When we have some down time, which isn’t often these days, one thing we love to do as a family is play board games! Our kids ages range from 6 years old to 12 years old, so we are always looking for ways for the whole family to play together. When they were all younger, we had to make adjustments for our youngest when we played older kid games, but these days it’s not as big of an issue.
I should say, yes, we love to play games together, but does it often end in someone being upset? Most days yes. We are a mixture of different personalities and some family members are more relaxed about rules of the game than others, ha-ha. This creates conflict. Playing Risk always ends in confrontation for some reason, maybe because I don’t like losing my ground or my men.
Anyway, games are fun and even if someone gets upset, they are still worth it. So, let’s dive into our families favorite board and card games. I would love to hear from all of you on what your favorite games are as well. We are always looking for new ones to add to our collection.
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Top 20 Board Games –
1. Sleeping Queens
Of all the games on this list, Sleeping Queens is a top favorite. Everyone in the family can play it, and although our youngest is 6 now, she was still able to play this with us at the age of 4. Once she understood the rules, she was pretty independent during game time.
2. Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza
We love this game for the fast pace. My oldest needs a little more processing time so he doesn’t love this game for that reason, but I will say he is a really good sport. You don’t want to be the last hand on top because then you have to take the whole pile of cards in the middle, but my youngest tries to be the one to take the cards. It’s all about perception.
3. Risk
Oh, my goodness, this game has resulted in some grunting. Still a family favorite, each time we set it up to play we all think that we will be able to outsmart or outsource all the others. My husband has won every time, but we are all getting a little closer to beating him each time we play, so I guess we shouldn’t be mad ha-ha.
4. Sequence
This is a great game for when you want a slower pace. My 12- and 10-year-old love this game, my 6-year-old could do without it. This one is probably more suited for older kids, our oldest two really started loving this game between the ages of 8-9.
5. Pete the Cat and the Missing Cupcakes
This one is so great for younger kiddos! There is also a Pete the Cat Pizza board game that my daughter wants. Every time she gets to pick a game, this is in her top 3 favorites that she will grab out of the closet. Be prepared to do some miming if you land on the birthday present!
6. Candy Land
An oldie but a goodie. You just can’t go wrong with this one.
7. Catan
This game is really fun, just know that it takes some time to learn how to play and set it up. It took us almost two years to start playing this game because each time we would get it out, it would take so long going over the rules and setting it up that we would just put it away and play something different. However, once you do get the hang of it, it’s a lot of fun.
8. Ticket to Ride (USA, London, Japan, Italy)
Ticket to Ride is my all-time favorite game. It’s another game that takes a while to learn the rules, but the set-up is fairly simple. It does take a long time to play through the whole game. Sometimes we will just play until everyone has finished their destination cards and sometimes, we will play until all of the routes are taken. Either way, it’s really fun!
9. Headbanz
Super fun and fast game to play. There is also a Headbanz Jr. that we used to play when all the kids were little. The “normal” Headbanz has lots of different picture cards to guess and it’s a fast-paced game so if you only have 30-40 minutes to play, then give this one a shot.
10. Shut the Box
A friend of ours brought this to a church activity that my boys had gone to and when my boys got home, they had me order it right away. The game is based around addition so if all the kiddos can add then they can play independently, if they can’t add yet, then they would just need a little help on their turn. They could still roll the dice which is a lot of fun and knock down their own pegs. A great family game which is also fast paced.
11. Cover Your Assets
I am going to discuss Cover Your Assets and Skull King in this same paragraph as they are made by the same company and almost the same. My kids love both games, these two are not favorite. I added it onto the list though because my kids love these so maybe your family will to. They are both card games and somewhat fast paced. We don’t always play with all the rules, mainly because I can’t wrap my head around the rules, but the kids still have fun.
12. Skull King
Description is above.
13. Money Bags
If you are in the market for a game that teaches coin value, then this is the game for you. This is one of two money games we have, and my kids love this one. It helps teach the value of each coin and how to put different coin values together to reach the amount you are needing.
14. Connect 4
Another oldie but a goodie. Great for young and old.
15. Diary of a Wimpy Kid
This game is a lot more fun than you would think. My 10 year old got this for Christmas and loved it! Of course, he loves Diary of a Wimpy Kid so this was right up his alley. The game includes 4 characters, and you have to perform different tasks to be able to move on. This is an active game.
16. Forbidden Island/Forbidden Desert
My 12-year-old has loved these two games for the last two years. They require a lot of thought, and he loves thought-provoking games that take a long time. Both games are set up similarly, but the locations and the disaster are different. It’s a lot of fun after the initial set-up and learning the rules.
17. Dominos
Classic game that is great for the whole family. My 10-year-old has fallen in love with the game of dominos and I love it because it you can lay out the tiles and get to playing.
18. Dragonwood
This game is similar to the Forbidden Island/Desert games in the way that it takes a bit to learn the rules of the game. It’s a lot of fun and the characters are very interesting, especially if your kiddos are into the Fablehaven book series.
19. Camel Up
Camel Up was a recommendation from friends. The game states that it is for 8+, but a couple 6-year-olds I know have been able to play this one with a little help. It can take a while to play the game so be sure to clear out some time, but it’s a lot of fun.
20. Poetry for Neanderthals
This one is a fun one. Speaking in one syllable words, your team has to guess the word on the card. If anyone is caught using anything other than one syllable words, they get hit with an inflatable club on the head. In our family, sometimes only mom and dad get to do the clubbing because, well, there may be a brother that accuses the other brother of hitting too hard so that brother has to get the other brother back. You get the picture. Other than that, it’s great fun!
If you are looking for great games to play with adults and kids, I hope these triggered some ideas for you. If you are looking for more inspiration on great products for the family, check out my product reviews here.
