My kids love to play board games, but I do not.
I will do almost anything to avoid the excruciating pain of sitting through a game of junior monopoly, or even worse, having to play the shopping list game with my youngest child. I’d rather clean the toilet, or even comb nits out of my kids’ hair than play the shopping list game again and again and again!
But all four of my kids really love to play board games, so in a bid to stop them pleading with me to play another game of Connect Four, I started looking for family games that I might actually enjoy.
Over the years we’ve collected a pile of family games that everyone can play.
Our collection of family games includes one or two classics, some card games, and even some board games, and we all enjoy playing them. They are all simple enough that a five year old can grasp the basic concepts and enjoy playing (though they may need a little support with some of them), but challenging and fun enough that even adults will enjoy playing.
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Tsuro
We were given this as a gift last Christmas and immediately loved it! The rules of the game are simple, but strategy and luck make it interesting and exciting. You can play with only two players if you want, and it doesn’t take forever to complete a game.
Sleeping Queens
I wasn’t keen on this card game when we first got it, but after playing a few rounds I was hooked and so were my kids. There is lots of strategy, a few maths skills, and lots of amusement when someone attempts to nab your queens.
Rat-A-tat-Cat
This is another Gamewright card game that my family all love! You’ll need some basic maths skills, a good memory, and great ‘poker face’ to play this game. You can play both these card games with only two players and playing a round doesn’t take too long. They are both great travel games too.
Blokus
My nine year old played this at a friends house and came home raving about it. It’s perfect for his strategic brain, but not too difficult for the rest of us to play too.
Qwirkle
Smaller kids might need a bit of a helping hand to play this game through to the end, but with simple rules and lots of strategy and tactics it’s loads of fun. The only drawback for our family is that there is a maximum of four players and all six of us often want to play!
Uno Stacko
Uno Stacko is just like classic Jenga, but with Uno-like features thrown in to make it even more of a challenge. The rules are simple and you’ll catch on fast if you’ve ever played Uno before. It’s easy enough for little hands to play with a little guidance and support.
Spot It
Spot It is kind of like good old fashioned ‘Snap’ but much cooler! There are several different ways you can play this game which keeps it interesting and while it seems simple, this game is as much of a challenge for adults as it is for kids.
Skip Bo
Skip Bo comes from the same people who made Uno, and while it’s a little tricky to wrap your head around the rules in the beginning, once you do it’s lots of fun. Smaller kids will probably need some support early on, but once they get the hang of it they should be able to hold their own. This is another game that is great for just two players, but also good for more.
Do your kids like to play games? Do you?
I’d love to add a few more games to our games cupboard. What is your favourite family game that everyone loves to play?
We love board games too, have to check out some of your recommendations that I haven’t heard of. ” Bananagrams” is a great word game that challenges both adults and the kids. A good one to get, if like me you love word games but don’t have the time to sit down for hours of scrabble (plus you don’t have the hassle of keeping score). Although if you do have a few hours to spare on a rainy day get “Upwords”, it is like scrabble but forming words on top of others makes it more interesting.
Also, the old “mastermind” is an oldie but a goodie. My son loves it and as they get older they realise that there is actually thinking involved in cracking the colour code and not simply random guessing. “What’s on my head?” is a goodie for something quick and can even be done while you are sitting at the table eating. Plus the littliest members of the family can join in.
I played old school mastermind with my nine year old the other day – my parents still have the set we used as kids!! Great suggestions! Thanks!
Blokus is a favourite of mine. For older kids and adults Sequence is fun, kind of like connect four but with cards. 2-4 players.
My little people pull out Guess Who to play.
Haba games are fab for kids – we play orchard, rhino hero and animal on animal