conuly | List of games suggested to Ana's school (suitable for kids 7 and under, says kidgameratings.com)

I have such fond memories of Pick up Sticks.

Oh, and Barrel of Monkeys, too. I guess it'd go in the same category?

I wish I could think of more, but my family mostly played board and card games.

What the heck does one do with a barrel of monkeys?

I know what you mean about board and card games - although it's worth noting that all these are board and card games, I know you mean "traditional ones" - I have so many happy memories of sitting playing Crazy Eights, Rummy, Scrabble, Boggle, and Parcheesi. Or of watching my mother and sister play Submarines and Yahtzee, two games I never really enjoyed.

Barrel of Monkeys, the way I learned, is fine motor skills. You pick up as many monkeys as you can by hooking arms/feet/tails starting with the one you hold and then still holding that one trying to pick up others with the last one on the chain.

Oh, just their big long arms (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/4149), I stand corrected. but yes, almost as much fun as a barrel of real monkeys, and not quite as frustrating. :-p

We had the Annie board game, Monopoly (of course!) and one I still enjoy called Careers (you went through career tracks! The first person to become a CEO won! So silly.)

Have you ever played barrel of monkeys? I remember it being hard (though fun) when I was little, but now it seems SO easy. ...I think I played less and made monkey garlands (with the help of tape and paperclips) more. But hey, I played, that's what counts! XD

I was never into Parcheesi, but oh how I loved Rummy. I'd play it all the time even now if I could find partners.

This is a great list. I use a lot of these in my classroom. Apples to Apples Kids and Bananagrams are great language games!

Why, thank you :)

Mouse Trap (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouse_Trap_(board_game)) - One of my favorites, much fun, "building" a Rube Goldberg style trap-thing and going around the board until one mouse is caught (a little advanced for under 5 though - still fun with an adult's help)

KerPlunk (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3728) - a bunch of sticks make up a "blockage" in a vertical tube, and players have to remove sticks one by one trying not to let any marbles fall through

Mad Libs - there are kid-friendly versions, good fun language skills game

Hi Ho! Cherry-O (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/6932) - basic counting game

*edit on Mouse Trap - until one mouse is LEFT - the winner of the game

I didn't include Hi Ho! Cherry-O because I have a personal vendetta against luck-only games.

Also? No Candyland.

Leaping Lizards only made it in because I can give away our copy pretty easily if I play my cards right.

Yeah, I didn't include Candyland mostly because it indulges too much on the thoughts of candy and doesn't have any redeeming value.

And I understand the reasoning behind Hi Ho. :-) I was about to consider Chutes and Ladders, but that's largely luck, and its only redeeming value is the "consequence learning" aspect of the better versions. But it's a long game and gets feelings hurt sometimes.

I was glad you included Connect 4. Even at age 5 I was pretty good at it. And Dominoes has limitless play value.

Mouse Trap is still one of my favorites to play to this day. It's fun even if you take the competition out and focus on the building/trap setting parts.

And I'm going to ramble a bit more. I'm building a wooden game box with parcheesi on one side and chess/checkers on the other.

I really wish Hang On Harvey! (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/5343) were still readily available. It's strategy/dexterity/deduction in a simple format, a bit like KerPlunk crossed with Barrel of Monkeys.

If Phase 10 and Skip-Bo weren't so drawn on luck and also a bit complex, I'd vouch for them.

There IS a simple all-ages card game that I know played with a basic deck of cards, like high-low (luck) but with a strategic twist (hold or pass?). A 5-year-old played with the rest of the family with great gusto and even beat out most of us on a family gathering night. :-) If you want to know more about that one I can devote a reply for it. We call it Chips, but it may be known by something else.

Go for it.

OK, let's see if I can do this accurately, understandably, and concisely. :-p

To start the game, everyone gets five "chips" (some kind of token/coin/game piece, doesn't matter what kind).

Each person is dealt ONE card, which they keep secret. The dealer also takes a card and keeps the deck in front of them.

The person to the left of the dealer decides whether to keep the card or to pass it to the person to the left. That person MUST give up the card and accept the one given to them if so. However, if they are holding a queen, they can reveal the queen upon the table and stop the pass, and the person who wished to trade must keep the card they wanted to trade. Play passes to the left and thusly all the way around. When the dealer's turn comes, that person decides wither to keep the card in hand or trade with the top card of the deck. If that card is a queen, the dealer automatically loses that round, regardless of someone else holding a lower card.

When all cards have been traded or kept, everyone shows their cards, and the person with the lowest value card loses a chip. Then the deal is passed to the left. Some people prefer to shuffle the deck each round, and others like to use it through until a full deal cannot be made. The last person who remains with one or more chips is the winner.

Strategy/probability notes: if a person is forced to trade a card that is of lower value than they must take, they can safely keep their new card because they know they will not be caught with the lowest one. It's interesting to figure out whether a 5 (for example) is a liability or worth keeping. Ace to 10 are generally safe; 3 and 4 are generally liabilities (unless you have managed to give up an even lower card, upon which you know you would be safe). An ace should always be held if possible, and 2 is always necessary to pass. It's fun to watch a suspected 2 or 3 make its steady (or hasty) path around the table.

Agh, forgotten details. Once you lose all your chips, you are out of the game. This has almost limitless numbers of players (though play will last longer, and you can reduce the chips if so) and is still fun when it comes down to the last two players.

Chutes and Ladders isn't largely luck, it's entirely luck. Which is why I can't stand it. Bah!

Dominoes, like Cards, has a number of playing options. That's why I love 'em :)

As far as Mancala goes, which I know I listed, did you know it's not just one game, but a whole family of games? A lot of people just don't realize that! Next year, when Evangeline is in school, I want to volunteer at the aftercare program once or twice a week. They have somebody teaching chess, I want to teach Mancala. (And do a zillion other things, so I'm thinking in six or eight week sessions here just to fit it all in. I have *got* to talk to the principal there.)

For fine motor/spatial awareness, my sister gave me a joke gift at Christmas of Hula Hippos--you spin a wooden hoop (about 4-6" across) on the table and have to flick the hippos (about 1" across) into its path so that it falls with your hippos inside it. Rated 5 and up but takes a surprising amount of skill.

Gamewright made that one as well :) They've made a lot of the games on this list, actually!

I didn't suggest it for Ana's school because it seemed the sort of thing, in a school environment, with lots of kids... well... it seemed like it might lead to chaos.

Uno
Marbles
Monopoly
Hopscotch
20 Questions
Tiddlywinks
Casino (I used to play this with my dad when I was five)
Senet

I have such fond memories of Pick up Sticks.

Oh, and Barrel of Monkeys, too. I guess it'd go in the same category?

I wish I could think of more, but my family mostly played board and card games.

What the heck does one do with a barrel of monkeys?

I know what you mean about board and card games - although it's worth noting that all these are board and card games, I know you mean "traditional ones" - I have so many happy memories of sitting playing Crazy Eights, Rummy, Scrabble, Boggle, and Parcheesi. Or of watching my mother and sister play Submarines and Yahtzee, two games I never really enjoyed.

Barrel of Monkeys, the way I learned, is fine motor skills. You pick up as many monkeys as you can by hooking arms/feet/tails starting with the one you hold and then still holding that one trying to pick up others with the last one on the chain.

Oh, just their big long arms (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/4149), I stand corrected. but yes, almost as much fun as a barrel of real monkeys, and not quite as frustrating. :-p

We had the Annie board game, Monopoly (of course!) and one I still enjoy called Careers (you went through career tracks! The first person to become a CEO won! So silly.)

Have you ever played barrel of monkeys? I remember it being hard (though fun) when I was little, but now it seems SO easy. ...I think I played less and made monkey garlands (with the help of tape and paperclips) more. But hey, I played, that's what counts! XD

I was never into Parcheesi, but oh how I loved Rummy. I'd play it all the time even now if I could find partners.

This is a great list. I use a lot of these in my classroom. Apples to Apples Kids and Bananagrams are great language games!

Why, thank you :)

Mouse Trap (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouse_Trap_(board_game)) - One of my favorites, much fun, "building" a Rube Goldberg style trap-thing and going around the board until one mouse is caught (a little advanced for under 5 though - still fun with an adult's help)

KerPlunk (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3728) - a bunch of sticks make up a "blockage" in a vertical tube, and players have to remove sticks one by one trying not to let any marbles fall through

Mad Libs - there are kid-friendly versions, good fun language skills game

Hi Ho! Cherry-O (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/6932) - basic counting game

*edit on Mouse Trap - until one mouse is LEFT - the winner of the game

I didn't include Hi Ho! Cherry-O because I have a personal vendetta against luck-only games.

Also? No Candyland.

Leaping Lizards only made it in because I can give away our copy pretty easily if I play my cards right.

Yeah, I didn't include Candyland mostly because it indulges too much on the thoughts of candy and doesn't have any redeeming value.

And I understand the reasoning behind Hi Ho. :-) I was about to consider Chutes and Ladders, but that's largely luck, and its only redeeming value is the "consequence learning" aspect of the better versions. But it's a long game and gets feelings hurt sometimes.

I was glad you included Connect 4. Even at age 5 I was pretty good at it. And Dominoes has limitless play value.

Mouse Trap is still one of my favorites to play to this day. It's fun even if you take the competition out and focus on the building/trap setting parts.

And I'm going to ramble a bit more. I'm building a wooden game box with parcheesi on one side and chess/checkers on the other.

I really wish Hang On Harvey! (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/5343) were still readily available. It's strategy/dexterity/deduction in a simple format, a bit like KerPlunk crossed with Barrel of Monkeys.

If Phase 10 and Skip-Bo weren't so drawn on luck and also a bit complex, I'd vouch for them.

There IS a simple all-ages card game that I know played with a basic deck of cards, like high-low (luck) but with a strategic twist (hold or pass?). A 5-year-old played with the rest of the family with great gusto and even beat out most of us on a family gathering night. :-) If you want to know more about that one I can devote a reply for it. We call it Chips, but it may be known by something else.

Go for it.

OK, let's see if I can do this accurately, understandably, and concisely. :-p

To start the game, everyone gets five "chips" (some kind of token/coin/game piece, doesn't matter what kind).

Each person is dealt ONE card, which they keep secret. The dealer also takes a card and keeps the deck in front of them.

The person to the left of the dealer decides whether to keep the card or to pass it to the person to the left. That person MUST give up the card and accept the one given to them if so. However, if they are holding a queen, they can reveal the queen upon the table and stop the pass, and the person who wished to trade must keep the card they wanted to trade. Play passes to the left and thusly all the way around. When the dealer's turn comes, that person decides wither to keep the card in hand or trade with the top card of the deck. If that card is a queen, the dealer automatically loses that round, regardless of someone else holding a lower card.

When all cards have been traded or kept, everyone shows their cards, and the person with the lowest value card loses a chip. Then the deal is passed to the left. Some people prefer to shuffle the deck each round, and others like to use it through until a full deal cannot be made. The last person who remains with one or more chips is the winner.

Strategy/probability notes: if a person is forced to trade a card that is of lower value than they must take, they can safely keep their new card because they know they will not be caught with the lowest one. It's interesting to figure out whether a 5 (for example) is a liability or worth keeping. Ace to 10 are generally safe; 3 and 4 are generally liabilities (unless you have managed to give up an even lower card, upon which you know you would be safe). An ace should always be held if possible, and 2 is always necessary to pass. It's fun to watch a suspected 2 or 3 make its steady (or hasty) path around the table.

Agh, forgotten details. Once you lose all your chips, you are out of the game. This has almost limitless numbers of players (though play will last longer, and you can reduce the chips if so) and is still fun when it comes down to the last two players.

Chutes and Ladders isn't largely luck, it's entirely luck. Which is why I can't stand it. Bah!

Dominoes, like Cards, has a number of playing options. That's why I love 'em :)

As far as Mancala goes, which I know I listed, did you know it's not just one game, but a whole family of games? A lot of people just don't realize that! Next year, when Evangeline is in school, I want to volunteer at the aftercare program once or twice a week. They have somebody teaching chess, I want to teach Mancala. (And do a zillion other things, so I'm thinking in six or eight week sessions here just to fit it all in. I have *got* to talk to the principal there.)

For fine motor/spatial awareness, my sister gave me a joke gift at Christmas of Hula Hippos--you spin a wooden hoop (about 4-6" across) on the table and have to flick the hippos (about 1" across) into its path so that it falls with your hippos inside it. Rated 5 and up but takes a surprising amount of skill.

Gamewright made that one as well :) They've made a lot of the games on this list, actually!

I didn't suggest it for Ana's school because it seemed the sort of thing, in a school environment, with lots of kids... well... it seemed like it might lead to chaos.

Uno
Marbles
Monopoly
Hopscotch
20 Questions
Tiddlywinks
Casino (I used to play this with my dad when I was five)
Senet

List of games suggested to Ana's school (suitable for kids 7 and under, says kidgameratings.com)

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