One of the greatest things about Abigail getting older has been the ability to do more “big people” things with her. You know, actually playing together as opposed to me playing at her or beside her. It’s been so much fun and a great change to the dynamic in our house. Because of that, for her birthday and Christmas this year, we asked for a lot of games.
Playing games together makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. Jim and I are game players, and finally having a kiddo old enough to play games with has been more fun than I can describe.
Plus, there are all those fun extras like….spending time together, investing in Abigail, and teaching her valuable life lessons like taking turns and losing sometimes 🙂
All of that being said, here are my top 5 favorite games to play with a 3 year old right now.
#1 Cootie
This game is great. All you have to do is roll a dice(we roll it into her pot so it doesn’t go rolling away!) and build your cootie bug based off the number your dice is. Simple, quick, and easy.
Unless you’re like me and can’t roll a 1 to save your life.
#2 Clifford The Big Red Dog Game
Abigail got this game for her birthday and it was the first game that we all sat down and really enjoyed together. You spin the spinner, move to your color, and collect doggie bones. She loves to bring in her corresponding stuffed animals and draw cards for everyone.
#3 Minnie Mouse Matching Game
I love this game so much!! I am always blown away by how good Abigail is at it. I don’t have to help her at all. She really remembers matches and does a great job playing by the rules with this game.
We have the Minnie version, but they also have Curious George, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Princesses, Busy Town, and other characters too.
#4 Busy Town Eye Found It Game
Even though I cringed when I read the front of the box that boasts a “6 FOOT LONG GAME BOARD!!” this game actually turned out to be a lot of fun and worth the floor space for setting up.
It’s like a combination of chutes and ladders meets eye spy. Very fun, with simple to understand rules. Abigail loves this show on Netflix so she loved playing with all of the characters and winning a picnic lunch at the end of the game.
#5 Cinderella Pretty, Pretty, Princess Game
This is hands down one of the greatest games of all time. I would say it’s just for girls, but my little brother has been the prettiest princess before in our game playing days, and my dear husband looked absolutely ravishing in his purple jewelry the other night, so it’s a game that anyone can play!
Do you like to play games as a family? What are your favorite games to play with a 3 year old?
Why I've yet to buy my daughter a board game, I'll never know. She turned 3 in October and I have NO clue but it never crossed my mind! BUT… because of this post I'm going to buy her some TODAY! I love playing games, you don't even know how excited I am to play some this weekend. Thank you! Also, our daughters would totally be BFFs. lol have a great weekend!
Hooray!!! And some of these games are super cheap too. I think I also got her chutes and ladders and candyland for maybe 5 each at Target? Same with Cootie. They are great!
Abigail is VERY friendly. She would definitely be up for a new bff!
I got her candyland earlier this year and that one still hasn't really taken off yet. She likes getting the "special" cards, but not much else 🙂
She really, really loves pretty pretty princess. It's a great game! The Cinderella version has a clock tower instead of the black ring, and the game pieces are little high heels. It's so cute!
ok. i'm officially SO excited for lex to get a tad older so we can start playing games too!! pretty pretty princess was totally a fav growing up. SO its a definitely MUST HAVE!
Yes! 3 was a big turning point for us as far as playing games goes. She probably could have played some of these a little sooner, but she definitely understands the rules more now 🙂
Lincoln got chutes and ladders and Candyland for Christmas so I may have to get him some of these for Christmas! Great ideas! And you're right, the game playing age is so much fun!
I got Abigail both of those around her birthday and she just hasn't quite caught on to them yet. I really love both of those games and know we'll play them more in the future, but right now these are the ones we play most. I'm sure he would love them!
Oh my gosh, I don't know how I haven't bought my girls Pretty, Pretty Princess yet. Going to have to make a Target run and grab one for the girls. Thanks!!
I feel like this game was kind of hard to find! I haven't seen it in stores anywhere. My mom got Abigail her's for Christmas. There were a bunch on eBay and then through those sellers on amazon.
Which I find really surprising and kind of odd because it is a great game and I would think sells really well?
My family has always been a game-playing family. One of my sisters, Anna, was so addicted to Candyland back in the day that she would play it by herself or with her stuffed animals: very conscientiously and according to all of the rules. I remember playing lots of those memory matching games with my siblings, and chutes and ladders was one of my favorites when I was little! Now we really like Apples to Apples, which the 7 year old plays too, even if she doesn't entirely understand all the words and cultural references (hey, even I don't understand all the cultural references!)
Ha! Abigail and I have already incorporated playing with her animal friends. It's a lot of fun patiently waiting for my turn while teddy and bunny go first 😉
We like apples to apples too! Maybe I should write a post about some of our favorite grown up people games sometime 🙂
I can't wait for Ellie to get older to play games!! I love that you are teaching her game rules and appropriate game playing behaviors/expectations (taking turns and how to lose!) Sometimes these are characteristics that go forgotten (so as a teacher, thanks for keeping it up)!!
It's actually surprisingly hard when you're the only playing with her{unless we're counting seahorse…and bunny…and lambie..} to not let her skip ahead or wait her turn. It makes the game a lot longer and it would be a lot easier to let her play however she felt like it, but yes, I think they are very valuable skills that take time to be instilled! So, we're working on it 🙂
It must be so much fun to play games together as a family. I can't wait to do that! I love Pretty Pretty Princess as a kid and I love any matching game. I have to start collecting some games!
I highly, highly recommend Hungry, Hungry Hippos. My son (turned 3 in Nov), spends so much time with that game. Also, a Go Fishing game (I know Toys R Us has a Barbie version with jewels instead on fish)
Yes! Hungry hungry hippos is a good one! It's just not one of her favorites yet. She got it for Christmas so we haven't broken it in yet as much as some of the others.
I admit, I cringe in fear at all the little balls spilling everywhere{lookin at you too, high ho cherryo} but I'm sure we'll be playing with it a lot soon 🙂
oh my! i played cooties AND pretty pretty princess ALL THE TIME! and shoots and ladders. i loved that one. later my husband and i played an adult version called shots and ladders. that didn't end well. 🙂
We love Cootie! Lily and I just played it today. Surprisingly, with 2 girls, we don't own Pretty Pretty Princess. I need to put that on my list of things to buy!
Your daughter is simply beautiful! I'm a new follower from the little things link up! I love this post about games to play. My daughter is almost two so i'm book marking these for when she's older but I'm pretty sure that minnie mouse game would already be a hit (she's LOVESSS minnie!). Looking forward to future posts!
Aw, thanks Jenny 🙂 I'm so, so glad you are here!!
I bet she would LOVE the Minnie game already. The cards are really fun to look at and I'm sure she could find matches by looking at them face up! It would be so fun!
Oh, I love your little corner of the internet! You and your family are so adorable!! I'm so sorry you are having trouble with #2, but you are doing a kickass job with the one you have!!
So, my 4 year old loves eye spy AND Busytown!! I never knew there was a game though! I have been trying to find another way to do eye spy besides Where's Waldo!
Did you meet your husband through another homeschooling activity? I think that is so neat! What does SWMO stand for?
Hey, Dawn! Thank you for the sweet, sweet compliment 🙂
The busytown game would be perfect for a 4 year old! I bet he would love it!
I did. My husband and I participated in a sports program with a local Christian school. They were too small to compete on their own, so they let homeschoolers play as well so their team would be big enough! Jim was the quarterback and I was a cheerleader 🙂
Why I've yet to buy my daughter a board game, I'll never know. She turned 3 in October and I have NO clue but it never crossed my mind! BUT… because of this post I'm going to buy her some TODAY! I love playing games, you don't even know how excited I am to play some this weekend. Thank you! Also, our daughters would totally be BFFs. lol have a great weekend!
Hooray!!! And some of these games are super cheap too. I think I also got her chutes and ladders and candyland for maybe 5 each at Target? Same with Cootie. They are great!
Abigail is VERY friendly. She would definitely be up for a new bff!
I got her candyland earlier this year and that one still hasn't really taken off yet. She likes getting the "special" cards, but not much else 🙂
She really, really loves pretty pretty princess. It's a great game! The Cinderella version has a clock tower instead of the black ring, and the game pieces are little high heels. It's so cute!
ok. i'm officially SO excited for lex to get a tad older so we can start playing games too!! pretty pretty princess was totally a fav growing up. SO its a definitely MUST HAVE!
Yes! 3 was a big turning point for us as far as playing games goes. She probably could have played some of these a little sooner, but she definitely understands the rules more now 🙂
It is absolutely a must have!!
Oooh thanks for these! I'm sure my daughter would love some if these games!
No problemo! Enjoy 🙂
Even a Gma can use these suggestions – thanks Courtney! And I LOVE that you link them to Amazon – a woman after my own heart:).
You are welcome!! Us ladies have to help each other's online shopping experience be as easy and pain free as possible 😉
Lincoln got chutes and ladders and Candyland for Christmas so I may have to get him some of these for Christmas! Great ideas! And you're right, the game playing age is so much fun!
http://www.lincsmomma.blogspot.com
I got Abigail both of those around her birthday and she just hasn't quite caught on to them yet. I really love both of those games and know we'll play them more in the future, but right now these are the ones we play most. I'm sure he would love them!
Oh my gosh, I don't know how I haven't bought my girls Pretty, Pretty Princess yet. Going to have to make a Target run and grab one for the girls. Thanks!!
I feel like this game was kind of hard to find! I haven't seen it in stores anywhere. My mom got Abigail her's for Christmas. There were a bunch on eBay and then through those sellers on amazon.
Which I find really surprising and kind of odd because it is a great game and I would think sells really well?
My family has always been a game-playing family. One of my sisters, Anna, was so addicted to Candyland back in the day that she would play it by herself or with her stuffed animals: very conscientiously and according to all of the rules. I remember playing lots of those memory matching games with my siblings, and chutes and ladders was one of my favorites when I was little!
Now we really like Apples to Apples, which the 7 year old plays too, even if she doesn't entirely understand all the words and cultural references (hey, even I don't understand all the cultural references!)
Ha! Abigail and I have already incorporated playing with her animal friends. It's a lot of fun patiently waiting for my turn while teddy and bunny go first 😉
We like apples to apples too! Maybe I should write a post about some of our favorite grown up people games sometime 🙂
I can't wait for Ellie to get older to play games!! I love that you are teaching her game rules and appropriate game playing behaviors/expectations (taking turns and how to lose!) Sometimes these are characteristics that go forgotten (so as a teacher, thanks for keeping it up)!!
It's actually surprisingly hard when you're the only playing with her{unless we're counting seahorse…and bunny…and lambie..} to not let her skip ahead or wait her turn. It makes the game a lot longer and it would be a lot easier to let her play however she felt like it, but yes, I think they are very valuable skills that take time to be instilled! So, we're working on it 🙂
It must be so much fun to play games together as a family. I can't wait to do that! I love Pretty Pretty Princess as a kid and I love any matching game. I have to start collecting some games!
It is! And you will be in no time 🙂
I highly, highly recommend Hungry, Hungry Hippos. My son (turned 3 in Nov), spends so much time with that game. Also, a Go Fishing game (I know Toys R Us has a Barbie version with jewels instead on fish)
Yes! Hungry hungry hippos is a good one! It's just not one of her favorites yet. She got it for Christmas so we haven't broken it in yet as much as some of the others.
I admit, I cringe in fear at all the little balls spilling everywhere{lookin at you too, high ho cherryo} but I'm sure we'll be playing with it a lot soon 🙂
oh my! i played cooties AND pretty pretty princess ALL THE TIME! and shoots and ladders. i loved that one. later my husband and i played an adult version called shots and ladders. that didn't end well. 🙂
It's so ridiculous, sometimes Jim and I play each other quickly to see who can win and he always absolutely annihilates me.
I'm failing to see how shots and ladders could have ended badly.
We've been playing games quite a bit lately….and I'm always on the lookout for a new fun one. I'm excited to try a few of these!
Awesome! I'm sure you guys do keep busy with lots of game playing 🙂 It's great to add a few new ones into the rotation!
Pretty Pretty Princess. Ah! I remember those days! 🙂
The best!
We love Cootie! Lily and I just played it today. Surprisingly, with 2 girls, we don't own Pretty Pretty Princess. I need to put that on my list of things to buy!
Yes! You definitely do! It's such a fun game.
Your daughter is simply beautiful! I'm a new follower from the little things link up! I love this post about games to play. My daughter is almost two so i'm book marking these for when she's older but I'm pretty sure that minnie mouse game would already be a hit (she's LOVESSS minnie!). Looking forward to future posts!
Aw, thanks Jenny 🙂 I'm so, so glad you are here!!
I bet she would LOVE the Minnie game already. The cards are really fun to look at and I'm sure she could find matches by looking at them face up! It would be so fun!
Oh, I love your little corner of the internet! You and your family are so adorable!! I'm so sorry you are having trouble with #2, but you are doing a kickass job with the one you have!!
So, my 4 year old loves eye spy AND Busytown!! I never knew there was a game though! I have been trying to find another way to do eye spy besides Where's Waldo!
Did you meet your husband through another homeschooling activity? I think that is so neat! What does SWMO stand for?
Love from #SITSBloggin
Hey, Dawn! Thank you for the sweet, sweet compliment 🙂
The busytown game would be perfect for a 4 year old! I bet he would love it!
I did. My husband and I participated in a sports program with a local Christian school. They were too small to compete on their own, so they let homeschoolers play as well so their team would be big enough! Jim was the quarterback and I was a cheerleader 🙂
SWMO= South West Missouri!