Active Board Games for Active Kids

23+ Active Board Games for Active Kids! There are a few common counters I hear from other parents when I am singing the praises of board games (1) ‘my kid can’t/won’t sit still for 5 mins let alone a whole board game!’ and (2) ‘we prefer more active fun, they spend enough time sitting around’. There are so many benefits of family board games, there has to be an answer to these struggles: active board games!  There are games for all ages that get you and your kids up and moving while you play! Continue reading to see our favorite board games (organized by age) that will keep you on your toes (literally) while you play!

[Stephanie’s note: If the voice sounds different it’s because this post was written by Tyler, my husband, and originally published on Kidsloveboardgames.com which is now defunct!]

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Pin this round-up of family board games with this photo or link!

Active Board Games for Active Kids

When you’re shopping for games, consider looking on Facebook marketplace for secondhand, buying from your local, small board game shop/toy shop, searching on Ebay, or checking Kidizen for used games. These are linked to Amazon for convenience but we’d much prefer you shop secondhand and/or small when you’re able!

Jump to your kids age range? Click a link: Toddlers, Preschoolers, Kindergartners, 7 & 8 year olds, Older Kids

Toddlers

Seek-A-Boo by MindWare

This is an awesome first matching game, with multiple categories to keep your toddler having fun and learning play after play.  The big cards will have your toddler toddling around the room and making matches! Another great thing about this game is that your toddler can play against themselves with you just leading them through it.

• Number of players: 2+
• Manufacturer age recommendation: 18 months +
• What we like best: Fast paced game, multiple groups of cards, big cards are perfect for toddlers, kids are up and moving while they play
• Prerequisite skills: Ability to learn and understand simple rules
• Kids will learn: Vocabulary, memory, large motor skills

 Roll & Play by ThinkFun

This is a perfect game when you and your toddler are feeling silly.  Take turns selecting cards based on your big cube roll and acting out what is described on the card.  The actions will get you up moving and making noise!

• Number of players: 2+
• Manufacturer age recommendation: 18 months+
• What we like best: Fast paced, game play focused on fun not competition
• Prerequisite skills: Ability to understand and follow simple instructions
• Kids will learn: Colors, vocabulary, coordination

Cat in the Hat Card Game by Wonder Forge

This game is geared toward toddlers but fun for the whole family.  Game play is quick and active, great for kids who are new to board games.  Toddlers will learn communication skills, dexterity and creativity while having fun playing this game with the whole family.

• Number of Players: 2+
• Manufacturer Suggested Age Range: 3+
• What we like best: Compact size is great for traveling with, lots of variety in the cards
• Prerequisite skills:Ability to understand and follow simple instructions
• Kids will learn: Communication skills, dexterity, and creativity

Monkey Around by Peaceable Kingdom

Another silly game, with lots of movement.  This game has actions you can do together, actions you do by yourself, and actions with a fabric banana (fabric banana included).  Fast, cooperative game play is a big plus for a toddler board game.

• Number of players: 2+
• Manufacturer age recommendation: 2+
• What we like best: Fast game play, focused on cooperation, active game
• Prerequisite skills: Ability to understand and follow simple instructions
• Kids will learn: Coordination, vocabulary, team work

Feed the Woozle by Peaceable Kingdom

A friendly looking hairy monster with a gross appetite that needs to be spoon fed, sounds like a good time to me!  This is another great game to channel preschool wiggles into a focused task with lots of movement.  Players take turns rolling the dice to see how many pieces of food they get to load on their spoon and try to reach the woozle’s mouth.  If players can cooperatively fill up the woozle, they win.  This game also comes with built in ways to make the game more or less challenging to fit your child’s coordination level.

• Number of players: 2-5
• Manufacturer age recommendation: 3+
• What we like best: Lots of movement, fun variations to keep challenging kids, cooperative game play
• Prerequisite skills: Ability to follow simple instructions
• Kids will learn: Coordination, balance, counting

Preschoolers

Hullabaloo by Cranium

Hullabaloo was the first game we’ve played where the kids could literally open the box and start playing!  Players race, bounce, spin, and hop to different tiles hoping to be standing on the lucky spot at the end of the game.  Its always nice to have games that young kids can play completely independently, and Hullabaloo fits the bill.  There is a voice box that will guide your kids through the game (a.k.a no parent involvement!).

• Number of players: 1-6
• Manufacturer age recommendation: 4+
• What we like best: Kids can play alone, equally fun with one or six players
• Prerequisite skills: Ability to follow simple instructions
• Kids will learn: Coordination, shapes, colors, following directions

 Busy, Busy Airport Game by Wonder Forge

In Richard Scarry’s Busy, Busy Airport, players collect passengers and fly them to their destinations and collect cargo for points. Each player has their own airplane they can load passengers and cargo into to ‘fly’ them to and from the airport.  The number of passengers who can board and destinations you can fly to is determined based on two dice each player rolls.  The game also has a fun dice rolling control tower to go with the airport theme.

• Number of players: 2-4
• Manufacturer age recommendation: 3+
• What we like best:  Airplane game pieces are fun, and it’s perfect to pair with the Richard Scarry book A Day at the Airport.
• Prerequisite skills: Ability to understand simple game rules
• Kids will learn: Number recognition, simple counting and addition, coordination

Angelina Ballerina – Dance with Me by Wonder forge

If your little boy or girl likes to dance, this is the perfect game for them!  Players remember mini dance routines developed at random as they play through the game and earn points for successfully performing the routine.  The game even comes with a CD for background music and pronunciations for the french dance poses (desperately needed as we are learning ballet at our house!)

• Number of players: 1+
• Manufacturer age recommendation: 3+
• What we like best:  Combines learning about dance moves and actually doing them
• Prerequisite skills: Ability to understand simple game rules
• Kids will learn: Memory, ballet terms, coordination

 Memo Yoga by Upside Down Games

Memo Yoga is a classic memory game combined with yoga poses.  Players take turns hunting for matching yoga poses among the face down cards.  If they find a match they have to successfully hold the yoga pose for 10 seconds in order to keep it!  This is a great game to challenge the preschool body and mind at the same time!

• Number of players: 2-4
• Manufacturer age recommendation: 3+
• What we like best:  Creative way to make yoga fun and challenging for young kids
• Prerequisite skills: Ability to understand simple game rules
• Kids will learn: Memory, coordination, strength

Marvel I Can Do That! by Wonder Forge

Who wants to be a super hero?  Everyone!  Marvel, I Can Do That! is the perfect training game for want to be super heroes.  Players take turns completing Super Hero training challenges but you never know when you’ll be called upon to battle the Green Goblin!  This is a fun filled action game that’s ideal for active kids, with different props to make the challenges feel real.

• Number of players: 2+
• Manufacturer age recommendation: 4+
• What we like best:  Props for challenges help immerse the kids in the super hero dream, quick game play
• Prerequisite skills: Ability to act out a task
• Kids will learn: Coordination, following instructions

Croc N’ Roll by Spinmaster Games

Croc N’ Roll challenges players agility to stay on the lily pads and avoid the rolling crocodile.  If you fall in the ‘water’ or get hit by the croc you’re out and the last player standing wins!  This game is fast paced and really keeps everyone moving and on their toes.

• Number of players: 1-3
• Manufacturer age recommendation: 3+
• What we like best:  Great game to get everyone up and active inside when the weather is bad
• Prerequisite skills: Ability to play hide and seek
• Kids will learn: Agility and balance

Kindergartners

 Yoga Spinner by Think Fun

Another yoga game that has some more challenging poses compared to Memo Yoga.  This is a very simple spinner game.  Players spin the spinner and try to hold Yoga poses to earn cards.  This is a great way to introduce your kids to Yoga!

• Number of players: 2+
• Manufacturer age recommendation: 5+
• What we like best:  Huge variety of Yoga poses
• Prerequisite skills: Decent coordination and balance to mirror poses on cards
• Kids will learn: Yoga poses, coordination, and balance

Jungle Jive by Ravensburger

Jungle Jive is all about keeping the egg balanced while completing various challenges that test players balance, strength and coordination.  If the egg moves too much you wake the bird inside!

• Number of players: 1-6
• Manufacturer age recommendation: 6+
• What we like best:  Unique challenge of keeping the egg still while completing challenges
• Prerequisite skills: Ability to walk steadily while holding something
• Kids will learn: Balance and coordination

The Floor is Lava by Endless Games

What kids hasn’t pretended the are horrible consequences to touching the floor?  They all have, so why not make a board game out of it?!  The Floor is Lava puts some structure around this age old imagination game!  The game is a lot of fun with players racing to certain colors and performing various challenges along the way.  As a side note, I will say this one leaves room for improvement in the quality of construction category.

• Number of players: 2-6
• Manufacturer age recommendation: 5+
• What we like best:  Keeps kids moving, good for open ended play as well
• Prerequisite skills: Ability to move from tile to tile
• Kids will learn: Coordination and balance

7 & 8 Year Olds

Twister by Hasbro

I won’t put a lot of detail here as most of us have played Twister at some point!  Great game to be silly and stretch!  I wish there was a slightly smaller version as this would be fun with younger kids but it can be really hard for them to reach some of the needed spaces!

• Number of players: 2+
• Manufacturer age recommendation: 6+
• What we like best:  Gets families up close and personal!
• Prerequisite skills: Knowing left from right, big enough to reach across the game mat
• Kids will learn: Balance coordination, strategic thinking

 Boochie by Gamewright

Boochie is Bocce on steroids!  Play is similar to the yard game, but there are a bunch of different challenges mixed in regarding how you throw the ball/hoop and tons of twists as you play through.  This game also uses soft pieces so you can play indoors as well as outdoors!

• Number of players: 2-4
• Manufacturer age recommendation: 8+
• What we like best:  Indoor outdoor play and variety of challenges
• Prerequisite skills: Ability to throw a ball with some accuracy
• Kids will learn: Coordination and creative thinking+

The Wimpy Kid 10 Second Challenge by Pressman

The Wimpy Kid 10-Second Challenge is based on the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books.  There is a big list of different challenges with a ton of variety (up and jumping around or seated challenges) to keep the game interesting!

• Number of players: 2-6
• Manufacturer age recommendation: 8+
• What we like best:  Bunches of unique challenges
• Prerequisite skills: Reading
• Kids will learn: Strategic thinking, coordination

 Ribbon Ninja by Fat Brain Toys

This is a really simple game, that great for burning energy.  Players attach ribbons to their wrist and compete to dis-ribbon other players.  The last person with ribbons wins!

• Number of players: 2-6
• Manufacturer age recommendation: 6+ (was more fun for kids a bit older in our opinion)
• What we like best:  Simple to set up and quick to play, great break game
• Prerequisite skills: N/A
• Kids will learn: Strategic thinking, quickness, coordination

Older Kids

 Terror in Meeple City (formerly known as Rampage) by Repo Productions

Terror in Meeple City is a great board game for a rainy day to get rid of all the pent-up energy from being inside.  Players control a monster and use that monster to destroy a city and its meeples.  There is no complex thinking in this one; players throw, flick or slide their monster into buildings and meeple to score points.

• Number of Players: 2-4
• Manufacturer Age Recommendation: 8+
• What we like best: Awesome 3-D game play, huge board, and light-hearted destruction
• Prerequisite skills: Decent coordination
• Kids will learn:  Dexterity and fine motor skills

 Guesstures by Hasboro

Could really be any type of Charades style game, but Guesstures is one of our favorites to get up and move around while acting out clues.

• Number of players: 2+ (works best with 4 or more though)
• Manufacturer age recommendation: 8+
• What we like best:  Team play, challenges kids to expand their thinking
• Prerequisite skills: Reading, decent vocabulary
• Kids will learn: Communication and vocabulary

Tell us about your experience with active board games!

What are your favorite active board games to get you and your family up and moving?  Comment below!