Children's Board Games Buying Guide
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Children's Board Games Buying Guide


Children’s board games can do more than just entertain; they can also help children improve their memory, and verbal and mathematical skills.

Discover Children’s Board Games


Discover Children’s Board Games

One way to introduce kids to board games is to have a family game night, when parents can supervise and teach their children about board games and everyone can have fun.

  • Candyland: Candyland is an ideal game for small children who are still learning to read and count. The object is to find the King of Candyland. Some of the locations along the way include Peppermint Stick Forest and Gumdrop Mountains. Candyland is appropriate for children ages 3 and up.

  • Chutes and Ladders: Play Chutes and Ladders on a checkered board with ladders connecting various squares. When players roll the die and land on a square with a ladder, they may move to the square it connects with; however, if they land at the top of the ladder they must slide down. The objective is to reach the end of the board. Chutes and Ladders is for ages 3 and up. Chutes and Ladders is also known as Snakes and Ladders.

  • High Ho! Cherry-O: Children 3 and up improve their counting skills when they spin the wheel and attempt to become the first player to collect a full basket of 10 cherries from their tree—and earn the privilege of shouting out “High Ho! Cherry-O”!

  • Hungry Hungry Hippos: The Hungry Hungry Hippos plastic game board has four hippos on it. To play Hungry Hungry Hippos players push their hippo’s tail to make it collect marbles with its mouth. The player with the most marbles wins. Two to four players can join in. Hungry Hungry Hippos is for ages 3 and up.

  • Sorry!: The object of Sorry! is for a player to move each of his four pawns from the start to his home location. If a pawn lands on the same square as a pawn of another color, that pawn goes back to start. Sorry! is designed for children ages 6 and up.

  • Operation: Operation helps children develop hand-eye coordination by turning children into doctors who have to “operate” on an ailing patient. Children must remove game pieces from the patient without setting off the buzzer. Operation is designed for children ages 6 and up. Operation also comes in Shrek and Homer Simpson editions.

  • Mouse Trap: Build a better Mouse Trap—and don’t get caught! That’s the name and objective of this wacky game that challenges kids ages 6 and up to use and improve their building and reasoning skills to outplay their opponent and be the last mouse standing.

  • Cranium games: Cranium games offer a variety of brain building activities that also deliver family fun. Cariboo takes children 3 and up on a magical treasure hunt to discover letters, numbers, shapes, and colors. High-energy, physical kids ages 4 and up will enjoy Hullabaloo, a game that encourages auditory problem solving and friendly competition. Kids ages 5 and up can choose their activity in Balloon Lagoon to build spelling, counting, and matching skills. Cadoo encourages kids ages 7 and up to act, sculpt, draw, and solve puzzles to reveal hidden answers.

To make sure that children reap the highest benefit from board game toys, the Federal government regulates the toy industry to make sure that toys are appropriate for different age levels. Before you purchase a board game for your child, make sure you check the age label. Age labels are assigned based on a variety of criteria, especially child safety, and as such should be followed even if your child appears to be ready for a game outside of his age range.


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Find Children’s Board Games on eBay


Find Children’s Board Games on eBay

Once you know what type of children’s board game you want, go to the Toys & Hobbies portal, click Games, and start searching for item listings on eBay. 

  • Categories: The Categories list on the left side of each page will help you narrow down your listings by item type. You’ll find links for Traditional Board Games, Electronic Games, Role Playing Games, and more. As you dig deeper into the site you'll also be able to narrow down your choice by brand.

  • Keyword search: Search eBay listing titles for specific words. For example, if you want to find Candyland, type “Candyland” (without quotation marks) into the Search box. Click “Search title and description” to expand your results. Visit eBay’s Search Tips page for more tips on searching with keywords.

If you can’t find exactly what you want, try shopping eBay Stores, tell the eBay Community what you want by creating a post on Want It Now, or save a search on My eBay and eBay will email you when a match becomes available.

The eBay Toy Finder can also help you find hot and award-winning toys appropriate for kids of any age.


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Buy Children's Board Games With Confidence


Buy Children's Board Games With Confidence

Before making your purchase, make sure you know exactly what you're buying, research your seller, and understand how eBay and PayPal protect you.

Know your purchase

Carefully read the details in item listings.

  • Figure delivery costs into your final price. If you spend a lot of money, make sure the seller will insure the item when it ships.

  • If you want more information, ask by clicking the "Ask seller a question" link under the seller's profile.

  • Always make sure to complete your transaction on eBay (with a bid, Buy It Now, or Best Offer). Transactions conducted outside of eBay are not covered by eBay protection programs.

  • Never pay for your eBay item using instant cash wire transfer services through Western Union or MoneyGram. These payment methods are unsafe when paying someone you do not know.

Know your seller

Research your seller so you feel positive and secure about every transaction.

  • What is the seller's Feedback rating? How many transactions have they completed? What percentage of positive responses do they have?

  • What do buyers say in their Feedback? Did the seller receive praise?

  • Most top eBay sellers operate like retail stores and have return policies. Do they offer a money-back guarantee? What are the terms and conditions?

Buyer protection

In the unlikely event that a problem arises during your transaction, eBay and PayPal are there for you.

  • Pay safely with PayPal: PayPal enables you to pay without the seller ever seeing your bank account or credit card numbers. In fact, PayPal protects buyers 100% against unauthorized payments from their accounts. Plus, with PayPal Buyer Protection, your purchase can be covered up to $1,000.

  • eBay Security & Resolution Center: Visit the Security & Resolution Center to learn how to protect your account and use eBay's quick and efficient resolution tools.


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