Black Box

  Black Box was made by Parker Brothers in the late 1970s and isn't made anymore. See the Wikipedia listing for a thorough explanation of the rules. I mention this because the game could be played on grid paper. Each of two players would use a piece of grid paper marked out to be an 8x8 grid. The "hider" marks four or five squares on the grid; pretend there's a ball in those chosen squares. The "seeker" tries to find these squares by pretending to send a laser beam into the grid. This laser beam bounces off the "balls" and then leaves the grid. By observing how this laser beam bounces, the seeker should be able to figure out which squares on the grid the hider chose.
  This is a good game for nonreaders, for kids who like to solve puzzles and for those who like logic games. The purchased game, which was mine as a kid, was cool because the box is black and the pieces are red, yellow and orange, so the contrast was interesting. The rules were unlike other games we had. The purchased game uses a crayon wipe-off grid for hiding the balls. This is something that could be useful for a homemade version of this game.
  For ages 10 to adult, 2 players. Cost: About $10 on ebay, or make your own game with grid paper.

Our rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Let's Go Fishin'

  Let's Go Fishin' is the rare game I like that requires batteries. Of course, the game needs only one "C" battery, and it doesn't wear out too quickly, so that helps. Add to that the fact that the kids play it a lot, and I'm convinced it's a good game.
  The game is cheap, plastic and we own it because I got it as a gift. It appeals to the kids in a way I don't really understand. They seem to think the fishes' gaping mouths are dangerous and exciting. When we get together with other families to play chess, I'll bring this game for the little ones to play, and they look forward to it.
  I'd say you can forget about playing this like a game, and see it as a toy. Players use one of the four fishing poles to catch the fish, which move in a circle, bopping up and down, opening and closing their mouths. The game really is too hard, and the kids end up grabbing the fish with their fingers. For some reason, they still enjoy it.
  My daughter peeled all the eyeball stickers off the fish, and we're missing a few, which I'm sure are around the house somewhere, but that's just evidence to the fact that the game is a family favorite.
  For ages 4 and older, 1-4 players. Needs one "C" battery. Cost: About $10.

Our rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Original Memory Game

  Original Memory Game is better than later, more commercial versions with pictures of cartoon characters or artsy illustrations that appeal more to adults than to children. I used this game when my son was in speech therapy at age 2 and 3, and we would say the words out loud for whatever object we flipped over. Since the Original Memory Game uses pictures of a wide variety of everyday objects, this was helpful for his speech. Because he didn't have to speak well to play it, he could still succeed at the game.
  Consider different ways to play with the game's simple cards. You could use only 10 of them for a simple game. You could lay out five of them face-up and tell a story using the pictures in order. You could play taking turns, or make it a lightning-round free-for-all.
  I like very much that the illustrations are simple and easy to recognize. They aren't childlike, but are drawn with care to appeal to children. For example, the pizza has pepperoni on it; the house has a chimney and doorknob; the pig is rolling in mud. These are the kinds of details children put in their own drawings, and these details give parents opportunities to talk about the pictures.
  For ages 3-6, 1 or more players. No reading required. Cost: About $9.

Our rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Boggle Jr.

  Unlike Boggle, Boggle Jr. has been sitting on the shelf getting dusty. I don't dislike it terribly, and it gets played with enough that I haven't gotten rid of it, but it's not very much fun.
  The game consists of cards with simple words printed on them, cubes with letters on them, and a tray to set it all in. There are two levels of play, one in which you look at the word and find the correct letters, the other in which you cover up the word and have to spell it yourself.
  I think the problem with the game is that it's tedious to search all the sides of the cubes to find the correct letter. If my daughter knows that "lion" starts with "L," she would like to move the game along quicker than she can if she has to stop and find the "L" on the block. (Is there an "L" on this block? Nope. How about this block? No? How about this one? Nope? How about this one?)
  For ages 3 to 6, 1 or more players. Cost: About $10.

Our rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Boggle

  It's easy to overlook a simple game like Boggle. If you look closely at my picture, you'll see I got mine for 99 cents at Goodwill. I wonder if people get this as a gift and don't play it. The "3-minute word search game," as the box refers to it, doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles, but it's fun, educational, and hey, it only takes three minutes.
  We have a handicap system at my house. When my son was 7, he was allowed to use two-letter words, and I'd add 10 points to his score. But he's almost 9 now, and I think we need to scale back his advantage.
  The game includes a grid into which lettered cubes are randomly set. Players each write down the words they find. The letters must be touching, but can go straight, diagonal, in a circle, backward. When you add up your score, longer words count for more points, and any word that another person has on his list doesn't count. There always seem to be a few words that were staring me in the face, but I missed them.
  For ages 8 to adult, 2 or more players. Cost: About $14.

Our rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Splat!

  Unfortunately, the game Splat! isn't made anymore. It's a Milton Bradley game from 1990, and I got mine at a garage sale. It can be found online, though, so check it out if this sounds fun.
  The game's central, gross-out theme is that the playing pieces are bugs that get squished. They are made with modeling dough using a press. If your bug gets squished, you start again with another bug. As more squished bugs fill the board, game play speeds up because you skip any occupied space.
  The game forces you to think a little differently because each player uses two playing-piece bugs at a time. Make sure you play with two dice or play goes too slowly, especially with only two players. We have replaced the original dough with Play-Doh, and it works fine.
  Sensitive children might not be able to handle the disappointment of having their playing pieces get squished. But young children enjoy making bugs and squishing them, rolling the dice and pretending to play.
  Splat! is a good game for kinetic learners because molding the playing pieces and splatting them adds a lot of action to a game that otherwise centers on counting and colors.
  For ages 5 and older (younger if you don't worry about rules), 2-4 players. Cost: At this writing, there are four listed on ebay with bids starting at $10, plus about $10 shipping.

Our rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Perfection

  Perfection has improved since I was a kid in that it has a built-in storage drawer to store the pieces. That means we threw away the box, which was bigger than it needed to be.
  The game is the same, though, with a springboard and timer. You set the timer and race to put the little plastic shapes into the correct holes before SPROING! the board springs up and the pieces fly into the air.
  I was working on the computer one day while my 3-year-old played behind me on the floor. Then I heard the "Perfection" timer start. She had put in the pieces first, then set the timer and ran across the room to hide and wait for the game to explode. I like toys that can be played with creatively, and Perfection fits that description. No batteries required makes it even better.
  For ages 5 and older (younger if you use it as a toy and not a game), 1 player, or multiple players taking turns. Cost: About $17.

Our rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Dinosaurs Extinct?

  Dinosaurs Extinct? is an OK game if you're looking for something that is about dinosaurs. The rules approach the edge of my patience for a game intended for young players, but if you take a couple of minutes to read the rules, you'll see it's not as complicated as you feared.
  The game has a really big die that's fun to roll, and neat flip-over cards that show dinosaur skeletons when you suffer damage. Each player tries to get his little dinosaur marker into the 21st century while avoiding disasters such as the Ice Age, tornadoes and volcanoes. If you teach them to play first, kids who can count but not read could play it by themselves.
  For ages 5 and older, 2-4 players. Cost: About $20.

Our rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Chess

  The noble yet humble game of chess is best played with a nice tournament chess set, which can be found for about $20.
  "Tournament" means the pieces are large and weighted, and the board is the proper size, such as what's used in chess tournaments. Even if you're just learning to play, it's worth it to get a good set. If you're trying to play chess on a board that's too small, and with tiny, hollow plastic pieces, you're not having any fun. You'll accidentally knock pieces over, and the board might not even lie flat.
  The link above will take you to amazon.com, and there are other chess sets to be found online. Wholesale Chess has some with a canvas tote bag, which is what I have. My one reservation about the set is that the vinyl board can stay a little curled up. I'm careful to roll it up with the board showing on the outside so it will curl back into the table. We play happily on it because the pieces are heavy enough to hold down the board. We take our set to the library twice a week to play against other kids.
  If you think you can't play, check out a book. There are ways to learn the game gradually, for example, playing only with pawns to start, or playing one queen against all pawns (hint: the queen's gonna win). I like Chess for Kids by Michael Basman. It's a Dorling Kindersley book, with a lot of pictures and isn't intimidating to newcomers.
  For ages 4 and older, 2 players. Cost: About $20.

Our rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Don't Break the Ice

  For as long as our family has owned Don't Break the Ice, we have called it "Break the Ice." It's a good example of how a game that's fun doesn't need strict rules. If my 2-year-old thinks she's the winner because she made the bear fall down, that's OK.
  Don't Break the Ice is a good turn-taking game: "My turn. Your turn." It's good for hand-eye coordination. It's good for kids who can't sit still for long and want to pound on and break things.
  On the down side, it requires an adult to set up. And if you're not watching, the kids will break the ice too quickly, and you'll have to spend a minute setting it up again. Not too bad a tradeoff, though, considering how much we enjoy playing it. And by the time they're 6 or 7, the kids will be able to squeeze in all the plastic ice cubes to set up the game themselves.
  For ages 4-6 (I'd say younger and older), 2 players. Cost: About $10.

Our rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Rivers, Roads & Rails

  I like Rivers, Roads and Rails. I do not like the game's instructions, which I read when we got the game, decided they didn't make sense, and haven't looked at again.
  The game is just squares with pictures on them. Each has a variety of combinations of a river, road or railroad track. The squares are thick cardboard and feel nice to hold. The pictures on them are cute.
  My 3-year-old likes to look at the pictures, and we talk about them. "Boat, horse, tree." She likes the challenge of lining up the squares, but doesn't notice whether the roads, etc., match.
  My 5-year-old enjoys laying out the tiles in a way that looks nice. She imagines being in the picture she's creating. She follows the rules about lining up a river with a river, a road with a road.
  My 8-year-old wants more challenge, so he'll randomly grab a bunch of squares to see whether it's possible to use them all. Several times, he and I have tried to design a layout in which we use them all, but we've never had the patience to keep trying.
  My homemade rules for Rivers, Roads & Rails is that each player gets 5 squares. You put down a starter square and take turns adding to it, one square at a time. If you can't put down a square, you can take a new one to add to your hand and still try to take your turn, or trade as many squares as you like and forfeit your turn.
  I'm wondering now whether we have finished a game playing this way. I know we oftentimes decide to just start building the road together. It's fun just to look at it. Bad rules, good game.
  For ages 5-adult, 1-8 players. Cost: About $21.

Our rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Design Discoveries

  Design Discoveries is an old game that I bought at a rummage sale. The game I own is made by Discovery Toys, but there are plenty of versions of this learning toy, in which colored tiles are placed in an outline. The cards with the outlines on them range in difficulty from simply putting down the correct shapes to figuring out which shapes must be used to fill a complex picture.
  This is a nice, quiet activity for children that will keep them busy for 20 minutes or so. The downside is if they're not old enough to clean up their toys, it can be a big mess. And if you lose any pieces, it's possible that kids won't be able to solve all the picture cards.
  I like the wooden pieces in my game, unlike the foam pieces of some others. The foam pieces are irresistible for some children to bite into, creating an even worse choking hazard than the small pieces already are, in addition to ruining the game.
  Melissa & Doug has a couple versions of this game, including one specifically for preschoolers.
  For ages 3-10, 1 player. Cost: Varies, $10-30.

Our rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Batik

  Batik is one of those games that such simple rules that anyone can play, and has such an interesting premise that people of all ages will think it's fun.
  The game comes with a couple versions of the rules, but the basic play is to take turns dropping shapes into a clear wall. The first player whose piece sticks out the top loses. A game only takes a minute.
  Although the game box says it's for ages 6 and older, I think younger children can play it with supervision. It's great for taking turns: "My turn. Your turn." Putting the wooden pieces inbetween the plastic walls is good practice for fine-motor skills. For older children, strategy comes into play. Put your big pieces in first; try to estimate how much room is left for the other player.
  The wooden game pieces feel nice to hold, and the game box is sturdy and attractive. I brought a laundry basket full of games to a multi-family picnic, and this was the game kids were lining up to try.
  For ages 6-99 (I would say much younger can play), 2 players. Cost: About $25.

Our rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Snail's Pace Race

  Snail's Pace Race is a surprisingly fun game for kids of all ages. Grownups will appreciate how simple it is, and how quickly a game can be played.
  The playing pieces are nice-sized wooden snails that feel nice to hold. Two dice have colored circles on them. Players take turns rolling either one or two dice, then move the snails of the same color.
  The unique things about Snail's Pace Race is that no one player owns any one color of snail, so there is no winner or loser. All players are simply spectators to the race, and can cheer for a color if they choose. Older children could try to figure the probability of a certain snail winning. Several games could be played, and the results drawn on a chart. If you're creative, there are a lot of ways this simple game could be used for families to play together.
  For ages 3-7, 2-6 players (unlimited, really). Cost: About $20.

Our rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Honey Bee Tree

  Honey Bee Tree has won awards for best game, and I agree that it's cute and that the kids like it. But it takes too long to set up, and the young children who most like to play it are the same ones who need a parent to set it up.
  The base looks like a tree with a beehive on top. Plastic leaves are inserted through holes, creating a net inside. Small plastic bees (a choking hazard, so bee careful) are put on top of this net of leaf-sticks. Players take turns removing the leaves, hoping a bee doesn't fall through the trunk and into their collection bin at the base of the tree.
  The game can be used to teach young children to take turns. "My turn. Your turn." But they probably won't understand the rules, and will think it's good to get the bees to fall. I'd say don't worry about that, and just have fun. Do watch out that they don't quickly remove the leaves that just took five minutes to insert.
  For ages 3 and older, 2-4 players. Cost: About $12.

Our rating: 3 out of 5 stars