Have Fun with Your Kids! A Roundup of Board Games Recommended for Parents and Children

Machi Koro

Machi Koro Rules and How to Play (Watch and Play Right Away)

Machikoro is a game where you keep growing your own city.

Building a city might sound difficult, but the process is simple—you roll dice, pay money, and build—so even kids can enjoy it! The player who first builds a Train Station, Shopping Mall, Amusement Park, and Radio Tower in their city wins.

Place 10 types of establishment cards in the center; when you roll the dice, you activate the effects of the cards whose numbers match your roll.

Then, using the money you earn from those effects, you construct new establishments.

Bit by bit, you earn income and expand your city.

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SAKI

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Raft Zoo

Board Game Introduction: 'Raft Zoo / Zoowaboo' at Sugorokuya

Here’s a game that calls to mind Noah’s Ark.

You’ll predict whether all the animals on the table can fit into the raft.

If everyone answers YES, add one more animal and have everyone predict again.

If even one person answers NO, then all the YES players try to pack all the animals on the table into the raft within the time limit.

If they fit, the YES players earn a bonus; if they don’t, the NO players do.

Play six rounds, and the player with the highest total score wins.

Some animal shapes are easier to fit than others, so look closely before you decide.

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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chicken tail

At-Home Board Game #4: 'Chicken Tail'

Here’s a cute game that uses chicken-shaped pieces.

The gameplay is similar to Concentration (Memory), so children should be able to pick it up quickly.

First, arrange the egg-shaped cards in a circle.

Then, place the octagonal cards face down inside the circle.

Put the chicken pieces on the circular cards, and if you flip over an octagonal card whose picture matches the one on the card in front of your piece, you can move forward one space.

If you manage to overtake the chicken in front of you, you get that chicken’s tail, and the player who collects all the chickens’ tails wins.

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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Mojipittan

[At-Home Play] Let’s play “Mojipittan,” a card game where you connect characters to form words!

This is a game where you combine letters to form words and fill all the squares.

In this game, when you create a word, its meaning is displayed.

It offers a great learning opportunity for young children who may know the word but not its meaning.

You can also use trendy, recently popular words.

There’s an online versus mode, so two people can play against each other anytime.

It’s even said that, based on the words you’ve created in the past, the game can analyze and diagnose the player’s personality.

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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corridor

Corridor Kids

Quoridor is a game where the winner is the first to advance their piece to the opposite side of the board.

It sounds simple, but the key feature is that you can place fences to block your opponent’s path along the way.

If you don’t place fences skillfully, you might end up blocking your own path, so caution is needed.

There’s also a children’s version called Quoridor Kid, which is the one featured in the video.

The kids’ version has a colorful board with fewer squares, and the pieces are cute little mice.

It’s a game that trains the brain while you play.

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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