Easy games for little kids

This is the page to hand to the youngest child in the house. Every game on it passes the same test: one action (tap, drag or swipe), big targets, no reading, no timer that punishes, and nothing that can go wrong in a way that upsets a three-year-old. Balloon Pop, Fruit Catcher and Whack-a-Mole are the first tap games; Shape Sorter, Jigsaw Puzzle and Memory Match the first thinking games; Colouring, Doodle Pad and Dress Up the first making games.

The early learning games are here too — Animal Sounds, Phonics Match, Count the Fish, Colour Mixing, Number Bonds — because at this age a game and a lesson are the same thing. If you want them sorted by school year, the Pre-K and Kindergarten pages are the same games arranged by age.

Our picks

• Balloon Pop — endless bubbles to pop, no score, no rush — the first game
• Shape Sorter — drag each shape into the matching hole
• Memory Match — flip the cards and find the pairs — small grid for little ones
• Colouring — tap to colour a house, a fish, a rocket
• Animal Sounds — tap the animals to hear them, then guess who made the sound

What they practise

• Tapping and dragging — the first touch-screen skills
• Matching, sorting and pairs
• Colours, shapes, animals and first counting
• Cause and effect: I tap, something happens
• Choosing and making, with no wrong answers

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