Let’s be honest. The birthday party invite lands, you look at the calendar, and it’s tomorrow. And the kid in question? Already owns everything. Every slime kit. Every plushie. A toy box so full the lid hasn’t shut since 2024. Which is exactly why games make ripper birthday gifts for kids. It gets played, it gets the family around the table, and unlike that toy they had to have last Tuesday, it won’t be forgotten by Thursday.
10 of our Favourite Games for Kids Aged 6-10 Years
We’ve rounded up ten of our favourite games for this age group, sorted by kid type. Find the one that sounds like the birthday boy or girl and you’re done. No three-hour scroll required.
Games with Strategy & Tactics: For the Little Masterminds
You know the kid. Plots their Monopoly takeover. Negotiates bedtime like a union rep. These are for them.
CATAN
RRP: $59
WHERE TO BUY: Kmart
AGES: 10+
AVERAGE GAME TIME: Varies
The classic for a reason. Players land on an island and collect brick, wood, wool, grain and ore to build roads, settlements and cities. Sounds peaceful. It isn’t. You will never, ever have exactly what you need, and someone else always seems to be sitting on the sheep you’re desperate for.
Cue the trading. Kids barter with each other for missing resources, strike deals, break deals, and keep a suspicious eye on who’s building where. The board changes every single game, so there’s no cheat code and no memorised route to victory. Every round needs fresh thinking, which is exactly what keeps older kids coming back.
First to 10 victory points wins. This is the one for kids ready to graduate from quick card games to something meatier, and it quietly sneaks in planning, negotiation and maths. Fair warning though: you may lose an entire Sunday afternoon to it.
Flip 7
RRP: $15
WHERE TO BUY: Kmart
AGES: 8+
AVERAGE GAME TIME: Around 20 minutes
Flip cards. Collect seven different numbers. Simple, right? Well, here’s the catch: flip a number you’ve already got and you bust, losing everything you’ve built that round. Not so simple now. It’s the kind of game that looks easy on paper and turns perfectly calm children into nervous wrecks within minutes.
The deck gets riskier as you go, with one 1, two 2s, three 3s and so on, so the big numbers keep popping up. Then come the action cards that let you freeze opponents, force them to flip or grab a second chance. Rude. Brilliant, but rude. Revenge is very much part of the fun.
The whole game hangs on one question: bank your points or push your luck? At around $15 and pocket-sized, it’s perfect for sleepovers, holidays and grandparent visits. Rules take about a minute to explain. Expect someone to shout “ONE more round” at least four times before bed.
Bing Bang Boom
RRP: $15
WHERE TO BUY: Target
AGES: 7+
AVERAGE GAME TIME: 10 Minutes
Fireworks, but on the kitchen table, and nobody needs to call the fire brigade. Each player gets five cards and four spots, and the goal is to dump your cards before you’re stuck holding the Dud. It’s a bit like a party trick and a race rolled into one, with plenty of sparks along the way.
There’s nothing complicated to learn, so kids can jump straight in without a rule book lecture. The real trick is watching what everyone else is doing. Who’s close to finishing? Who’s sitting on a dodgy hand? Keep your eyes peeled or you’ll be the one left holding a fizzer while everyone else celebrates.
Fewest Duds wins. Some rounds you’ll pull off the perfect launch and feel like a genius. Other rounds your grand plan goes up in smoke. Literally. At $15 with a 10-minute game time, it’s an easy one to squeeze in before dinner, or three times before dinner.
Games to Build, Stack & Create
If your child is happiest with a pile of LEGO bricks in front of them, these picks combine that hands-on building fun with the excitement of playing a game.
LEGO Ninjago: Destiny’s Bounty Adventures
RRP: $49
WHERE TO BUY: Kmart
AGES: 8+
AVERAGE GAME TIME: Around 30 minutes
Villains are storming Destiny’s Bounty and it’s up to Kai, Nya, Cole and Zane to save the legendary flying ship. Here’s the best bit for parents: it’s co-operative, so everyone plays on the same team. Translation? No sore losers, no slammed doors, no tears and absolutely no “you cheated” at the dinner table.
Each ninja brings their own powers to the fight, and players earn LEGO gear to build onto their minifigures, unlocking new abilities as they go. There are multiple adventures with different twists and difficulty levels, so it doesn’t go stale after one afternoon. Kids can level up their ninja and take on tougher missions next time.
It also comes with an exclusive Nya minifigure, which will make any NINJAGO fan lose their mind a little. In a good way. Teamwork and communication sit right at the centre, and either the whole team wins or nobody does. That’s a birthday win for everyone.
LEGO Brick Like This!
RRP: $25
WHERE TO BUY: Kmart
AGES: 7+
AVERAGE GAME TIME: 15 Minutes
LEGO meets charades meets a ticking timer. Players team up in pairs. One person sees a shape card, the other has to build it, and here’s the twist: the card can’t be shown. You have to describe it. With words. To a child. Under time pressure. What could possibly go wrong?
If you’ve ever tried to explain to a nine-year-old where the dishwasher tablets live, you already know how this goes. Expect a LOT of “That’s NOT what I meant!” and plenty of creative interpretations of the word “flat”. It’s brilliant for building patience and communication skills, even if nobody notices they’re learning anything.
Inside the box: 48 LEGO bricks, 92 shape cards, 20 challenge cards and a sand timer. The challenge cards crank up the chaos, like building one-handed or describing shapes without using numbers or colours. Patience gets tested. Friendships get tested. Hilarity is guaranteed every single time.
Games that are Silly, Fast & Funny
For kids who want their birthday games loud, ridiculous and over before anyone has time to start arguing about the rules, start here.
Exploding Kittens The Card Game
RRP: $34
WHERE TO BUY: Target
AGES: 7+
AVERAGE GAME TIME: 15 Minutes
One rule to live by: don’t draw the Exploding Kitten. Players take turns drawing cards until someone gets unlucky. Unless, of course, they’ve got a Defuse card, in which case they can save themselves with a laser pointer, a catnip sandwich or a belly rub. Obviously. That’s just how kittens work.
The rest of the deck is pure sabotage. Peek at upcoming cards, skip your turn, shuffle the deck or make someone else draw. Siblings will form alliances. Alliances will crumble. Family negotiations get very serious, very fast, and you’ll discover your eight-year-old has the poker face of a seasoned card shark.
The silly artwork and ridiculous card names keep everything light, and setting up again takes seconds. Handy, because the kid who just lost will demand a rematch before the cards even hit the table. It’s a top pick for sleepovers, family visits and those long afternoons when everyone’s climbing the walls.
Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza
RRP: $15
WHERE TO BUY: Kmart
AGES: 8+
AVERAGE GAME TIME: 10-15 minutes
Taco. Cat. Goat. Cheese. Pizza. Five words. Easy to say. Now try saying them fast while cards fly onto the table and everyone’s watching your hands. Not so easy anymore. This is the game that turns a quiet family evening into a full-blown slap-fest, and the kids absolutely love it.
Players chant the words in order while laying cards down. When the card matches the word, everyone slaps the pile, and the slowest hand cops the cards. Then the special cards turn up: beat your chest for the gorilla, slap the table for the groundhog, hands up for the narwhal. Chaos follows.
It’s great for kids who can’t sit still, the rules take about thirty seconds and at around $15 the box fits easily in a handbag. Honestly, watching Dad panic over a gorilla card is half the entertainment. The other half is the kids beating him. Repeatedly. With great delight.
Stomp Stomp Chomp
RRP: $19
WHERE TO BUY: Target
AGES: 6+
AVERAGE GAME TIME: Around 10 minutes
A card game about bears, spoons and mushrooms. Of course it is. Everyone chants “Stomp Stomp Chomp” to see who flips, then players build up their mushroom stash one card at a time. It all seems very calm and woodland-friendly. Then the bears start showing up and things get wild.
Flip the third bear and YOU become the bear, legging it across the room to grab your spoon. Meanwhile everyone else rolls dice like their lives depend on it to save their mushrooms before the bear gets back. Anything left behind gets gobbled up. Cue shrieking, giggling and the odd stubbed toe.
Most mushrooms wins. It’s the youngest-friendly pick on the list at 6+, and the pocket-sized box travels well to birthdays and holidays. There’s even a sit-down version for anyone who’d rather not sprint around the lounge room. Adults included. Mostly. Just don’t be surprised when they get competitive too.
Games that Bring the Energy
Whirly Derby
RRP: $25
WHERE TO BUY: Target
AGES: 8+
AVERAGE GAME TIME: 10-30 Minutes
Marble racing, but make it competitive. Each player manages their own team of racers and scores points for every top-three finish, so every single spot on the track matters. Kids get to watch the action unfold and yell at tiny marbles like they’re at the Melbourne Cup. Honestly, the parents do too.
Stuck at the back of the pack? The Thunderball racer can shake things up and help you claw back some ground. There’s a mix of luck and tactics, which means kids actually have decisions to make while their marbles zoom around. A well-timed move can turn a losing race right around.
After eight rounds, the winner is crowned Whirly Derby Champion of the Whirlyverse. Yes, that’s the official title. Yes, they’ll want it printed on a certificate. With game time anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, it’s flexible enough for a quick round or a full championship afternoon.
Grab the Mic
RRP: $25
WHERE TO BUY: Kmart
AGES: 8+
AVERAGE GAME TIME: 20 Minutes +
Grab the Mic turns singing into a family competition. Players flip a word card, think of a song containing that word, then race to grab the foam microphone and sing it. And no, you don’t need a good singing voice. Sometimes the first song that comes to mind is the one that wins.
Get the answer right and you move your token around the board, with the first player to reach the finish winning the game. Multiple game modes mean you can change things up when everyone is ready for another round. That gives you a few different ways to play.
It’s a fun pick for kids who love music, performing or being the centre of attention. It can also work across generations, with parents pulling out old favourites while kids reach for more recent songs. Off-key singing is very much allowed. The more unexpected the song choices, the better.
There’s no shortage of games competing for space on the birthday present list, but matching the game to the child makes the decision much easier. Whether they’re a budding strategist, a LEGO builder, a chaos-loving card shark or the kid who grabs the microphone at every family party, these birthday gifts for kids are here to suit their style of play.
This is a sponsored giveaway for Asmodee Australia.
