Board Games for Kids who Love Princesses, Unicorns, and All Things Pink
Our 4-year-old loves to play any and all board games with us. Ever since she was 2, she has been a very engaged member of family game night - wanting to get involved even in games far over her head. No matter the theme, she’s always excited and eager to play along. But she also has her own very specific interests as well - very glittery and sparkly interests.
Although it very briefly crossed my mind - mostly because these are games that my 4-year-old daughter loves - I absolutely refuse to title this article and board game list “The Best Board Games for Girls”. Even though it’s very likely that’s exactly what you were searching for, and even though it would probably lead to 1000% more traffic - it would quite simply be wrong.
I very passionately believe that suggesting that this list of games is only for girls would not only be misleading - but that it would perpetuate very harmful gender stereotypes as well. After all, pink is for boys and girls, as the very wise picture book by Robb Pearlman taught us. And no child should grow up thinking they aren’t allowed to enjoy what they want or be themselves.
In fact, even though this collection of games is primarily built around the specific interests of our daughter (think unicorns, princesses, and changing dresses three times a day), our son very happily plays each and every one of these games with his younger sister. He might not be as deeply in love with them as she is, but we also don’t refer to them as her games.
Obviously I don’t think there should be any imaginary barriers that make kids think a game isn’t for them. And I hope this list can be used to help find some fun choices for family game night for any kids out there that happen to love dancing and tea parties and dressing up like our little one.
Disclosure: Some of the links in this article are affiliate links. Clicking on those links will lead you to view the games’ listings on Amazon.
10. Unicorn Glitterluck: Cloud Crystals
Published by HABA and Designed by Kristin Mückel
Get ready for a whole lot more Unicorn Glitterluck, because Cloud Crystals is by no means the only entry in this series on our list. HABA created this wonderful series of board games set in the same universe and featuring the same unicorns you’ll get to know - like baby Rosalie. The pink crystals and the cupcakes and the fluffy clouds - it’s all adorable and very appealing to both of our kids.
But, best of all, the gameplay is top notch as well. We absolutely love the Unicorn Glitterluck games. Cloud Crystals is the simplest of the bunch - which is why it made our list of the best board games for 3-year-olds. Definitely be on the lookout for the others to show up on future lists for older kids. And definitely keep Cloud Crystals in mind for an early board game that teaches basic mechanics like counting, taking turns, and rolling the die.
9. Mermaid Island
Published by Peaceable Kingdom
Mermaid Island is another board game on this list that could be one of your toddler’s first board games. It’s a cooperative game with very simple rules. All you have to do is get to Mermaid Island before the Sea Witch. Since it’s cooperative, you are allowed to move any of the mermaids on your turn, and it’s encouraged to discuss your strategy.
The theme is very appealing to our 4-year-old. It fits right in with her love of all things princesses - and most certainly reminds her of Ariel and The Little Mermaid. Owning this game also came in quite handy recently when we were doing an escape room and the treasure was hidden by the mermaids - and we stuck the treasure inside this game box. The strategy is simple but that’s often what we’re looking for with our youngest member of family game night. And Peaceable Kingdom almost never disappoints us.
8. Prima Ballerina
Published by HABA and Designed by Charly von Feyerabend
We discovered this little game very recently - as I was looking for games that might fit in with our daughter’s love of her ballet class. Inside you’ll find a fantastic, pink, wooden ballerina meeple and two stacks of cards. One stack of cards has ballet positions for your torso and the other has positions for your legs. You match the tops and bottoms to create random ballet positions that you have to memorize and perform for each other.
I had a good feeling our daughter would love this game because she absolutely loves dancing. I wasn’t sure if she fell in love with it after the first time we played - but the next day she surprised me by setting the game up all by herself and asking to play. And that’s always a sure sign that she’s a big fan. It’s a simple cooperative game to get everybody dancing and moving around together and we love it.
7. Rainbow Unicorns
Published by Orchard Toys
Rainbow Unicorns has a name that just screams to be on a list like this, doesn’t it? Orchard Toys makes some really great games for young children and this game did not disappoint us at all. There is a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, and you are racing your unicorns to be the first one there. The theme is definitely engaging for the kids and the cards look great too.
In order to move your unicorn forward, you have to flip over cards and build unicorns - matching the same colors together. So the kids will be working on their color recognition as well as their memory - because if you don’t have a match you flip the card back over face down in the middle of the table. If you have little unicorn fans in the house this is definitely another one to look at.
6. Unicorn Glitterluck: Cloud Stacking
Published by HABA and Designed by Kristin Mückel
It’s the return of Unicorn Glitterluck! This is the newest addition in the series for us and it changes the mechanics of the game quite a bit. While keeping the same wonderful theme in the same unicorn universe the kids love, Cloud Stacking introduces a challenge of dexterity as well. Your kids will have to use their little fingers to stack the unicorns and clouds on top of each other - similar to the very popular Animal Upon Animal.
There’s also a roll and move component to the game - as you also have to collect all of the crystals to win. So it’s actually a very interesting game that the kids love. It’s also wonderful practice for our daughter’s motor skills. She struggled the very first time we played but caught on quickly with the dexterity of her little fingers. We just love that this great series experiments with different styles of games.
5. The Fairy Game
Published by Peaceable Kingdom and Designed by Shanon Lyon, Marisa Pena & Colt Tipton-Johnson
The Fairy Game is another wonderful game from Peaceable Kingdom that appeals very specifically to our daughter’s interests. In order to get in the mood to play, it’s no surprise at all for her to grab her own fairy wand and wings from the dress-up clothes - and play the game as Tinkerbell.
As a team, you’re trying to fill the magic wand with all of the 4 magic gems that are hidden inside 4 different flowers. In order to collect the gems, you have to collect cards and make sets of 3. To help make your sets you can also trade cards with your teammates. But you have to hurry, because mean Mr. Winter is trying to freeze the flowers before you can collect all the magic gems. The Fairy Game is very well designed and it’s a spectacular example of a cooperative game for younger children.
4. Sleeping Queens
Published by Gamewright and Designed by Miranda Evarts
We’ve had Sleeping Queens longer than any other game on this list, and it’s been a favorite of our daughter for a long time. While it’s by no means designed to be a toddler’s first game - she’s insisted on playing along with us since she was 2. And, yes, it’s technically a card game instead of a “board game”, but I’ve always played fast and loose with that term. You get the idea.
Sleeping Queens has a classic medieval theme of knights, dragons, kings, and queens. And there are tons of fantasy games out there that fit that description. But what sets Sleeping Queens apart and makes it a good fit for this list is the wide variety of quirky and creative queens with funny names and beautiful dresses. Did I mention that our daughter is prone to change her dress 3 or 4 times in one day? A game with characters like the Cat Queen and the Cake Queen is bound to be a hit. And the entire family can be quite competitive with this brilliant game of queen collecting.
3. Unicorn Glitterluck: A Party for Rosalie
Published by HABA and Designed by Kristin Mückel
The final Unicorn Glitterluck game on our list is A Party for Rosalie. It’s certainly our favorite of the bunch. It features our same favorite unicorn friends - plus several more animal friends that are all invited to baby Rosalie’s birthday party. Using teamwork, everybody must try and gather up all the friends and collect all of the cloud crystals before Rosalie arrives to her surprise party.
This is a roll and move game like Cloud Crystals, but it’s definitely a step up in the complexity department which is great for us. You still have to collect crystals, but the board is no longer a simple linear board, and, best of all, it’s cooperative. Each player is also responsible for finding one guest in particular - which adds a little more complexity to the proceedings. And getting birthday parties ready before the guest-of-honor shows up is basically our daughter’s favorite make believe game right now by a landslide.
2. Disney Princess: Enchanted Cupcake Party Game
Published by Wonder Forge and Designed by Prospero Hall
Our 4-year-old asked to play this game 5 times in a row the first day we got this game. Our kids often ask to hear the same book over and over again, but with board games they tend to want to move on to a new game on our shelf. Legitimately asking to play the same game 5 times in a row is frankly unheard of. And, not only that, but, after we played the game 5 times, we proceeded to continue to use the cupcakes in this game for a make believe tea party for an additional 30 minutes.
I know it can be tempting to ignore major licensed games like this - but you’d be doing you and your kids a disservice in this instance. If your little one has the slightest interest in Disney princesses, cupcakes, tea parties, and the like - this is certain to be a hit. The simple act of collecting pieces to build your cupcakes is incredibly engaging for our little one - and it includes the bonus practice of motor skills with her little fingers as well as learning to follow recipe/building instructions.
1. Pretty Pretty Princess
Published by Hasbro and Designed by Elizabeth Pacza
The classic game of Pretty Pretty Princess is the quintessential example of a game perfectly suited for our 4-year-old and her love for princesses, dresses, and all things pink. We don’t know where or how she developed those interests. We obviously don’t push gender stereotypes, and my wife was even hesitant to even watch classic Disney movies because of it. And she would cringe if I called our 4-year-old Princess.
But our little one has most certainly gone head first into the deep end of the world of glitter and sparkles and rainbows, and that’s just who she is. So I knew that the classic game of Pretty Pretty Princess would absolutely blow her mind. It makes her so happy, and the entire family is happy to play along - dad, mom, and brother. It’s a wonderful combination of simple gameplay and role playing. It’s an organized game of dress up - and imagination and childlike wonder is always something to be celebrated and excited about.
Do you have a little fan of princesses, unicorns, and all things pink in your house? What is their favorite board game? Have you tried any of these games together yet? Let us know in the comments!
