By age six, most kids have made it through at least the beginnings of Kindergarten, and they are being introduced to the concept of structured learning. At this age, much of what you've been teaching your child through play will be enforced and combined with those things learned in the classroom. The major addition here is the concept of deductive reasoning.
Continuing with abstract strategy, one of my favorite games for my daughter and nephew is Qwirkle. This is a game using wooden tiles, which have colored shapes on them. The idea is to arrange the tiles in a crossword style, so each row or column contains either all the same shape, without repeating color, or all the same color, without repeating shape. Points are scored based on how many rows and columns you affect. I recommend ignoring the points, only introducing them when the game's core concepts are fully understood.
A new category, which really just adds a counting/addition aspect to Candy Land-style games, is roll and move. The most popular of these games are Aggravation and Sorry. Basically, the goal of the game is to move a number of pawns, marbles, etc. around a board, getting them to their home or goal. The math component is great, and kids get a real kick out of rolling high numbers on the dice.
To strengthen vocabulary and spelling, one of my favorite games is Electronic A to Z Junior. In an age when electronics are everywhere, kids love to have electronic devices. This game basically tests your vocabulary. Players are given a topic and are meant to come up with words in the topic. Buttons are pressed matching the letters each word starts with, the goal being to knock out as much of the alphabet as possible. Adults will enjoy this game, too, as most of us can use help with our vocabulary!
Critical thinking is a pretty important Kindergarten focus, and Pictureka! is a great game to strengthen it. The game consists of nine tiles, laid out in a square pattern. There are images all over the board. Players are given cards, which have different things players are supposed to find on the board. It's like a Where's Waldo type of thing. The race to finding the cartoony images will bring out the competitive spirit in your whole family.
I promised deductive reasoning, and I can deliver with the classic Guess Who?. In this game, you are trying to determine which character your opponent has chosen to be found. You take turns asking questions about the characters, eliminating them as you go, until you deduce which character you're trying to find. This game is fun to play, and kids learn of different ways to eliminate a lot of characters at once.
This brings me to the end of my current knowledge of gaming with young children, as my daughter is six. Perhaps I'll return next year with a report on seven-year-olds! Look for a brand new gaming topic soon.
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