Board games for mixed abilities

[Acunningruse]

Need a game which will appeal to a very, very bright 9yo who can play adult games, 9yo with limited experience of games (think top trumps, struggled with cluedo), and 2 5 year olds of average ability and attention span.

Any suggestions please? I was looking at the horrible histories one not sure what it's like?

Thanks

I think that maybe going a bit retro and doing games of chance rather than skill might be the way to go. Snakes and Ladders, Ludo, tiddlywinks, type of thing?

We love board games where you work as a team rather than against each other for when there is a range of ages/abilities. One that we particularly like is Disney Eye found it.

How about a cooperative game like Forbidden Island?

Labyrinth by Ravensburger
Munchkin (card game, but very simple, many versions )
Planet
www.waylandgames.co.uk/tile-placement/66417-planet?search_query=Planet&results=1073

For just the 9yr olds
Castles of Mad King Ludwig
www.waylandgames.co.uk/auctionbidding/54997-castles-of-mad-king-ludwig

Tiny towns
www.waylandgames.co.uk/pattern-building/62636-tiny-towns?search_query=Tiny+towns&results=4

Life junior, dobble and uno are the favourites here with a 6 and 8 year old.

Totally second Labyrinth... it is great for mixed ability, just enough of a mix between skill and luck to keep the balance, fun whether you're really thinking about it or just blindly attempting it. Perfect.

Thanks for this! Would you recommend the normal Labyrinth or the junior one? Thanks

This one is the version we had and was perfect for different ages.
www.amazon.com/Ravensburger-Labyrinth-Board-Game-Adults/dp/B00000J0JF?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Exploding Kittens
Dog Bingo (surprisingly enjoyable as an adult)

Dragomino is brilliant, easy to get the concept and fun for adults too. Barenpark is fun, haven't played it with my kids yet but it's on my list of things to get for them.

I think 5 is still pretty young for a lot of these games. I agree with something like snakes and ladders or Connect 4. My kids all love Uno and Othello.

Rhino hero
Bugs kitchen
Labyrinth
Game of life junior
I can see cluedo might be a bit meh!

Dobble
Labyrinth
Uno
Jenga
Junior pictionary
Twister
Pipeline
Darts (might need a step for the 5 year old and a few safety rules)
Maybe monopoly deal. Sure mine played it with his brother from any early age.

also - beetle drive and pick up sticks

What about qwirkle? A bit like scrabble but simpler. No language required. I am an adult and enjoy it.

We got my son bugs kitchen for his birthday and it's a fun game, not challenging though but I found it fun haha

My 10yo had this as a 5th bday gift, its probably our most played game - we still play occasionally & it was a big hit with her 4yo cousin too recently..
www.smythstoys.com/uk/en-gb/toys/games-puzzles-and-books/board-games/preschool-board-games/3d-snakes-and-ladders/p/110022

Otherwise I'd go with mainstream dobble (or maybe bop-it if you're open to deviating from board games)

There are loads of good games mentioned in this thread but personally dont think going to be suitable for all 4 children to play together.

Dobble is good because you can give more cards to more able players to even things up, so an adult can play against a 5yo and still enjoy the game.

We have a very bright 8 year old and a six year old who struggles. Games they both enjoy include:
Jenga
Bugs in the kitchen
Dobble
Frustration
Junior Monopoly

I see lots of people here have recommended Labyrinth. We love it, but it's not great for a very able child against younger/ less skilled players. Our youngest enjoys it, but it takes him time and often lots of goes to get to the spot. Our eldest can calculate ahead and work out moves with ease, so it generally leads to upset when they play together.

Blokus

We have played it with a 7 year old to 80 year old. It's brilliant, but disappointingly expensive.

I've just bought labyrinth and planet thank you

Various abilities here and we love Virus (cards) and Sequence (a card board game that you can kind of make up your own easier rules of you like, enjoyable as an adult too)

What’s the one where you wear a head band with a card on it that other players can see but you can’t? I remember that being fun with toddlers.

Monopoly junior is one of the few junior versions of a game that is still fun for older players.

I’m not sure if twister would be ok?

The Logo game is quite good. And we like Articulate for family teams. You could add a few cards in for the younger children to give them a bit more of a fighting chance.