An award seal on a game box can help with holiday shopping, but each award is judged differently. Below are nine 2026 winners from three U.S. programs, the National Parenting Product Awards (NAPPA), Mensa Select and the Mom's Choice Awards, each confirmed on the awarding organization's own website, with ages, prices and pros and cons. For this year's Spiel des Jahres winners from Germany, see our Oct. 20 report.
How the awards differ: NAPPA's 2026 winner pages show each product's description, suggested retail price and ages, and some include comments from its evaluators. Mensa says that each year hundreds of its members meet over one weekend to play and rate the year's newest board games, and the top seven earn Mensa Select. The Mom's Choice Awards says entries are scored on production quality, design, educational value, entertainment value, originality, appeal and cost, and it announces honorees in roundups through the year.
NAPPA Awards 2026 winners
1. Bluey Splash Time (Spin Master), ages 4+
Players race around the board taking turns washing Bluey, by rolling the die, pressing to fill water into the tub or turning the knob. If Bluey shakes, you go back to the start. NAPPA lists a suggested retail price of $19.99.
Price: $19.99 on Amazon, sold by Amazon.com
Pros: Easy roll-and-move play for preschoolers; a popular license; the shake adds suspense.
Cons: Mostly luck, so older kids may outgrow it fast.
2. SCORE 4 (Spy Alley Partners), ages 8+
NAPPA calls this card game "a family game night dream with instant setup and simple rules." Players build community piles and race to score four different suits; duplicate piles must be handed to opponents, and defensive cards add timing choices. The publisher lists 2 to 6 players and 15 to 30 minutes. Suggested retail is $19.99.
Price: $19.99 on Amazon, sold by Eddies Games
Pros: Quick to set up; works for 2 to 6 players across generations; push-your-luck twists keep scores close.
Cons: Sold by a third-party seller on Amazon rather than Amazon.com; card play may not hold the youngest kids, given the 8+ rating.
3. SmartGames IQ Flow, ages 7 to adult
A single-player travel puzzle: slide the pieces onto and around the board, without lifting them, to solve 120 challenges. One NAPPA evaluator wrote, "Perfect size game for traveling!" while another said learning how to play "was a game in itself." Suggested retail is $14.99.
Price: $14.99 on Amazon, sold by Smart Toys and Games
Pros: Compact travel case; 120 challenges that build in difficulty; works for kids and adults.
Cons: Solo play only; evaluators noted a learning curve before it clicks.
4. Tonieplay Guess Who? Monster Mysteries (tonies), ages 5+
A reimagined Guess Who? for solo or team play: kids listen to a screen-free story with Inspector Tip, flip down monster cards that don't match the clues across 15 cases, then lock in a guess with the Tonieplay Controller. Suggested retail is $24.99.
Price: $24.94 on Amazon, sold by Tonies US
Pros: Screen-free audio storytelling; can be played solo; a familiar game in a new format.
Cons: The Amazon listing says it requires the Toniebox 2 and Tonieplay Controller, which are sold separately; 15 cases may be finished quickly.
5. Zingo! (ThinkFun/Ravensburger), ages 4+
A picture-and-word bingo for pre-readers and early readers: slide the Zinger to reveal tiles and match them to your card, and the first full card wins. It has two levels of play. A NAPPA evaluator wrote that each tile shows the word for its picture, "so it's great for simple word recognition," and that "Everything is of excellent quality." Suggested retail is $21.99.
Price: $22.17 on Amazon, sold by Amazon.com
Pros: Builds word recognition; sturdy, double-sided tiles; two difficulty levels.
Cons: Aimed at ages 4 and up, so older kids may find it too simple; on Amazon it is slightly above NAPPA's listed suggested retail.
Mensa Select 2026 winners
6. Got Five! (Blue Orange Games), 2-4 players
Each player has five hidden number tiles on a rack that everyone else can see. On your turn you reveal tiles, ask questions and gather clues; the first to correctly declare all five numbers wins, but a wrong guess knocks you out. Mensa lists it for all ages; the Amazon listing says 8 and up.
Price: $24.99 on Amazon, sold by Blue Orange USA
Pros: Pure logic with simple rules; a Mensa Select winner that families can play together.
Cons: Limited to 4 players; one wrong guess eliminates you, which can frustrate younger players.
7. Twinkle Twinkle (Allplay), 2-4 players
In this tile-laying game, players fill a star chart with clear plastic tiles to connect constellations, build asteroid belts, collect comets and avoid black holes. Mensa says 10 modular scoring conditions allow 32 setups. The Amazon listing says ages 10 and up.
Price: $44.00 on Amazon, sold by Allplay ("Only 16 left in stock" on Oct. 23)
Pros: Clear tiles and 32 setups for replay; a Mensa Select winner for strategy-minded families.
Cons: The most expensive pick here; limited stock on Amazon on Oct. 23.
The other 2026 Mensa Select winners are A Place for All My Books, Critter Kitchen, Fromage and Galileo Galilei (all listed for ages 13+) and Things in Rings, a Venn-diagram logic game from Allplay that was listed as currently unavailable on Amazon on Oct. 23.
Mom's Choice Awards 2026 honorees
8. This or That (DYCE Games), ages 8+
One player answers a series of either/or questions while everyone else guesses where that player will land at the bottom of a "Pyramid of Choices," which has eight possible endings. It includes 300 questions, plays in 20 to 45 minutes and takes 2 to 10 players. The Mom's Choice Awards listed it in its March 29-April 4, 2026 roundup under Toys, Games & Puzzles: Adults.
Price: $19.97 on Amazon, sold by Dyce Games
Pros: Up to 10 players; easy to learn; sparks conversation at the table.
Cons: Question-based games can feel repetitive after many plays; listed in the awards' adult category.
9. Speed Swap Chaos (Brooke & Joy Games), ages 8+
A no-turns speed card game: everyone plays at once, putting cards in ascending then descending order onto one central pile, until a SWAP forces everyone to pass hands. It takes 2 to 6 players and about 10 minutes. The Mom's Choice Awards listed it in its Aug. 16-29, 2026 roundup under Toys, Games & Puzzles: Ages 9 to 12.
Price: $9.99 on Amazon, sold by Brooke & Joy Games
Pros: Under $10; 10-minute games; simple rules.
Cons: Real-time play favors fast players; the card game is less suited to kids still learning number order.
For the full weekly market brief: The ToyDirectory Intelligence Report
Sources:
#ad As an Amazon Associate, TDmonthly earns from qualifying purchases. Prices and availability are as of Oct. 23, 2026 and may change.
