Board Games or Chaos? Convincing a 4-Year-Old to Follow the Rules

How technology might help bridge the gap between fun and patience in learning to play games

The Superpower Dilemma

When your 4-year-old insists that all board games are more fun when his character has superpowers, how do you convince him that following the rules can be just as enjoyable? I’m still trying to figure that out.

Last week, my son and I played Robot Turtles, a board game designed to teach kids coding basics. The first round went well—he followed the instructions, played his cards in order, and successfully guided his turtle to the gem. Then, as I introduced more advanced elements, like obstacles he needed to melt with a laser, he slowly lost interest. Soon, he began rearranging the board and having his turtle jump over the obstacles instead of following the rules.

Robot Turtles from Thinkfun

He was having fun, so I let it slide for a while. But after a couple of rounds, he got bored and moved on to something else. I couldn’t figure out how to make following the rules more fun for him.

I could not figure out how to convince him it would be more fun if he followed the rules.

That evening he was playing Crayola Create & Play on his iPad, and I noticed he was doing basically the same thing as in Robot Turtles - putting directions on a board for a ball to bounce over. It was going much more smoothly than Robot Turtles due to the constraints the game was enforcing - no patient rule following required.

Technology vs. Traditional Board Games

I’ve seen the same thing with checkers. He’s far more engaged when playing on the iPad than with a physical board.

I understand the importance of teaching kids the patience to play traditional board games, but for now, using the iPad to enforce the rules seems to be working. There’s also something to be said for kids learning a game like checkers without having to wait for their patience to develop.

My Search for the Perfect Pre-K Board Game

That said, I’m not giving up on board games. I asked Reddit for suggestions on games that work well for kids around my son’s age, and I’ve compiled a list. I plan to try each one and report back: “Can my 4-year-old play it? Can my 2-year-old play it? Do they like it? Do they at least tolerate it?”

Here’s the list:

1. Hoot Owl Hoot

2. Feed the Woozle

3. Snug as a Bug

4. My First Castle Panic

5. Camelot Jr

6. Goblet Gobblers

7. Three Little Piggies

8. Yahtzee Jr.

9. Trouble

10. Sneaky Snacky Squirrel

Conclusion

Finding the balance between fun and following the rules with young children can be hard. While iPad games seem to provide a helpful structure for now, I’m committed to exploring board games that might hold their interest. I’ll be testing out the recommendations from other parents and sharing how they work with both my 4-year-old and 2-year-old. Stay tuned for updates and reviews!