12 Best Kids Toys of 2025: Top Picks Reviewed
We love board games that remind us of classic kids toys. Here’s our favorite picks for families and playful friends alike.
The 12 Best Board Games Based on Kids Toys: A Wild Ride Down Memory Lane! If your living room has ever resembled a toy store explosion, you’ll love this list. We hunted for kids toys board games that make us laugh, cause friendly chaos, and don’t need a PhD to play. We put fun, easy rules, and that ‘wow, I remember this!’ feeling at the top of our checklist. Whether you’re after nerve-wracking suspense or noisy, silly action, there’s something here for every kid and kid-at-heart (including the uncle who cheats at Jenga). Let’s get nostalgic—and a little bit competitive!
On this list:
12 Mouse Trap
We picked Mouse Trap because it’s the classic ‘kids toys’ board game that comes to life on your kitchen table. Set up a zany contraption that rarely works the first time you try it—kind of like our first pancake. Kids love the hands-on building, the suspense, and the wild chase. It’s a perfect way to introduce little ones to both board games and the sheer fun of chaos. Parents, stock up on patience and tiny wrenches!
11 Operation
This game is the closest we’ve come to feeling like we might actually need a medical degree. With Operation, kids use tweezers to pick silly items out of a patient. One slip, and BUZZ—cue the giggles! It’s a kids toy classic, testing steady hands and making everyone jump. Fair warning: we still can’t take out the funny bone without sweating a little.
10 Don’t Break the Ice
Don’t Break the Ice turns your table into an Antarctic rescue mission. Players take turns knocking out chunks of ‘ice’ with toy hammers, trying not to send the little polar bear plunging. Every whack ends in shrieks of laughter and, sometimes, accusations of sabotage. This was a hit with both kids and adults—great for family game night, or settling who does the dishes.
9 Hungry Hungry Hippos
Table shaking, marble-chomping chaos! Hungry Hungry Hippos lets you and your kids frantically mash the lever to gobble marbles faster than your opponents. There’s no strategy, just pure, loud fun. If you love kinetic kids toys that get everyone shouting and laughing, this is a must-own. May the hungriest hippo (and the strongest thumbs) win.
8 Loopin’ Louie
Who knew an erratic pilot and some plastic chickens could be so much fun? Loopin’ Louie features a motorized airplane that swoops around, threatening your chickens. You smack levers to send Louie flying off, and we guarantee the shouting gets louder as the chicken count drops. Fast, funny, and frantic—one of our favorite kids toys for parties.
7 Grape Escape
Get ready for squishable action! In Grape Escape, players mold grape-shaped characters out of play dough and race them down a track full of toy crushers, slicers, and stompers. Half the game is trying to make your grape look cool, and the other half is screaming as it’s mutilated by the contraptions. It’s creative, silly, and just messy enough to make things exciting.
6 KerPlunk
KerPlunk is the perfect kids toy-themed game for kids who love suspense (and for parents who enjoy the sound of marbles hitting the floor). Players take turns pulling out plastic sticks, hoping not to cause an avalanche of marbles. Every turn feels like you’re defusing a toy bomb—the tension is real and the laughter is even better.
5 Pop-Up Pirate
We still have no idea how the pirate decides to pop, but that’s half the fun. Slide plastic swords into the barrel, and hope you’re not the one who makes the pirate jump. Kids love the anticipation, and adults often get just as startled. It’s a wonderful and easy addition to any kids toys collection.
4 Buckaroo!
Buckaroo! lets players load toy items onto a spring-loaded mule, trying not to set it off. Each addition makes the tension worse, and when the mule finally bucks, stuff flies everywhere. It’s hilarious and only a little bit dangerous. We lost a tiny shovel under the radiator—worth it for the laughs, though.
3 Crocodile Dentist
With a huge, toothy crocodile as the centerpiece, Crocodile Dentist lets kids take turns poking teeth. At some point, the mouth snaps shut—and the jump scare never gets old (even for adults). This kids toy-themed game combines simple rules, a dash of fear, and lots of laughs. Plus, it’s great for hand-eye coordination!
2 Pie Face!
It’s messy, it’s simple, and it’s a riot. Pie Face! has players spin a number, then turn the handle as whipped cream looms ever closer. The suspense is hilarious, and when the pie flies, the whole room erupts. We played with kids, parents, and even a grandparent (she survived, barely). If you want your kids’ toys to involve real whipped cream, start here.
1 Jenga
We saved the best for last. Jenga is the kids toy-themed board game that truly brings everyone together. Simple blocks, high tension, and pure skill—and every game ends in an epic, noisy crash. Kids and adults both get obsessed, and things get competitive fast. We’ve played dozens of rounds and still flinch at falling towers. Jenga wins for being easy to learn, great for all ages, and impossible to get bored of. That’s why it tops our list of ‘kids toys’ themed board games.
