5 Board Games for Lovers of Dinosaurs
I don’t know about you, but all of my kids (and me!) LOVE dinosaurs.
We’ve been neck deep in dinosaur facts for about 6 years, fielding every question our kids can throw at us and leaning into the obsession. Honestly, by this point I practically have a degree in Paleontology.
Birthdays around here mean lots and lots of Dinosaur requests. Over the years we’ve amassed a great collection of dinosaur games, both for young and old. (I’m not kidding, I LOVE dinosaurs!)
After our review of Draftosaurs, I got some questions on Instagram asking if we had any more favorite dinosaur games. Oh boy do we!
So, in addition to Draftosaurus, here are 5 more of our very favorite dinosaur board games!
Find all of these games on our Amazon storefront!
1: Dinosaur Tea Party
I think everyone needs a really good deduction game in their arsenal. Its such a great skill for kids to look at the information they know and check it against the information on the board. Dinosaur Tea Party does just that! It’s a smarter version of Guess Who. Everyone is invited to the tea party and must correctly deduce who each guest is by asking questions such as, “Are you wearing a hat?” Or “Are you dining on anything today?”
Dinosaur Tea Party offers a fun challenge for kids young and old, giving variants for both standard and advanced play. It also invites a great amount of role play! You’ll love pretended you’re at the fanciest tea party!
(Read our full review here!)
2: Dino World
What’s the best part about playing with dinosaurs? Getting to eat all of the little dinosaurs!
In Dino World you’ll get to do just that!
This is a simple dexterity game that will have you flicking dinosaur cards off the top of the game box into the center of the table. If your dinosaur card lands on top of a smaller dinosaur card, you “eat” that dinosaur and take the card.
Everyone flicks their dinosaur cards one at a time, eating any smaller dinosaurs they land on, until everyone is out of cards. Then the player with the most eaten dinosaurs wins!
Dino World is simple fun. While there isn’t a lot going on here as far as strategy I love that the game is accessible for very young players. It plays fast and makes for a wonderful short game to pull out when you need to pass the time but can’t get a full game in.
Our kids love the dinosaur art on the cards and there’s always a lot of roaring and chomping going on while playing. Sometimes a simple game is exactly what you need.
3: SOS Dino
Packed with amazing components, SOS Dino has you racing against the clock as you try to save the dinosaur eggs, (and yourself!) before the lava traps you in.
Players will draw lava flow tiles from a bag to create lava flows that everyone must avoid. Working together, players move the dinosaurs around these lava paths to save dinosaur eggs and get to safety on top of the mountains.
Tile placement is always fun and I love that kids are able to make real choices about where to place each lava tile and then must deal with the consequences.
This is a cooperative game that works great for kids ages 5 and up!
4: Raptor
Take on the role of a mother raptor protecting her babies or a team of scientists looking to capture them in this two player game.
You’re sure to be saying “Clever Girl” all throughout this game!
Players select from personal cards that have special actions on them, enabling them to move their characters around the board. Cards are revealed simultaneously, so players will try to outsmart their opponent while trying to not get caught unaware.
This clever game packs a lot of suspense and plays in a tight 20 minutes. It’s perfect for older kids and adults starting around age 8.
5: Dinosaur Island
If Raptor doesn’t have you busting out all of your Jurassic Park quotes, this one for SURE will! This game is for the big kids in the room!
In Dinosaur Island you will be building your very own dinosaur park! How? well, by collecting Dino DNA of course. Oh, and then sequencing it to create specific dinosaur species! You’ll then have to place them in your park! Be careful, when your guests come, if you haven’t increased security your dinos might break out and make your guests into tasty snacks.
Hire a specific team of researchers, park personnel, and make sure your guests have plenty of sights to see so that you can generate enough profits to claim victory!
Without a doubt, Jurassic Park is my favorite movie franchise and this game is everything and more than I ever wanted.
It’s packed full of fantastic dinosaur meeples, high quality components, and the most beautiful amber dice you’ll ever see.
Not only that, it’s just a very good game. There is a lot of strategy involved, and multiple ways to plot yourself to victory which makes each and every game feel fresh and exciting. It’s a table hog though! So prepare yourself!
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