In many families it is part of the Christmas celebration to give the children a new game. Only which one? We have picked out ten highly recommended specimens that you can enjoy on holidays.
For them all: In order to start playing after the giveaway, you should look at the rules of the game before wrapping in the wrapping paper so that you are well prepared as an adult. Under the Christmas tree, your child will certainly not care that the cardboard is no longer wrapped in the manufacturer's protective film.
For smaller children, you should not be disappointed if they do not feel like playing the rules of the game, but want to explore the game material in their own way. And the most important? Just select games that you like to play with yourself. Finally, the hundredth round of Memory does not contribute to a good Christmas mood for everyone.
Instead, take a look at the following photo gallery to see which board games we particularly liked:
Ten games for children that are worthwhile
"Monsieur Carrousel"
At the fair stands a huge, colorful carousel, with which all children still want to go today. Unfortunately, the weather does not play, heavy rain clouds are catching up. Only if everyone helps can everyone drive one lap before it starts to rain.
The game is played in two phases: During the first, the children climb into the carousel and try to get the sun's rays in the form of yellow wooden sticks to the sky. In the second phase, the carousel revolves and depending on whether the young passenger stops in the rain or in the solar zone, the sky fills with raindrops or sunbeams.
The kids won the game when all the pieces are on the carousel. On the other hand, if all raindrops land on the field, the carousel is closed until the weather is better.
Conclusion : Beautiful you can barely implement a breeze. Both game material and graphics convince. And the cooperative game mechanism also makes the game accessible and encourages players to play together.
In "Monsieur Carrousel" a lot is housed: Due to the different lengths of sunshine, the players have to plan a bit. The animals with which the children drive on the carousel, should also memorize the players. And only when all players talk to each other can they win the game.
Display "Monsieur Carrousel" by Loki; 1-6 players; from 4 years; about 30 euros; Author: Sara Zarian
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"Zombie Kidz Evolution"
The zombie apocalypse does not stop at school! But do not panic, four students heroically defend the building against the marauding zombie hordes.
On the board you can see a floor plan. Four schoolyards serve the nasty zombies as a gateway. If the students manage to close these gates before they are overrun by the undead, they have won the game.
Each round is marked with a sticker in the zombie hunter handbook. At certain intervals envelopes may be opened with missions, new rules and materials that make the game more challenging.
The actual game mechanism is quite simple. Who's on the train throws the zombie cube that determines if and if so, where a zombie appears. The annoying characters can only be removed if there are no more than two in a room and a hero figure is there or goes.
Conclusion : A really good game to get children of different ages together at the game table. The fact that the rules of the game are getting more and more complex as the missions get more and more sophisticated, you hardly notice when playing. And if it's too complicated for new players, you just start over with the ground rules again.
The fun factor of the new missions and the stickers on the progress bar is huge. The unopened envelopes arouse curiosity about what's coming, so the game is fast becoming a must-have. And even though the entire game is played out and all the envelopes have been opened, it's still fun to scare away zombies for a few rounds.
Ad "Zombie Kidz Evolution" by Scorpion Masqué; 2-4 players; from 7 years; about 23 euros; Author: Annick Lobet
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"Mini City"
Such an ant life is quite exhausting. As you gather diligently stocks and must now also logistically well stowed away. Those who succeed the fastest, beckons to reward the post of chief ant colony.
Each player has at the beginning of a series of small, colored storage blocks, which he deposits on his player board. Who is on the move may play movement cards, draw his ant and, if possible, unload food stones. You can do this up to three times and finally you fill up your tableau and add your own cards.
Conclusion : A successful, quiet worker placement game for beginners. Visually implemented very nicely is the ant street built from maps. Everyone has a good eye on the progress of their teammates at all times and can try to get in their way. And if the base game is no longer a challenge, there is the possibility to play a more complex variant, which offers significantly more interaction with the fellow ants.
Ad "Mini City" by Piatnik; 2-4 players; from 7 years; about 27 euros; Authors: Teodoro Mitidieri and Leo Colovini
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"Fabulantica"
There is something wrong with magic. The inhabitants of Fabulantica are suddenly in places where they do not want to be. The aim of the Spies is therefore to bring them back to their friends.
If you are on the train, you can use different means of transport to travel around the country and help the residents. If you manage to bring together two help seekers, you will receive a gold piece as a reward. Who has three of them first wins.
Conclusion : Anyone who remembers the game of the year 1998, "Elfengold", will quickly find his way in Fabulantica. It requires a certain amount of planning and good memory, but remains clear enough that it does not overwhelm. The game material was successful and Fabulantica was rightly nominated as Children's Game of the Year.
Display "Fabulantica" by Pegasus; 2-5 players; from age 6; about 24 euros; Author: Marco Teubner
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"The Secret Magic Lake"
Three little magicians and their cat escaped from the castle Rabenfels, the home of the sinister magician Rabenhorst. If you get over the lake now, you are safe.
But on the lake are 24 water lilies and on each of them sits an animal. The player who turns the ball turns one of the tiles next to the board. Whenever an animal is seen there, one may hurry with one of the playing pieces so far over the water lilies, until the figure is held by a magnet under the water lily. Because then the nasty wizard has enchanted the figure. Only if at the beginning of a turn the suitable animal is uncovered to the water lily, the play figure may move on.
If, on the other hand, one discovers Rabenhorst, one of the water strips is pulled out under the lake and pushed back under the playing field on the side of the wooden bridge. In this way, the magnetically magical figures are pushed back towards the castle. If the little magicians and the cat make it to the boardwalk in time, they win the game.
Conclusion : A cooperative game in which you need a good memory and still lose every now and then. The effect that the characters are magically pushed back to the wrong shore provides suspense. The threatening end of the game by the approaching figure of the magician provides an age-appropriate overview of the score.
Display "The Mysterious Magic Lake" by Three Magicians; 2-5 players; from 5 years old; about 30 euros; Authors: Anna Oppolzer and Stefan Dumpling
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"Voles"
The forest floor is full of beautiful autumn leaves, between which all sorts of animals, fruits and other things romp around. The game is played in the box, in the beginning only the sheets, on which no motifs are printed, are distributed. These form the forest floor. The leaves with motifs on the back come in a Stoffsäckchen.
The one who takes the move searches for a leaf from the bag and hides it under the leaves on the forest floor, while the other players cover their eyes. If the new sheet is well hidden, the other players at the same time, with only one hand, turn the leaves individually. Anyone who thinks he has found the desired, new motif may name it. If the answer is correct, you get a gold coin as a reward and the leaves move back to the forest floor, which is gradually getting fuller.
Conclusion : Outstanding graphics and great game material, so the autumn is fun. The age-appropriate game variants make the game a quiet memory game, where you can also learn something besides. As an additional gimmick in the booklet with the rules of the game all motives are explained exactly.
Display "voles" of Three Hares in the evening sun; 2-5 players; from 5 years old; about 28 euros; Authors: Jan-Peter Schliemann and Guido Hoffmann
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"Hempel's Sofa"
What that looks like again here ... a mess! The whole living room is scattered on the floor, how can you find something there?
Depending on the number of players, each player receives several chaos cards, which depict items that can also be found on the board. These cards are not visible to the other players in a card stand in front of them. When it's your turn, you reveal an object card as a target. The seat neighbor may now determine the corner of the board from which the slightly broad-legged Hugo starts.
Now you can move Hugo like a circle from field to field. However, if one of the fields Hugo enters is an item someone has a card for, that player calls out "Stop!". Now the next player can try his luck. Once you have reached your destination, you have the first chaos card. The first player to win four wins the game.
Conclusion : At first glance, it looks like another memory game, but that is deceptive. Here you need a lot more: some fine motor skills, logical thinking and yes, a good memory helps a lot to keep track of the many cards of the other players, otherwise someone cries quickly "Stop!". Five-year-olds may find it difficult to keep an eye on things, but first-graders get a grip on the mess around Hempel's sofa. "Hempel's Sofa" by HABA; 2-4 players; from 5 years old; about 26 euros; Author: Marco Teubner
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"Clack!"
Two dice and 36 magnetic tokens with symbols are on the gaming table. The one who takes the turn rolls with both dice, one indicating the sought-after color, the other the corresponding symbol. Then it's very fast: All players are simultaneously looking for tokens on which symbols in the correct color can be seen.
Since the stones are magnetic, they "clump" together and form piles in the hands of the children. If there are no more stones left with the rolled combination, roll again.
It becomes particularly hectic when one or even two dice a white page is rolled. Then you can grab all symbols irrespective of their color or a color regardless of the symbol.
Conclusion : A short Grabsch game that is really good for the specified age from four years playable. The laps are so wonderfully short that even the frustration of losing is quickly forgotten. Only if the children have too large an age gap, the older players are motor superior. Especially nice is that the magnetic stones remain in the little children's hands and do not fly wildly together. Display "Clack!" from Amigo; 2-6 players; from 4 years; about 13 euros; Author: Haim Shafir
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"Down through the wall"
The ghosts on Count Rotcula's castle are boring, so they want to dress up. Just stupid that all the clothes are criss-cross over the castle.
Each player picks a ghost and starts in one of the colored corners of the castle. When it's time to move, you can either move your ghost, turn the entire board or move one of the bottom shifters one chamber. There are magnets in the bottom pushers, so that the ghosts seem to hover effortlessly through castle walls, plop out of the castle or push each other sideways.
If one's own ghost in this way reaches one of the shown disguises, the player is allowed to look for a suitable part in one of the covered squares. Those who have completely clothed their ghost first win.
Conclusion : A nice trouble game in which good planning helps. If you marvel in the first few games about how the ghosts move across the board, you soon plan to push your opponents out of the way. Due to the many possibilities of movement, the options are really numerous. And the little memory training, in which pile what disguise was left, makes fast times the elaborate plans destroyed. The game was honored this year with the InnoSpiel, a prize for innovative game ideas.
"Off Through the Wall" by Zoch; 2-4 players; from 7 years; about 28 euros; Author: Jürgen Adams
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"Slide Quest"
A game box, four handles and a game board full of holes. On the top are plans from a small kingdom. This kingdom is defended by a small knight figure. There are ten plans with different difficulty levels.
The goal is to guide the mini-knight in each level from start to finish without falling into any of the holes. But that's not all: the harder the levels become, the more the little knight has to do. It is necessary to push the guards and villains into the right holes. In addition, dynamite bars must not be knocked over. But there is also help - when the knight reaches a heart symbol, he has another life again.
Together players can win if they manage to guide the knight through a certain number of levels without losing all their lives.
Conclusion : Presumably, everyone knows the wooden boxes on which a marble must be piloted through a labyrinth without them plopping in one of the holes. Slide Quest is a variation of this 21st Century Game Idea.
The game is simple, the structure simple, the fun great. The fact that you have to shove the villains into holes this time is fun. But incidentally, collecting bonus life is really good! Who is not a total gross motor skills, will have as an adult team a lot of fun.
Advertisement "Slide Quest" by Blue Orange; 1-4 players; from 7 years; about 28 euros; Authors: Nicolas Bourgoin and Jean-Francois Rocha
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