The 25 best board games for 3 year olds

It’s Bingo, but with animal pictures. A perfect board game for young children and non-readers.

There are loads of variations of this board game for 3 year olds, including Dinosaur Bingo, Ocean Bingo, and Poo Bingo. This is a great group game with simple rules taking virtually no time to learn. 

Everyone works together in this cooperative board game for 3 year olds and over. Use teamwork to find objects and advance towards Cinderella’s castle before midnight.

Think Snakes and Ladders mixed with Where’s Wally. Note: Disney Eye Found It involves a 6 foot game board so you will need space for this board game for younger children.

An imaginary adventure foraging plants through forests, trails, and waterfalls! 

Wildcraft Herbal Adventure is aimed at children age 4+, but as older players can help younger players in this game of teamwork, we think a nature-loving 3 year old could easily get involved with this board game. 

Cooperative board games are a great choice for 3 year olds, because there is no competition or a skill advantage to being an older player - everyone wins or loses together. 

Absolutely no reading is required with this cooperative game for 3 year olds and up. Help Pete find all the cupcakes, in this great game based from the popular children’s book of the same title.

For more Pete the Cat fun for your 3 year old, take a look at Pete The Cat's Groovy Buttons. 

The rules are simple: Land on green = you take that many buttons and put it in your jar. Land on red = take out that many buttons. Land on blue = swap your jar with any player. The player with the most amount of buttons by the end of the game wins. 

The perfect introductory board game for 3 year olds that are a fan of this famous book character.

Help your mouse get home safely and avoid dangerous faux along the way. 

Help your child learn to colour match and build on their hand-eye coordination with this board game for younger kids.

Spin the spinner, collect the matching coloured acorn with your Squirrel Squeezer, and place it into your log.

Be the first to fill your log with delicious acorns, and you win! But be careful - acorns can be lost along the way or stolen by other players. 

Board game makers Peaceable Kingdom are a big name in the world of board games for younger children. 

Snug as a Bug in a rug is a counting shapes and colours board game. Spin the spinner, find a matching bug, then slip it under the rug. Get all the little colorful bugs under the rug before the 3 stink bugs stink up the place! 

Win or lose together in this cooperative board game for 3 year olds. 

The Woozle loves to eat hairy pickles and fuzzy donuts. Feed him 12 crazy treats before all the snacks are gone! Feed the Woozle is another of Peaceable Kingdon’s best board games for 3 year olds. 

There are a few different ways to play Feed the Woozle, from easier to more challenging, so this is a great adjustable board game for younger and older children alike. 

If you’ve been looking for the best board games for 3 year olds, you definitely need to check out HABA - who make so many lovely introductory board games for toddlers and younger children. 

My Very First Games Building Site can be played from 2 years old, and includes a dumper truck toy so it’s a great way to introduce young vehicle lovers to their first board game.

You might remember this one - Hi Ho Cherry-O is a classic game for beginners and has been around for generations! 

This board game for 3 year olds over offers simple gameplay for preschoolers. 

A perfect board game choice for young children practicing their basic maths skills such as counting, addition, and subtraction as they pick pretend fruit from the trees on the game board. The spinner lets them know the number of pieces to pick…or put back.

Collect puzzle pieces to transform your caterpillar into a unique, beautiful butterfly in this board game for 3 year olds featuring the renowned story book character: The Very Hungry Caterpillar. 

Let’s Feed the Very Hungry Caterpillar is a fun game of counting, collecting and puzzle-building that encourages decision-making and encourages the development of fine motor skills.

Help all the Owls home before sunrise and everyone wins! Play a color card and fly to that space. Draw a sun card and you're one step closer to daylight. Players can move any owl on their turn and talk together about how to get owls home & win.

Hoot Owl Hoot is one the most popular games amongst the younger children crowd, and the best board game for 3 year olds if you are looking to teach your child about simple strategy, following directions & taking turns. 

Hoot Owl Hoot has 2 different gaming levels so the gameplay can work for young kids and also as they grow and are looking for more challenging gameplay. 

This great board game for three year olds is the perfect choice for a child who is into cars and vehicles.

Race your vehicles around the game board, the fastest player at the pit stops wins!

Younger children board game brand Goula excel at making board games for three year olds that have the look and feel of a toy set. 

Happy Chicken has two game modes, is made from wood, and has a lot of playability as a toy as well as a board game. 

Spin the wheel and feed the monster the corresponding food. Hungry Monster is another game from Goula that can be just as much fun to play with as a toy as it is to play the board game.

Children use tongs to pick up the food items for the hungry monster, which helps improve fine motor skills. 

Go Gorilla is an educational board game for children from 3 years old that combines colors and skill with a game board. 

Balance your palm tree pieces, but watch out for the gorilla ball that might tumble down the ramp towards your tree!

Orchard Toys are the perfect starter board games for young children. These were some of the first fun board games for children that my own kids played when they were around 3 years old. 

Catch and Count is an under-the-sea themed number and counting board game for younger children. Spin the Octopus spinner to see how many fish they can count but watch out for the shark!

Shopping List is Orchard Toys Number 1 Best Selling game - it truly is a very popular board game for 3 year olds to play with the whole family. Shopping List is a memory and matching game with bingo elements. 

Players take turns turning over cards showing everyday items such as tomatoes and washing powder. They must match the pictures on their shopping list. The first player to complete all the items on their shopping list card wins. 

As one of the best games for 3 year olds, Shopping List is a must-buy!

Funny Fairies is an award winning fun fairy-building children’s board game from British board game brand, Little Acorn Games.

If your child loves dress up dolls or creating crazy mixed-up characters, they will love Funny Fairies. 

Featuring 3 levels of gameplay so it’s a perfect game for different ages, and can also be enjoyed by older kids. 

PJ Pirates is the nautical version of above board game for three year olds, Funny Fairies. 

Take the top card from the draw pile. If it is a body part, place the card on the corresponding space to build your pirate. If it is a parrot card, take one card from any player’s board to use on your own board. If it is a Treasure Map card, spin the compass to help you on your treasure hunt.

Perfect for dinosaur fans, this was one of my son's favourite games when he was 3 years old.

Race the dinosaurs around the track to the finish line. At the end of the race, receive a medal! Children will also enjoy spotting the different types of dinosaurs.

Create a wobbly tower of animals in this stacking game. Roll the dice to decide which animal climbs on another. 

Animal Upon Animal includes 3 game modes and lovely wooden animal play pieces. 

Animal Upon Animal is a fun way for young players to practice their gross motor skills.

Defeat the monsters and race towards the castle in this cooperative board game for young children. 

Monsters can be banished to the dungeon if they are on a space with a shape/ color that matches one of the shapes/ colors in your hand of cards. If you don't have the right card, you can ask someone you're playing with to play a card instead. 

This board game is a great tool for teaching empathy, social skills, and problem-solving skills. Identify the feeling of the character and fix their problems to make them happy. 

There are 9 characters on each board game square. Each character has a little rhyme to help identify their problem.

Friends and Neighbours is a lovely gentle game with an emphasis on helping others.