Board games are a great way for kids to learn and have fun simultaneously. Each game helps to develop their minds, and improve their memory, creativity, cognition, and social abilities (1). Studies have shown that playing board games with kids can help them to develop more generally.
Choosing the best board game for 7-year-olds can be tricky. The game should be interesting and challenging, but also enjoyable. If it’s too difficult to understand or if the child has no interest in the topic, the game will end up gathering dust on a shelf.
Here are our top picks for board games with new and intriguing features for 7-year-olds. These games provide fresh learning opportunities without being overly complex. They are informative and easy to understand, making them perfect for young children.
In This Article
HappyBabyHub’s Best Board Games For 7-Year-Olds Picks
1. Taco vs Burrito
Although Alex came up with Taco Vs Burrito when he was just 7 years old, both children and adults love this chaotic, entertaining food war. The game’s fundamental mechanics are simple and easy to learn, but the Action Cards make it more unpredictable. The learning time is really short and the game usually lasts 10 to 15 minutes, making it perfect for a quick game with 2-4 players.
2. Exploding Kittens Party
In this highly strategic version of Russian roulette, players draw cards until someone draws an Exploding Kitten. But don’t worry, you can defuse the kitten using tactics like laser pointers, belly rubs, and catnip sandwiches. If you don’t have a Defuse Card, however, you’ll be eliminated from the game. The rest of the deck is filled with various cards that help you move, reduce, or avoid the Exploding Kittens.
3. Carcassonne Board Game
Create the landscape of a medieval fortress city one tile at a time. Carcassonne offers several opportunities for you to utilize your wits and outwit your opponents, whether it is by stopping a city’s expansion or by linking with their route to split the points.
Each new tile adds to the ever-expanding board, which players may then use to recruit their followers. Players choose tiles that represent cities, highways, monasteries, and fields to fill up the countryside surrounding the medieval walled city.
Depending on the kind of tile they are put on, followers can play a variety of various jobs (such as knights, monks, farmers, or thieves). You will need to employ your followers wisely by carefully planning because each role has a varied point value. By placing followers on tiles when features are finished, players gain points. The player who uses the most intelligent placements of tiles and followers will win the game and score the most points.
4. Hasbro Gaming: Battleship Classic Board Game
The classic Battleship Board Game is a thrilling and strategic game that’s perfect for kids around 7 years old. With its competitiveness and suspenseful gameplay, it’s sure to provide hours of fun for your child and their friends.
In this game, two players face off in a direct confrontation, seeking out each other’s fleets of ships and taking them down one by one. The game comes with portable combat containers and realistic-looking naval vessels, immersing players in the action.
Each player commands a strong fleet consisting of a battleship, an aircraft carrier, a destroyer, a submarine, and a patrol boat. They declare the location of their strikes and check if they connect. Players must position their ships tactically to withstand an opponent’s constant attacks, using red and white pegs on the ocean grid to keep track of hits and misses. With the element of stealth, no ship is safe in this game of strategy and suspense.
5. Pressman Mancala
Each player takes turns collecting stones and placing them one at a time into the board’s pockets. But watch out, because when a player places a stone into an empty pocket on their side of the board, they capture all the stones in the opposing pocket! This game of marbles may seem simple, but it actually involves complex STEM concepts like counting and strategic planning.
The hinged wooden playing board and 48 plastic stones are all included, along with detailed instructions. This is a perfect board game for 7 years old that can teach your child new skills while having fun. Plus, the compact design makes it easy to take anywhere you go.
6. Qwirkle Board Game
Qwirkle is a fantastic game that can help your child improve their tactical thinking, strategic planning, and foresight. With its colorful tiles featuring 36 possible color-symbol combinations, this game offers a variety of options for players to match and create lines to score points. Qwirkle is easy to learn with simple rules, making it a perfect choice for younger players, while still providing a mental challenge that can engage players of all ages.
7. Catan Junior Strategy Game
Catan is a thrilling adventure game that encourages family game nights and group play. With an island theme filled with mystery and resources, Catan introduces children to a new world of exploration and strategy. The game’s ring of tropical aisles provides a dynamic and exciting gaming experience that lasts around 30 minutes. The game comes with 106 die-cut markers, 28 pirate hideouts, and four-player cost boards, making it an immersive and engaging game for kids of all ages.
8. Ticket to Ride First Journey Board Game
This board game is perfect for children aged 7 and up as it is easy to learn and play. Players will embark on a journey across North America by acquiring rail cards and connecting locations on their tickets. The game features a new map and special rules designed to maintain the gameplay and strategy of the original Ticket to Ride while making it more accessible for younger children.
With Ticket to Ride First Journey, players will learn the basics of strategy and planning as they stake out routes on the map and try to fill out their tickets. The game is won by completing six tickets and winning the coveted Golden Ticket.
9. Cauldron Quest
This game is perfect for young players who want to experience the magical world of witches and wizards. In this game, players work together to gather ingredients and create a potion that will break the wizard’s spell before he blocks their path.
The game’s sturdy components, such as the wizard hat, spell-breaker token, action dice, magic dice, and potion bottles, are designed to withstand normal playtime. The game also includes six of each of the potion bottles, ingredient tokens, and wizard tokens, ensuring that every player has a fair chance to win.
10. Sky Magic
In this cooperative game, players work together to navigate through wind flips, storm clouds, and magical spells to get their companions back safely. With careful planning and strategic use of magic spells, players can overcome obstacles and guide their companions to their destinations.
The game components are well-made and durable, including weather cards, storm cloud tokens, magic spell cards, and the game board itself. This game fosters teamwork and collaboration, as players work together to achieve a common goal. It also helps children develop problem-solving skills and strategic thinking.
11. Wonder Forge Richard Scarry’s Busytown
Join Huckle Cat and Lowly Worm as they embark on an exciting adventure in Busytown, where they’ll encounter hidden objects and secrets while exploring the bustling city, a lively farm, a bustling airport, and a busy harbor. The gaming board is enormous, vibrant, and almost six feet long, providing a lot to explore!
As players progress through the game, they’ll join forces and search for hidden items and Picnic Island, and every time someone discovers Goldbug, the players will have the opportunity to explore Busytown together. This game is perfect for 7-year-olds, as it fosters cognitive skills such as visual perception, attention to detail, and critical thinking, while also instilling a sense of accomplishment when children find the hidden objects.
12. Ravensburger Labyrinth Family Board Game
The aMAZEing Labyrinth is an exciting game that encourages strategic thinking and quick decision-making for one to four players. With an innovative board design, players must navigate through a series of dynamic mazes to collect all seven treasures on their unique treasure cards. Each treasure is revealed only after the player has found the one before it, adding an extra level of challenge.
Before each round, a new labyrinth card is strategically placed in the maze to assist players in reaching their prize. But be warned, the maze constantly evolves and transforms at every turn, making it difficult for some and helpful for others. To come out on top, players must think ahead and choose the best location to tip the maze in their favor.
13. Skillmatics Board Game : Rapid Rumble
This exciting and fast-paced game is perfect for kids who love to compete and learn at the same time. With 120 category cards, there’s always a new topic to explore, from animals to science to culture.
In Rapid Rumble, players must be the first to finish their deck of letter cards by shouting out answers to various categories. Each turn, players pick up a category card and roll the die to determine which letter they need to use. Then the race is on to come up with as many answers as possible that start with that letter. It’s a great way to improve vocabulary and quick-thinking skills!
14. Hedbanz, Quick Question Picture Guessing Family Game
The graphic cards for Hedbanz game each depict an animal, food item, or everyday object. The few straightforward categories make it possible for everyone—including small children—to participate in family enjoyment. Each game will fly fast since you’ll be competing against a one-minute sand clock timer, which will increase your energy and test your wit.
You will receive everything you need to play this board game. Without any intricate setups or regulations, your group of two to six participants will be wearing headbands, asking amusing questions, and making irrational predictions.
15. Hasbro Gaming Clue Junior Board Game
In order to win the Clue Junior game, players must unravel the mystery of the missing cake. What toy is damaged? Who harmed it? What time did they do it? Players roll the dice to determine if they can move characters before searching the board for clues that were hidden there at the start of the game. As more information is acquired, possibilities are whittled down one at a time until the real offender, time, and item are identified.
Although it is designed for children as young as 5, the Clue Junior game features the traditional “whodunnit” action. Players will narrow their options as they gather clues, finally learning what happened. Famous Clue characters including Miss Scarlett, Mrs. Peacock, Col. Mustard, Mr. Green, Prof. Plum, and others may be found in the game.
16. Rubik’s Race Game
Designed for two players, Rubik’s Race is a quick game that will keep your mind and hands moving. Be the first to align the 3×3 center with the pattern by shaking the scrambler and engaging in a head-to-head battle with your opponent. The Rubik’s Race is a true test of ability, speed, and dexterity, despite how simple it may seem. This makes the game perfect for 7-year-olds.
17. Blue Orange Games Dragomino
In Dragomino, players are transported to a world of mythical creatures where they collect dragon eggs and expand their kingdom. It’s like playing a modernized version of the classic dominoes game with a twist! On each turn, players choose a domino card to add to their kingdom and score points by matching it with previously played tiles. The twist is that some of these tiles may have an egg on them, which means players will collect young dragons and earn bonus points.
18. Wildcraft! an Herbal Adventure Game
In this board game, children will explore different ecosystems and discover 25 medicinal plants along the way. With waterfalls to slide down, logs to cross, and deer tracks to follow, this interactive game is sure to delight youngsters while teaching them about practical plant uses and their habitats.
They will be able to recognize plants in their own backyard and understand the importance of sustainability and plant conservation. The game also comes with a 27-page Wildcraft Botanical Coloring Book and a Pocket Guide, making it the perfect educational tool to bring along on family hikes, camping trips, and outdoor adventures.
19. Throw Throw Burrito
Get ready for an outrageous and hilarious time with Throw Throw Burrito – a combination of dodgeball and card game that will keep your 7-year-old entertained for hours! The game is all about collecting matching sets of cards while avoiding flying burritos. Players earn points by collecting the cards and lose points if they get hit by a squishy airborne burrito. It’s a game like no other, and your kids will absolutely love it!
But that’s not all – the game includes burrito cards that can trigger battles where players have to hit each other with toy burritos to steal points. These battles can be waged against a single opponent or the entire table, making for even more excitement and laughter.
20. Scrabble Junior Game
Scrabble Junior is a great game for kids who are just starting to learn how to spell and are ready to take on more advanced challenges. With four unique character tokens to choose from, your child can select their favorite personality and dive right into the game. As they complete words on the board, they’ll earn points and move their token along the track. If they finish a word that matches the color of their token, they’ll earn two points!
What’s great about Scrabble Junior is that it comes with a double-sided board. On one side, younger kids can use color-coded words and graphics to help them match letters and create words. As they progress, they can flip the board over and enter Level 2 play, where they’ll start coming up with their own sentences and using more advanced spelling skills.
How To Choose The Best Board Game For 7-Year-Olds
- Age-Appropriate: You’ll also want to make sure that the game is appropriate for their age group. Many games have suggested age ranges on the box, so that can be a helpful guide.
- Players: It’s important to choose a board game that is appropriate for the age range of the playgroup. If your youngster is playing with friends, make sure the game is appropriate for their age group. If the family is playing together, choose a game that everyone can enjoy.
- Type: A game should be enjoyable; it shouldn’t be monotonous or unpleasant. Pick a game that is enjoyable to play so that your 7-year-old will like it right away. Games that are too difficult or too easy can be frustrating, so try to find something that is just right for your child’s skill level. Cooperative games are often a good choice, as they emphasize fun over competition.
- Play Time: Kids often have shorter attention spans than adults, meaning they get bored more easily and need activities that will keep them engaged (2). Adults can usually sit and play a game for an hour or more without getting bored, but kids need something that will hold their attention without making them feel trapped at the table.
