Games for 2 1/2 year old?

[roobee]

I've been wanting to buy a game or 2 for DD - or maybe put some on her x-mas list. All the boxes say they're for kids 3 & up - is that because of the small pieces?

DD can count a little bit - I think a game would encourage her to count a bit more. Any ideas? I saw Hi-Ho-Cherio and Cootie at Target today. Would those be good?

Thanks!
Jen

[giavila]

Hi-Ho Cherry-O is DD's favorite! We got it for her 3rd birthday, but I think she would of been fine with it a little earlier. I think the 3 and up is for the small parts (at least that's my guess!). I think (with supervision) it's a great choice.

[babyready]

I think 3 and up is both for small parts and also for skill much of the time. DD is 3 and just starting to get into some games. But most are still a little tricky and she doesn't quite have the attention span.

Some that worked great for us early on (2 1/2 to present) were The Goodnight Moon Game and any sort of matching/memory game. We also just got Don't Break the Ice and that may have worked earlier too.

[belovedgandp]

I think some of them are small parts. There's a wide range of focus/skill required for lots of those games.

Hi Ho Cherrio was the first one we had here that was a hit. Probably around 2 1/2.

Other games between 2 1/2 and 3:

Tumblin' Monkeys - absolute favorite, higher age is probably because "winner" has least monkeys, but we've had kids from 2 to 8 play and love it.

Candyland - remove the special cards to retain attention span

Lucky Ducks - personally annoying, but son loved it

Bingo - we had Leap Frog one with a spinner and then shapes/animal cards

Hullabaloo - closer to 3

Old MacDonald's Farm - matching haystack game - one of our firsts

[brittone2]

DS started w/ Memory games (we love the Eeboo version called Life On Earth). I would just pull out a few pairs of cards and as he mastered more and more, we worked our way up to the whole set. He started w/ Memory type games around 2.5 I believe. Ditto Hi Ho Cherry Oh, although we had to help him count and his attention span didn't usually last the whole game. Snail's Pace Race is also really simple and pretty much just involves color recognition, and the snails move only one spot at a time, so it is pretty manageable for little ones. Don't Spill the Beans was another early favorite.

I think kids really vary with when they were ready. DS seemed to get into games on the early side compared with a lot of kids we know. You can always pick up a few that you think will be favorites, try them, and if they are too frustrating, just put them away until she's a little bigger.

I think the age recommendation is probably due to small pieces primarily. A lot of kids probably aren't developmentally ready before 3ish either, but again, I think that varies. YOu know her best :)

[sarahsthreads]

You won't find them at Target, but these are some games that DD has been playing since around her 2nd birthday:

Go Away Monsters - I can't say enough good things about this game. DD has played a four-player game of this with her playgroup friends (all under 3), and it's just short enough to not become a disaster. ;) Introduces turn-taking, matching, and not being afraid of monsters - you're supposed to throw any monster pieces you get into a box while saying "Go Away, Monster!", but DD frequently tucks them into bed. (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/6714)

Snail's Pace Race - You roll dice with color spots and move the corresponding colored snail(s) from start to finish. The "winner" is not the snail that gets there first, but the player who guesses which snail will get there first. Introduces turn-taking, color recognition, moving a game piece the right number of spaces, and betting. (Just kidding on that last one.) (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/2767)

Socken Zocken - The point is to match socks and get five pairs before anyone else so you can get a clothespin. Whoever gets three clothespins first wins the sock monster. We mainly at this point use it as a matching game where we challenge DD to find the matching sock. We started this one closer to 2 1/2, and we just use a subset of the socks instead of the whole box. Played according to the rules it introduces turn-taking, matching (very similar objects), counting (making five pairs, earning three clothespins) and a bit of competition. (http://www.oompa.com/baby-toys/category.cgi?item=HA4465)

Can you tell we're game geeks? On DD's Christmas list (though she'll be 3+ by then) is Gulo Gulo (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/6351) and Memory.

Sarah :)