Games intended particularly for younger players (typically ages 12 and under) and players new to modern board games. Game duration usually runs 15 – 45 minutes.
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2026
Winner – Magical Athlete
Draft a team of rule-breaking racers that kick, trip, romance, scooch, heckle, and try to reunite their parents in this truly chaotic sprint to the finish. Please note that the attempts to reunite one racer’s parents have been unsuccessful.
Recommended
Cascadia Junior
Take a family adventure to the Pacific Northwest to learn pattern-matching while building up to the full Cascadia game.
Duck & Cover
Protect your ducks from splishes, splashes, and other bathtub incidents while trying to get the lowest score.
Nominated
Splendor Kids
The Sandcastles of Burgundy
2025
Winner – Captain Flip
Draw tiles to claim points in a variety of locations, but watch out! Too many Gunners will make your ship explode in this quick and dynamic tile-placement game.
Recommended
Flip 7
Push your luck to draw high-value cards and beat the odds in this quick and risky card game.
Rhino Hero XXL
The tower is bigger than ever in this updated version of a classic game for the whole family.
Nominated
Caution Signs
Monkey Palace
2024
Winner – Blob Party
Like-minded guessers literally stick together in this cooperative game where you only win once every player guesses the exact same word.
Recommended
Chicken!
Roll dice to fill your coop but watch out for foxes as you press your luck and score ever more points.
Deep Dive
Avoid predators as you search for food as a group of intrepid penguins that are firmly in the middle of the food chain.
Nominated
Turbo Kidz
Maple Valley
2023
Winner – boop.
Raise kittens to cats and bop other ones off the bed in this cute and quick three-in-a-row game of feline placement and management.
Recommended
Kites
Keep a colorful array of kites in the air in this quick card game of sand timer management.
MANTIS
Steal or score and then win. Is it really that simple? You’ll have to find out in this colorful card game.
Nominated
Green Team Wins
Downtown Farmers Market
2022
Winner – Happy City
Build the perfect city that prioritizes citizens’ happiness by making a bright, colorful tableau in this simple and compelling introduction to the genre.
Recommended
Crash Octopus
Try to collect scattered treasures while dodging a beautiful (and angry) mollusk in this vibrant dexterity game.
Kabuto Sumo
Throw down for bug supremacy in this ever-pushy dexterity game reminiscent of classic arcade games.
Nominated
Block Ness
Hammer Time
2021
Winner – Abandon All Artichokes
Vacate some vegetables in this delightful and colorful deckbuilder that streamlines gameplay and makes for a great introduction to the deckbuilding genre.
Recommended
Hues and Cues
Choose your words carefully to describe a color in this colorful party game.
Dragomino
Search for dragon eggs in this family entry in the Kingdomino series.
Nominated
Dungeon Drop
Zombie Teenz Evolution
2020
Winner – Draftosaurus
As dinosaur theme park proprietors, players take turns choosing from colorful dinosaur meeples in order to build up a variety of delightful dino destinations.
Recommended
Snowman Dice
Only one finger’s allowed in this dice-rolling race to the North Pole.
My First Castle Panic
Protect your castle from rampaging monsters in this cooperative family game.
Nominated
The Aquicorn Cove Board Game
L.L.A.M.A.
2019
Winner – Catch the Moon
Tasked with climbing to the moon, players are given a bunch of ladders and a single die, rolling it to guide them to which ladders they can place and how many they must touch.
Recommended
Drop It
Place shapes, but don’t let the same color or shape touch!
Megaland
Jump until you fall in a light coin-collecting game for the whole family.
Nominated
Snail Sprint
The Mind
