Hey Buddy! Before you read on, do you think it’s appropriate to invest in games for kids with ADHD?
Examine these comments:
“FDA approved the first prescription digital game for kids with ADHD in 2020.” – FDA
“There is no substantial evidence that playing video games worsens or causes ADHD.” – WebMD
“Video games do not lead to ADHD, but can exacerbate symptoms, [if not played with moderation.]” – Healthline
Do these get you a resounding yes? Great.
So, the next question is, which of these games should you give your kids?
In this article, we’ve outlined the 15 best games for ADHD kids. But, what’s our approach? We:
- Succinctly explained each game
- Included comments from users
- Explained how to use it effectively
So, read on!
Note: I have no affiliation with these brands and earn zero commission. I wrote this review simply because of my readers.
Top Games For ADHD Kids To Improve Concentration & Focus Skills
Below are the best Games for ADHD kids:
1. Chutes And Ladders
Chutes And Ladders have an exciting theme: Dealing with success and failure!
Yeah, this theme is a great motivation for kids with attention deficit disorder. But what does this game offer?
I will share a comment from Daren M. Hall, who lives in the United States. She said: “I like the board and pieces. Very cute!”
Oh! That’s for aesthetics. Let’s go further.
Darren’s daughter was three years old in 2018 and had a problem concentrating.
After introducing the game to her, Darren noticed a significant change and hopes that the game will strengthen her concentration skill more before “she turns four.”
The Chutes And Ladders game isn’t only for fun or building concentration skills. It also builds some vital lessons on how to:
- Anticipate success
- Deal with failure
The game’s objective is to move players along a path near the tip of the game board. There are ladders for players to climb on the way (This ladder is called the success part).
Players will also find chutes to slide down on this same road (This is the failure part).
When kids slide down, they get frustrated.
But immediately, they learn that the ladder isn’t without reach. And the connection – Failures lead to success.
Isn’t that an excellent life lesson?
Get your kids this ADHD game here today!
2. Animal Upon Animal
HABA possesses a knack for developing classic games that exudes fun for kids and adults, and Animal Upon Animal is yet another proof – an iconic family favorite!
The unique shape of every animal used in this game makes it fun and challenging to stack in varying ways.
An author said this about this game: “I could play this game in my sleep!”
Kids in early elementary school and preschool with ADHD will enjoy playing this game repeatedly.
Animal Upon Animal comes with simple rules and setup, making it possible to grab a few minutes of game time with your kids.
It is armed with a wooden die and several animal pieces. The goal of the players is to be the first to stack their animals.
For kids who appreciate super-sized fun, select a giant version for them.
How To Play
- Players roll the wooden die to start their turn.
- Each roll keeps players on their toes and lets them plan their next move.
Note: Children can play the game alone. They only need to roll the dice and stack their animals.
What skills does the game cover?
- Fine motor
- Concentration
- Hand-eye coordination
- Problem-solving
3. Rory’s Story Cubes
It’s time for your kids with ADHD to tell their stories and follow their imagination!
A user who is a mum and teacher said:
“My daughter wouldn’t want to stop playing. She’s always yearning to create stories orally, and she is passionate about starting them. I’m looking to start them in my classroom.”
Rory’s Story Cubes allows players to discover with friends and family, as each player can become a fascinating narrator.
There are nine cubes with a total of 54 images on them.
Players will shake to roll cubes and create a story with all 9 face-up images.
Kids who play this game are required to roll the dice and create a story that begins with the phrase:
“Once upon a time.” The player utilizes the symbols found on the face of the dice.
Then, everyone is required to follow the player’s uninterrupted flow of imagination.
Kids with ADHD are spectacularly imaginative, and Rory’s Story Cubes offers a haven to celebrate that remarkable aspect.
How To Play Rory’s Story Cubes
- Throw the dice
- Then, carve a story with the nine symbols on the dice saying: “Once upon a time.”
- To create a story, your kids can use three dice for the story introduction, three for developing the story, and the last three for concluding the story.
Smart Clues
- For Ideas– Kids can think of their favorite books, films, or TV shows.
- Symbols can represent anything. So be free to interpret the symbol your way.
- Don’t be nervous. There’s nothing like a bad story. Rory’s Story Cubes is an experience; get into that adventure!
- All around the world, players are inventing unique rules. You too can.
- Give challenges – the person with the funniest or scariest story.
What You Will Achieve: Kids will develop concentration skills and get to sharpen their imaginative skills.
4. MentalUP – ADHD Games
These focus games reinforced spatial perception and visualization skills.
MentalUP – ADHD is one of the free online games for ADHD kids.
This game is developed by ADHD specialists. Their goal is to increase:
- Concentration
- Learning
- Attention and other skills.
It lets kids have fun and allows parents to experience positive change in their kids with ADHD. They are sectioned into types. These are:
- Let’s Draw- It reinforces spatial perception and visualization skills.
- Spot the Difference– It’s designed to be fun attention activities
- Giant Dwarf – Enhances reaction control, divided attention skills, and focus.
- Missed Balls
It might be challenging to find great and classic games for kids and adults with ADHD, but with MentalUp’s awesome collections, your kids can enhance their skills, leading to better school performance.
5. Pitch Car
If you love dexterity games for your kids, PitchCar is a game you’d not want to ignore.
The first thing you’ll probably love about PitchCar is the rails.
The rails are designed well and wouldn’t let your car – wooden disc fly around turns.
The rails enable the game to be much more fast-paced. The rails can also let a skilled “pitcher” move the wooden disc halfway around the course in a single hit.
With its customizable tracks, your kids are far from playing a boring game.
How To Play Pitch Car
- Each player is required to build their track. They must race to get to the finish line three times.
- The cars, which are wooden discs, must be flicked along the track.
- In the event that a car flips over, drifts another disc off the track, or veers off the track, players start from where they last flicked.
- Whoever gets to the finish line in the third flick wins the game.
- Two to eight people can play PitchCar. It is a game where fun is more vital than strategy.
Since the first player has the distinct advantage of not fighting with a large cluster of cars, it might be nice to let your kids start.
Thus, they won’t get discouraged at first.
However, the moment they master the game, anyone can start!
One Important Point: Always set up your track on a flat surface. A rug isn’t a good option as it might give players a speed-bump feel.
At Tomvad, we’ll give PitchCar a 9/10.
6. Chinese Checkers
Chinese Checkers is one of the ADHD games kids can’t resist.
Yeah, I’ll simply describe it as a game with value for money. Undeniably, it’s a premium product!
The game enhances the strategic thinking ability of a child. And by extension, players.
It can be played by 2 to 6 players. Players are required to take all pegs to the opposite triangle.
How To Set Up
- When it involves 2 to 4 players, they should utilize pairs of opposing triangles.
- For three players, they should make use of every other triangle.
- Six players should make use of the entire triangle.
First Step:
- Select a color and place your colored pegs on your side.
Second Step:
- Decide on the player that goes first. After that, the first player will move their ten colored pegs forward, side to side, and backward.
- They can also hop over a page directly in a vacant hole.
- The hopping can be in any direction. Also, you can hop over your peg several times in a single turn.
Third Step
- Keep moving pegs by taking turns till opponents shift their pegs in the opposite direction.
7. uKloo
If you read my article on ADHD reading tools, you’d have seen the number of apps designed to make reading fun-filled and gratifying.
Excitedly, uKloo serves that purpose too.
Toni Colon, a reviewer on Amazon, said: “My daughter had serious difficulty with word recognition, but uKloo has helped her improve greatly.”
I’ve got a little introduction to make about uKloo. Well, let me bring you close.
uKloo is a fun treasure hunt game. While it has an offline game, it has an online version too.
As one of the best games for ADHD kids, uKloo is for kids with reading difficulties.
uKloo has 10 levels. Thus, your kids can play a level according to their age.
How to Set Up uKloo
Step One:
- Set up 5 to 6 clue cards from the first level (This move creates a scavenger hunt)
When your first card is “Look in your cup,” you should place the next card, “Look in your toy box,” in the cup.
After, you should place the card: “Look at your card” in the shoe.
Step Two:
- After positioning the cards, a surprise that will motivate your kids should be placed in the last spot.
Step Three:
- The moment you set up, ask kids to start scavenging the treasures.
- They do this by following clues that will lead them to the surprise.
This game is similar to the Treasure Hunt game described in this article.
8. Hoot Owl Hoot
I agree with Luanne, who said: “Hoot Owl Hoot is an awesome game. It is well-made and well-thought-out!”
What makes Luanne reach this conclusion? It is simple. The game:
- Teaches some thinking and strategies ahead
- Team building – else you won’t win
- Packed in a durable box
- Nice and thick board
- Owls are nice and thick – even though made with cardboard
- The colors are vibrant
Too much hype? Not at all.
The design of this game is for kids with ADHD to enhance their executive functioning skills.
Your kids are open to stimulating lessons on team building.
What’s the Objective of Hoot Owl Hoot?
Help all owls reach their nest (What you can also call home) before the sun comes up. Yeah, it is a race against the sun.
The game requires that players take turns picking cards. The decision to move a card center on players.
However, there must be a reason before players make their moves – that’s where executive reasoning comes in.
Throughout the game, that skill must be evident.
9. Sudoku
When Maki Kaji, the “godfather of Sudoku,” died on August 10, 2021, I captured a comment from a popular forum in West Africa.
The commenter said: “Sudoku is a game an average person will find awkward at first… But when you get it, you might be addicted to it.”
That comment earned hundreds of likes and shares.
What’s the point? You might not fancy the Sudoku game at first, but a closer look at the game will blow your mind.
Does your kid with ADHD hate math? Well, Sudoku might be an excellent way to make them fall in love with Mathematics!
It’s a number-placement puzzle game that’s great for kids and adults with ADHD.
It is based on the principle of placing the numbers 1 – 9 on a nine-by-nine grid. This grid is made of three-by-three squares.
A Sudoku game aims to place these numbers in each column, row, and square without repeating any numbers within the column, square, or row.
It comes with varying levels. Easy levels come with large numbers. On the other hand, difficult stages come with fewer numbers.
The overall advantage of this game is that it improves skills like:
- Concentration
- Math
- Focus
- Memory and learning skills.
Therefore, if you are searching for games to enhance focus for kids with ADHD, don’t leave Sudoku out of the picture!
10. Hedbanz
“I love this game. I love playing with teenagers and my parents. What do I like about it?
It’s simple, and at the same time, funny.
In fact, our family can’t help but laugh throughout the game.
Good news: We’ll continue to play Hedbanz for years to come!”
For ADHD kids with low social and communication skills, Hedbanz can be the perfect gift for your kids.
Amazingly, it is one of the things to do during holidays.
How Do You Play Hedbanz?
A player picks a card and places it on their headband.
Afterward, they ask the other player “yes” and “no” questions. (The idea is to learn and know who they are).
This action compels them to communicate and practice social skills with other kids.
Finally, since they have to come up with questions that will generate an answer, they thus learn to think critically.
11. Chess
You perhaps do not need any formal introduction to Chess.
For quite a long time, Chess has been one of the favorites, famous, and best games for ADHD kids and adults who need to develop concentration skills.
Apart from boosting a player’s attention skills, it enhances strategic thinking.
Additionally, your kids have the liberty to play it online or play it as a board game.
The aim of the game is simple:
- Checkmate your opponent.
It is played on an 8-by-8 grid. The grid has:
- One King
- One Queen
- Two Bishops
- Two Knights
- Eight pawns
- And two Rooks for each opponent.
Each piece has its unique way of moving.
Usually, Chess pieces are often black and white. White players start first.
Your kids can master the chess game and be king at it!
12. My Head- Shoulders – Knees – Toes
Growing up, this was the outdoor game for kids with ADHD and those without.
Playing is quite simple.
- Minimum Player: 2
- Maximum: The more, the merrier.
How To Play
Ask your child with ADHD to point to:
- Head
- Shoulders
- Knees
- Toes
They point to these body parts as they sing the song. Ideally, songs and actions need to be synchronized.
To add more fun, alter the speed of the song. Parents and teachers can also assign varying body parts to the lyrics.
For instance, you can use the nose, chest, and hips.
In addition, you can make the game a brain teaser. You can achieve this when you play it backward.
Three Best Video Games For ADHD
The gaming industry has been in frenzied action. As a result, many parents fret when their kids stay glued to video games.
In the list of video games for ADHD, we presented only video games screened off these negative influences.
These intriguing games help kids with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to focus more on tasks or activities they find boring.
Below are the best video games for ADHD:
1. Captain’s LogAhoy!
Here is a quick background: Captain’s LogAhoy is designed by a psychologist!
Did that calm you down?
This game will let your kids become captains of their brains instead of giving distractions and impulses room to roam.
Both educators and therapists have used this video game successfully for kids with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other cognitive difficulties.
You won’t be wrong to call this game a “computerized mental gym.”
It works with any computer-control device like a keyboard, mouse, game controller, or joystick.
It comes with fifty varying programs and more than two thousand exercises.
The goal? Help kids enhance:
- Concentration
- Memory
- Self-control
How To Play
- A player will select the game they want to play – whether for controlling impulsive tendencies or enhancing inattention.
- Once the user picks his preferences, a section of the game will come up.
- A player might be asked to match two cards from two identically colored animals or memories.
- When a player has mastered one level, they automatically move to the next level.
With the detailed reports that it generates, parents can track the progress of their kids.
Note, though, the length and pace of the games are varied. Also, audio and visual distractions added are to enhance the challenge.
2. Play Attention
If Peter Freer wasn’t frustrated trying to help students win attention problems, we’d not have known about Play Attention.
Play Attention is one of the best video games for ADHD that helps children and adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder direct their brain waves with a home computer.
These moves help them hone their ability to concentrate and stay focused.
How It Works:
- Players wear an armband with sensors and master how to control the action on the computer screen with their brain signals.
- When it comes to Attention Stamina, a player uses their focus to create a dolphin swim to the base of the ocean, running away from obstacles along the way.
- Other exercises demand that a player load a truck within five minutes – without being distracted.
- For challenging tasks, players sit in the control of a spaceship, working tirelessly to deflect white asteroids. This move allows kids to establish impulse control and discriminatory processing.
3. SmartDriver 3
This game works perfectly with a pedal set and a USB steering wheel that connects to a computer.
The game helps kids with inattentive or impulsive behavior with little experience obtain focus, keeping their thoughts on the road.
Kids will love this because they love driving. SmartDriver demands responsibility and patience.
It comes with stretches where players are to maintain a given speed limit.
How To Play The Game
SmartDriver 3 isn’t a driving simulator. The driving is done from outside of the car. However, you must follow all the rules, which include:
- Traffic lights
- Speed limits
There’s enough light and sound that keep young players glued.
Final Thoughts
I’ve painstakingly reviewed and selected these best games for ADHD kids. Comments are from real people.
Therefore, if you want to base your decision on these comments, you won’t regret it!
Remember, many of the games highlighted enhance several skills:
- Memory
- Focus
- Concentration
- Social
- Executive functioning
- Communication
Yeah, go rock these highly motivating games with your kids with ADHD!
Trust
Welcome! I’m Trust. I’m a writer, public instructor, and mobile photographer. I’m passionate about an organized and productive life and have keen concern for folks living with ADHD and those having a slow processing speed. Join me on this journey as we live an organized and productive life!