12 Board Games for Family Game Night
I would never categorize myself as a board game player. Mainly because they often take focus and concentration and when playing with friends or family, I want to hang out and socialize more than focus on what’s happening in the game. I’m a huge fan of Yahtzee – a game that only requires me to pay attention to my roll and not much else!
Personal Experience
But, as my niece and nephew are getting a little older, we play many board games and card games with them. They love to spend time together with their aunts and uncles and it’s something the whole family can do together. It’s also a great way to spend some downtime together because these kiddos love to be outside running around!
Over vacation this summer we spent a lot of time playing Uno, Old Maid, Go Fish, and Pass the Pigs. My niece just turned six, so oftentimes she’ll play on a team with one of us or someone will help her out if she needs it. Her brother is two years older and is really getting the hang of a lot of games now and is starting to learn about strategy as well. Although I must say, they both need to work on their poker faces! My mom found these awesome fan cardholders for kids which makes everyone’s life much easier! It allows kids to more easily hold their cards without having to juggle them with their little hands.
Learning Experience
I also think that teaching kids about cooperation, creativity, communication, and good sportsmanship are all really great things that can be taught and learned at the kitchen table with a board game. Losing is never fun, but teaching kids how to be a good sport is so important and this is a really great low-stakes way to do it. And let’s be honest, as the holidays are coming up, spending time together should be fun and exciting and something that the whole family can enjoy!
Whether you’re a fan of epic board games like Catan or are just looking for a little fun for the whole family, check out these 12 board games for family game night! And if you’ve got some other tried and true favorites, share them in the comments below!
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12 Board Games for Family Game Night
Animal Upon Animal
Ages: 4+
Crocodiles, frilled lizards, sheep, toucans and monkeys, hedgehogs and snakes… you’ll never find such a motley mix of animals in any other game. Who is the most skillful at stacking and will be the first left without any animals?
Catan: Family Edition
Ages: 10+
Begin a quest to settle the island of Catan! Guide your brave settlers to victory by using clever trading and shrewd development. Use resources – grain, wool, ore, lumber, and brick – to build roads, settlements, cities and key cultural milestones. Get resources by rolling the dice or by trading with other players.
Guess Who?
Ages: 6+
Each player chooses a mystery character and then using yes or no questions, they try to figure out the other players mystery character. When they think they know who their opponent’s mystery character is, players make a guess.
Gnomes at Night
Ages: 6+
Gnomes at Night is a cooperative search-and-find maze game where players work as a team to maneuver the magnetic gnome movers around the maze. Work together in this quick-thinking communication game where every second counts!
Hoot Owl Hoot!
Ages: 4+
In this color coordinated matching game, players cooperate to help the owls fly back to their nest before the sun comes up. Help all the owls home before sunrise and everyone wins!
Outfoxed!
Ages: 5+
Mrs. Plumpert’s prized pot pie has gone missing and it’s now a chicken chase to crack the case! Move around the board to gather clues and then use the special evidence scanner to rule out suspects. You’ll have to work together quickly because the guilty fox is high-tailing it towards the exit! Will you halt the hungry hooligan before it flies the coop… or will you be Outfoxed?
Pass the Pigs
Ages: 7+
How’s your tolerance for puns? You’ll need some for Pass the Pigs, a simple game of chance built around a pig theme. Instead of dice, you roll two cute pink piglets, and you gain or lose points depending on how the critters land. For example, if both land on all fours, called a “double trotter,” you get 20 points; if they land lying opposite each other, called a “Pig Out,” you gain no points and cede your turn.
Sequence for Kids
Ages: 3+
It’s the classic game of SEQUENCE made just for kids! Play an animal card from your hand, and place your chip on the corresponding animal on the board. Wild cards add excitement to the game – use a unicorn card to place your chip anywhere, or use a dragon card to remove an opponent’s chip. The first player with four chips in a row wins!
Stories of the Three Coins
Ages: 6+
In the land of Storia, a Traveler is in search of a happy ending—and you get to imagine how they get there! The players choose a card to be the Traveler, and the first player begins the story. As they tell the story, the first player flips over three cards and use the three magic coins to mark which card they think should be in the story next—so only they can see. The other players guess which card they think the storyteller chose. A wrong guess means the inkwell marker goes down a notch. As a team, try to tell the tale before the inkwell runs dry!
As each player imagines their part of the story, they roll the booster dice to add exciting elements that they must work into the tale. Have fun, use your imagination, and work together to reach a happy ending before the inkwell runs out of ink. It’s a cooperative game that fans of fantasy, creative, or role-playing games will love playing with friends and family.
The Original Telestrations
Ages: 12+
Each player starts with their own erasable sketch book, marker and word card. A roll of the die determines each player’s secret word. The timer gets turned and everyone draws their word. After 60 seconds, everyone passes their book to the player on their left. Then each player takes a few seconds to guess in words(s) what they see, and passes again. The timer is turned and everyone draws the guess.
This continues until everyone’s sketch book passes by every player and returns back to its original owner, where it’s time for The Big Reveal. Everyone shares their book and the hilarious miscommunication is revealed. Just like the game of “telephone,” the outcomes are unpredictable and the laughter is contagious!
Ticket to Ride: First Journey
Ages: 6+
Players of all ages can now venture across America by train in Alan R. Moon’s ticket to ride: first journey. With a brand new map and simplified rules, first journey is the perfect way to introduce new players to the game of cross-country travel. Just like in ticket to ride, players collect train cards, claim routes, and try to connect cities coast-to-coast. In first journey, though, routes are shorter, train cards are drawn straight from the deck, and the game ends when one player Completes six tickets, claiming the Golden ticket as their prize. Climb aboard, travelers, your incredible first journey awaits.
Zingo! Bingo with a Zing
Ages: 4+
Objective Be the first to cover all the spaces on their Zingo card with matching tiles. Each Zingo card is double sided: Green is easy and Red is more challenging.
The Zingo holder dispenses two tiles. These tiles have various pictures on them such as: apples, a ball, fish, star, house, kite, tree, smile, train, cake, clock, etc. When player sees a tile that matches one on his or her Zingo card they take the tile and cover up the corresponding spaces on his/her Zingo card. Unclaimed tiles are placed back into the Zingo tile holder. If two players call the same tile, it goes to whoever called it first. The first player to cover all 9 spaces on their card shouts ZINGO and wins the game.
