My son is 6 and I've been playing games with him since he was two. In the beginning, we were really just playing with games. I'd get out Daytona 500, for example, and we'd move the cars around making car sounds. When I got out Union Pacific, we'd move the trains around making train sounds. I'm sure you get the idea. My goal was just to have my son make an association between board games and fun with Dad. A little trial and error should help you discover what games your daughter will enjoy playing with.

As my son got older, I began introducing some of the rules in the games we have been playing with. For instance, we would draw the cards in Daytona 500 and he would move the cars around the track in the appropriate order. I also picked up the much maligned Candyland and Chutes & Ladders for him. While those games provided no decisions for him, they did provide him with games whose rules he could understand and follow. It introduced him to the idea of rules and the idea of winning and losing. With adult oriented games, my idea to was introduce just enough new rules to keep things interesting for him without making it too difficult for him.

Now, at age 6, he easily plays games that, based on the game boxes, are for children several years older than he is. Further, he is just as likely to ask me to play a board game with him as he is to ask me to play video games with him. I consider that a major success!

Good luck! With patience and a fun loving attitude on your part, you'll have your daughter playing games with you in no time!

This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com