16 Best Board Games for 3-Year-Olds (Plus What to Avoid)

Inside: Stop playing boring games like Candyland and Hi Ho! Cherry-O with your child—and play these fun and educational board games for 3-year-olds instead.

As just about anything you attempt to do with a 3-year-old, playing a board game with them requires a Mother Teresa level of patience.

Between a preschooler’s short attention span and their inability to sit still longer than a few minutes, you’ll be lucky to get through a whole game with them. As an added bonus, they have an almost gleeful disregard for following the game rules.

And yet, skipping board games with your preschooler isn’t the answer, either.

Because research shows that playing board games with your preschooler improves their social skills, such as by developing a cooperative spirit, teaching them how to take turns, and nurturing other prosocial behaviors like sharing and helping others. Board games can also boost educational knowledge. For example, playing a number board game with a preschooler supports their early mathematical development.