With summer vacation Still reaching far, it might be a very smart move to take advantage of Prime Day board games to trade or snap up some discounted toys. The Wired Review team has a group of kids of all ages between us, most of us are still older kids, so we tried a lot of board games and toys over the years.
Some of the best home board games will be for sale on Prime Day. You can also find some of the best STEM toy deals. I’ve featured a selection of wired tested and approved board games and toys here and I’ll be constantly adding to this list on Prime Day sale on July 11. Now it’s time to make money! If you are looking for more Golden Day deals, we will update the best list throughout the event, and there is also a Prime Day LiveBlog.
Updated July 11, 2025: We added PlayShifu Tacto Chess Game, Bill Nye’s VR Chem Lab and PlayShifu Orboot Earth, which have been removed to items that are no longer sold and updated the price throughout the process.
Wired Features
The best board game deals
Playing board games with family or friends is the perfect antidote to our long-term online digital life, and many of the best home board games are now being sold. These are the best Prime Day board game deals.
This immersive strategy game was originally a settler of Catan, which was to collect and trade resources on randomly generated hexagonal tiles to build roads, settlements and cities. To get enough points to win, the right strategy and luck of the dice roll are required. My kids love trading and robber mechanics, which allows you to steal cards from your opponents and block their resources (although it may cause a decline).
Photo: Simon Hill
The Word Association game takes only about 15 minutes to play 2 to 8 players aged 10 and older. You have to identify many secret agents based on word clues with time limits, but think carefully, because choosing the wrong person can help your opponent or lose the game right away.
Photo: Simon Hill
Whether you want to play fun games with your kids or a mix of age, this game is easy to master and always makes people laugh. Dice rolls can determine the selected word or title from a topic card with 16 possibilities, and the player must say relevant words. Everyone knows that besides having to hide their own chameleons, it’s time to guess and try to root them.
Photo: Simon Hill
Players must match beautiful tiles on their game board to create mosaics and score the highest score in this satisfying strategy game. Each round, you can select tiles from the center pool, but there are room for many different tactical approaches. This accessible game seems simple, but has a huge repeatability and strategic depth.
Photo: Simon Hill
Some of the best home board games are collaborative, so you can avoid arguments that sometimes lead to board flips and annoyances and pandemics are a great example. A global pandemic, you must work together for human survival by flying on the board and trying to stop spreading. Each player plays a role such as a scientist or doctor with unique special forces, and you must develop strategies and coordination to be alive.
Provided by Amazon
OK, so it’s not a board game, but my family played this French car-themed card game when I was a kid and my own family loved it today. Original version of the 1960s (which my family owned, I insisted on buying my family a copy on the garage sale) with text in French and English, but this new set is only in English, despite the same rules and illustrations. I also like it when it comes out in a metal box for travel, or just not crashing, as old cardboard boxes tend to do that. Bonne Chance! – Kat Merck
Photo: Adrienne
Do you want your child to learn chess? This lightweight portable board paired with heavy-duty materials is an easy way to pick classic strategy games. To charge a Bluetooth-enabled board, connect the app and you can play games with remote players or yourself. There are also AI-enabled help to guide your actions.
Photo: Playhifu
This attractive piece is part of the digital/partial touch, using an iPad or Amazon Fire Tablet and Real Chess fragments to help kids (or adults) learn chess games from scratch. In addition to the basics, you will also find strategies, chess puzzles and AI players that can match Wits. We recommend using a larger tablet to make these pieces work, but otherwise, it’s a fun and interactive way of playing that allows you to learn with you. – Ryan Waniata
The best toy deals
We love Wired’s toys, whether they are fun, frivolous or educational, such as the best STEM toys. This is our draft pick at Amazon’s 2025 Golden Day event.
Photo: Chronicles
This Chronicle picture book is a favorite in Wade because of its cute images and the fascinating story of environmental scientist Ken Nedimeyer, whose passion for marine biology, especially corals, led him to establish the Coral Restoration Foundation. In its pages are interesting facts and images about nature’s most beautiful underwater paradise, where the vitality of our planet explodes in a range of underwater shapes and colors. – Ryan Waniata
Photo: Wonder Workshop
Everyone needs a robot partner, right? This BB-8-like robot is durable and can be pulled like an RC car, but can also use apps, games, and puzzles to keep your STEM kids waiting to learn more about programming and problem solving. It can even be used with Lego connectors for creativity, as well as available accessories to build later. – Ryan Waniata
Photo: Granules
Bluetooth-powered Gocube uses a new turning point in its old favorite, which uses smart sensors to connect to the app on the phone outside of its lighting to help you discover where the block is. This is an advanced strategy game that becomes addictive over time and allows you to connect with other Gocubers to replace family and friends. – Ryan Waniata
Photo: Amazon
Children of all ages love to build things, and these durable, colorful, translucent panels fit together magnetically in a very satisfying way. This basic 32-piece kit offers a range of triangles and squares that you can use to build houses and other structures. Magna Tiles also offers a number of themed kits for everything from spaceships to marble running.
Provided by Lego
Lego
Star Wars Empire Star Destroyer
The marriage of LEGO and Star Wars is one of the greatest license deals of all time, resulting in countless building toolkits, video games and TV shows. There are some beautifully designed Star Wars LEGO kits, and the Empire Star Destroyer is one of our absolute favorites. The kit comes with seven small browses including Darth Vader, Commander Praji and Cal Kestis. You and your children will get hours of enjoyment from building it and then smash it.
Photo: Clixo
This clever building kit provides an excellent gift for kids of all ages to make our best STEM toy guide. Clixo’s colorful, versatile magnetic debris capture together so you can build three-dimensional shapes from crown to cat. Durable and washable debris are neatly stacked and packed easily, you can play anywhere – you don’t need a table. The Clixo kit is suitable for kids over 4 years old.
Photo: Amazon
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Classic Magnetic Building Kit
You can build a variety of 3D shapes from this set of magnetic rods in the dark (made of recycled plastic), steel balls and plastic bases in different shapes. There are some suggestions, but the real fun is to wander around, the set comes with a handy storage box that neatly packs everything when finished.
Photo: Amazon
Bill Nye has completed scientific experiments again with this 23-piece chemistry kit to test your chemist. The kit includes a brochure with a test tube, chemicals to play with (of course it won’t hurt anyone), and cardboard VR headsets that can be paired with your phone to find Mr. Nye’s own instructional videos. This isn’t the cleanest solution for a summer downturn, but what’s the mess with getting your kids into STEM? – Ryan Waniata
Photo: Playhifu
Geography is difficult. This cool interactive globe makes it easier for kids to dig into the complications of our wild and beautiful world through the bird’s eye view. Thanks to the Tablet Companion app, your kids can play with AR popups that teach them about different places around the globe through animals, monuments, and more. Designed for children aged 4-10, it’s a fun way to learn, even if the global itself feels a bit budget-wise. – Ryan Waniata
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