Older kids, really short attention span: Love Letter
Older kids, somewhat less short attention span: Carcassonne, Sushi Go Party (which is a gateway drug to the similarly-played, confusing-sounding-rules-but-actually-easy-in-practice Seven Wonders)
[EDIT] if others list suggestions there's a high likelihood that King of Tokyo will be on the list, but I want to preemptively counter that by noting it's a well-regarded, kid-friendly-themed, simple game that I've entirely failed to find any fun in, and can't even fathom how others find fun in it, though I believe them when they claim that they have—I just don't understand. [EDIT EDIT] Point is, watch a Youtube play of it before committing. Actually, probably do that for any of these.
Very young kids: Animal Upon Animal
Older kids, really short attention span: Love Letter
Older kids, somewhat less short attention span: Carcassonne, Sushi Go Party (which is a gateway drug to the similarly-played, confusing-sounding-rules-but-actually-easy-in-practice Seven Wonders)
[EDIT] if others list suggestions there's a high likelihood that King of Tokyo will be on the list, but I want to preemptively counter that by noting it's a well-regarded, kid-friendly-themed, simple game that I've entirely failed to find any fun in, and can't even fathom how others find fun in it, though I believe them when they claim that they have—I just don't understand. [EDIT EDIT] Point is, watch a Youtube play of it before committing. Actually, probably do that for any of these.