If you’re looking for a way to help your kids and volunteers grow together, a great board game might be what you need. Keeping a few board games around your meeting space is always a good idea. While a board game might not be our first thought when it comes to fostering relationships, they’re an important piece of the puzzle. (Get it? Puzzle? ?)
A board game in children’s ministry can do more for a kid’s relationships than you might be able to pack into your object lesson or small group time. They might seem simple, but they’re great for …
- Helping kids collaborate and make decisions with their friends.
- Letting volunteers build new relationships with the teenagers they serve.
- Giving kids a quiet way to take a break from the rest of their environment.
Plus, with board games in children’s ministry, kids can play and work towards a common goal. We tend to overlook it, but play is a really important part of how kids develop. Play helps them …
- Use their creativity
- Practice their autonomy
- Operate within set boundaries
- Work on their communication skills
Each of these can help them grow as individuals and in their faith.
So, if you’re looking for a few more board games for your children’s ministry closet or if you’re ready to start building your own collection of games, we’ve put together a few of our favorite board games for children’s ministry.
THE FLOOR IS LAVA
The Floor is Lava is one of the best games you can play in your ministry right now. In this larger, expanded version of the board game, there are ten different styles of play for you and your children’s ministry. In this game, players must reach the end of the course without losing their balance and falling off their stepping stones. Plus, setup is easy! Just throw down your stepping stones, grab your challenge cards, and set up your spinner to start playing. Learn more about The Floor is Lava here.
THROW THROW BURRITO
Throw Throw Burrito is a combination of Go Fish and dodgeball. In this game, players draw up to five cards in their hand. Then, at the same time, they pass cards to their left while trying to make three-of-a-kind matches. Each match is worth points at the end of the game. But players can also match battle cards, which trigger burrito battles. So, pass your cards quickly and watch out for flying burritos! Check out Throw Throw Burrito here.
DIXIT
Dixit is a great game for older kids. In this guessing game, one player, the storyteller, chooses a card from their hand and gives a clue about it. Then, the other players choose a card of their own that they think matches this clue. All of the cards are shuffled together and then flipped over, revealing the cards. Then, everyone but the storyteller gets to guess which card they think belongs to the storyteller. Dixit’s unique scoring gives storytellers points if their clue is not too simple or too difficult. If they can get one or more players to guess their card, they’ll earn points. But if all or none of the players guess their card, they won’t earn any points. The game is played until one player earns 30 points! Find out more about Dixit here.
MONKEY AROUND
If you’re looking for a board game for the preschool kids in your children’s ministry, check out Monkey Around! In this game, players take turns drawing a card from a pile. Each card has an action where the player must interact with the included stuffed banana, like balancing it or tossing it to another player. Once the player performs their action, they can place the card on the tree. Once the tree is full of cards, you can take off the cards and play again! Check out Monkey Around here.
UNO
For a lot of us, Uno is the first card game we remember playing. It’s a race to get rid of your cards by playing them on top of a matching color or number. Each deck comes with action cards like reveres, wilds, and skips that can make it more challenging for a player to empty their hand. Just be sure to shout “Uno!” once you’re down to your last card. Not only is the original Uno a great game, but there are tons of variations like Uno All Wild!, Uno Flex, and Dos. There’s a fun Uno variation for every children’s ministry and family! Grab your Uno set here.
These are just a few board games for your children’s ministry that can help you, your volunteers, or your families connect and play with kids.
And if you’re looking for even more games, check out Grow Games! We’ve put together a list of over 500 different types of games for your children’s ministry.
Each game comes complete with instructions, editable graphics, and a supply list, so you can start playing right away!
So, instead of searching online the next time you need a great game, download the Grow Games App instead.
In this post, here’s what we’ll cover: