Jump straight to the toys
HYES

What they play

Three questions stand between you and a short list. All 64 toys are in the running; every answer trims the shelf down to the ones that match the kid, the space and the mood.

How old is the player?

Ranges come off the listings. A toy whose range spans your answer stays in the running, so the edges of an age are not a wall.

Where will the game live?

Some of these want a door and a hallway, some want short grass, and the pool toys want the pool. Pick the space you actually have.

Lights and scorers, or plain?

Glowing rings and beeping scoreboards carry an evening; plain sets never run out of batteries. Both camps are on the shelf.

The fine print on the sorting: age ranges come from the listings, so a toy spanning several ages answers each of them. Archery counts as both an indoor and a yard game, since the suction arrows work either side of the door. When two toys tie, the one more families have rated goes first.