Top 10 All Time Favorite Kids' Board Games

Board Games are a great way for the kids as well as the entire family to get together and have some quality family fun! Whether it is a wet rainy day outside, or whether its one of those days you simply want to stay home and spend time with the kids, these kids' board games are a perfect way to spend your time! Those of us who have enjoyed playing board games when we were kids, will recognize lots of names from this list of All Time Favorite

1. Kids' Board Games: Connect Four
This classic kids' board game of Connect Four is reminiscent of Tic Tac Toe, with some changes. It is played vertically, and the aim of the game is to get 4 checkers in a row first, while preventing your opponent from doing the same. This is a wonderful board game for your kids as well as for you.

2. Kids' Board Games: Scrabble
The classic and all time best selling board game Scrabble needs no introduction at all. But since this is a descriptive list, here goes! The aim of the game is to make the most scoring words, crossword style, as possible from 7 letter tiles, on the Scrabble board. This makes a fantastic kids' board game to teach them a lot about vocabulary.

3. Kids' Board Games: Battleship
Battleship, a classic favorite for kids and adults alike, is a game where skill and luck play an important part in determining naval strategy. The aim of the game is to conceal the location of your ships from your opponents, while attempting to figure out the location of your opponent's ships! Battleship is very popular as a kids' board game.

4. Kids' Board Games: Sorry
This board game of Sorry offers players the use of a lot of strategy and and a little luck to get their game pieces from the Start field to the Home field on the board. Players can send each others pieces back to the Start. The uniqueness of this board game is that there is no dice, rather players have to draw cards, with numbers that allow certain actions, and also the dreaded "Sorry" cards. Kids love Sorry, and this kids' board game is a classic.
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How To Make Homemade Games for Kids

Homemade games for kids are worthwhile activities to engage in, given the increasing popularity of online role-playing games or RPG. This will give them some sort of “newness” with the way they spend their recreational time. Moreover, you can join them in those games and they become a family bonding activity. Homemade games for children will help them realize that even though advances in technology have led to advancement in the way children play nowadays, nothing is better than the value of playing with their family. Here are some games you can try with your kids at home:

   1. Prepare the materials. Almost all kinds of games – board games, card games, and thinking games – have become increasingly available in the market. Still, using materials already available at your disposal, why not create your own game?
   2. Maximize the materials you have. Homemade games will require you certain materials like a deck of cards, a pair of dices, a colored dice, colored cards, checkers, pennies, buttons or dried beans, which will act as markers. You will also need colored construction papers, empty egg crates, small paper balls, and old magazines or newspaper for your scrap paper. Materials need not be bought. Even simple ones like newspapers can be used. This way, you can also contribute to the protection of the environment by recycling such items in your house. Decide what game to make, and prepare the materials.
   3. Experiment with the rules. Create your own rules and allow your kids to engage in the creation process of your homemade games. In this part alone, they can develop critical thinking and creativity.
   4. Make it lively. Children are oozing with energy so when you try to create a homemade game for them, make sure that you make it lively and participative. For example, you can play with your scrabble tiles in such a lively fashion. First, put them all face down. Then, you will pick one and show the letter. Repeat this following a rotation among the players. When you are able to see a word from those tiles, you have to say it loud. This game is very much like Word Factory but it is more exciting and participative. You can create additional rules if you want. This type of game is exciting and it also develops critical thinking and quickness of the mind.
   5. Go out of the house. Don’t restrict yourself to indoor games. As much as possible, use your backyard to create your own homemade games. This will help them appreciate the importance of physical fitness while enjoying a game beyond those online RPGs or PlayStation and Xbox they are used to.

Homemade games are easy to create. As long as you have enough materials and creativity, you can easily create your own homemade games for your kids. Moreover, you can create such games not just by yourself.  You can ask them to join you in creating the rules so that they too can develop their own creativity and critical thinking abilities.  All you need are a sprinkle of creativity and an ounce of critical thinking to make that lively and fun-filled game for your kids at home.
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