13 Best Games For 3 Year Olds That You Should Know Update 03/2024

Best Games For 3 Year Olds

The best games for preschoolers, whether it’s for a preschool classroom, a game night with the whole family, or a gift for a preschooler, are here!

1. Zingo!

Zingo

Zingo! is a fun game that kids of all ages love to play. Preschoolers find it easy to learn. It is our favourite game right now. Children don’t even need to read to play, but it helps them learn important reading skills like how to read things that look the same. People play Bingo-like games in which they have to fill in their cards with the items the “Zinger” throws out, but instead of numbers, they get pictures and words instead.

2. Hoot Owl Hoot

Our family has always loved Hoot Owl Hoot. It is made by Peaceable Kingdom, which makes games that teach people how to work together. People love this way to play games. It’s called Hoot Owl Hoot, and everyone wants to get the owls to the nest. You work together to get everyone there before the sun sets. If you want to make the game easier, start with a lot less owls on the board. Have almost all the owls be hard (or even all of them). As many cards of the same colour as possible should be played in a row. This is my favourite trick. Make sure to fly over more places in each turn.

3. Stack Up!

Stack Up

It’s another favourite family game that’s great for preschool! It began when my youngest was two years old, and my kids still love it. Everyone works together to build a tower out of blocks before the stack smasher comes along and wrecks it. There are three different levels of play, so the game grows with your kids as they learn.

4. Hi Ho Cherry O

Because this preschool game is so old, but it’s still fun! Children learn how to count and take turns, and spinning the spinner may be one of the best parts. For years, I’ve played this game with my preschool class. It’s a great game for 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds.

5. First Orchard

This is a great first game for a young child. It’s very easy, and I think that’s a good thing! Because it’s so simple, there’s so much learning in there that it’s hard to believe. With early math skills, you can count from 1 to 8, and there’s also some basic science about how certain fruits grow on trees and birds eat them. In addition, games teach kids how to take turns, follow directions, and deal with the emotions that come with winning or losing, among other things. WHEW! All this from a simple, fun game!

6. Feed the Woozle

Feed the Woozle

This game is almost certain to make everyone laugh and smile. The kids work together to feed the Woozle all kinds of weird foods that they think are funny. Fine motor skills are strengthened as they balance the hilarious foods on a spoon, and it helps gross motor skills too with directed movements like “bunny hop,” “hula dance,” “spin,” and “walk backward.” They will ask to play again and again and laugh the whole time they play this game with their families.

7. Count Your Chickens

You can play this game with 3-year-olds. This is the animal that kids love the most: chickens! Children have a lot of fun putting all the chickens into the chicken coop and taking them home. As a bonus, they’re also learning important skills like one to one correspondence and counting!

8. Yeti in my Spaghetti

Yeti in my Spaghetti

If you play this game with preschoolers, it is so much fun. It’s very easy, but don’t forget about the giggles. You start by making a nest out of spaghetti noodles. Then, you put the Yeti in the middle. Each person pulls out a noodle one at a time until the Yeti falls into the bowl. Taking turns, strategy, and fine motor skills are all taught in this game.

9. Let’s Go Fishin’

This fishing game is too good to resist! A little bit of nostalgia comes from it if you remember it from when you were young. Children love to use the fishing rod to catch the magnetic fish. So this version also has a bonus: It comes with the Go Fish card game as well!

10. Uno Moo

The best way for 3-year-olds to learn about Uno! In this farm version, kids learn their colours, animals from the farm, as well as a little bit about strategy as they play! This is a great way for kids to have fun while also getting them ready for the big version of the game Uno.

11. Sneaky Snacky Squirrel

The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game

As with Hi Ho Cherry O, the idea is the same, but more learning makes it even better if possible! You don’t have to read while you use a spinner to get different-colored acorns to fill your tree stump. If your acorns aren’t safe from a storm, the sad squirrel, or a thieving squirrel, be careful! As you use the plastic tongs to pick up the acorns, your fine motor skills get better.

12. Educational Insights Special Edition The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game

The Educational Insights board game comes with a soft fuzzy squirrel squeezer and 20 golden acorns with colourful tops. Fill your log with five acorns and you’ll win. This set also comes with four logs, a game spinner, and a board that looks like a tree. If your child is good at organising things, this game will help them improve their strategic thinking and hand-eye coordination as well as their fine motor skills and their numerical skills, too.

Pros

Multi-player

Includes an instruction guide

Durable

Easy to hold

Cons

May be too simple

13. Wonder Forge Richard Scarry’s Busytown Eye Found It! Hidden Picture Game

You’ll need a game board, four mover bases, a sand timer and 30 goldbug cards to play this game with your friends. It also comes with ten magnifying glass tokens, six food tiles, a sand timer, and instructions. In this game, you have to run across a 6-foot long board to find different things. The parts of the game are well-made and durable, and they are bright and fun to keep the child busy for hours.

Pros

Helps develop teamwork and attention span

Easy to play

Encourages object-identification skills

Multi-player

Cons

Illustrations may be very small