If instead of family movie night, your family love board games, this post is for you. Post contains affiliate links.
Board games are a great way to spend time together as a family.
Whether you enjoy the luck, strategy, or just the laughter shared you’ll make tons of memories by clocking in some hours at the dinner table playing.
If you have board game lovers in your family or circle of friends, here are some awesome games that would be excellent gifts.
the absolute best game for groups of friends who think they’d be able to hack it in stranded on a desert island.
Clue. 3-6 players \ ages 8+ \ “whodunnit” detective
Cranium. 4+ players \ ages 8+ \ creativity and general knowledge
Life. 2-6 players \ ages 9+ \ counting and reading
Monopoly. 2-8 players \ ages 8+ \ negotiation and resource management
Pictionary.  3+ players \ ages 8+ \ drawing, image recognition, wordplay and vocabulary
Risk. 2-5 players \ ages 12+ \ strategy, tactics and negotiation
Scrabble. 2-4 players \ ages 8+ \ vocabulary, spelling, strategy, counting, Anagramming and probability
Trivial Pursuit. 2-6 players \ ages 15+ \ general knowledge and knowledge of popular culture
Pull out these fun connecting questions to share some laughs with your precious ones!
Use them at:
- meal times
- car rides
- as a “calm down” trick
- for dinner time conversation
- or any time the day is getting chaotic or
- you need a reset to connect.
Around the World in 80 Days. 3-6Â players \ ages 10+ \ strategy
Axis and Allies. 2-5Â players \ ages 12+ \ tactics, strategy, economics, teamwork, logistics
Carcassone. 2-5Â players \ ages 8+ \ strategy, tactics
Forbidden Desert. 2-5Â players \ ages 10+ \ teamwork, strategy, tactics
Forbidden Island. 2-4Â players \ ages 10+ \ strategic thinking, problem solving and cooperation
Pandemic. 2-4Â players \ ages 13+ \ tactics, cooperation, logic and logistics
Power Grid. 2-6Â players \ ages 12+ \ auction and resource management
San Juan. 2-4Â players \ ages 10+ \ economic management and strategic thought
Settlers of Catan. 2-6Â players \ ages 10+ \ resource management, trading and planning
SmallWorld. 2-5Â players \ ages 8+ \ strategy
Ticket to Ride. 2-5Â players \ ages 8+ \ set collection and connecting
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Battleship. 2Â players \ ages 7+ \ strategy
Guess Who. 2 players \ ages 5+ \ guessing and inference
Hands Down. 3-4 players \ ages 6+ \ luck and quickness of response
Hedbanz. 2-6Â players \ ages 8+ \ asking yes or no questions, inference
Scrabble Junior. 2-4 players \ ages 7+ \ vocabulary, anagram, spelling
Sorry. 2-4 players \ ages 6+ \ counting, tactics, strategy and probability
Trouble. 2+ players \ ages 5+ \ random
My First Carcassone. 2 – 4 players \ ages 4+ \ beginning strategy
Pull out these fun connecting questions to share some laughs with your precious ones!
Use them at:
- meal times
- car rides
- as a “calm down” trick
- for dinner time conversation
- or any time the day is getting chaotic or
- you need a reset to connect.
Candyland. 2-4 players \ ages 3+ \ color recognition
Chutes and Ladders. 2-3 players \ ages 3+ \ cooperation and learning
Hi Ho Cherry-O.  2-4 players \ ages 3+ \ counting
Hungry Hungry Hippos. up to 4 players \ ages 1+ \ dexterity
The Ladybug Game. 2-4 players \ ages 3+ \ introduction to math
Zingo. 2-4 players \ ages 3+ \ image and vocabulary recognition, matching, memory and concentration
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What Do You Meme. 3+ players \ ages 17+ \ pairing images with phrases
Balderdash. 2-6 players \ ages 8+ \ creativity and bluffing
Boggle. 2+ players \ ages 8+ \ language
Catchphrase. 4+ players \ ages 12+ \ language, inference and clues
Scattegories. 2-6 players \ ages 12+ \ vocabulary, counting and social skills
Taboo. 4+ players \ ages 12+ \ words, phrases and team play
Pull out these fun connecting questions to share some laughs with your precious ones!
Use them at:
- meal times
- car rides
- as a “calm down” trick
- for dinner time conversation
- or any time the day is getting chaotic or
- you need a reset to connect.
Apples to Apples. 4-10 players \ ages 12+ \ social skills
Dutch Blitz. 2-4 players \ ages 8+ \ speed, counting and hand-eye coordination
Phase 10. 2-6 players \ ages 7+ \ matching, ordering, and knowing when to save cards
Skip Bo. 2+ players \ ages 7+ \ skill and strategy
Uno. 2+ players \ ages 7+ \ keeping cards for later and knowing when to put them down
Doomlings. 2-6 players \ ages 10+ \ easy-to-learn strategy
Strong and happy families have carefully crafted Family Cultures. They don’t let guilt drive them, rather they spend their time and energy digging deep into a few key family areas that pay off in spades.
Learn MoreFAQs
Add some board games that can be played multiple ways, like Bananagrams, cards, etc.
Thrift stores, yard sales, and asking other families to trade games are a great way to add more board games to your home without breaking the bank. Ask a family in your neighborhood or church with kids older than yours to see if they have any kid board games they don’t want or need anymore.
Absolutely love this list! I am so excited that my oldest is now mature enough to really focus on board games–they are my favorite way to spend a rainy or snowy day. Thanks so much for this great list–already pinned it! http://www.pinterest.com/Qoftwignberry/
My husband loves them but as an only child I never played many. Thanks for the pin :)