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The Best Classic Games Your Toddlers and Preschoolers Can Play That You've Forgotten About

The games kids and adults actually want to play together — no dumbing down required. These games work across ages because the original rules are simple enough that a toddler and an adult are genuinely playing the same game.

Not every game on this list was designed for toddlers, but they surprisingly work with one in the room.

This list is similar to Austin Kleon's Family Movie Night list. He focuses on movies that are fun for the whole family; age-appropriate for the kids and nostalgic with a strong plot line for the adults. This list of games is similar because each contains what I believe is the most important through line:

These are games in which young kids can more or less follow the original rules of the game when they play, making it fun for the adults too.

I have had to come across each of these ideas individually and find it useful to have them all in one place for screen-free time and actually playing together as a family.

Game Min age Max age Players Travel-friendly Why it works
Hungry Hungry Hippos 1.5 7 2 – 4 No
  • The push down levers are easy for all ages and age doesn't matter after a point for how you push the lever down
  • The quantity of balls are easy to see going away
  • The yellow colored ball makes a further fun goal for all ages
  • Younger kids like to sort them into the gutters which keeps them occupied for a while if not playing in a group
  • Note: always watch them so they don't put the balls in their mouths
Candy Land 3.5 7 2 – 4 No
  • No literacy needed
  • Total game of chance
  • Easy to count squares and matching colors
  • Kids like to see your reaction when you draw a card that makes you go back a lot of spaces
Operation 1.5 100 1 – 4 No
  • For the youngest kids, they just like to feel the cause and effect of touching the tweezers to get a buzz and then it is the next person's turn. Everyone is happy
  • Kids practice taking turns and moving on mentally from their last turn (resiliency)
  • We changed the house rules a bit: Older kids can get multiple tries (we did 3), adults get 1 try
  • They learn focus and how it feels to not get what they want
  • The charlie horse is genuinely hard for every age
Dobble (Spot It!) 3.5 100 2 – 8 Yes
  • Image matching and no reading needed
  • Cards only and fits in the pockets and purses
  • It is genuinely tricky to find the matching items
  • Lots of fun and good for longer waits
Guess Who? 3 100 2 No
  • It is a bit hard for younger kids to process the inverse of a statement (do they have glasses? No. That means you put down all people with glasses). Our house rules for younger kids is each person gives a clue about a trait their POI card DOES have
Snakes and Ladders 3.5 7 2 – 4 No
  • Very similar to Candy Land
Yahtzee — I've heard great things but haven't tried it yet. Will report back soon.
Bingo 2 100 3 – 20+ Yes
  • Amazing for travel, we do it with stickers
  • Easy to find matching image for the kids and you can increase difficulty with rows and columns instead of directly matching a square

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