In a world where video games and tablets often take the spotlight, there’s something truly delightful about gathering around the kitchen table, rolling dice, and giggling with your 4 year old. Board games aren’t just fun; they’re the secret to family bonding, brain-boosting adventures, and, of course, some belly-clenching laughter. But what are the best board games for your preschooler?
In this article, we’ll go over the 15 best board games for 4 year olds. So, if you’re on the hunt for ways to spark your little one’s creativity and create cherished memories, let’s get into it!
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1. FOUND IT!
- EXCITING SEARCH & FIND GAME: Get ready to play the smartest scavenger hunt no...
- FUN FAMILY GAME: Found it 5 in 1 Mega Pack is the best way to keep your kids...
- WHAT'S INSIDE: This set includes 140 game cards with bonus questions,...
Found it! by Skillmatics is a fun-filled and educational board game for 4 year olds that’s perfect for building cognitive and observational skills. This scavenger game will surely provide you with hours of entertainment with your preschooler! The premise of the game is simple but effective – players search for hidden objects that match the prompt on the card. For example, the card may ask your preschooler to find something that is red. And if they find the object, your preschooler simply yells, “Found it!” The first player to win 7 cards wins! I mean, learning and fun in a single package? What’s not to like?
2. ZINGO!
- PRE-READING BOOSTER: Engage pre-readers with this fun, fast-paced game that...
- AWARD-WINNING GAME: Zingo has garnered multiple accolades, including an...
- AMAZON EXCLUSIVE: This exclusive version of the beloved Zingo game includes an...
Another awesome board game for 4 year olds is Zingo Bingo, a highly engaging and educational game. It is a delightful twist on the classic bingo game that is perfect for little kids. This game focuses on pattern recognition, vocabulary development, and turn-taking. The game’s simplicity makes it accessible to young children, and the colorful tiles feature both images and words, allowing kids to match them to their own bingo cards. Playing Zingo is a breeze – players slide the Zinger to reveal two tiles. Then, if a player has a match, they can take the tile to put it on their bingo card. The first player to fill their card wins Zingo!
3. GUESS IN 10 JUNIOR
- EXCITING CARD GAME OF QUESTIONS: Use the Guider Tiles to ask up to 10 questions...
- LEARN THROUGH PLAY: Ages 3 to 6 is a period of rapid brain development for kids!...
- WHAT YOU GET: One game set includes 35 Game Cards, 10 Guider Tiles and a handy...
Guess in 10 Junior is an excellent board game that promotes everything from cognitive development to critical thinking while still remaining entertaining. Your child definitely won’t be bored of this game any time soon. This interactive card game features a massive range of age-appropriate topics and questions, encouraging kids to think and learn while having fun. The game enhances vocabulary and problem-solving skills as players ask yes or no questions to guess the hidden item on their card in ten questions or less. Think: 20 Questions but way more fun! It’s a great way to introduce young children to reasoning and deductive skills, all while engaging in a friendly competition.
4. HUNGRY HUNGRY HIPPOS
- Classic Hungry Hippos game is marble-chomping, hippo-feeding fun
- 4 hippo heads and bodies plus marbles for them to chomp
- 20 marbles
A classic and beloved game you should play with your 4 year old is none other than Hungry Hungry Hippos. This exciting and fast-paced game encourages children to develop hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. The game is simple: each player controls a colorful plastic hippo and frantically presses a lever to make their hippo “eat” as many marbles as possible from the center of the game board. The game is noisy, action-packed, and a whole heap of fun, making it a great choice for young children. Plus, they’ll be able to burn some energy while they’re at it! Hungry Hungry Hippos is a timeless classic for a reason!
5. CLUE JUNIOR
- 2-IN-1 MYSTERY GAME: It's the mystery game that grows with your child. This Clue...
- CLUE GAME FOR YOUNGER KIDS: Introduce kids to the iconic mystery board game. It...
- 2 LEVELS FOR GROW-WITH-ME FUN: Choose from 2 levels to find the one that’s...
The original Clue game may be a bit advanced for your preschooler, but worry not; this is where Clue Junior comes in! A fantastic choice for young detectives in the making, Clue Junior encourages logical thinking, deductive reasoning, and memory skills. In this board game, players work to solve a school-day mystery. As a plus, this board game is a 2-in-1 mystery game, offering twice the fun! In the Playground Mix-Up Mystery Game, someone has mistakenly put something in their backpack! What’s missing, and who took it? And in the Science Lab Mystery game, a volcano has erupted! Players race to find out who set it off, with what, and where.
6. THE SNEAKY, SNACKY SQUIRREL GAME
- BEST-SELLING PRESCHOOL GAME 5 YEARS RUNNING! Reinforce color learning, help...
- A COLOR-MATCHING, FINE MOTOR SKILLS, STRATEGY GAME: Your forest pals are hungry...
- HOW TO PLAY: Spin the spinner and pick up the matching acorn with your Squirrel...
The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game is one of the best-selling preschool games for a reason! This popular board game for 4 year olds is a delightful and educational board game designed to improve fine motor skills, color recognition, and strategic thinking in a fun and engaging way. To play, players take on the role of hungry squirrels collecting acorns. And the objective? Fill their logs with the correct colored acorns (according to the spinner) by using squirrel-shaped tweezers. The game’s vibrant and tactile components make it appealing to young children, enhancing their hand-eye coordination and dexterity. Plus, this game introduces your 4 year old to social concepts, such as turn-taking.
7. SHOPPING LIST
- Fun memory shopping game for 2 - 4 players
- Be the first to match your products and place them in your trolley or basket!
- Encourages matching and memory skills
Another fun children’s board game is Shopping List by Orchard Toys. This memory and matching game is both entertaining and educational, making it an awesome choice for kids aged 3 and up. Players must collect items from a shopping list by matching cards to their personal shopping cart board. But here’s the twist: the cards are face-down! The colorful and recognizable items on the cards make this game appealing and educational for preschoolers aged 3 and older. Plus, while your preschooler is having fun, they will learn some essential vocabulary for food and household items, all while encouraging social interaction and friendly competition.
8. YAHTZEE JR. SPIDEY
- YAHTZEE GAME FOR KIDS: Do you love playing the classic Yahtzee game? Introduce...
- SHAKE AND SCORE WITH SPIDEY AND FRIENDS: This preschool game features Marvel...
- ROLL, MATCH, SCORE: Players roll the dice and try to match as many characters as...
Yahtzee Junior Spidey is an engaging and educational game that’s ideal for 4-year-olds who love Spider-Man. But honestly, who doesn’t? This board game combines the classic Yahtzee dice game with the excitement of the superhero world, featuring Marvel characters like Spidey and Ghost Spider. To play, players simply roll dice featuring Spider-Man characters and try to match as many characters as they can! The more a player can match, the more points they get! This game is a fantastic way to improve pattern recognition skills while having fun. Plus, since there’s no reading required, anyone can play this game from ages 4 and up.
9. DON’T WAKE DADDY
- THE ALARM CLOCK GAME THAT'S SET FOR FUN: In the Don't Wake Daddy game, players...
- WATCH OUT FOR NOISY OBSTACLES: Color spaces are safe, but if a player lands on a...
- SHH! DON'T SET OFF ALARM CLOCK: Suspense builds as players press the Alarm...
Do you want to find a board game for your child that they won’t get bored of? Try Don’t Wake Daddy, a suspenseful game that combines elements of chance, strategy, and careful decision-making. Players take turns spinning a spinner and moving their game pieces across the board to complete tasks, all while avoiding making noise that might wake up the sleeping Daddy figure. Don’t Wake Daddy is not only entertaining but also an excellent way to teach youngsters about taking turns and managing risk, making it a fantastic choice for preschoolers to enjoy both excitement and learning. Plus, this makes for a perfect Father’s Day gift!
10. SEQUENCE FOR KIDS
- The classic game of SEQUENCE made just for kids!
- Play a card from your hand, and place your chip on the corresponding character...
- Exciting strategy game helps develop logical thinking skills
If you love playing Sequence, you’ll love Sequence for Kids, an outstanding game for preschoolers. This game introduces your 4 year old to the concept of strategy in a simplified and engaging way, making it an ideal choice for early learners. Players aim to get five of their chips in a row on the game board by matching cards from their hands with animals on the board. This fosters pattern recognition, critical thinking, and social interaction. The game’s colorful animal-themed cards and easy rules make it super accessible and enjoyable for young children.
11. GO FISH CARD GAME
- FISH ARE FRIENDS NOT FOOD: Swim with the sharks and lunch with the lobsters...
- EDUCATIONAL: Go Fish is a great way for young kids to learn how to play cards...
- FAMILY TIME: Playing games with your child is an excellent way to foster...
Why don’t you introduce a classic card game to your 4 year old? The Go Fish Card Game is a fun card game that enhances memory and social interaction. This game helps young children develop important skills like matching and memory as they search for pairs of cards. Plus, this set of cards is filled with bright colors and cute drawings, making it all the more enticing for kids! To play, each player is dealt a set of cards. At each turn, players must ask each other for specific cards to form pairs. If the opponent has the requested card, they must hand it over. The objective is to collect as many pairs as possible.
12. CHUTES AND LADDERS: DISNEY PRINCESS EDITION
- DISNEY PRINCESS THEMED BOARD GAME: Play with Disney Princess favorite characters...
- 4 CUSTOMIZABLE PRINCESS HEART PAWNS: Includes 12 Princess Affinity Stickers...
- FANTASTICAL AND VIBRANT GAMEBOARD: It's a magical climbing and sliding adventure...
Chutes and Ladders Disney Princess Edition is an excellent board game for 4-year-olds who are obsessed with Disney Princesses. It offers an engaging and familiar world of characters that young children adore. This fantastic game is not only fun but also helps to reinforce basic counting and turn-taking and introduces them to the concept of friendly competition. To play, simply spin a spinner and move the game pieces along the board, climbing ladders and sliding down chutes. The first player to get to the Princess Castle (AKA the number 100) wins!
13. HI HO CHERRY-O
- CLASSIC BEGINNER GAME: Do you remember playing the Hi Ho. Cherry-O game when you...
- FUN COUNTING BOARD GAME: Kids ages 3 and up can have a blast picking pretend...
- SIMPLE GAMEPLAY FOR PRESCHOOLERS: Players take turns picking pretend cherries,...
A fun math game that you can introduce to your 4 year old is Hi Ho Cherry-O. This engaging and educational game helps children develop basic math skills, such as counting and addition. The game board features a tree with a range of fruit pieces, including cherries, apples, and blueberries. Players then take turns spinning a spinner and then picking fruit from the tree according to the spinner. Your 4 year old will be having so much fun picking the fruit to fill their baskets that they won’t even realize they’re doing some dreaded math!
14. BLACKBEARD’S TREASURE HUNT
- Race to unlock Blackbeard's treasure in this excitement-filled, color-matching...
- What's Included - 1 treasure chest, 4 keys, 32 dice, 8 cards, 20 gold coins, and...
- Never-ending fun with additional gameplays available on the Vango website.
This imaginative pirate board game is designed to enhance children’s fine motor skills and problem-solving abilities, all while fostering some health competition! Players take on the role of pirates searching for hidden treasure. To start the game, all players must flip over their treasure map. Quickly, players must collect the colored dice with their key, according to the colors of the treasure map. Once a player has managed to collect all the dice, they must insert their key into the treasure chest – and the gold coins will pour out! The winner takes one gold coin, and play continues. The first player to get three gold coins wins the game! Blackbeard’s Treasure Hunt will surely lead to hours of entertainment for your 4 year old.
15. POP UP PIRATE BOARD GAME
- Swashbucklin' Toys & Games: Pop-Up Pirate is the exciting and nerve-jangling...
- Easy Kids Board Games: Pirate Pete is hiding in the barrel! To get him out,...
- Suspenseful Game Night Games: Which slot will make him pop? If you disturb...
The Pop Up Pirate Board Game is a classic board game even you may have played at one point in your life. This board game is perfect for young children as young as 4 years of age – it is both simple and suspenseful and surely lead to hours of fun! Designed to enhance fine motor skills and introduce young children to concepts of chance and anticipation, in this game, players take turns inserting plastic swords into slots on a barrel where a hidden pirate figure waits. One of the slots will eventually make the pirate pop out, and the player responsible for the pop is out!
Looking for easier games for a younger kid? Check out our best games for 3 year olds!
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