What's the best age range for a child's first real board game?

Across the reviewers we read, ages 3-5 do best with luck-driven games that don't require reading (Candy Land, Monkey Around, Sequence for Kids), while ages 6-8 can handle light strategy like Connect 4, Sorry!, or Trouble. BoardGameGeek and r/toddlers threads consistently flag reading load and turn length as the two biggest barriers for younger kids.