • Here’s the link to the Pictureka! website, where online game demo and game instructions are made available! http://www.pictureka.com.au/index.php
https://www.amazon.com/Ravensburger-Enchanted-Forest-Childrens-Game/dp/B00I80RP4I
#2. Enchanted Forest
  • Similar to Snakes & Ladder, students would move their pieces around the board to uncover treasures that they are supposed to find
  •  This game trains basic arithmetic calculations (counting numbers on dice), fine motor skills (moving the pieces) and visual discrimination (finding the right treasure)
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/39099/guess-what-i-am
#3. Guess What I Am?
  • An exciting game with colourful character cards
  • This game increases the child’s general knowledge about occupations and animals
  •  Improves the ability to express themselves accurately
  •  Here’s the link to their website, where free downloads and instructions are available! http://www.guesswhatiamgame.com/
#4. Stacrobats
  • Relatively simple game, where students link the acrobats and stack them one after another
  • This game improves fine motor skills which is especially useful for younger kids and it promotes the use of creativity
  • Fine motor skills are needed for writing and copying
#5. Tall Tales
  • A story telling game that promotes creative use of language
  • Illustrations are attractive and colourful
  •  This game also improves visual sequencing (sequence of the story told represented by cards)
For older students (9 to 12 years old)
#1. Pictureka!
#2. DisX
  • 2 to 4 players
  • It is a game that trains a child’s implication (seeing consequences beyond their decision) skills
  • This skill promotes making the right decisions
https://www.amazon.in/Dr-Woods-Spy-Sight-Pieces/dp/B08FMTV844
#3. Spy Sight
  • 2 players
  • The game that keeps students deep in thoughts!
  • Playing this game trains a child’s implication skills and evaluation skills
  • Improving these skills helps the child evaluate their options and make sound and logical decisions
https://www.amazon.sg/Ravensburger-26503-FITS-Family-Game/dp/B001VG7USC
#4. FITS
  • Similar to Tetris, students are to fit the given pieces onto their board
  • 1-4 players
  • Students often express their frustration in the initial stages, followed by perseverance to complete the puzzle and a sense of accomplishment when the puzzle is completed!
  • This game trains the child’s transformation (ability to see the pieces in different perspectives) skills
  • This skill is needed to solve geometric questions
#5. TOTEM
  • A game of building empires
  • 2-4 players
  • Logical reasoning skills are required to win the game
  • Students would have to plan their moves ahead
  • These skills are necessary for problem solving
Although not an entirely comprehensive list of board games, we do hope that you’ll find this useful for choosing a good board game!