Just because a family boardgame is suitable for young kids, it doesn't mean that the adults shouldn't have fun too. We look at 4 of our favourite board games for 5+ year olds to help you decide which is the best family boardgame for kids.
Co-Op vs Competitive
It's a general theme with our favourite kids boardgames that they will almost always be co-operative. With the exception of Karak, all of the featured games are co-operative. We've found that kids tend to handle loss better if you all lose together and generally they love being able to help to save the day just as much as a solo win would do.
All of these co-operative games are simple to modify the difficulty for young ones just by how much you steer them in the right direction, how much you need to is dependent on the game.
How difficult are they for young kids?
Before we begin, it's important to add that all of these games are great fun for adults to play with kids and to make those family memories™. They are all enjoyable for ages 5+ but younger kids may not grasp much of the strategy.
Chronicles of Avel gives a wide number of action choices and uses icons which may not mean much to a 5 year old (with the memory of a goldfish). In Avel, we would often talk through the options with Jacob and he would 'usually' pick one but it's not something he could play without an adult. The battle element is fairly simple but again requires help to manage abilities on equipment during the heat of battle. I think Jacob will likely be around 8 before he fully comprehends the game without support but in the meantime he does have a lot of fun. It's a game that leaves him jumping for joy as he rolls the dice to fight enemies so it wins on that front. If you want to add some difficulty to the game you will also find different layouts to try.
Andor Family is a similar situation. The quest may change each time and each player has unique powers thrown in the mix, on the up side, it does bring some added replayability. It presents less decisions than Avel but the way in which movement tokens work can be difficult for kids to comprehend at times and we have to remind him to discard them or that he can replenish them. Again though, at 7 or 8 I can see Jacob being able to solo it.
CoraQuest has by far the most stuff in the box and can be a little daunting when setting up, it's not a game that you'd want the kids to set up on their own (even Sarah struggles to get the story cards shuffled in the right order) but once it's going, things will become easy to follow. Each character is unique but in ways that are easily explained.
In this story driven game you are presented with two choices, either you read the next 'reveal' to the story or you play the digital recording by the game's co-designer, Dan Hughes. The story campaign element does mean that Jacob isn't allowed to play it without us though!
Again, fun at 5 but with longevity that they will be able to play it in their own in a few years time.
Karak is by far the most basic but not at the cost of enjoyment. The pinch points for younger kids are the mathematics required how to topple their enemies but it is fairly simple addition of your two D6 dice + up to 2 weapons and up to 3 scrolls. The end boss has 15 health though so you can tell that the numbers don't ever go too high.
Players have unique abilities, these are shown by icons on your player board and remain the same throughout the game. While the game is competitive, you're rarely engaging with other players so it makes it easier to support younger players with their decisions.
At 6, Jacob still won't make the best choices but he fully grasps the core of the game and can work out his own attack stats.
More importantly, how fun are they for young kids (and grown up ones)?
I've mentioned already but you will know you're on to a winner when the kids are jumping up and down excited about their next roll. Both Cora Quest and Chronicles of Avel nail this and to an extent, so does Andor and Karak.
Dice are the equaliser of all men and when playing boardgames with kids they will add to the jeopardy throughout the game. With CoraQuest and Avel you build your game to this last moment, in Karak you will do to (but it may not be you rolling to win). The energy will build up, the sweets are kicking in, the dice move in slow motion and as the final die grinds to a halt, the energy bursts out. Andor misses this final roll feeling but extracts a similar emotion as you flip the tiles and hope to find a wolf cub.
The turns on all 4 games are also fairly quick. When you're playing with mum and dad you're not going to want to wait for an eternity to take your next go. In these games, even when you do wait, the attacking action by other players is enjoyable to watch and easy to follow plus it may effect the outcome for your character.
Our 3-player game durations vary slightly:
Andor: 1h 5m average
Karak: 1h 15m average
Cora Quest: 1h 36m average
Avel: 1h 53m average
They all engage players for the duration and time does fly. Concentration for a 5-year old wains after 30mins unless the game is engaging and all 4, despite their lengths, seem to achieve this. Karak and Andor both suffer somewhat with fluctuating game length but generally this is a minor thing. In Karak for example, if you're unlucky like we were in our first play, your end game tile might not come out until the very end of the game or it may be the first tile you pull out. In that instance we were left just treading water a little until it arrived but with over 40 tokens in the bag you start to realise how unlucky that really was.
All 4 games pack a wow factor, the mystery bag of treasures and player boards in Karak, the size and art on the board in Andor, the chunky dice and sheer amount of stuff in CoraQuest and just absolutely everything about Chronicles of Avel, from it's wooden components, player boards, art and drawstring bag... even the box itself has a treasure chest insert!
Value for money
I'm going to base some of the below facts against the current UK prices on boardgameprices.co.uk. You may find them cheaper in you LFGS as the prices also include UK mainland delivery or you may be lucky and find them cheaper on Facebook Marketplace or eBay.
Chronicles of Avel - £34.28
Cora Quest - £26.18 (pre-order)
Andor: The Family Fantasy Game - £22.55
Karak - £21.48
Now you know the above it's time to talk value. With games like Monopoly topping out at £30, Soggy Doggy at £20 and dozens of board games knocking around the £10 mark these games are all fairly 'premium' as far as kids games go. You will be wanting plenty of replayability and longevity but you also want to be having fun as a family. If you're buying one of these games for your kids but don't intend to join in then you're looking at the wrong games (unless you have a squad of dungeon masters), as I've mentioned before, these are games which you win and lose together, you scheme together and enjoy together (even when you're competing against each other in Karak).
If you're wanting to introduce your kids into bigger games then you will not go wrong with any of the 4 but some have more replayability than others.
Andor is the worst, but with a handful of campaigns included in the box you'll clock up a fair few hours of playtime, you can also make your own campaigns. The only problem that I have with it is that every campaign ends with the same last mission.
Chronicles of Avel may appeal to a wider age range but you're still limited to the same gameplay with not layered story. What you do get though is a different map every time and different layouts to work through. They're also pretty hot on the expansions!
Karak and CoraQuest are both great value. There are plenty of stories with CoraQuest and you're supported in building your own stories, characters and bad guys. Karak is competitive so as a result isn't limited to increasing the difficulty of a game, it's also a bargain price so well worth the add to your collection.
We've been watching stranger things and are concerned that these games are some kind of a cult influencing the minds of our children.
I want to celebrate some of these games. In Andor you play as a white character who just so happens to be male or female so we'll ignore that one and the same is similar for Karak but to a lesser extent... but lets talk about the other 2.
Chronicles of Avel starts before you set the game up, you're prompted to create your own character, you colour them and name them and customise them however you like. It includes one male and one female body type to customise but this is a limitation of the player board cut-out. We enjoyed the creativity of it and reminded us that we don't do enough of it!
CoraQuest's characters are all designed by kids and the favourites picked out by Dan and Cora before being illustrated into the game by artist, Gary King. It's one of the most diverse games out there with characters of varied races and shapes, it also features a character in a wheelchair... as well as a walking kettle. Again, this boardgame promotes creativity but without any constraints. Dan and Cora spent time developing a character creator app where you can upload your artwork (or photos of the grandparents) and create your own character or character for the game. The storytelling is funny throughout and always child friendly which sets it apart from the more adult games whilst still appealing to those grown ups.
I've been reading this for ages and you've still not told me which one I should buy
We own all 4 games and they are frequently circulated on our Saturday games day. We do have some recommendations though:
For ease of getting to the table and getting set up - Karak
For best value - CoraQuest
For most fun - CoraQuest or Karak (if your kids are competitive)
For ease of play - Karak or Andor (if you want a game to play together)
For most memorable game experience - CoraQuest
Best for slightly older kids - Avel or Karak (saving puppies in Andor might not cut it with a teen)
Best for younger kids - CoraQuest or Andor (cute themes and stories)
I don't want to pick a best kids game overall but 'most memorable' is probably as close as you'll get. It's not perfect as there is an element of faff, you're also limited to the stories but at the same time you can create your own and also having listened to a recent Boardgame Snobs podcast Dan had all but revealed an expansion coming out soon enough.
I'd also find it difficult to take Karak out of my collection, there's enough diversity between it and CoraQuest that they would both be enjoyed frequently but it goes a long way being able to ask the kids to set it up while you get the game snacks together.
Avel is an absolutely stunning game and I can see it being in our collection until the boys are both in their teens and Andor Family is the perfect first step towards the main Andor trilogy so you'll have plenty of campaign fun ahead of you if you wish.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments, hopefully I've not just made things harder to pick!
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