Between 6 and 8 children are ready for real decisions: which tile to take, when to stop, how to help the team. This is when family game night really starts.
Every game here won or was shortlisted for a major prize, most of them the Kinderspiel des Jahres or the Spiel des Jahres itself. Several are just as much fun for the adults.
Designed by Bruno Cathala
2–415′8+Great for a first strategy game
Each player builds a small kingdom of domino tiles, and the better the tile you pick, the later you choose next round. Fifteen minutes, simple rules and real choices. It won the Spiel des Jahres.
2017 Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) winner
Designed by Steffen Bogen
2–820–30′8+Great for a big family
Players bet on a camel race in which camels stack on top of each other and ride along. Loud, funny and full of surprises; it won the Spiel des Jahres.
2014 Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) winner
Designed by Dirk Baumann
2–430′6+Great for a 6-year-old with a good memory
Players search a maze for treasures, but the walls are hidden under the board and only a magnet tells you when you've hit one. Memory and nerves; it won the Kinderspiel des Jahres.
2009 Kinderspiel des Jahres (Children's Game of the Year) winner
Designed by Marie and Wilfried Fort
2–430′6+Great for a kid who loves bowling
Bowl a barrel to knock over barrels and push your Vikings towards the treasure, without letting them fall into the sea. A dexterity game that won the Kinderspiel des Jahres.
2019 Kinderspiel des Jahres (Children's Game of the Year) winner
Designed by Brian Gomez
2–430′6+Great for flicking fans
Penguins slide through the rooms of a school when you flick them, and the catcher tries to tag them. A box that becomes the game board, and a Kinderspiel des Jahres winner.
2017 Kinderspiel des Jahres (Children's Game of the Year) winner
Designed by Antonin Boccara and Yves Hirschfeld
2–621′6+Great for a musical kid
A ghost captain gives musical clues on a tambourine and the children work together to find the hidden treasure. A cooperative game that won the Kinderspiel des Jahres.
2023 Kinderspiel des Jahres (Children's Game of the Year) winner
Designed by Marc-Antoine Doyon and Baptiste Derrez
1–430′7+Great for a cooperative adventure
Kids work together to solve puzzles and clues across a school invaded by zombies, in a story that unfolds as you play. It won the As d'Or for children.
2023 As d'Or Children's Game of the Year winner
Designed by Rüdiger Dorn
2–615′8+Great for fast family games
Every player lays the same tiles at the same time to build jungle paths to the temples. No waiting for turns, and nobody gets left behind. Shortlisted for the Spiel des Jahres.
2016 Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) nominee
Designed by Annick Lobet
2–420′8+Great for a kid who likes surprises
A cooperative game that changes as you play it: open the secret boxes to add new rules as the teens fight the zombies over many games.
2021 Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) nominee
Designed by Fertessa Allyse and Randy Flynn
2–420′6+Great for a nature lover
A children's version of the award-winning Cascadia: build a landscape of habitats and bring animals into it.
2025 Kinderspiel des Jahres (Children's Game of the Year) nominee
Kingdomino is a great first strategy game. For a cooperative game, try Mysterium Kids or Flashback: Zombie Kidz. Dexterity games like Valley of the Vikings let kids beat adults fairly.
Some, yes. Kingdomino and Camel Up are marked 8+ but many 6 and 7-year-olds play them happily with family.
Cooperative games like Mysterium Kids, or simultaneous games like Karuba, keep the older child busy without leaving the younger one behind.
See every award-winning game for kids
