This is a combination of manual dexterity and problem solving. Manual dexterity is necessary to keep the marble on the track. But problem solving is also required to figure out the proper way to turn and rotate the globe to move from one obstacle to another.

The Perplexus comes in three flavors: Rookie Perplexus, Original Perplexus, and Perplexus Epic, which is featured here.

We have the "Original Perplexus" and have found it to be a great conversation piece; when we have visitors in our home, often the Perplexus ends up getting passed around the room repeatedly, as people take turns trying to get through the three dimensional labyrinth.

Board games typically pit players against each other (and why not? children will spend their lives competing in a variety of circumstances!) but sometimes it's nice to have a board game that teaches cooperation instead of competition.

In Stone Soup (based on the familiar story), children are working against a common obstacle, and winning means that all the children win, because they've defeated the obstacle together.

I first ran into this game a few years back when I was doing some Christmas shopping for young family members. The idea behind the game is simple, but the game itself provides many challenges for young people. Here's the basic premise of the game. You have a car which is caught in the middle of a gridlocked traffic pattern. There are cars and trucks everywhere, and you must clear a path for your car to get through. Clever, yes?

Of course, it can be much harder than it sounds. There are "playing cards" that come with the game, and each card has a traffic pattern for you to set up on the board. And each traffic pattern is a carefully designed puzzle that is guaranteed to make you think long and hard to get your car through.

The concept behind this game is quite simple. Your playing piece is standing on one side of a river, and must get across without falling in. What do you have to work with to help you accomplish this task? You have planks that form bridges, supported by stumps that stick out of the water.

The game comes with several stumps and planks in a variety of lengths. There are 40 game cards, each with a different layout of holes punched through where the stumps are supposed to go. Once you've put the stumps in place, your challenge is to find a way to spread your planks from stump to stump so you can safely cross the river.

Sounds simple? Well, it is. And it isn't. The 40 puzzles start easy, but progress to more challenging, so there's something for younger children, but also something to keep them interested as they get more advanced.
 

In Blokus, players (up to 4 players in a game) take turns placing their playing pieces (tetris pieces, pentominoes, and other shapes) on the board. The rules are simple; you have to place your piece so it touches another of your pieces on a corner only. Your goal is to lay as many pieces as you can, and at the same time, block your opponents from playing their own pieces. If you play carefully and cleverly, you can trap your opponents with your playing pieces and prevent them from playing theirs.