My 8 year old is obsessed with Catan Jr. right now. I think the idea of the 3 year old teaming up with an adult is good. I think you're age range is to wide for everyone to like many of the same games. I remember my DD learning to play uno around 3/4 so that could be one option.

Check out The Bears and the Bees, especially if your kids enjoy puzzels. https://www.grandpabecksgames.com/bears-and-the-bees

We play it regularly with our 3 and 5 year olds--it is hands down their favorite game, and I really enjoy it, too. I think your 10 year old would find it plenty challenging -- I got beaten by the 3 year old the other night.

When my step-daughter was 11 and my son was 2/3 we played Mancala and I gave my 2-year old an ice cube tray and some "game pieces" so he could "play" too. We would let him take a "turn". Same with card games, we just gave him some cards of his own and every now and then it would be his "turn" to put down cards or something.

My now 3 and 5 year old play Connect 4, Memory, Trouble, Hungry Hungry Hippos, Spot It. Watch Your Mouth is also hilarious.

Anonymous wrote:Apples to Apples Junior.

It's the best! All your kids will like it.

Agree

The three year old can play on a team with other family members. Get the younger kid their own games, my kid loved the Junior versions of Catan, Carcassone, Ticket to Ride and Stone Age.

By 5 he was playing King of Tokyo by himself. At 7 he is playing pretty much all the adult versions on the strategic board games. We still aim for shorter ones, like Azul, King of Tokyo, and Kingdomino. As he gets older he is able to play Ticket to Ride with some end game modifications because the game is just a bit long for his attention span.

Kids are far more capable of playing strategic games then people think. Playing on a team is helpful but you will be amazed at how quickly they can grasp the rules of the game and strategy and play solo.

Guess Who? and Headbands

My 3 year old will happily play Sleeping Queens, which was a recommendation we got from our nieces who span ages 7-11. She doesn't get all of it, but she gets enough.

We also have the 3 year old (and her 5 year old sister) "partner" with a parent to play Rat-a-Tat Cat, and our 8 year old plays on her own.

Jenga?
Kerplunk?

Agree that the Ladybug Game is great for 3 and not horribly awful older. At least the 8 year old would be OK.

We haven't played it yet, but we've also been recommended Mole Rats in Space for a good age spread game.

Sometimes for our family game night with a smaller spread we'll break up with one parent doing an older game (Checkers, Ticket to Ride Junior) and the other a younger game (Hi-Ho Cherry-O, Memory).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Forbidden Island and Forbidden Desert are two cooperative games that are good, cooperative, and can become harder as kids age or get to know the game.

My son, 7, loves King of Tokoyo and King of New York. Kingdomino, Ticket To Ride, Settlers of Catan, Azul are other favorites. Formula D is great and plays differently then the others. A good number of those can be found at Target.

Castle Panic is also a good coop with kids. Zombie Dice (or the friendlier branded Dino Dice) may also be good. With zombie dice we made brain score markers out of polymer clay when my kids were in ore-school / K.

Slide Quest may also be good if 3yo can keep things out of her mouth.

Anonymous wrote:Forbidden Island and Forbidden Desert are two cooperative games that are good, cooperative, and can become harder as kids age or get to know the game.

My son, 7, loves King of Tokoyo and King of New York. Kingdomino, Ticket To Ride, Settlers of Catan, Azul are other favorites. Formula D is great and plays differently then the others. A good number of those can be found at Target.

Castle Panic is also a good coop with kids. Zombie Dice (or the friendlier branded Dino Dice) may also be good. With zombie dice we made brain score markers out of polymer clay when my kids were in ore-school / K.

Also the lady bug game is good for little ones and isnt too awful for older ones. I agree Spot It is also great.

Uno, Zingo, operation, labrynith, trouble, top that.

Life, monopoly and clue for older kids.

Can she count? We used sum swamp early on and just had her count instead of adding/subtracting.
Sleeping queens was another we played fairly early—I think my youngest was 4 when we got it. Monopoly Junior was another that worked pretty well.

Maybe Rivers, Roads, and Rails?

It’s one of our favorites. I think we got it around age 5.

Mexican Train Dominos, 3yo can match colors. Great way to get them comfortable with numbers.

Kids on Stage
Hungry, Hungry Hippoes
Kerplunk
Trouble
Don't Break the Ice
Matching games
Go Fish
Bingo (we used Froot Loops for tokens)

For the older kids:
Apples to Apples
Blokus
Labyrinth
Bananagrams
Twister