Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
Lots of board games have a stripped down or re-themed version for kids. Are they worth it? Well… sometimes.
0:00:00 Fact for 428
4/28, April 28, is the birthday of Carl Laemmle Jr. who was the head of production at Universal Studios from 1928 to 1936 and personally greenlit the original Classic Monster films (Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy), effectively creating the monster universe. (And there’s a rock with this number carved into it at “Darkmoor”, Universal Epic Universe.)
Sponsor Message
If this perspective sounds helpful (and you’d like something less generic), you too can book a free 15 minute call with First Move Financial at firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers (firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers) to learn how they can help you invest wisely. Even if you don’t have a huge net worth.
0:04:25 What We’ve Been Playing
Ham Helsing *
Splendor Kids *
The Four Doors (review coming soon!)
Boop Shuffle *
Carnuta
Journey to Tir na nOg *
Super Duo * (truly off the shelf of shame)
(*) first time mentioned on The Family Gamers Podcast
0:21:20 July Monthly Report
Andrew: 21 plays of 13 unique games. H-index: 3 (Little Alchemists, Fellowship of the Ring Trick-Taking Game, Palette)
Anitra: 35 plays of 22 unique games. H-index: 3 (Little Alchemists, Fellowship of the Ring Trick-Taking Game, Unmatched, Palette)
Most of our games were played at home, on the weekend, and/or with just 2 players.
0:23:30 The Family Gamers Community
Welcome new members! (facebook.com/groups/familygamersaa/posts/4476160352673420)
0:25:00 #Backtalk
Just a few stories about your “tricky” moments.
Read the responses on Facebook (facebook.com/groups/familygamersaa/posts/4466210603668395) or #backtalk channel (discord.com/channels/1157003438425653379/1239323617368604672) of the Discord.
0:27:40 Junior or “My First” Games
These are games that start from an “adult” game that already exists and strip them down to something simpler so that younger kids can play it.
It’s obvious why they exist: to bring in kids and introduce them to not just gaming *concepts* but to worlds/themes already well-branded.
When they do it well, “My First” games follow our guidelines for very young children (see our Candy Land article (thefamilygamers.com/why-i-hate-candy-land/) ), while keeping games tolerable for older kids & adults.
• Keep physical tasks simple, like rolling a single die. Other simple skills that could be used are matching, stacking, or pulling.
• Use durable equipment (dice, tokens, cardboard tiles rather than cards)
• Keep it short! Turns should take less than 30 seconds, unless all players are engaged on every turn. The whole game should take less than 20 minutes.
• Don’t combine challenging mental tasks into a single “action” (like color matching with counting).
• Keep all players on equal footing. (Lots of luck will help even the playing field.)
This is the same thing that happens in the B-mods we’ve tried (boardgamesforallages.com/b-mods/) ! Simplifying decisions and keeping players on equal footing.
But some “Junior” or “My First” games try to stay too close to the original, and the game suffers for it. Keeping more complicated mechanics bumps the minimum age back up (Ticket to Ride: First Journey is 6+, Catan Junior is 6-9), while removing elements that keep the “grown up” game interesting. Not exactly “My First” at that point, although these games can work well for slightly older kids who have never played a strategic game before.
So which “My First” games do it well?
The best “My First” games take board games that are already accessible to older kids and bring them down to a preschool level:
• Splendor Kids (which we just tried) keeps the set collection and engine building but changes the GOAL and progression to something more concrete – now it’s a race up a track!
• Animal Upon Animal Junior (thefamilygamers.com/animal-upon-animal-jr/) (stacking but with much larger sturdier pieces and a simpler game loop. Can combine with the “big kids” version.)
• More “junior” stacking games: Rhino Hero Junior (thefamilygamers.com/rhino-hero-junior/) (short shelf life but approachable for a 2 year old) and Suspend Junior (just as much fun for adults as kids!)
• My First Castle Panic – our NUMBER ONE recommendation (thefamilygamers.com/my-first-castle-panic/)
• Similar matching and planning as the big brother, but simplified.
• Same cooperation!
...
Lots of board games have a stripped down or re-themed version for kids. Are they worth it? Well… sometimes.
0:00:00 Fact for 428
4/28, April 28, is the birthday of Carl Laemmle Jr. who was the head of production at Universal Studios from 1928 to 1936 and personally greenlit the original Classic Monster films (Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy), effectively creating the monster universe. (And there’s a rock with this number carved into it at “Darkmoor”, Universal Epic Universe.)
Sponsor Message
If this perspective sounds helpful (and you’d like something less generic), you too can book a free 15 minute call with First Move Financial at firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers (firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers) to learn how they can help you invest wisely. Even if you don’t have a huge net worth.
0:04:25 What We’ve Been Playing
Ham Helsing *
Splendor Kids *
The Four Doors (review coming soon!)
Boop Shuffle *
Carnuta
Journey to Tir na nOg *
Super Duo * (truly off the shelf of shame)
(*) first time mentioned on The Family Gamers Podcast
0:21:20 July Monthly Report
Andrew: 21 plays of 13 unique games. H-index: 3 (Little Alchemists, Fellowship of the Ring Trick-Taking Game, Palette)
Anitra: 35 plays of 22 unique games. H-index: 3 (Little Alchemists, Fellowship of the Ring Trick-Taking Game, Unmatched, Palette)
Most of our games were played at home, on the weekend, and/or with just 2 players.
0:23:30 The Family Gamers Community
Welcome new members! (facebook.com/groups/familygamersaa/posts/4476160352673420)
0:25:00 #Backtalk
Just a few stories about your “tricky” moments.
Read the responses on Facebook (facebook.com/groups/familygamersaa/posts/4466210603668395) or #backtalk channel (discord.com/channels/1157003438425653379/1239323617368604672) of the Discord.
0:27:40 Junior or “My First” Games
These are games that start from an “adult” game that already exists and strip them down to something simpler so that younger kids can play it.
It’s obvious why they exist: to bring in kids and introduce them to not just gaming *concepts* but to worlds/themes already well-branded.
When they do it well, “My First” games follow our guidelines for very young children (see our Candy Land article (thefamilygamers.com/why-i-hate-candy-land/) ), while keeping games tolerable for older kids & adults.
• Keep physical tasks simple, like rolling a single die. Other simple skills that could be used are matching, stacking, or pulling.
• Use durable equipment (dice, tokens, cardboard tiles rather than cards)
• Keep it short! Turns should take less than 30 seconds, unless all players are engaged on every turn. The whole game should take less than 20 minutes.
• Don’t combine challenging mental tasks into a single “action” (like color matching with counting).
• Keep all players on equal footing. (Lots of luck will help even the playing field.)
This is the same thing that happens in the B-mods we’ve tried (boardgamesforallages.com/b-mods/) ! Simplifying decisions and keeping players on equal footing.
But some “Junior” or “My First” games try to stay too close to the original, and the game suffers for it. Keeping more complicated mechanics bumps the minimum age back up (Ticket to Ride: First Journey is 6+, Catan Junior is 6-9), while removing elements that keep the “grown up” game interesting. Not exactly “My First” at that point, although these games can work well for slightly older kids who have never played a strategic game before.
So which “My First” games do it well?
The best “My First” games take board games that are already accessible to older kids and bring them down to a preschool level:
• Splendor Kids (which we just tried) keeps the set collection and engine building but changes the GOAL and progression to something more concrete – now it’s a race up a track!
• Animal Upon Animal Junior (thefamilygamers.com/animal-upon-animal-jr/) (stacking but with much larger sturdier pieces and a simpler game loop. Can combine with the “big kids” version.)
• More “junior” stacking games: Rhino Hero Junior (thefamilygamers.com/rhino-hero-junior/) (short shelf life but approachable for a 2 year old) and Suspend Junior (just as much fun for adults as kids!)
• My First Castle Panic – our NUMBER ONE recommendation (thefamilygamers.com/my-first-castle-panic/)
• Similar matching and planning as the big brother, but simplified.
• Same cooperation!
...
