25 Best Board Games For 8 Year Olds In 2023
We absolutely love playing family board games and these are the best board games for 8 year olds.
These board games for kids are great for family game nights and are a great way for younger players to have fun.
Spending quality time together is just the best. It also gets the kids off their video games for an hour or two!
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Best Games For 8 Year Olds
Check out our absolute favorite board games that your 8 year old is going to love. Some of these are strategy games, some are cooperative, and some are educational, but they are all lots of fun!
Board Games Top Picks
These are the best board games for 8 year olds:
- Throw throw burrito
- Harry Potter hedbanz
- Hoot Owl Hoot
- Zombie Kidz Evolution
- Magic Maze is a cooperative game
- Guess in 10 is a great card game
- Kingdomino is a fantastic strategy game
- Brain Games Kids
- Apples to Apples Junior
- Taco vs Burrito
- Clue is such a classic game it had to be included (and it’s my favorite!)
For even more board games for 8 year olds carry on reading to see what else we recommend.
Other board games for different ages
- Board games for 3 year olds
- Board games for 4 year olds
- Board games for 5 year olds
- Board games for 7 year olds
- Board games for 10 year olds
- Card games for teenagers
If you are looking for Christmas board games check out our favorites in our recent blog post.
What are the educational benefits of playing board games?
As we homeschool, educational board games have become one of our favorite activities.
Within the list of the best board games above they all have at least some educational value.
The educational benefits of playing board games are:
- hand-eye coordination,
- problem solving,
- fine motor skills,
- friendly competition,
- improving math skills,
- strategic thinking
Other educational board games
- board games about money
- math board games,
- history board games
- geography board games
- science board games
Even more games for younger kids
Carry on reading to see what other board games we enjoy playing as a family.
Ghost Blitz
Ghost Blitz is a great game that we continue to play years later, it is great for older kids, little kids, and the entire family. Interestingly though we have found that younger kids have much faster reflexes!
Check out our detailed Ghost Blitz review here for more information, but we really love it.
Igloo Mania Game
The aim of Igloo Mania is to get Parka Pete to remain in place. The game is over as soon as he is knocked down and the loser is the person with the most ice blocks (normally the one who knocks Parka Pete down!).
There are penguins with picks that are used to gently remove each ice block and you take it in turns to take one block out. Hoping no more fall outside of the dome, because if they do they are added to your pile. The age of this is 5+ and is suitable for 2-4 players.
Check out our Igloo Mania review here.
Pandemic Board Game
Pandemic is a strategic board game, that is so much fun.
Check out our detailed Pandemic board game review for more information about this fantastic strategic game.
Ticket To Ride
Ticket to Ride is a great family game. Travel around America connecting railway routes on the way.
Check out our detailed Ticket to Ride review for more information, but this is a family favorite.
I think you will also enjoy our favorite geography board games.
Cobra Paw Game
Cobra Paw is a really fast and funny game for the whole family. The recommended age is 6+ but I am sure younger children will also love it.
It is all about speed and ninja-style moves!
Check out our Cobra Paw game review now.
Emojito
Once you have imitated the emotion on your card to the other players, they must try to guess which emotion you were trying to channel. The first player to make five rounds around the game board wins!
Emojito is a great fun game to play for all of the family. This is probably our favorite board game (check out our Emojito review here) for 8 year olds.
Set Game
Set the family game of visual perception is a great card game for 8 year olds.
Grab your copy of Set game here and have fun with the kids.
This is a game that can be played as a one player game for kids too.
Dynamite Dare Game
Diffuse or lose! a wacky wild west game where players try to diffuse the dynamite and save the gold. Includes a fun safe, just stack the red foam dynamite in the back, wind up the timer and start the game.
The clock is ticking – time to get picking! which detonator plugs will diffuse the dynamite? Push the plugs as fast as you can but watch out – choose the wrong one or take too long and the dynamite explodes! can you get the gold and win the game?
Push the correct Plug and the timer pops out of the front of the safe and you win the game. Check out our Dynamite Dare game detailed review here.
Frenetic
This is an amazing educational board game based on the periodic table of elements. It combines science, English, and Maths into this excellent educational game that is fun for all the family. For even more science board games check out some other favorites.
For some reason this is not yet available in the USA, but, I have listed a similar game called Periodic that looks just as fun. Get your copy of Frenetic here. Check out our detailed Frenetic game review here.
Safe Breaker
My son is going through wanting to be a Spy phase. So this is a perfect game.
Check out our Safe Breaker review for more information.
The aim of Safe Breaker is to crack open the safe and release the coins before the alarm goes off. This is suitable for people aged between 6 and 106.
Now I’m 40 and my hubby is 50 and we loved it. I can’t testify to a 106 year old though!!!
Staccups Game
Staccups certainly gets the competitive juices flowing, well certainly in our household! It is a very simple board game.
You have to stack the cups on your side as quickly as you can in the correct color order. The winner is the first person to have stacked up all of their cups.
Check out our Staccups review here.
Bang On Game
Bang On is another of our favorite board games for 8-year-olds. There are 99 question cards, 1 challenge card, 2 playing pieces, bang-on the unit, and a hammer inside the box.
This is a team game really but can be played with just 2 people as myself and my son did. You have to name as many answers as you can before the time runs out.
Check out our Bang on game review for more information.
Big Beard Battle Game
Snip, SNIP and win by growing the longest beard. Big beard battle will test your memory as well as your beard growing skills. Put on your mustache and flip the spinner to collect your beard cards. Use your memory to turn over the correct color and easily affix it to your beard.
But beware, if your opponents spin the scissors or shaver they can choose a player to SNIP or shave their beard off! if a player spins the shaving foam, hurry as all players get a chance to touch one of their own cards and win that round.
The first player to add four beard pieces to their beard wins the board game! Great family fun with hilarious game play! Check out our detailed Big Beard Battle review here.
Pandemonio Game
This is a quick-fire card trading board game from Drumond Park for up to 8 people for ages 8+. It is a loud, funny, and raucous game with 2 levels for all skill and age groups. The idea of the game is to get all the way up the board, which you can only do when you collect as many of the correct cards as possible.
This is harder than it sounds as you collect cards that are facing down!
With each turn, you must swap as many cards as you can. In order to move up the board you need to have collected the card that matches the square you are on (bike, planes, false teeth etc).
You only have until Wind Up Colin grinds to a halt though, so it really is frantic. Board games don’t get much better than this! This is a perfect board game for 8 year olds.
Coding Video Games For 8 Year Olds
Check out our favorite educational toys for 7 year olds too.
Osmo Coding Jam
There is a constant battle in our house with my son insisting on playing on computer games. And me insisting that he either reads or plays more educational games. I am sure (well I hope!) we are not the only 2023 household in this situation.
As he wants to be a rock star when he grows up, this is a great educational game for him.
It is all about having fun while getting the kids into coding and programming. Check out our Osmo coding review.
Play Osmo – Coding with Awbie
Osmo. Is a magical, award-winning game system that encourages creativity and problem-solving skills through hands-on play.
Osmo Coding makes coding more fun and approachable!
Kids navigate the character Awbie through his magical world. Learnin real programming concepts by linking Osmo Coding blocks into sequences, loops, and ‘if/or’ actions.
Thinking and problem-solving skills are rewarded. With fun stuff like strawberries and pies and new adventures.
Kids learn coding fundamentals and have fun at the “berry” same time!
Last Updated on 5 June 2023 by homeschoolof1
We love board games, and there are several on here we’ve not tried before. Love the look of the beard game! Thanks for joining in with #KidsandKreativity, I hope you come back next time x
I’ve never heard of these games
They really are great, especially Emojito 🙂
I hadn’t heard of any of these! Gotta check them out. We love love love board games.
I can’t quite believe that I have yet to hear about any of these games. *Wonders to self… where have I been!! I especially love the coding ones. At the moment, the button house is hooked on Monopoly. There’s nothing like a bit of family board game time to get everyone exciting. Thanks for joining us for the #DreamTeam xx
Yes Freddie loves monopoly too actually, although it can go on forever!!! Haha! I really recommend both Osmo (Fred loves it as he is playing, but its really educational) and Emojito is just hysterical
x
Great list of games. Looking forward to playing more games with my two when they are a little older.
They really are great games to play as a family 🙂 x
Ooh we love a good board game in our house! We buy lots from charity shops and car boot fairs. There are quite a few her which are new to us. I think my boys would really like the Safe Breaker game.
That is such a great idea, I had never even thought of doing that before. And yes Safe Breaker is lots of fun 🙂
Oh my gosh this list is awesome, I’m going to bookmark this for Christmas! #fabfridaypost
They are all really great games for all of the family 🙂
We haven’t played any of these, my daughter would love the Osmo coding apps and the Emoji game!
Osmo coding is great fun, and educational too. Emojito is our favourite it is just so funny and can be played by all.
I haven’t come across any of these games! Hubby and I love playing board games and, at 7 years old, my oldest daughter is just starting to really get into them. Emojito one sounds great – a fab way to help children learn to express themselves a bit and label their emotions. And the spy one looks really interesting. Thanks for sharing. #ablogginggoodtime
Emojito was excellent, we played it alot at Christmas with Freddies grandparents, that was the funniest thing!!
Ohh! There is quite a few of these I haven’t heard of which I think my girls would love x