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

Captain Rhino

Fukuhana’s Board Game Introduction No. 65: Rhino Hero

Captain Rhino is a thrilling game that keeps kids on the edge of their seats as they stack a building higher and higher.

Players combine floor cards with folded wall cards to construct the building, and the first person to run out of cards in hand wins.

On your turn, you first build the walls, then place a floor/ceiling card on top.

You must place the walls according to the lines shown on the previous player’s floor card.

If you draw a floor card with Captain Rhino on it, you must place the Rhino figure exactly as indicated—right in the wobbly building! If the building collapses during play, the player who caused it loses, and among the remaining players, the one with the fewest cards left in hand wins.

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SAKI

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The Great Race of the Cat and the Mouse

Board Game: Cat and Mouse Grand Race - How to Play and Rules

The cat-and-mouse chase for cheese is a blast in The Great Cheese Chase.

Kids are sure to love this adorable race! Move your mouse token the number of spaces shown on the die, aiming for the cheese scattered across the board.

Completing a full lap earns a 6-point cheese, while other cheeses on the board are worth 1–4 points each.

Once a mouse grabs a piece of cheese, it’s done for the game.

You’ll want to snag the high-value cheeses, but beware: if you land on a cat space or roll the cat symbol, the cat creeps closer.

Get caught by the cat and you’re out! When there are no mice left on the board, the game ends, and the player with the highest total cheese points wins.

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Slide Quest

[Board Game] A Cooperative Dungeon-Crawling Game Guaranteed to Start a Fight [Slide Quest]

This game is for four players.

The four of you tilt levers on each side to guide a knight to the goal.

The knight is designed to move easily when the board is tilted.

Coordinate your lever movements as a team, navigate around obstacles, and drop sentries and villains into holes.

There are 20 maps, and the difficulty increases as you go, requiring more precise lever control.

Rather than someone winning, it’s a game where everyone cooperates to achieve the objective—perhaps a fresh concept in itself.

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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Animal Shogi

Animal Shogi: Nurturing Focus and Thinking Skills!

Surprisingly deep, the children’s version of shogi called “Dobutsu Shogi” (Animal Shogi) uses pieces illustrated with a lion, giraffe, elephant, and chick instead of the usual shogi pieces with difficult kanji like king and rook.

The board also has only 12 squares arranged in a 3×4 grid.

As in shogi, each piece moves in different directions, and if an opponent’s piece lies in the direction you move, you can capture it and make it yours.

The piece equivalent to the shogi king is the lion, so capturing the opponent’s lion wins the game.

There’s another way to win too: if you move your lion to the farthest rank from your side—the opponent’s first rank—you also win.

Whether you aim to capture the opponent’s lion or drive straight forward, it’s a game that offers a depth distinct from traditional shogi.

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Ubongo

[Board Game Introduction] Ubongo [Rules Explanation & Gameplay Video]

Ubongo is a puzzle game where you play to collect gems.

Use the puzzle shown for the number rolled on the die to fill the white-outlined puzzle area.

You have a one-minute time limit for each puzzle.

If you finish, call out “Ubongo!” After one minute, the 1st and 2nd players take gems from the board, and any other players who completed their puzzle draw gems from the bag.

The value of each gem—your points—varies by gem.

Play nine rounds of this puzzle game, and the player with the highest total value of collected gems wins!

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SAKI

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