The Best Board Games for 7-Year-Olds
Our series on the best board games for kids by age continues with the best games for 7-year-olds. And, much like our list for 6-year-olds, this particular list is jam-packed with some of our favorite board games ever made - regardless of age. And the wonderful thing is that, unlike toddler games, you really don’t outgrow these games.
The games for this general age range have always hit the sweet spot for us. And it’s no exaggeration to say that they are some of my personal favorite games as well, so we’ve definitely reached the stage of sharing our favorite things with the kids by this point. And, for the same reason, it’s important to point out that this list obviously isn’t strictly only for 7-year-olds.
We actually started playing several of them with our son a bit earlier than recommended, and there’s no doubt at all we’ll be playing all of them for many more years to come. I think it’s safe to say that, by this point, there’s really no expiration date on enjoying our favorite board games anymore.
You’ll probably notice that a good number of these games are still cooperative games, where everyone works towards a unified goal, because that’s still our favorite way to play. But I think there’s quite a good amount of variety on the list as well - because designers really get the chance to experiment with lots of interesting mechanics by the time kids are this old.
For what it’s worth, because some of these games are actually my personal favorite games too, I weighed the feelings of both me and the kids to put this list together. But if it was a close call, I chose to lean ever-so-slightly towards the opinions of the kids. It is a list for 7-year-olds after all, and I sincerely hope it helps you find a new favorite game for the 7-year-olds in your life!
Disclosure: Some of the links in this article are affiliate links. Clicking on these links will lead you to view the games’ listings on Amazon.com.
10. Concept Kids: Animals
Published by Repos Production and Designed by Gaëtan Beaujannot & Alain Rivollet
Concept Kids is a junior version of the very creative board game Concept. The general… concept… is that you are trying to get people to guess a secret animal without talking, and only using a specific set of available clues on the game board. For us, it usually works best to have the kids giving the clues and the parents doing the animal guessing.
One reason I like doing it this way is because the clue giving is where most of creativity and complex thought comes in - so it’s a really fun challenge for the kids. You can use the many pictures on the board to reference the animal’s color, size, strength, location, speed, and much more. It’s really very creative and a fun cooperative challenge for the family.
9. ICECOOL
Published by Brain Games and Designed by Brian Gomez
ICECOOL is a dexterity game that our son really loves. It’s definitely the most active game on this particular list, because not only are you flicking penguins around the board, but you’re also probably going to be up and walking around the board for the entire game. Basically all you need to know is that you are trying to flick penguins through doorways - and there’s one penguin trying to catch everyone each round.
One thing I really like about this game is the story behind it. I like the fact that these penguins snuck out of class to find some fish in the cafeteria, and that they have to watch out for the hall monitor. (And I really like the extended universe where they find a secret passage in the cafeteria to an underground pyramid for Pyramid of Pengqueen.) There’s also a direct sequel - ICECOOL2 - with the added ability of combining the games together to make a huge playing area!
Make sure to check out our featured article for a closer look at why we enjoy this one so much.
8. Honga
Published by HABA and Designed by Günter Burkhardt
Honga is a game of resource-gathering, where there are several choices for what to do on your turn, and how to spend those resources you’re collecting. It’s a competitive game where you’re trying to score as many points as possible, and it’s brilliantly designed to be something of a bridge to more complicated resource-gathering games.
I think the designer of this game absolutely nailed the goal of building an interesting and strategic family game that parents will absolutely love as well. Our son was actually only 6 when he played Honga for the first time, and we loved it so much that I wrote a featured article on it at the time. The strategy is interesting and ever-changing, and there are choices to be made, but the difficulty is perfect for this age group and the rules are easy to learn. And, since it’s a HABA game, the production value on the components is just terrific. Especially the sabre-toothed tiger Honga!
7. Onitama
Published by Arcane Wonders and Designed by Shimpei Sato
It’s a well-known fact how big of a chess fan I am, and Onitama made our list of family games to play if you’re a chess lover. What really stands out about Onitama is how gorgeous it is. It’s a very handsome and elegant game. It’s the type of game I really like to give as a gift, and I have so many nice things to say about it.
You play with many fewer pieces and on a much smaller board than chess - so generally it’s a pretty quick experience too. And the big innovation is that there are cards that tell you exactly in what shape you are allowed to move a piece, and the cards rotate each turn. There are only a few cards used in each game, but there is a large deck to draw from, so every game is also very different - which I absolutely love.
6. Space Escape: Mole Rats in Space!
Published by Peaceable Kingdom and Designed by Matt Leacock
First of all, it’s a tragedy that Peaceable Kingdom decided to officially change the name of this board game after it was originally simply called Mole Rats in Space!, but that certainly doesn’t affect how awesome the game itself is. This was actually one of the very first games we ever featured, so we’ve been enjoying it for many years. It was designed by Matt Leacock who has designed several notoriously challenging games, so it’s no surprise that Mole Rats in Space! is one of the trickiest cooperative games we own.
Mole rat astronauts are trying to gather up supplies and blast off together in an escape pod before they’re all attacked by the snakes pouring into the space station. It basically operates like Chutes and Ladders, with the added danger of snakes moving around and the added complexity of drawing cards to tell you how to move. It’s a spectacular cooperative game if you like having conversations about planning - primarily which characters and snakes to move and in which direction. We might not always win but we definitely always have fun.
5. Kraken Attack!
Published by LOKI and Designed by Antoine Bauza & Esteban Bauza
Kraken Attack! is one of the amazing board games published by LOKI - a relatively newer company that seems to specialize in pumping out beautiful, top-notch games absolutely perfect for elementary-aged kids. After playing it for the first time, we quickly decided to feature it as a game of the month, because it filled a hole in one of my favorite genres - tower defense.
I love Castle Panic, and I love My First Castle Panic, but we didn’t have a tower defense game that was made for kids older than toddlers, but not as dark or complex as Castle Panic. Kraken Attack! fits that description perfectly, and the theme is very special.
The art and the game pieces are all wonderful - some of my very favorite. The Kraken and its tentacles are especially terrific. We absolutely love working together to knock back the tentacles and try to protect our boat and defeat the Kraken. It’s well-designed and the strategy is very enjoyable for the whole family. Such a truly engaging game!
4. 13 Dead End Drive
Published by Winning Moves Games and Designed by Michael Marra & David Wyman
This is a very special game on this list, because it’s a relatively rare inclusion of a game from my own childhood. I still have my original copy of 13 Dead End Drive, and I couldn’t have been more excited that Winning Moves decided to republish it for a new generation to enjoy. I think very highly of this game and it was always one of my very favorite games as a kid.
The theme is kind of morbid, because the basic concept is that you want to be the last person (or cat) standing to inherit the fortune of the late benefactress of a family. But I’ve always been a big fan of spooky themes, so it’s no surprise that this game made such a lasting impression on me.
Scattered throughout the castle are working traps that are so much fun to play with - and you get to spring them to try and knock off your competitors. Each player secretly owns some of the characters, but everyone is allowed to move any character they want. If you get your character out the front door while their picture is hanging above the mantelpiece, then you win. Or you could always just take care of your competition by dropping the chandelier on their heads, or knocking them off the bookshelf.
3. My Little Scythe
Published by Stonemaier Games and Designed by Hoby Chou & Vienna Chou
This is actually a very rare case of us loving a junior version of a board game without even having played the original game. So for us, My Little Scythe might as well be a stand alone original game, and it’s one of the best family games we own by a long shot. Personally I would describe it as a family game so good that there’s no need for the kids to even want to play it for it to see the table - because my wife and I will happily play alone.
Everything about this game is absolutely magnificent. The story, the art, the components - it’s all special and it’s so obvious how much care was put into making it. I love it so much I’m even tempted to finally figure out how to paint minis and really bring this favorite game to even more vibrant life. And I definitely picked up the expansion. Make sure to check out our featured article for more pictures of the game.
The gameplay is a race to collect a certain amount of trophies, and there are many ways to earn those trophies. You can collect apples, win pie fights, collect friendship points, complete quests, or so much more. Strategy is very variable and it always feels different. And did I mention how incredibly adorable the whole thing is? What a work of art!
2. Ghost Fightin’ Treasure Hunters
Published by Mattel and Designed by Brian Yu
Did I mention how much I like spooky things? Ghost Fightin’ Treasure Hunters is a cooperative game with a perfect spooky setup: a bunch of treasure hunting kids sneak into a haunted mansion and have to fight off a swarm of ghosts. And I love the design of the little ghosts in this game. Everything about the aesthetic of this game speaks to me. And it might very well be my personal very favorite board game. In fact, it was one of the first games I ever wrote about.
It can be a pretty challenging game, which makes planning and talking very important. But understanding the game is very easy. You basically simply have to grab treasure and carry it out of the mansion - while simultaneously stopping the ghosts from overrunning the place. But the trick is deciding when to work together and when to go your separate ways, or when to run for the treasure and when to stay and fight. There’s also an expansion out there and ways to make it even harder, which all but guarantees we’ll be enjoying this one our entire lives.
1. Zombie Kidz Evolution
Published by Scorpion Masqué and Designed by Annick Lobet
Zombie Kidz simply must fly to the top of any list it’s on. It’s almost unfair - because it’s absolutely absurd how many more times we’ve played this board game than any other game in our collection. When I take into consideration just how head-over-heels in love my son fell for this game, it simply had to be #1.
Of course the zombie theme speaks to me and my love for spooky things as well. And any game based on a group of kids fighting off zombies with weapons like super soakers will most certainly win me over. And it truly is a fantastic cooperative experience. Together you must defeat the zombies and lock all the doors to the school. Even straight out of the box it’s fun to play - but, trust me, it absolutely doesn’t end there.
The big selling point of Zombie Kidz is that it evolves as you play, and undoubtedly this is my son’s favorite parts. It comes with a tracking system that tracks your achievements and how many times you play, and every so often you get to open a secret envelope that changes the way the game is played. Maybe new characters, maybe new rules, maybe new enemies - everything is on the table.
I simply can’t convey to you how much my son loves the stickers and the secret envelopes and the tracking book. And I’ve basically heard the same thing from every single other parent I’ve talked to. Game designers, if you’re listening, add stickers and secret envelopes to your game! Simply put, this is a special game our kids will never forget.
Make sure to check out our featured article for an even closer look at why Zombie Kidz tops our list.
Make sure to check out our other lists in the best board games by age series:
The Best Board Games for 2-Year-Olds
The Best Board Games for 3-Year-Olds
The Best Board Games for 4-Year-Olds
The Best Board Games for 5-Year-Olds
The Best Board Games for 6-Year-Olds
The Best Board Games for 8-Year-Olds
What’s your favorite board game for 7-year-olds? Did any of your favorites make our list? Let us know in the comments!
