Board games, puzzles, and TTRPG in Spanish

Whether you are looking to expand your library’s circulating collection or host a game day, consider the following vendors and titles in Spanish!

Below, I list recommended ages and number of players for each game as found in the item listing or on boardgamegeek.com.

A version of this post was submitted to the iRead 2025 “Level Up At Your Library” Resource Guide.

Original games and puzzles in Spanish

Lelu, lelu-usa.com

With more than a dozen original games and puzzles in Spanish, Lelu offers a wide variety of kid-relevant themes and play-styles. Games range in price from $15-$40. Age ranges are included in item description and start with ages 3+. 

• ¡Ojo!, 2-7 players, ages 7+, a fast-paced color game that would be easy-to-learn for drop-in play
• Caras y gestos: Superpoderes, 3+ players, ages 7+, players act out superpowers
• La Expedición Polar, 2-5 players, ages 3+, a collaborative game for the whole family

Lil’ Loteria labeled for circulation at Cedar Mill Community Library

Lil’ Libros, lillibros.com

You may know Lil’ Libros for their bilingual board books, but they also have games and puzzles! Pro tip: Some book vendors also carry their games.

• Lil’ Loteria, 2-6 players, ages 3+. A bilingual, kid-friendly version of the classic.  

Research update: Creating STEAM kits for a library of things

This 2023 case study by Daphne Fauber and Ashley Fletcher of the West Lafayette Public Library (WLPL) provides lots of practical information about getting started with STEAM kits. The authors detail selection criteria, displays, and community surveys. They also include challenges working on the collection and what’s changed over time. For more information, make sure to check out the full paper linked in the citation below.

A post from 2022 promoting the STEAM kits on Facebook

Takeaways

• STEAM kits for kids are very popular as evidenced by high circulation at this urban public library
• Popular kits at WLPL include Straws & Connectors (Smart Builder), Sphero BOLT, Snap Circuits Intermediate, Blocks & Blueprints, and Stikbot Studio
• Consider using a “select all that apply” question in a digital community survey to gather information about collection impact and future priorities
• College students can support the development of library STEAM programming and materials in paid STEAM assistant roles

Children’s Library of Things inspiration: Sensory Tool House

On a recent trip to Olympia, Washington I stopped by Sensory Tool House. This store specializes in materials for neurodivergent kids and adults, from gross motor play to fidget toys. I was deeply impressed and highly suggest them as a vendor for library of things.

The staff are knowledgeable and have access to open samples of nearly any item. Reach out to them by e-mail or phone and I’m sure they’d be happy to answer any questions you have as you determine whether they’re appropriate for your collection.

I’ve highlighted a few toys from their catalog that I would consider for a library of things because they are self-contained, robust, and not date-specific. I only grabbed a few photos as I was on a quest to find a replacement for a favorite fidget – be sure to click through to see the images on Sensory Tool House’s website.

Learning Advantage Wooden Sound Prisms

Learning Resources Mindful Maze Set

Research update: Starting a Library of Things for $500

In this research review, I look at a 2023 report that details a collaborative project between students at the University of South Dakota and the Vermillion Public Library. The students developed a proposal for an initial library of things collection with a budget of just $500. I was excited to see this paper because a common question is how much money is needed to start a library of things. This project details a thoughtful approach to doing so on a small budget.

Takeaways

• This case study illustrates starting a Library of Things with a small budget
• A survey provided valuable information to the project: ranking categories and generating a list of specific items.
• $500 proved sufficient to budget for 12 items and their storage containers.
• Research in practice: Library staff who are new to LoT can refer to this report for an example on how to solicit community suggestions.

Research update: an HCI perspective on Library of Things

After spending a year following Library of Things (LoT) in the news, I’ve turned my attention to research articles published on the topic. Jones et al. (2023) impressed me with a clear description of Library of Things, its background, and areas of challenge. I would recommend this article for people new to the topic and for those wondering how their work compares to a group of LoT primarily in Canada.

Takeaways

• LoT share similar challenges around collection development, maintenance, and circulation.
• Public and independent LoT differ in their use of volunteers.
• Research in practice: print a copy of Figure 2 to help visualize the lifecycle of LoT

@lindsayedelaney

This study is open access! Jones, L., Nousir, A., Everett, T., & Nabil, S. (2023). Libraries of things: Understanding the challenges of sharing tangible collections and the opportunities for HCI. CHI’ 23: Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, April 23-28, 2023, Hamburg, Germany. 1-18. #libraryofthings

♬ original sound – Lindsay Delaney

Building a Children’s Library of Things

On October 19th, I presented a webinar through Webjunction on how I created a children’s library of things collection at the Tigard Public Library. I’ve previously written a few tips based on my experience with LoT. With this presentation I was able to go into more depth. You can watch the recorded webinar and see the slides on the OCLC WebJunction website! If you’d rather read about it, I’ve adapted my presentation into a post below:

1. Why should a library of things collection incorporate children’s materials?
2. Scoping the collection
3. Factors to consider when selecting children’s items: category, practicality, and priorities
   1. Category: Genres of Library of Things
   2. Practicality: How well it works in a library setting
   3. Priorities: Goals for the collection
   4. When you can’t find something that does all three…
   5. Examples: Applying category, practicality, and priorities
4. Where to buy children’s library of things items
5. Preparing items for circulation
6. Wins and fails in the library of things
7. Maintaining a children’s library of things
8. Display and marketing

Why should a library of things collection incorporate children’s materials?

I created a children’s library of things collection when I was the bilingual youth services librarian at a large, suburban public library. Our team was creating a brand new collection and from the get-go we knew we were going to include children’s items. But that might not be the case for you! The following reasons can help you make the case for a children’s items in a library of things.

Circulating STUFF: tactics and strategies of a children’s library of things

The library of things only has a couple shelves because almost everything is checked out!

I recently provided an interview for Dr. Abigail Phillips on my experience as a children’s selector. We talked a lot about creating a library of things for kids! I hope her collection development students find my enthusiasm contagious. I think this is one of the most exciting collections to work on because it expands on a strength of public libraries – supporting recreation and providing shared resources. Here, I’m going to jump into more detail about my approach and experience with library of things.

I got my start with untraditional collections at the Ann Arbor District Library (AADL). There, I cataloged art prints and built knowledge about the operations of their library of things collection, known there as the tools collection, through helping patrons and talking to selectors.

Three years later at the Tigard Public Library, I was invited to join an innovation team and select kids materials for our new library of things. We had circulated puppets for years, but now all other sorts of materials were possibilities! Other libraries in the county had helped paved the way too. The cooperative’s claim to fame: it has the world’s largest board game collection held by a public library.

Supporting play for library families, pandemic style

I miss seeing families stay and play in the children’s section. Supporting playtime at home with these resources makes me feel a tiny bit better; it’s my way of saying to families – hey, we see you, we know playtime is important, and we can’t wait to play with you again at the library.

The Vroom app provides easy inspiration

I’ve promoted it in storytime before, but now I’m using it myself. It’s so simple! Lots of developmentally appropriate baby activities sorted by setting. And the daily tip really takes off the mental load of trying to choose something new to do. I also love the text message account sign up – way easier than fussing with my email while holding my baby.

Vroom is available in English & Spanish, by text or as an app. Some of the materials are also available in other languages.

Grab and go ideas with a book display

In January, I created a display at the library called “Inside Play.” Of course, this meant our weather ended up being sunny and fairly warm, but the display still did great! It featured lots of books of things to do from the juvenile non-fiction and the parenting collections: crafts, experiments, cooking, and drawing.

A sample display sign. Trusty Canva!

New toys & playful materials in the Library of things

Kids play with all sorts of things in the library of things, but here are some of my recent playful favorites:

• Indoor bowling
• Melissa & Doug portable train set
• Charty Party: All Ages
• Blipblox toy synthesizer

I’m also waiting on some new board games in Spanish to arrive too! Very excited.

Well, it’s back to playtime with baby for me! Lots of playing peekaboo, crinkling plastic bottles, and exploring ahead!

Some Library of Things items for kids bringing me joy

An absolute joy of being back at work has been watching families explore the kids’ library of things. It feels like a children’s museum + a science museum + a toy library all in one.

Here are some of my favorite things I’ve found for the library of things collection and circulated, with the help of a creative, collaborative, and determined technical services team:

Eric Carle Magna-tile storytelling kits.

Classic Eric Carle art on Magna-tiles; I’ll tell you this has the making of a surefire hit. But then, I packaged them with the English and Spanish editions of his books + now we have a durable literacy activity that supports both English and Spanish speaking families in the community. I’ll swoon now.

Dinosaur fossil replicas.

I took this idea from Ann Arbor District Library tools collection. I found some really cool claw replicas and this woolly mammoth tooth. They’re just so cool. And so big.

Human anatomy model.

I have a remarkably terrible knowledge of human anatomy (I couldn’t figure out how to put this set back together) but this model is circulating as well as the human body books in the juvenile non-fiction collection. Which is to say, I haven’t seen it back on the shelf yet.

Everything in my next order.

Kid synthesizer, travel train set, guided meditation audio, x-rays, board games, baby toys, and so. many. other. cool. things. Expect me to report back on how these do in the collection! And if I don’t, ask me!

My #LOTWL (Library of Things Wishlist)

A Black human anatomy model and Black tooth-brushing demonstration kit for kids. The anatomy items I have all assume a white default. It would be great to find diverse skin tones from early childhood education vendors.

Durable storytelling kits reflecting diverse array of stories and authors. Eric Carle is a great start, but what about magnetic or wooden storytelling pieces for even more authors and stories. Like this Snowy Day set, but durable?

Even more board games for families by BIPOC designers. Elizabeth Hargrave’s list helped me find what’s out there, but I want even more games for kids and families from BIPOC creators.

If you know where to find anything on my wish list, please comment or use my contact page to let me know! And please share your favorite library of things items too. These collections are just so fun.