Guys, let's remember he asked for a game engine. C#, Python, JavaScript, etc aren't game engines; they're programming languages.

As regards board games, there are actually engines designed specifically for board games. I found this, for instance:

http://www.vassalengine.org/

I would definitely recommend using a dedicated engine; it will lead to less "reinventing the wheel", probably a higher-quality and more featureful result, and will take a lot less time.

For a kid, as a general rule, I'd honestly recommend GDevelop. Never used it, but it seems like a simple one.

Construct Classic might be another decent option.

Love2d also looks like a nice one to me. I know that Lua is nice to work with in the right contexts, albeit a bit unintuitive at first if you're used to other programming languages.

For Python, there's Cocos2d, for instance. Lots of people will point to Pygame, but I would recommend against that because it's quite involved, almost as much as SDL itself. It's not really a game engine so much as a graphics library.

Again, though, I'd recommend giving Vassal a try first. If it fits your use-case, it'll most likely be the path of least resistance.

I'm with "Chillehh", Game Maker 4 through to 7 was my go-to toys when I was 10-14, (mid-2000s). It has some great built-in tools for animation, teaches you about object orientation, (a a simple level), and it just works!
I didn't have internet, so I just looked at the samples.
The beginner level is mostly putting boxes in order, a great way to learn an visualize the code in your head. Then later on you can learn/teach GLM, the scripting language which mostly does away with all the boxes. You have if-statements, loops and other common things to scripting.
Take a look at it, it's(at least was) great!

Coding with boxes(visually) Good tutorial:

More advanced coding:

https://freebasic.net/

As close to QBasic as you get

On 5/18/2019 at 2:44 AM, Alberth said:

Recently there was an article about making games without heavy programming

This one?

I see no one endorsed Godot. Is it because it's too diffucult for a 10 years old or some other reasons?

On 5/20/2019 at 1:40 PM, vinterberg said:

https://freebasic.net/

As close to QBasic as you get

LOL :)

BTW, have you used  it? Also, does it have some graphical capabilities (draw line, draw image, etc) as old Basics had?

Godot Engine is usually what I suggest for serious developers. It sounds to me like your kid isn't too terribly serious about this, so I'd recommend something simple like GDevelop.

One more possibility I just thought of: Game Editor. Not the best engine in the world by a longshot, but I've used it before and it's pretty decent for a beginner.

50 minutes ago, Julie.chan said:

It sounds to me like your kid isn't too terribly serious about this

I've read the thread and I can't figure out why you said this.

Mostly because the first post is talking about what the poster wants, not what the kid wants:

I would prefer something that forces to learn programming (so not just some boxes you move around and connect) but not something as extreme as C++.

And the only thing mentioned that the kid wants to do is make a board game. It looks to me like the kid just wants to make a board game (or perhaps multiple board games) and the poster is using this as an opportunity to introduce him to programming.