What's a good board game to give as a present to a 9 year-old kid?

Question

I want to something more challenging than Risk or Monopoly or any of the regular board games you get from Toys R Us. I want something more engaging.

Answer 1

Find a 'real' game store in your area and look there. They will have many games that are much more interesting than the standard Toys-R-Us games. Here are some to consider...

Ticket To Ride - Players build railway routes between cities (there are three versions, the USA version is the best). I have played this with several younger kids and they didn't have any problem with the rules.

Through the Desert - Use camels to lay down caravan paths between oases in the desert. Many people find it confusing at first (lots of pieces and colors), but once you get the game the rules are actually very simple. I played this with my 9 year old daughters. They loved it.

Dragon Delta - You lay down stones and boards to build bridges accross a river. You have to plot your moves ahead of time and getting in each others way is a large part of the game.

Battle Cry - Two person war game where you use cards to move and attack with your troops. Battle Cry is a Civil War game, but there are WWII and Medevil combat versions as well (I forget their names). If you think they would like a simple war game, this is a good choice.

Pueblo - Like doing a competitive puzzle. If they like puzzles and logical reasoning, this is a good choice.

One more note. Remember that a game is only good if you have people to play with. If his parents or friends are unlikely to play something like Battle Cry, then it is poor choice (no matter how much he might like the game).

Answer 2

The perfect game for a 9 year old is HEROSCAPE. It is not your average Monopoly-Sorry-Life-Trivial Pursuit drudgery and kids that age are absolutely captivated by it (especially boys). More information about it can be found at the Hasbro website devoted to it:

http://www.hasbro.com/heroscape/

The game accommodates up to 4 players and the bonus is that you CAN pick this up at WalMart-Target-ToysRUs and know that you are not buying a regular old board game. The Master Set retails for around $40, but you get a TON of pieces for that price. And the expansion sets are much more affordable (well within a kid's budget) if the gift recipient is interested in getting more stuff to play with. The gameplay is engaging enough to keep teens and adults interested too! I know of numerous adult game players that consider HEROSCAPE their guilty pleasure (due to the game's high "toy factor").

Another game that you can find at the "usual suspect" stores listed above is a game named LASER BATTLE. More info can be found here:

http://www.mgae.com/2006_product_pages/Products/Games/LaserBattle.asp

It involves two players maneuvering mirrored pieces around the board attempting to target the opponent's "king" with a battery powered laser. What kid does not think that lasers are cool? It also is a bit more affordable at around $30 (batteries ARE included).

Good luck and have fun!

Answer 3

Your nephew sounds a lot like my son. Transformers, Bionicles, other Legos and Pokemon cards are all he plays with. Even though he has tons of all four, he always wants more. I'd go with the Bionicle, a model (my son enjoyed making an easier airplane model, but he doesn't enjoy it as much the the Legos), or one of the newer Lego sets. My son loves the Star Wars, Mars Mission, Indiana Jones sets. Something else that might be cool, but different: at Hobby Lobby they have an "electronics board", where the kids can attach wires, etc. in different ways to cause light bulbs to light up, etc. My son also likes the erector sets, but not as much as Legos. My son enjoyed playing with a microscope I had in my classroom this past week, too.

Answer 4

When you mention something other than Risk and Monoply, I take it you want something with less luck involved, something that relies more or exclusively on skill or strategy. Yes?

If the child likes to think, then Stratego is a great one. Easy to learn, but very challenging and engaging. If he/she takes to it, it will highly encourage the realms of strategy, logic, and puzzle-solving. Luck is minimal to start, non-existant once the pieces starts falling and opponent strategies are discovered.

Loved it as a kid. Still break it out on occasion as an adult.

Answer 5

I was going to suggest Monopoly till I read the rest of ur question, lol, but maybe Trivial Pursuit would be good for him. There are kids editions, and even if u don't want to get him one of those, the regular one is educational and it would also help him with his reading.
Good luck.

Answer 6

First off, I would like to second two games recommended by earlier posters, through the desert and mastermind. Through the Desert is a fairly easy game, mastermind is good for deduction and logic. Ticket to Ride is a good game as well.
Other games I would recommend are : Carcassone (which is a tile laying game involving strategies for long term vs. short term gains) and either Settlers of Catan or Kids of Catan (both involve land acquirement, trading and building)

Answer 7

10 Days in Africa, 10 Days in Europe, or 10 Days in USA. We've been playing these a lot for the past two years or so, and they're a lot of fun with kids and adults. Great games for kids and adults, with educational value as well.

Answer 8

More challenging than Risk???!!! WHAT?!?!?! It involves thinkin skills dude!

Otherwise-I suggest some Cranium games. They are active, thought provoking, engaging games and a very nice company. Check out their website at www.cranium.com

Answer 9

Scrabble

Answer 10

Trivial Pursuit may work. The game is now available for people of all ages. And you can chose what is best for your 9 year old.