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In collaboration with , Daniela and her students created two board game collections:

• a Young Children’s collection of 60 board games designed for 2- to 8-year-olds (first launched in April 2021)
• an Older Children’s collection 50 board games designed for 9- to 14-year-olds (launching in 2025 - more details about collections to come here in May 2025)

Both of these collections were created with providing children with rich conversational opportunities during play to expand both their language and literacy skills and learn and practice social and play skills – along with all the other rich learning that can take place during board game play. Some games are lighter and allow more conversational back-and-forth during play and some are more challenging requiring more concentration and consideration of different strategies that could be taken on a turn. But at all times, we prioritized the selection of games that always provide continuous elements of conversation between players and avoid each player simply focusing on their own actions and moves in a more “solo” style.

ln total, there are 110 board games across both the collections for patrons to borrow! The games in each of these collections were extensively pre-tested with children and families to meet specific criteria as listed for each collection. For example, almost all the games in the Young Children’s collection can be played in under 15 minutes and in any language. For the Older Children’s collection, a broad selection of games includes games that are easy-to-learn and quick to play along with others that have somewhat longer playing times and more complexity with respect to keeping different goals and ways to score in mind that can serve as introductory “gateway games” to much longer and more complex board games in the future. We have provided Tables with a complete listing of all the games in both collections. Additionally, smaller programming collections of approximately 24 games were created for each of the 6 KPL branches. These collections, intended for in-house use, were curated for the ages and purposes specified by each branch. In addition, a 6-week Build a Board Game summer program for 10- to 12-year-olds was developed and hosted in 2023 and 2024. You can follow along with updates on our Instagram .

In addition to curating the collections, we have also developed specific materials to accompany all the games in the collection to ensure their successful use by families and children. These materials are described and provided openly in full in the Table of games for each collection and include 1-page Quick Start Instructions or Quick Tips, 1-page Content Lists, and 1-page Descriptions. In addition, you will find a Set of 5 Posters and a Pamphlet of Tips for Parents of Young Children. These collections and our accompanying materials have taken over five years to develop and we are excited to share it all here for anyone interested.

Please note that while Daniela and her students undertook the curation and developed these materials, Kitchener Public Library undertook significant additional work to get this collection off the ground. If you are interested in learning more about the library side, please contact .

Throughout the years of development of both collections, numerous “Family Board Game Fun” drop-in events were held at different branches of the library at different times of year to introduce children and families to the board games and receive feedback from them as to how they liked (or didn’t!) the games they played. The events were very successful and enjoyed by patrons, for many of whom the games were new to them and surprised them with their short playing times, interesting themes and art work, and designs for children as young as age 2 years. These events also revealed many opportunities for intergenerational play, with groups of siblings, parents, grandparents, and children all playing and having fun together, with a diverse range of languages spoken. At these events we were also able to receive feedback on the Quick Start and Quick Tips Instructions and make improvements to these additional materials. Many attendees asked whether the board games could be made available for loan, which sparked the beginning of the Young Children’s Board Game collection.

The board games in KPL's collection for Young Children were chosen as a result of both extensive pre-testing of games within the school Board Game Buddies program that preceded it and many drop-in sessions at the library where families and children could try out the games and provide feedback. Since its launch in 2021, some games have been discontinued and others have been added, especially when a new game has become popular and presents a new theme or style of game play to the collection. (For criteria for Older Children's collection see section further below.)

Some of the most important criteria that we took into account for this collection were:

• suitable for children from approximately 2 to 8 years of age
• short playing times from 5 to 20 minutes maximum
• simple rules that can be summarized on a 1-page sheet of Quick Start Instructions to facilitate reading and quick learning and teaching by older siblings or adult
• involve little to no reading to play to facilitate play by mixed-age groups and in many languages
• wide variety of different themes and topics that appeal across different ages, genders, and cultures and that can foster lots of different vocabulary
• no commercial or popular culture figures or themes that might limit cross-cultural play and conversation
• have some elements of chance to ensure that adults or older siblings playing with younger siblings won't always win
• a mixture of competitive and co-operative games
• can be played with an older sibling without needing adult help
• it was bonus if materials allow for solo play, pretend play, and alternative rule adaptations (e.g., a memory game could become a lotto game or a hide-and-seek game)
• high-quality and durable
• have no noisy elements (e.g., beepers, tower that crashes down) to avoid noise from games
• have no components that would be used up over time (e.g., dry erase markers, scorepads)
• beautiful, high-quality aesthetics wherever possible - wooden pieces, eco- and child-friendly materials, art and design features - providing children with lots to see, feel and talk about!

The materials here are provided openly for other interested libraries, schools and community locations to use and adapt according to a license, unless stated otherwise. This license allows re-users to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for non-commercial purposes and as long as attribution for the original is given to the creator (Daniela O’Neill). (Any further attributions are noted on the materials if relevant.)

1-page Quick Start or Quick Tips Instructions

These 1-page instructions were originally made for our Board Game Buddies school recess program and designed to be used by Grade 4 to 6 peer buddies. For library patrons, they help them quickly learn how to play the games, and can be especially helpful when hosting in-house board game events. The Quick Start versions provide full instructions on 1 page with simplified vocabulary as compared to the more detailed instructions that typically accompany games from the manufacturers. They all follow a consistent structure and layout in terms of how to set up the game, how to play, and how the game ends. This makes it easier for users to understand than typical instructions accompanying a game that may present this information in different ways and in a different order. They are thus more reader-friendly to children and adults with varying literacy levels in English, and can add an element of literacy practice for those learning to read. Thus they are ideal for both older children who have learned to read or individuals with varying levels of English reading fluency. For some of the more complex games, particularly in the Older Children’s collection, it was not always possible to fit all the instructions on 1-page. Instead, key aspects of the setup, play and scoring are provided on a 1-page Quick Tips to be used alongside the manufacturer’s detailed instructions. We recommend putting these instructions into protective plastic sleeves to provide to patrons along with each game when it is borrowed or used for in-house library events. These Instructions are provided openly in full in the Table of games for each collection.

1-page Content Lists

The Content Lists help ensure board games are returned with all the pieces. These lists can be placed inside the game box lid or attached to the back of the Quick Start or Quick Tip Instructions in the plastic sleeves. These Content Lists are provided openly in full in the Table of games for each collection.

1-page Descriptions

These 1-page Descriptions provide key summary information about the games and can be put in a binder for patrons to peruse the collection while visiting the library or can be used to provide content on a library’s circulation website.  You will find pdf copies of all in the Table below. Through our pre-testing of events with families, we focused on aspects of the game most important to parents and most helpful in deciding, for example, if the game is one that children could play on their own, or where adult help might be needed (e.g., to read the instructions but not for game play; help with math for scoring at the end). These Descriptions are provided openly in full in the Table of games for each collection. These Descriptions are all formatted in similar way with information about the following aspects of a game:

• for games in Young Children’s collection, game category information is provided (e.g., spin and collect; match and collect, match and strategy, storytelling, race and collect, quest and strategy)
• whether it is a competitive or co-operative game
• for what ages (from manufacturer)
• playing time in minutes
• number of players
• if solo play possible
• if reading required or not to play
• a short description of the game and a photo of the game box

For the games in the Older Children’s collection, our feedback sessions suggested further information would be helpful given the greater variability in games on dimensions such as time to play, complexity of play, and reading and/or math required at different points in the game. For example, although we always tried to find games that can be played in any language, some may require some reading skills (e.g., to read short phrases on cards such as with Go Nuts for Donuts). Some may also require math skills, but only at the time of scoring and not during game play. We also sought to include games in this collection of increasing complexity to serve as an introduction and “gateway” of sorts to the incredible variety of board games on the market for adults today that families and children may want to explore beyond this collection.  Creating simple rating scales to capture all this information in our Descriptions was a huge and time-consuming challenge and task, but we know library patrons have found these Descriptions very helpful and we are excited to share them here!

Thus the new elements and ratings included on Descriptions for the Older Children’s collections include: 

• whether reading is required to play
• whether math is needed to play and/or score and what specific math skills are needed including number recognition up to # depending on game, simple addition up to 10, double-digit addition,and multiplication within # by # depending on game)
• the time to learn in minutes ranging from 5 min to 20+
• a scale of complexity of play depending on the number of goals and strategies are needed to be kept in mind for scoring or winning

We created a set of 5 posters to use at events to highlight the advantages and many different kinds of learning afforded by playing board games. They are provided in pdf form. (The images of children on the poster are from kankham@123RF.com and our standard license obtained from 123RF permits non-commercial sharing of these images embedded in these posters.)

This short pamphlet provides parents and caregivers with tips to enrich play and conversation during board game play and how to choose games with similar features. It also highlights some of the many types of learning that can happen during board game play as shown on the posters. It is provided in pdf form designed for printing landscape-orientation, double-sided (flip on short side) and folds into a 4-page pamphlet. (All images contained within are open-access. The images of children are from rastudio@123RF.com and our standard license obtained from 123RF permits non-commercial sharing of these images embedded in the pamphlet).

On the lab’s some short videos of some of the games are featured! This is a work in progress and they will be uploaded as they are made.

The following table lists all the 60 games in the KPL’s Young Children collection. This Table can also be useful for patrons to include in a binder to browse the collection. Unfortunately at times board games are discontinued by manufacturers, and we have noted this below and listed a similar replacement if available. Some games also get renamed and we’ve noted this as well (aka).

The board games in KPL's collection for Older Children were chosen as a result of both extensive research into and pre-testing of games via several drop-in sessions at the library where families and children could try out the games and provide feedback along with other events, such as the Build a Board Game Camp and pre-testing in our related work with Community Locations.

Some of the most important criteria that we took into account for this collection were:

• suitable for children from approximately 9 to 14years of age
• variety of playing times but nothing over 45 minutes and most playable within 30 minutes or less (particularly important to parents we met) in order to accommodate both “light” games where conversations can be had while playing or that work as good “ice breaker” games as well as more cognitively challenging games where talk may be more game focused throughout
• most have simple set up, rules and scoring that can be summarized in 1-page Quick Start Instructions to facilitate reading and quick learning and teaching by older siblings or adult
• if a game couldn’t be summarized in 1-page Quick Start Instructions, we chose games that could still have Quick Tips for play summarized in 1 page with key reminders about set up, rules and scoring to be used alongside the manufacturer’s original instructions
• Incorporation of some “gateway games” that provide an opportunity to play games with greater complexity, such as the possibility to meet more than one goal to score points and thus require more strategic thinking and provide a bridge to considerably more sophisticated board games for older youth and adults
• Include games with a variety of reading requirements ranging from none to short phrases to facilitate play by mixed-age groups and in many languages
• wide variety of different themes and topics that appeal across different ages, genders, and cultures and that can foster lots of different vocabulary and conversation
• no commercial or popular culture figures or themes that might limit cross-cultural play and conversation (e.g., did not include games with colonial, conquest, war or aggressive themes or elements)
• include some games that have some elements of chance to ensure that mixed age groups can play together without younger players being at an advantage adults
• a mixture of competitive and co-operative games
• can be played with an older sibling without needing adult help
• it was bonus if materials allow for solo play, pretend play, and alternative rule adaptations (e.g., a memory game could become a lotto game or a hide-and-seek game)
• high-quality and durable
• have no noisy elements (e.g., beepers, tower that crashes down) to avoid noise from games
• have no components that would be used up over time (e.g., dry erase markers, scorepads – note this does reduce the pool of possible games quite a bit as many contain such elements but with no funds forecasted to be available to replace such items, they were avoided
• beautiful, high-quality aesthetics wherever possible - interesting pieces with tactile features, unique art and design features - providing players with lots to experience during the game outside of play itself

The following table lists all the 50 games in the KPL’s Older Children’s collection. This Table can also be useful for patrons to include in a binder to browse the collection. Unfortunately, at times, board games are discontinued by manufacturers, and we have noted this below and listed a similar replacement if available. Some games also get renamed and we’ve noted this as well (aka).

Please note: Descriptions have not yet been completed for this Older Collection but we hope to have them all uploaded in June 2025.

The games for programming collections to be used in-house by branches of the library were drawn from the main Young and Older Children’s Collections depending on the nature of the programming being provided, its goals, and the ages of participants. They usually included about 24 games similar to Board Game Buddies in schools and were stored in the same rolling drawer cart sets.

 “We used the collection as part of a PD Day Board Game program. We had about 15 participants drop in, about 5 groups over the course of an hour. I provided familiar games but encouraged use of the new collection as a "try something new" option, and groups did take me up on it. The games for younger kids were played quite a bit, and as with the older audience games, the instruction sheets were a big help to enjoying the game quickly. I did find families with younger children were establishing dialogue related to the games, to the point that occasionally they drowned out the Rocky IV soundtrack I was playing (gotta have that competitive edge). All in all, I think they're a really valuable addition to our programming materials, and I wish I had the opportunity to use them more.”

“Thank you so much once again for providing this. The games and especially the instructions are so helpful. I am using them with the Tweens in my after school program and I have planned a winter special to highlight the collection. I have been putting out a few games at a time so it is hard to gauge which will be the most popular and as I often play with them they are all in good condition. Love the collection.”

“Let me start by saying again, a big thank you for this wonderful collection of games that you curated and gifted to the KPL, and  [our branch] in particular. They have been an excellent addition to our programming collection.Here's a few observations after our first months with this collection;

• the early years board games (2-8 yrs) seem to be more popular and more utilized than the board games in the 8-14 yrs category when put out for kids in the appropriate age programs (ie a summer program for kids ages 5-9, and a program for kids ages 9-12)
• Rainy Day Ranch, Shopping List, Tea Party and Snakes and Ladders are popular during our drop-in play program for kiddos ages birth to 5 yrs
• All ranges of games seem to be utilized more during our drop-in PD Day programs when kids are accompanied by their caregivers who are willing to play with them;
• I've noticed that kiddos seem more willing to play or attempt the games when they're with their caregivers/grownups compared to other kids/peers in the program; somewhat reluctant with teenage volunteers during the summer programs (and I'm fortunate to have great, engaged volunteers
• And speaking of teenagers! I encouraged my summer volunteers (ages 14-16) to explore and familiarize themselves with some to the older age games (ie Keys to the Castle, and Kingdomino), and they just couldn't get the gist of them! Too confusing and complicated was the feedback from these teens.
• That said, I took Unstable Unicorns home for my boys (ages, 10, 16 and 18) to try, and it soon became a favorite game for my 10-yr old and 18-yr old to play together...so who knows! Lol
• Personal faves of mine (and new to me) are Pizza Party and Gobblet Gobblers
• Happily, we don't have any damaged or lost pieces or game parts to any games so are not in need of any replacements”