We all keep hearing the same thing:
STEM skills are the future for our kids.
But what if you’re unsure exactly how to foster the skills and knowledge your kids are learning at school when they’re at home?
One of the easiest and most fun ways to do this is to play STEM-themed board games as a family.
Below are the best STEM games for kids of all ages.
Read on to discover which one is best for your kids! Looking for more game ideas? Find all the best board games for kids here.
The Most Fun STEM Board Games For Kids
1. Dr. Eureka
In this science-themed game, kids race to match the order and position of the balls to the current challenge card. To start, each player has 3 test tubes filled with 2 different colored balls.
After a challenge card is flipped over, the players race to pour their balls from test tube to test tube without dropping or touching any of the balls.
When a player gets their test tubes and balls in the right combination, they shout out Eureka! to win.
The first player to win five challenge cards wins.
Related: Best Math Board Games For Kids
2. Bloxels: Build Your Own Video Game
We love this game at our house because when your kids have Bloxels they don’t just play video games, they help create them!
To create and play this game, you simply need the Bloxels game board and a compatible device (we use an iPad).
What’s great about this game is that there are so many different levels at which kids can play. My 7-year-old has made tons of his own characters but hasn’t progressed to build backgrounds or create animations yet.
This is a great game to introduce kids to video game creation.
3. Qbitz
In Qbitzs, the object of the game is to be the first person to correctly arrange your cubes to the pattern on the card.
To play the standard way, each player has their cubes out of the trays and a Qbitz card is flipped. Kids manipulate their cubes in any way needed to match the Qbitz card.
The first player to match yells “Qbitz” and wins that round.
There are also two other ways to play which include rolling the cubes to match the card and memorizing the card. You can play one round of each game or create any combination of 3 rounds that you’d like.
At the end of three rounds, the player with the most cards wins!
For younger kids, Qbitz Jr. is also highly rated.
4. Code Master
In this single-player STEM game, kids learn the basics of programming and code.
On each level, the goal is to get your avatar from the start position to the portal, while collecting all the crystals on that level.
Each level increases in difficulty and once your child progresses to the intermediate levels, new challenges begin.
This game is perfect for developing code logic and the skills of persistence, problem-solving and sequential thinking.
5. Mastermind
In this classic strategy game, kids are trying to determine the secret code of 4 colored pegs.
To play, one child (the codemaker) creates the secret code. The other player (the codebreaker) uses logic and strategy to figure out the secret code.
Every round, the codebreaker will put four colored pegs in the slots then wait for the codemaker to use special key pegs to give hints to help them discover the secret code.
Each key peg indicates certain properties such as the right color and position of the codebreaker’s pegs, right color, and wrong position or to indicate a certain color doesn’t exist in the secret code.
The codebreaker gets 10 rounds to determine the code. The player who determines the secret code in the least amount of turns wins.
6. Code And Go Robot Mouse
In Code And Go Robot Mouse, a player (or multiple players working together) codes Colby the mouse to get through the maze to his cheese waiting at the end.
Kids use the grid pieces and maze walls to create any maze they want.
Once the cheese is set, kids use the coding cards to help them determine the shortest sequence to get to the end of the maze.
After the coding card order is determined, kids program the directions on Colby, press go and watch to see if they are able to get him to the end of the maze.
This coding game helps children learn critical thinking, sequencing, programming basics, and much more!
7. Cat Crimes
Cat Crimes is a highly-rated board game single player board game for kids ages 8 and up!
In this game, kids will have to discover which cat committed the crimes with help from clue cards. This game helps kids with critical thinking and math skills like logic.
It’s great for taking on the go and has 3 different difficulty levels to keep your kids interested and challenged!
8. Totally Gross!
In this science board game, kids race to get their slime to the number 10 and correctly complete a winning lab experiment.
Players move around the board game and land on a variety of spaces that direct different play including question spaces, gross spaces (like science-based dares), and lab spaces (lose a turn or win the game).
This fun game has topics and questions that cover chemistry, geology, zoology, biology, anatomy, and more.
With these board games, it’s easy to have fun and develop STEM knowledge at the same time!