10 Best Board Games for Kids in 2022 (Game Development Group, Gamewright, and More)

Board games aren't all just fun and games. They can actually teach your kids about strategy, cooperation, math, color and pattern recognition, concentration, and various other hard and soft skills. And, in general, almost all board games can teach your kids how to take turns, though.

Some games are more cooperative with others, where you work in teams to solve a problem or fight against other players. These types of games teach your children teamwork and communication. Games like First Orchard or Hoot Owl Hoot! are great for this.

However, do note that learning games are often more complex and might not make the best party games due to longer explanation times.

If you've decided on a strategy board game, then what you need to know now is the type of strategies that can be used in a game. Some examples are resource optimization, risk and reward, and control. Note that games don't have to stick to one strategy, and many use a combination of many different kinds.

In resource optimization, you try to gain as many items as they can, in a bid to use them in the future to thwart your fellow players (or if the game's objective is to collect items). In some cases, this might mean investing in pieces to multiply your resources in the future. 

Monopoly can be considered a resource optimization game, as you're collecting and buying buildings, making an initial investment to get more money than everyone else.

In risk and reward strategies, luck is in play. You either choose to risk a big chunk of your resources in hopes of receiving a big reward or you choose to risk small bits at a time, hoping your opponents run out of luck.

In control, you actively work to try and prevent your opponents' next move. In some cases, this can involve eliminating a player, limiting their choices in actions (such as constantly attacking them and having them on the defense), intervening on their strategy, or taking control of more of the game pieces.

After understanding the different types of strategies, you can generally infer what kind of concepts your children will learn from board games and choose according to what you would like them to try out. You can read more in-depth about these strategy types here. 

On the other hand, if your kids are growing out of an old game and want more of a challenge, look for a more difficult game aimed at slightly older players. You can look towards strategy games, as we went over in the above section.