4 board games my 4 year old loves

Perfect picks for pre-readers that make dining out easier (and more fun).

Four years ago my oldest son was born, and ever since I’ve been waiting for the day we could play board games together.

That day is finally here.

There’s something magical about watching him think through his next move. Or seeing that sly little grin when he draws the winning card. For a board-game-loving parent, this is the dream.

But finding games that strike the right balance of fun and challenge for a four year old isn’t easy. Most kids’ games are either too simple to hold attention or too random to be satisfying for adults.

After a lot of trial and error, we’ve found four games that we love playing together. They’re engaging for him, fun for me, and perfect for restaurants when we want to avoid screens and still keep everyone happy.

Garbage Monsters and Slap Jack

My son actually discovered Garbage Monsters on one of our weekend coffee shop trips. As I was paying, he came running over clutching the box and begging to play it. Turns out the shop has a little board game library, and now we make it a tradition to try something new there every Saturday.

Garbage Monsters is a number-matching game with adorable trash-can monsters. You flip a card and place it in the right spot on your board of ten numbers. His favorite moment is when he pulls a wild card and shouts “I know where it goes!” before slamming it down.

Slap Jack is fast and silly. It’s perfect for a group. Everyone flips cards in turn, and when a Jack shows up, it’s a mad dash to slap it first. It usually ends with a pile of hands in the middle of the table and my son grinning ear to ear.

Bonus: you can grab both of these (plus four other games) for about $13 online, which makes them an easy pick-up if you just want something quick and fun to throw in your bag.

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Charades for Kids

It’s charades. But for kids! The best part?

“For players who are too young to read, 50 colorful picture charades are included. Be the first player to successfully act out five charades to win.”

This is such a clever way to include kids who can’t read yet. My son just looks at the picture and acts it out. Since each card has three clues, I’ll pick the harder ones to keep things fun for me, too.

After a few evenings of this, I realized how literal he is. His clue was a bed, but instead of lying down and pretending to sleep, he got on all fours and straightened his back, to look like a bed!

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Zingo!

Here’s another game that doesn’t require reading.

Zingo takes bingo and replaces the balls with a tile-shooting contraption (so fun my son played with it by itself when we weren’t even playing the game).

Each player gets a Zingo card. When two tiles pop out, it’s a race to shout the match first. Whoever fills their board wins.

The best part? Each card is double-sided. The yellow side is easier and less competitive, but flip to the red side and suddenly you’re fighting your little one to call the match first.

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Dinosaur Escape

Three dinosaur figurines and a buildable volcano? This game hits all the tactile points that make board games fun.

It’s mostly a memory game with a bit of strategy. And it’s cooperative, so we play together against the game. My son loves building the volcano (even if finishing it means we lose).

Watching him pause, think hard, and then flip over the right tile is exactly the kind of “gears turning” moment I dreamed about when I pictured playing games with him.

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These four games have turned dinners out from a juggling act into something we all look forward to. They keep my son engaged, give us space to talk between turns, and make the whole table laugh.

If you’ve got a little one around this age, I can’t recommend these enough. Grab one or two, toss them in your bag, and next time you’re at a restaurant you might just find yourself looking forward to the wait for food.

What about you? What games are you playing with your little one? Drop a comment, I’m always looking for new ones to try!