best board games for four year ols ds

[zebramummy]

all the usual suspects seem to have really lukewarm online reviews - surely there must be one that is absolutely bloody amazing, attention span extending, 'please mum can we play X' four times a day material??

shut the box is fab my dds of 6 and 3 love it

build a beetle

those ones with dice in a popper thing in the middle of the board (we've got a noddy version)

soundtracks games, a bit like bingo but you listen to sounds on a cd and cover the picture that goes with the sound

Yeah definately the one with the popper in the middle ...I got one for £4 from asda and my never got bored of it! Also Guess who is not bad and Hungry hippos. I find the best place to go is the supermarkets as they have a really good selection of own brand games that are just as good and half the price.

junior monopoly - fantastic game for that age. Have played it over and over and it's one the parents don't mind playing either!

Build a beetle definitely. My 3 and 5 year old still get it out constantly and they got it last xmas, it's their favourite by miles. And it's really cheap too!

We like some of the co-operative board games in our house - try Myriad

my ds who is 5 likes little orchard if you lose, you all lose...its players against the crow!

orpictureka we have had this for about a year...we don't use the timer, but its great fun age says min. 8 but that would be for using timer i think

er...is that Myriad site suggesting we buy logs for our kids to play with?

Pop up pirate? DS2 (4.5) and DS3 (2.5) love this game.

Here are the co-operative games

Mine love the Orchard Games like Crazy Chef, Shopping Trolley Game and Bus Stop. Or Lotto we have about 5 versions in our house (one from when I was a kid!) and they love them all.
Someone got my DS a great Rocket game for his 5th birthday where you move a spaceman around the board and there is a plunger which must have loads of tubing underneath and you choose a colour press the plunger and someones spaceman pops off the board and has to start again. The winner gets to stick their spaceman in a foam space rocket and 'blast offf' and I kid you not I have hit the ceiling with this rocket. It is just an ace game. Just had a look its called Rocket Race by a company called Drummond Park.... My two DS (4 and 5) love it and its quick to play as well

Orchard Toys Walk the Plank is a firm favourite in our house as well as any version of Snakes and Ladders (we seem to have several!).

Also, not strictly a board game but Pop up pirate gets used loads.

thanks
pop up pirates - i bought it when he had just turned three and let us just say that he was not exactly ready for it; i am still finding those little plastic knives around the house till this day. i wish i had bought it a bit later as i am sure that he would love it now; except that it is the kind of game that costs too much to buy twice in two years

ours like PICTUREKA (sp?)

Our ds's both love Guess Who, Connect 4 (not a board game but similar!), Hungry Hippos (too noisy for my liking...), and they loved Tummy Ache up until very recently, so I'd recommend any of these for a 4 year old.

Dd1 (5) likes Guess Who, Connect 4, Market day, greedy gorilla (orchard games) and Tummy ache.

Gulo Gulo is good (and fun for adults too), also Market Day if its still available. In general I would say that the Ravensburger games are good. DD also liked Buggo which is a variation on the memory game theme.

The boardgamegeek website has loads of reviews and lists of games, takes a bit of poking around to find games for particular ages, but we've found lots of good ideas there.

thanks - i had never heard of some of these - ds has ravensburger jigsaws so i am sure their games would be good too. will check out the website for ideas thanks

Great thread!
I am looking for board games for 3.5 year old dd, terrific pointers on here, thanks!

had a look at rocket race - is probably at the right level for ds atm although not easy to find online. i love the myriad toys website - wonderful to see so many alternatives to the usual 10 or so which appear in every high street catalogue. love the camping stove in particular (not a board game, i know) , though i may wait a few years until ds is less impulsive

We've got DS1 Rush hour junior version for Xmas - a friend has it and says her DS loves it. Lots of cards to use based on varying levels of difficulty. Our local bookshop has one out on a playtable and it always have boys crowded round it! here

just to update - market day arrived today and ds was really interested from the start although he lost concentration as soon as he had to miss a turn. he has not started formal education yet so i am hoping that it will benefit his concentration skills - i see it as a good game to 'grow into' - thanks for the recs