A Piagetian perspective is used to build a rationale to explain why group games are good for young children. Three major areas in which group games might foster children's development are discussed. In the socioemotional area, the rationale is that moral development, personality development, and autonomy are enhanced by the social context of peer cooperation which group games necessitate. In the cognitive area, group games are said to contribute to the development of logical thinking by forcing children to come out of their egocentricity and to coordinate different points of view. In the area of motivation, the rationale is that children spontaneously engage in group games so that such games must be naturally motivated and can therefore be powerful classroom tools. Several competitive and noncompetitive games are discussed specifically and five criteria for good games are suggested. (JMB)