Old and New: The Best Family Board Games For Every Age

Competition will heat up when your family plays Monopoly Junior ($15), a classic board game.

Thanks to a two-sided board, Scrabble Junior ($44) features both letter-matching and the standard create-your-own-word play. Younger children can match words with letter tiles, while older kids can play an easier version of the classic game.

If competition stresses your little one, introduce a game that requires cooperation instead. Count Your Chickens! ($16) requires players to work together to spin, count numbers, and travel to collect baby chicks that have flown the coop. Perfect for kids as little as 2, the game cultivates emotional development, self-esteem, and creative problem-solving.

There's a reason The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game! ($21) is a bestselling preschool game. It teaches small children how to color match and strategize, and the adorable squirrel squeezer fine-tunes their hand-eye coordination. It's the perfect option to introduce older toddlers (ages 3 and up) to board-game fun.

Your old favorite gets a modern twist with The Game of Life: zAPPed Edition For iPad ($36). Recommended for ages 8 and up, the techie version of Life lets you spin, get paid, and sue players using your iPad. Even better? The free app also features more than 100 clips from America's Funniest Home Videos as part of the game.

Creative competition is a win-win! You and your kids ages 8 and up will be stretching your imaginations when you play Morphology Junior ($17). Using string, beads, wooden blocks, and felt, you'll be asked to illustrate a word for others to guess.

As the kid-friendly version of the classic mystery game, Clue Junior ($20) is recommended for ages 5 and up. The game includes a two-sided board for two levels of play so that the game can evolve as your kids get older.

Looking for a game with an educational bonus? Inspired by Bingo, Zingo! ($20) is a simple game that teaches matching and memory plus image and vocabulary recognition to kids age 4 and up.

Recommended for ages 8 to 12, Guess Who? Extra ($50) includes six different character themes and 120 brand-new characters plus sound, light, and an electric timer.

Even the tiniest tots can enjoy classic Chutes and Ladders ($33), which is appropriate for ages 3 and up.

For a fun and straightforward option, try Sequence For Kids ($16). In it, kids ages 4 to 7 draw cards, then place chips on the corresponding characters until they get four in a row.