Games for 2 years 10 months old

[hehateme]

Hi:

Our DS1 is a typical toddler with lots of energy. His third birthday is coming up in 2 months and I want to provide gifts that can keep him occupied even for a short span of time.
DS2 is 4 months old and we hope that he can use the same toys in future.

Are there any board games a 3 year old boy can play?
I have gone through past favorite threads but I am still struggling.
We live in MN so we do have long winters so if we do buy something we will prefer something that can be used indoors and outdoors.

He has all kinds of blocks, roller coaster, climber, mini bike, Melissa & Doug work bench, nilo activity table, bunch of bruder trucks, lot of puzzles(he can do them and is bored). He does love his cars.

Thanks

[AlbrightRC]

My son started doing more difficult puzzles around that age. He also enjoyed Candy land and chutes and ladders. AT around 3 1/2 he got Uno moo which is also a big hit.

[fedoragirl]

My 2 year old got this for Christmas and enjoys playing it. However, it's not a solo game. One must show 'em how its done and then, they can play with several players.
http://www.amazon.com/HABA-My-Very-First-Games/dp/B004BW8TYC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336420900&sr=8-1

I have to add that the quality of all HABA games is outstanding. They can definitely be passed down several generations.
And this is another one that's always recommended here, and I intend to buy it for her at Christmas.
http://www.amazon.com/Can-Do-That-Games-01017/dp/B002V3RCE6/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1336420984&sr=1-1

[acmom]

My son started doing more difficult puzzles around that age. He also enjoyed Candy land and chutes and ladders. AT around 3 1/2 he got Uno moo which is also a big hit.

:yeahthat: We did a lot of jigsaw puzzles starting at that age- first with 12 pieces, then 24. My DD likes UNO Moo too- we started playing around 3 I think. Candyland castle, snails pace and memory are great beginning games too.

[ray7694]

Hands down Magnatiles.

[mikala]

My 2 year old got this for Christmas and enjoys playing it. However, it's not a solo game. One must show 'em how its done and then, they can play with several players.
http://www.amazon.com/HABA-My-Very-First-Games/dp/B004BW8TYC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336420900&sr=8-1

We like this too but it might be a little young for your child. I wish we had gone with the regular Orchard game instead of the first version.



I have to add that the quality of all HABA games is outstanding. They can definitely be passed down several generations.
And this is another one that's always recommended here, and I intend to buy it for her at Christmas.
http://www.amazon.com/Can-Do-That-Games-01017/dp/B002V3RCE6/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1336420984&sr=1-1

This is also great and isn't as mind-numbing as some of the other kid games we've tried.

For larger puzzles we've liked Melissa and Doug and Crocodile Creek. If he's bored with your current stash you may want to move up to more pieces.
http://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Going-Places-Puzzle/dp/B000GKAU0O/ref=sr_1_2?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1336422940&sr=1-2

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dtoys-and-games&field-keywords=crocodile+creek+puzzles

Also 2nd (or 3rd?) the rec for Magnatiles.

Do you have a water table? In the cold months you can move it inside and fill it with dried beans, rice, pom-poms, etc. and then in the summer move it back outside.

[hellokitty]

Yeah, I would not do board games at that age. I would do something easy like busy packs. One of my friends brought some in ziplock bag. She had old baby flashcards, cut into two or three pieces, so basically a puzzle. She had made some counting cards, where she drew a certain # of dots on the page and then the wrote the number and her son could use small erasers (the "fun" kind that you get for favors, but suck as real erasers) to place over the dots. She also had large popsicle sticks (more like tongue depressors from doc's office) puzzles, she basically glued pictures on them and then must have used an exacto knife to cut them and then her son could put them back together like a puzzle. Pretty cool stuff, perfect for a young preschool and CHEAP!

[baileygirl]

Busy toddler? Without a doubt Pop up Pirate or Don't Break the Ice. Both are short games and both of my boys loved them (and still do at 5&3). We started including DS2 in Pop up Pirate when he was under 2.

[acmom]

Busy toddler? Without a doubt Pop up Pirate or Don't Break the Ice. Both are short games and both of my boys loved them (and still do at 5&3). We started including DS2 in Pop up Pirate when he was under 2.

:yeahthat: Pop Up Pirate is great! When I taught that was always a favorite for my preschoolers!

[hehateme]

We do have a water table and my son enjoyed it in summer. We did not fill it with beans because we feared that we will have beans all over the house.

Thank you so much for so many great suggestions.
My little guy is going to be so excited to try these.
This morning I ordered Rody for him and I will order many of your suggestions tonight.

I tried looking for magntiles but there were more than a few options. Can any one tell me what type of magatiles you kids like. My son loves cars and there was one where you can build cars. Is that a good one to order?


With the new baby at home and both of us working we feel guilty that DS1 is not getting as much attention as he used to get. These games will make sure that we make up the lack of time with quality time :)