Posted on behalf of Zayaan Schroeder who is a mother to two kids and is passionate about making their childhood memorable and happy. She has been a parenting journalist for 10 years and also runs a parenting blog called Surviving the Madness dedicated to making things easier for moms. You can follow her on Instagram www.instagram.com/survivingmadness

Now the games on this list are not the classics like Monopoly or Scrabble but something a bit more exciting. These days there are board games for your toddler right up to your older kids, so there’s no need for even the littlest members of the family to miss out.

Monkey Around

Suggested age: 2+

Monkey Around is a wonderful first board game for kids that was created specifically for you and your two year old. Kids get to move about while playing a game which is perfect for little ones who have short attention spans and can’t sit still anyway.

Bunny Bedtime

Suggested age: 2+

Another one for the youngest member of the family is Bunny Bedtime. Roll a chunky dice and move bunny on the path. Along the way players help bunny make choices about her bedtime routine. Which bath toy will she play with? What pyjamas will she wear?

Skunk Bingo

Suggested age: 3+

Skunk Bingo is a great game for kids who can’t read yet. The concept is simple, spin the wheel and insert the corresponding number of tiles into the log. Whichever tiles come out the other side, you put on your bingo board. Unless you get a skunk, then they all go back to the tile pile. This game teaches your kids at an early age how to be a gracious loser.

Spot it Jr! Animals

Suggested age: 4+

With adorable animals and only 6 symbols on each card, Spot it Jr. is ideal for kids under 7. Like the adult version of Spot It! There is only one matching animal between any 2 cards. But in this junior variation, each card has one big animal for easier spotting. Spot it Jr. is a fun way to sharpen kids' visual perception, focus and cognitive speed. Little ones will love to spot these colorful animals and the variety of images will challenge all ages.

Gnomes at Night

Suggested age: 6+

If you want to foster a sense of cooperation among your kids then anything from Peaceable Kingdoms is a good choice. Gnomes at Night is a cooperative search-and-find maze game where players work as a team to manoeuvre the magnetic gnome movers around the maze. Work together in this quick-thinking communication game where every second counts!

Catan and Catan Jr

Suggested age: 10+ (Catan) and 5+ (Catan Jr)

Settlers of Catan, or Catan as it’s now been called is the one game on this list that can be considered a classic game. The OG of board games, Catan has been around since 1995.

Your adventurous settlers seek to tame the remote but rich isle of Catan. Start by revealing Catan's many harbours and regions: pastures, fields, mountains, hills, forests, and desert. Players acquire resources through trades, cards or lucky dice. Use resource combinations of grain, wool, ore, brick, and lumber to build roads, settlements, and cities. But beware! Someone might cut off your road or play a monopoly card. And you never know when the wily robber might steal some of your precious gains!

The Junior version of the game is a modified playing style of the classic game, giving younger players the opportunity to experience the world of Catan. Catan: Junior takes place on a ring of islands where 2 to 4 players build hideouts, and the mysterious Spooky Island, where the Ghost Captain lives.

Forbidden Island

Suggested age: 10+

Dare to discover Forbidden Island! Join a team of fearless adventurers on a do-or-die mission to capture four sacred treasures from the ruins of this perilous paradise. Your team will have to work together and make some pulse-pounding manoeuvres, as the island will sink beneath every step! Race to collect the treasures and make a triumphant escape before you are swallowed into the watery abyss!