Board games for grandparents and grandchildren

Last checked 29 October 2026

Quick answer: Labyrinth and Carcassonne are family games where a 7-year-old can genuinely beat Grandad. Qwixx and Rat-a-Tat Cat are small dice and card games that are very easy to teach, and Orchard is a first co-op for grandchildren from 3. All eight play in 45 minutes or less.

Playing with the grandchildren isn't quite the same as a family games night. Ages might run from 3 to 83, the visit's only so long, and nobody wants to spend it reading rules. So we've gone for games that are mostly easy or very easy to teach, play in 45 minutes or less, and where luck or a sharp eye gives the youngest a real chance against the oldest. There's a first co-op (everyone wins or loses together) for toddlers, a couple of small card and dice games, and a few bigger boxes to keep at Nana's for the holidays. Check the age on each card against your youngest player.

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Labyrinth box: a colourful maze of tiles with a dragon, ghosts and treasures, and the Labyrinth title in gold letters

1. Labyrinth

Each turn you push the spare tile into the board to shift a row of maze walls, then move towards your next treasure. The same push can open your path and block someone else's.

Players: 2 to 4 players
Age: 7+
Play time: 20 to 30 minutes
Our teaching rating: Easy to teach

Why it suits this: Ravensburger's moving maze. On your turn you push the spare tile into the board to shift a whole row of walls, then head for your next treasure. The same push can open your path and block someone else's, and kids often spot the clever move before the grown-ups do. It's 2 to 4 players, 7 and up, 20 to 30 minutes, and easy to teach.

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Details last checked 20 October 2026.

2. Qwixx

Six dice and a score pad in a pocket-sized box. Everyone can use every roll to cross off numbers, so there's no downtime, just lots of nervous little decisions about what to skip.

Players: 2 to 5 players
Age: 8+
Play time: about 15 minutes
Our teaching rating: Very easy to teach

Why it suits this: Six dice and a score pad in a pocket-sized box. Everyone can use every roll to cross off numbers, so there's no sitting around waiting for your go. If your grandparents like a dice game at the kitchen table, this is the one. It's 2 to 5 players, 8 and up, about 15 minutes, and very easy to teach.

Details last checked 2 November 2026.

Rat-a-Tat Cat box: a cartoon cat dressed as the Statue of Liberty on a white box

3. Rat-a-Tat Cat

Get rid of the high rat cards and keep the low cat cards. You sneak a peek, draw two or swap, then try to remember what's face down in front of you. Lowest score wins.

Players: 2 to 6 players
Age: 6+
Play time: about 20 minutes
Our teaching rating: Very easy to teach

Why it suits this: A memory card game from Gamewright. You want to get rid of the high rat cards and keep the low cats, but your cards are face down, so you sneak a peek, draw two or swap, then try to remember what's where. Children's memories make this a fair fight. 54 cards, 2 to 6 players, 6 and up, about 20 minutes.

Details last checked 21 October 2026.

Orchard box: a yellow HABA box with four fruit trees, wooden fruit and a black raven

4. Orchard

A first co-op game. Roll the colour die to pick fruit from the trees, but each raven roll adds a piece to his puzzle. Clear the trees before the raven's finished and everyone wins.

Players: 2 to 4 players
Age: 3+
Play time: 10 to 15 minutes
Our teaching rating: Very easy to teach

Why it suits this: For the littlest grandchildren. HABA's first co-op, by Anneliese Farkaschovsky: roll the colour die to pick fruit from the trees, but every raven roll adds a piece to the raven's 9-piece puzzle. Clear the trees before he's finished and everyone wins, so nobody ends up in tears. It's 2 to 4 players, 3 and up, 10 to 15 minutes.

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Details last checked 20 October 2026.

Dr. Eureka box: a cartoon scientist with wild white hair holding test tubes full of coloured balls

5. Dr. Eureka

Pick a challenge card and race to copy its pattern by tipping coloured balls between three test tubes, without dropping any. Play it against each other or on your own.

Players: 1 to 4 players
Age: 8+
Play time: about 15 minutes
Our teaching rating: Very easy to teach

Why it suits this: A race to copy the pattern on a challenge card by tipping coloured balls between three test tubes without dropping any. Quick hands beat years of experience here. There are 54 challenge cards, and you can play head to head or on your own. It's 1 to 4 players, 8 and up, about 15 minutes, and very easy to teach.

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Details last checked 27 October 2026.

Scotland Yard box: a man in a hat and dark glasses over photos of London, with the Scotland Yard title

6. Scotland Yard

One player is Mr. X, moving round London in secret by taxi, bus and Underground. Everyone else plays detectives together, reading his used tickets to trap him before time runs out.

Players: 2 to 6 players
Age: 8+
Play time: about 45 minutes
Our teaching rating: Takes a little explaining

Why it suits this: One player is Mr. X, moving round London in secret by taxi, bus and Underground. Everyone else plays detectives together, reading his used tickets to trap him. It works well with a grandparent as Mr. X and the grandchildren hunting as a team. It's 2 to 6 players, 8 and up, about 45 minutes, and it takes a little explaining.

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Details last checked 20 October 2026.

Carcassonne box: a walled medieval town on a hill above green fields and roads

7. Carcassonne

Take turns laying landscape tiles to build a shared medieval map, then drop your little wooden people on roads and towns to score.

Players: 2 to 5 players
Age: 7+
Play time: 30 to 45 minutes
Our teaching rating: Easy to teach

Why it suits this: Take turns laying landscape tiles to build a shared medieval map, then put your little wooden people on roads and towns to score. Klaus-Jürgen Wrede's game is calm and chatty, and the map you've built together looks great at the end. The current box includes The River and The Abbot. It's 2 to 5 players, 7 and up, 30 to 45 minutes.

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Details last checked 26 October 2026.

Dixit box: a dreamlike orange sky with a small figure flying on a paper boat

8. Dixit

Describe one of your dreamlike picture cards with a word or phrase, then everyone else tries to spot yours among their own picks.

Players: 3 to 8 players
Age: 8+
Play time: about 30 minutes
Our teaching rating: Very easy to teach

Why it suits this: Jean-Louis Roubira's picture game, with art by Marie Cardouat. Describe one of your dreamy cards with a word or a phrase, and everyone else picks a card from their hand to match. You want some people to spot yours, but not everyone. Grandparents and grandchildren see the pictures very differently, which is half the fun. It's 3 to 8 players, 8 and up, about 30 minutes.

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Details last checked 19 October 2026.

For a mixed-age family game, see family board games for all ages. Buying for a young grandchild? Our board games for kids page has picks by age, starting with board games for 3-year-olds. For Christmas Day itself, try the best board games for Christmas.

How we choose and check

We pick games for the situation, and ignore hobby rankings and hype. Player counts, ages and play times come from the publisher's own page or the box. If we can't confirm a detail there, we leave it off the card. The teaching rating is our own view from reading the rules, not a publisher figure. Nobody pays us to include a game. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. See how we make money.