50 Family Games For Your Next Family Game Night

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Over the past two years, my husband and I have been on the hunt for family games to replace Monopoly. Our search has resulted in finding a wealth of family games to play together. If you want a new adventure for your family game nights, you should consider these amazing family games!

Why am I writing an post about family games? Since I mainly focus on practical Christian living, this certainly feels a little weird writing about this topic. That being said, family games have played a big part in growing closer as a family. We have spent many hours of quality family time together playing these games that I list below.

My family has discovered that these family games have served to help us grow closer as a family. We spend quality time together more frequently now that games has become our collective hobby. Best of all, this time of bonding has already led to great conversations about matters of the faith with our young kids. 

In a world where the family is often under attack, we have found family games to be the perfect outlet to help us take back time together as a family in a positive fashion. Hopefully this list will help your family discover games that will work just right for you. (And I promise that they will be a thousand times better than Monopoly!)

 

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50 Family Games For Your Family To Enjoy Together

To help you find what family games might work for each age range, I have tried to break them up into age ranges where they are most appropriate. Keep in mind that games vary greatly. Some games are extremely competitive in nature and require you to really mess with the other players. Some games are competitive but you don’t really get to affect each other as you play. Some games are co-operative games where you all work as a team to beat the game.

As you look at these games, consider what themes your family will enjoy. Themes can greatly affect how much your family will engage with a game.

Hope you find some great family games to enjoy together!

Family Games For Ages 2-7

These games can work for those who are not yet reading or reading confidently. Many of these games can be enjoyed with older family members without it becoming too tedious! 🙂

Just remember that playing games with this age group can take some flexibility and a lot of patience. They are learning basic game etiquette and skills so be sure to demonstrate and explain a game repeatedly as necessary. Before too long, you will be amazed to find how quickly they grasp these games.

Race to the Treasure

Our family love to refer to this delightful little co-op game as the “ogre” game. Your family races the ogres to a treasure bag while collecting keyes on the way there. Our kids especially love finding the ogre snack that you can use to lure one of the ogres out of the race. Their favorite part is when Daddy chases them with the ogre that wants their ogre snack. 🙂

Race to the Treasure is an adorable game to start with if you have young kids. Yes, they will eventually outgrow it. However, until they outgrow it,  you won’t get so sick of this game that you think of “losing” it like I have done with some other games of theirs.

Animal Upon Animal

Animal Upon Animal is a crazy stacking game with these colorful wooden animals. Not only do our kids enjoy this game, it has helped them with their motor skills. Stacking these animals is not easy. When we noticed our two-year-old frustrated by it, we actually gave him his own set of animals to practice with by himself. Since he wasn’t feeling the competition aspect, he really calmed down and practiced his stacking. After a month of his playing this game occasionally this way, we found that he could join in the game again with almost no frustration.

Feel free to tweak games like these for the younger ages so that they aren’t too frustrated by them. Remember to let this be a time of enjoyment as a family not of frustration for the youngest members of your clan.

Spot-It

Spot-It is a visual game that requires no reading ability. In fact, we find that our two-year-old plays this game faster than the rest of us! Each card has only one image that matches (don’t ask me how they manage it but it works.) We play a couple of the different variations of the game play that they suggest with the game.

Spot It can be played with people across all age ranges which makes this a perfect game for your whole family together. In addition, this game can easily be played by a single child too which means you can make supper why they entertain themselves sometimes too. Bonus! 🙂

Doodle Dice

Another new favorite with our young kids is Doodle Dice. As far as family games go, this is simple. We switched a few rules to make it easier for the two year old to join us but other than that, Doodle Dice was a quick learn. 

You will draw different colored cards that picture various “doodles.” Then you roll dice and see if you can match the doodles on the cards available. If you match, you keep the card. The goal is to have one of each color by the end of the game.

There are a few variations that I want to try to play with yet because I like to play games differently than the rule book suggest. (Yes, I am little rebel sometimes…)

Kingdomino

Our kids love playing regular Dominoes. Matching the colors and numbers fascinates them. My husband and I bought this game for us to play but it wasn’t long before our four-year-old started to watch us play. We have tweaked the games rules very little and she was able to join in right away to play with us. Currently, this is one of her favorite games because when we totaled scores, she discovered that she almost beat Mommy. Her little independent competitive spirit absolutely loved that!

Kingdomino does a great job at creating a visually pleasing kingdom that teaches your kid matching of like images. As the kids get older, it can be a great tool to teach math skills with tallying the score at the end too.

Sleeping Queens

Sleeping Queens was the first card game we gave our three year old. We play it with cards face up on the table for everyone to see still rather than hidden in our hands. Other than that, we play according to the rules. Our kids especially love waking up the queen. With fun, child friendly drawings and no reading skills required, this game is perfect for kids and it doesn’t make older family members totally insane when they have to play it over and over again. 

I highly recommend Sleeping Queens as a starter game for any family wanting to play games with smaller kids!

Codenames

Here is a team party game that can work well for families. We have the Disney version which means that it is family-friendly. From my understanding, some versions of Codenames might not be as family friendly so be sure to research which version you would like to own. 

In the Disney version, the art work side is our favorite. No reading is required and it makes clue-giving a whole lot easier. Since you have just two teams of as many people as you want, this game can work well for families with young and old kids alike. No one can hold someone back but it can still be enjoyable for the older people playing too.

We like to pull this game out when we have a group of family members who don’t normally play games. They can all hang out and have fun talking and playing without worrying too much over strategy or lots of game play rules. It is a simply, laughter inducing game for a family.

Dragonwood

Dragonwood is a bit of a challenge. Reading is technically required but we have tweaked this game to play with cards up in a way that our 4 year old can join us. She loves that this is truly a big kid card game but she is still able to do it with the adults. As she gets older, it will be easy to step away from the few tweaks we have made to play the game normally with her.

Dragonwood lets you gain cards that match and then roll dice based on the cards in your hand. Those dice give you the power necessary to earn different monsters, trolls, and most of all, dragons! It is exciting to add new monsters, animals and dragons to your pile as the game goes on. When the last dragon has been defeated, the game ends and you can score. This game requires using lots of counting and math skills so it is a perfect game-schooling opportunity too. Your kids won’t even realize they are building math skills either. 🙂

SET

SET is a game that I actually played in high school (so it is an older game…) Personally, I love SET because I am a visual person. Finding sets is something that I greatly enjoy. My husband used this game in his classroom and found that kids who had learning issues usually excelled at this game. Reading is not required for this game at all so we have played it with our young kids but we have also played this game in college gaming groups and with older grandparents too. 

SET is a perfect card game to bring out when you have many age groups present and you want to play together. Plus, it is a small box that barely takes up any space at all in the game cabinet which is nice too.

Dr. Eureka

Each player has a test tube with various colored balls in them. Cards with patterns are drawn and you have to pass the balls from one test tube to another without touching the balls. It is great for teaching patterns, motor skills, and problem solving to kids. Young kids can play it but the hard part is chasing the balls down, plus they are obviously a choking hazard to young kids. If you are willing to play Dr. Eureka with your youngest kids, then remember to keep a close idea on the balls to make sure they don’t roll away. 

Family Games For Ages 8-12

These games can be played by those older than the 8-12 year old range but I would say that the skills needed for these games require some reading abilities and game skills to jump into these games. Keep that in mind as you pick from them.

Forbidden Island

Forbidden Island is one of the best co-op games around. You can play with younger family members easily because you are a team. They can help and join in with many actions while the older family members think through the actions needed to beat the game. While I probably wouldn’t do this co-op game with the youngest family members, it is a great game for the next step up above games such as Race To The Treasure.

The best part about Forbidden Island is the race to keep the island afloat long enough for you to collect the treasures and get off the island before it sinks. There is a element of challenge and if you lose, you lose together, which is nice. You can be mad at the game, not each other. 🙂 And if you win, you can all celebrate together as a team.

Ticket to Ride

Ticket to Ride is the ultimate gateway game. By this, I mean if you and your family are just starting a game collection, Ticket To Ride is a perfect first game to purchase. You can play this with kids easily as young as 7 or 8 if you are willing to help them along a little bit. There are Ticket To Ride Junior games available but we have not tried those. 

Ticket to Ride lets you build your railroads across America. If you want, you can pick from several other themes of railroad maps such as Europe, etc. The beauty of Ticket To Ride is the simplicity and fun of just laying track. We have played this with grandparents, pastors, neighbors, and gaming groups. It has been played well with every type of group imaginable.

Pandemic

Pandemic is the next step up in difficulty for co-op games. While this theme might not be as popular now, I can safely say this a cool game. Often my family can beat this game but there have definitely been times when we were challenged and lost the game too. You can alter the difficulty levels somewhat to help you learn the game better at first. 

We enjoy the sleek, easy to play features of this game and the fact that we are a team working against the deadly viruses that are breaking out across the world. It can be enjoyable to watch the virus cubes grow and then diminish as we work as a team together. 

Personally, I prefer our easier co-op game, Forbidden Island or our harder co-op game, Commissioned, over this game. However, if you are looking for an easy co-op game to engage your family, you can pick from the many versions of Pandemic that exist out there.

Camel Up

We don’t own Camel Up. But my cousin who introduced us to the world of games played Camel Up with us when we were just starting out. It is a great beginner game for anyone curious to see if this hobby will work for their family. We still plan to add it to our own collection someday.

Grab your camels, build your pyramid and get ready to race through this incredible (and silly!) game.

Loot

Ahoy matey. My husband loves Pirate themes but we haven’t found many games with that theme that we really like. Loot is the pirate game we found to enjoy together. You gain treasure and fight pirate ships with your cards. It is a small little card game that packs a fun punch. If your family is looking for a great starter card game to play with your kids, Loot would fit the bill.

We have seen Loot played well with game groups and with families. Simple perfect starter game that I totally recommend.

Raccoon Tycoon

Does Monopoly make you so angry but you love the idea of the money system and building up building and railroads still? This game totally replaces Monopoly and does a way better job than Monopoly too. Seriously, you will want to throw Monopoly in the trash after you play this game.

As someone who loves games with good money systems, I would have to place Raccoon Tycoon in my top 5 favorite games. This game does a perfect job at being a big game without taking the hours and hours of horribleness that Monopoly takes. If your family wants to start a good collection of games, this game should be one to consider. I think that by 8 or 10 years old, your kids should be able to manage this game with only a little help if any at all. That being said, Raccoon Tycoon can still provide a challenge for the adults in your family playing the game too.

Paperback

Word games like Boggle and Scrabble have always interested me. My husband started our gaming collection with Paperback. It is kind of hard to find sometimes but if you do find a copy, I would recommend it to word loving families everywhere. 

Honestly, my husband and I have gotten so interested in creating new words that we have forgotten to end the game! It is a great challenge for the older members of your family. To avoid frustration, I would suggest that you don’t get below the pre-teen ages for this one. You can chose to play this game in co-op mode or in competitive mode. Often, we have opted to just play the co-op mode so as to enjoy the game of making words even more. Definitely consider the co-op mode if you play with your kids so that you can play as a team.

Dixit

If you are tired of Apples To Apples but still want a great party game for a group of people, Dixit is perfect. No reading is required. With this game, you will be matching pictures with descriptions given by the head person. Everyone goes around the circle and has a turn giving descriptions of their picture. Unlike Apples to Apples, there is a easy voting component that decides which cards earn which points. With this simple tweak, my family finds Dixit is far more enjoyable for groups than Apples To Apples.

As you grow familiar with Dixit and decide that you enjoy it, you can build on the core game by adding expansion packs with new picture cards. Every time we play this game with a new group of people, there is always a new perspective on the pictures and descriptions given which keeps this game fresh and new with each play-through.

Concept

Pictionary is what we played as kids. Concept is the new Pictionary. Rather than having to try to guess what someone is attempting to draw on a piece of paper, you are given a game board with numerous pictures. You lay colored cubes next to the pictures that will give hints to the others playing about what is on your card. For instance, if you have Napoleon Bonaparte, you will place a cube on historical and on man for starters. 

While reading skills are necessary for this game, your family can pair into two teams with solid readers on each team and be just fine. Also, this game works well for party game nights with friends as well. We have never seen the Concept Kids played personally but it sounds pretty cute as well.

5 Minute Dungeon

5 Minute Dungeon is a fast playing co-op game. Your family will be on the same team working to beat the monsters in the dungeon and the clock at the same time. Strong reading skills is not necessary for this game. When we play this game without the time constraints, this game is something that even our four year can technically join in with us on. I think a 7 or 8 year old and older would be much more comfortable with this game. It requires some dexterity to grab cards from your deck and hold them in your hand so being a little older and more capable is helpful.

Since you are on a team, 5 Minute Dungeon is a great starter game for a family with kids that are still on the younger side but are looking for a game that won’t bore their older kids. You are not working against each other but with each other which is why I love this game.

Lewis & Clark

Lewis & Clark is an okay game made much better by the theme. We appreciate the fact that every character on the cards is actually a historical person that helped Lewis and Clark along their way. They each have their own ability to help you play the game.

Best of all, Lewis & Clark has a booklet included with some history about each person in the game. If you want an exceptionally cool way to learn about this time in history, Lewis & Clark will provide a perfect launching point.

Timeline

Want to work on learning more about history? Have a knack for remembering random facts and dates? Timeline is a quick little game that will work perfectly for a game schooling family. We don’t play Timeline too often but I look forward to when I can use it to help my kids enjoy learning dates from history as reference points. 

For a quick game to play and get you talking as a family, try Timeline. It will definitely give you a new little glimpse of history. Just be sure you don’t buy duplicates of it like I did one time. Forgot we had one…bought it again. Opps. Donated it to the games club at our local library so at least someone profited from my brain fog.

Villagers

Villagers is one of the new additions to our game cabinet. When we were looking for a new game, we decided we wanted to add some more deck-building games to our collection. Villagers is a gorgeous, enjoyable deck-building game.

I believe pre-teens could play Villagers if they are capable readers and have played games some in the past so they know the basics. Team up with those that might struggle the first few times to help them understand what each card does. 

If you are looking for an easy game that you family can invest in that allows you several different game playing experiences, this game would be fit for that job. Each time we play, there are subtle differences in our techniques, differences cards appear each time, and changes to how we build our villages. 

Bring Your Own Book

If you family has some books laying around the house, grab those books and this game. We have found that kids picture books work the best for Bring Your Own Book. Reading is necessary for this game so be aware of that.

One person will read from a card and then everyone will look through a book in their hands and find a sentence to read that they think best matches the card. This game can get pretty silly depending on which books you are picking sentences from. When we did kids picture books, we were laughing until we were in tears over some of the sentences. It was great family fun. The bonus part of this game is that you can play with a large group of people. Everyone just has to have a book in front of them.

Bring Your Own Book matches our book-loving family to a tee with the theme. If your family is book-orientated as well, this game would likely be right down your alley. (For some reason, this game is hard to find at times, so grab it if you ever see a copy for sale!)

Love Letter

Another filler game that my husband and I like to play right before or after we play a big game. Most games take under 5 minutes to play. Sometimes we grab Love Letter and play while we wait for supper to finish cooking if the kids are entertaining themselves for a few minutes. 

This little card game is easy to take with you and teach to a group in a matter of minutes. We enjoy using it as an ice breaker game with new game groups who might not know each other yet. Reading is necessary with this game so I think being at least 8 years old and a confident reader would be a good suggested starting age for this game.

The Legend of the Wendigo

The Legend of the Wendigo is one that our library game club has played. Honestly, I am annoyed by it because I can never get the hang of figuring out which card is missing. 🙂 If you have kids who are visual or memory card game loving, this game will be something for them! Just because I stink at this game doesn’t mean your family won’t enjoy it.

 

Family Games For Ages 13 To Adult

These games can be enjoyed by the teens and adults in your family. Because of the difficulty level of many of these games, I can safely say you will enjoy it most with family members who are above the age of 13. Remember to be patient with younger teens because some of these games can even be a stretch for them if they have not played many games before now.

Splendor

Splendor is a resource and set collection game. Basically you collect gem coins that are used to buy your permanent gem sets. That sounds super boring but Splendor is a simple elegant game. Many evenings after the kids have gone to bed, my husband and I will play Splendor for a while as a way to relax and unwind from the day.

In many ways, this game truly is the perfect, go-to game for our family. We love playing this game. Our only complaint is that the game goes by quickly. We enjoy it so much and often it seems like the game ends too quickly. Truthfully, we have tweaked the rules a bit so that we can actually make the game go longer. Best of all, this game allows for conversation over the game which is something I appreciate.

Seriously one of our family’s favorite games of all-time.

DC Deck Building

Okay, we might have named our middle child after the Flash. To put it mildly, we are pretty big DC fans in this household. We heard this was a fun game but I will be honest. The real reason we bought this game was because it had the Flash and Batman. 🙂 If your kids enjoy the DC comic world, DC Deck Building would certainly be something they would enjoy. The only caveat I have is my frustration with some of the drawings of Wonder Woman. If this is a concern to you, I would recommend that you remove those few cards from the deck. It would not make this game unplayable and it would ensure that you don’t have to be frustrated by those images.

That being said, DC Deck Building has become one of my top five favorite games of all time. It is fun but there is a lot of reading, thinking, and planning which means that it will work best with teens and older. We started with the core DC Deck Building game and have since added another game from this series called Teen Titans. We love to mix the games together and play with both decks. Other games that can be combined in this series include Heroes Unite and Forever Evil.

Fluxx

There are so many versions of Fluxx out there. Pick a theme that you like and go with it. My husband has always enjoyed Monty Python so that is the theme we have.

I will be honest. Fluxx is not my favorite game. It is okay from time to time but never will be the first game I grab from the shelf if given a choice. That being said, once we are playing it, I always have a good time.

Theme definitely matters with this game. Find a theme that you will enjoy. I don’t get all the references that my husband gets and that truly is what makes this game so much fun.

Citadels

We took a chance on Citadels when we bought it without reading a single review about it. Totally worth it. We have played this game numerous times after the kids went to bed for the night. Citadels is a challenge with reading and planning. Only play this game with teens that are confident game players as this game is not one where you can play with team work. 

That being said, this a is a brilliant game where you get to build your own citadel. Due to the way this game is designed, you can set up any different number of workers and cards. We have yet to play a game that was even remotely the same and we have played Citadels a lot. I love the replay value of this game alone. Plus, the artwork on this game is some of the best I have ever seen.

Far and away, one of our favorite family games.

Isle of Skye

If you have ever dreamed of being a part of a Scottish clan, this game is for you! Isle of Skye allows you to build your own Scottish isle for your clan. We love the theme and the ease of game play for this game. It is one of those great middle of the road games that doesn’t take too long to play nor is it that difficult. If we just want an easier game to fill a portion of an evening, Isle of Skye is a great game to do that. 

The theme carries this game and it is a great addition to a game collection that might be lacking in tile-laying games.

Colt Express

Speaking of a game that is ALL about theme, you should see Colt Express. This game oozes theme. Basically, they took stereo types from every Western movie ever made, threw them into a box and sold it to you. You make 3-D trains (this takes time to set up the first time.) Your characters are bad guys on a train heist trying to steal jewels and money from the Marshall. 

My husband and I love Colt Express because it has such a fun story telling feel to it. And I admit, the theme sold me. Western movies were a fond part of my childhood and this game can immerse you into the Western world quite thoroughly. Your family can put on cowboy hats and boots and let your imaginations soar with this game!

Villainous

If you know all the Disney movie characters and their matching bad guys, you will most likely enjoy Villainous. You get to pick a Disney villain. Once you have decided on your villain, you will be handed a special playbook. Everyone has their own board to play their own game. Whoever finishes their objective first wins. You can affect each other somewhat, but this really is a race to draw the cards you need first. 

Since Villainous has to be played by independent confident game players, I recommend it mainly for teens and older. If your family enjoys the Disney world, this will probably be a great theme for you to consider.

Munchkin

Munchkin is NOT my favorite but this is one of the most popular games out there. If your family likes role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons, you might enjoy this game for the theme.

When we play this game, we were frustrated often. Munchkin is filled with ways to affect the other people playing so it has a “Gotcha” aspect. If your family can handle some friendly competition, this game won’t bother you as much as it does our family. We don’t do stiff competition well… 🙂

Sheriff of Nottingham

My husband and I don’t get to play Sheriff of Nottingham often because it requires at least three people. This is a party game to get people laughing and joking. If you have the right group of people who can joke and not take themselves too seriously, they will love this game. We have played this game with people who do not enjoy this game because they prefer games that don’t require you to do silly and goofy antics.

Now, when we have been with the right group of people, Sheriff of Nottingham is beyond enjoyable. Grab a group of family or friends that enjoy the silly side of life and have some fun.

Queen’s Architect

Queen’s Architect was the first “big” game that my husband and I purchased when we started our game hobby. It has many moving aspects so it can be a bit challenging the first couple of times you play through it. However, once you get the basics down, it is an absolutely wonderful game. There is a money system, town building for the queen, and competition that isn’t too cut-throat. You are playing against each other but you can do relatively little to mess each other up. 

For teens and older, Queen’s Architect would be a completely appropriate and doable. If you are concerned with the first learning curve of this game, just watch a tutorial on YouTube first. It will help you see the mechanics of this game. My husband and I wished we would have done that for our first time playing through it. Benefit from our mistake. 🙂

 

Great Western Trail

Drum roll please. Here is my all-time favorite game…at least so far. Great Western Trail is a BIG game. On average it takes my husband and I about an hour and a half to play through it one time. That is with only two players. It can go up to four players which will naturally take way more time. Please don’t play this game if you are new gaming family. This is not an easy game to start with, the instructions included with this game are basically the worst instructions ever known to mankind, and it is an expensive game to take a chance on. Wait until you have played other games and know you enjoy them first before diving into this one.

That being said, Great Western Trail is AMAZING! The theme is great and is central to every part of this game. From the artwork to the tile laying movement to the cattle market that you get to visit, I love every detail. If you teens and yourself are ready to move into some games that provide a bit of challenge with a ton of fun, Great Western Trail would be my top recommendation.

Champions of Midgard

Here is another big game. Champions of Midgard is my husband’s favorite game. The theme and the idea of beating monsters and ogres just thrills him. I enjoy this game a great deal too because it has a great worker placement and money system.

If your family of teens and older are looking for a great starter BIG game, Champions of Midgard would be a good fit for you. This game takes quite a while and has a lot of moving pieces so it certainly classifies as a larger game so be sure you are ready to carve out and hour or more for the play time on this one.  

Commissioned

Commissioned is a game that we added to our shelf simply because of the theme. During the game, you goal is to start new churches in every city on the map using the disciples and their special gifts. The beauty of this game is the theme and the fact that it is a co-op game. You are working together as a family. 

With that being said, Commissioned is the hardest co-op game we have ever owned or played. After trying to play this game 12+ times, we have only won one time (and that was because we tweaked a few rules!) Basically, it is like a giant strategy game that is incredibly fun but will make you want to pull your hair out in frustration too. I have never had such a love/hate relationship with a game like I have with Commissioned. 

If your family is looking for a strategic challenge that you can work through together with older kids and teens, this game might just be a perfect fit for you.

Beyond Balderdash

Okay, Beyond Balderdash is far from new. My family played it at pretty much every holiday get together throughout my childhood. If you are creative and love to think on your feet, Beyond Balderdash is the game for you! We have played it with groups of over 12 a few times so it a great party game. I highly recommend at least four people play or else this game just doesn’t work well. 

If you have a big family where some members are willing to team up with younger members, you could play this as young as 7 or 8. Otherwise, I recommend that you only play with a 13 or older crowd.

Sushi Go Party!

A party game that will make you kind of hungry, if you like sushi. You pick a card from a hand and pass the hand on. As you pass hands of cards around, you are building your plate of sushi that earns you points at the end of each round. This was my first card passing game and I will admit that the first few times playing with it, I struggled. It is a different way to play a game but once you get the hang of it, Sushi Go Party! is so much fun.

My husband and I can play it in the evening with just the two of us or we can play it with a large group of family and friends. Sushi Go Party! really works well both ways which is something that most party games fail at so we like this game for that reason.

Holmes: Sherlock & Mycroft

Only two can play this game at a time which makes it a bit more limiting in terms of family games. However, if you enjoy all things Sherlock Holmes related (and I do…) the theme of this game will thrill you. It is a basic worker placement game that works through levels of a “mystery” with various Sherlock Holmes sidekicks and characters. 

If you want something for your spouse and you to play or maybe two teens to play in some down time, Holmes: Sherlock & Mycroft would be a perfect fit. It is not a long game or a big game so it fills in those gap times with a fun little challenge.

 

Coup

Another fun filler game for the older kids in your family. I enjoy Coup but this game is best played with more than three people so my husband and I don’t play it often. If you want another inexpensive quick game to add to your family’s collection, Coup would be a good choice. Remember this requires reading and some use of guessing and deception skills so I recommend it only for teens and older.

One Night Ultimate Werewolf

Yes, I rolled by eyes more than Liz Lemon when I saw that my husband picked this game. The theme is so silly plus it is different because you have to download an app to play One Night Ultimate Werewolf. Once we played this game with my husband’s family, I will admit that I enjoyed this game beyond my wildest imaginations. We laughed until we cried after certain rounds. One Night Ultimate Werewolf is awesome!

Here is the hard part. You have to play with the right group. We have tried playing it with kids younger than 13 and it just doesn’t work well. They open their eyes and peek when they shouldn’t and they simply don’t have the ability to do the table talk necessary to enjoy this game or play it well. If you have teens or college aged kids, One Night Ultimate Werewolf will be a great game to grab. Yes, it is silly but you will find that it is also crazy fun.

Betrayal At House On The Hill

Ever wonder how long you will last locked in a haunted house? Well, my husband now knows…not very long if you fall down the elevator into the monster’s mouth. We still love to laugh about that first time we played Betrayal At House On The Hill. 

Pick a character and prepare for a new adventure every single time. The replay value of this game is amazing. We have played Betrayal At House On The Hill with more game groups than any other game and still have yet to see a game replicate itself. Grab this one for your teens and enjoy watching the story unfold as one of you becomes the betrayer and helps the monster. Meanwhile the rest of you have to try to beat the monster to escape the crazy house.

Guaranteed laughs and loads of fun.

Scythe

Can you say BIG game? The box for Scythe is huge, the amount of stuff in the box is overwhelming and gorgeous, and the length of time to play one game can be staggering. But that is what makes Scythe absolutely amazing! I have yet to leave a game of Scythe feeling let down by the game experience and we have played this game a LOT.

While I do not recommend that you start your family game collection with this game, I will say that if you are looking to get more committed in your game collection and have kids older than 13, then this game would be a worthy investment. The price tag on this game can be a bit shocking so don’t purchase this game unless you are sure that your family would enjoy it. Watch YouTube videos of people playing it first to see if it would interest you. 

That being said, the theme and artwork, and mechanics of this game are beyond wonderful to play! We love this game in our family and I can’t wait until the kids are old enough to join us with this game.

Indie Boards and Cards Terraforming Mars Board Game

UGH, I have never hated a game so much. First, the theme of space bores me to tears. (If you love space or Star Wars type themes, you will LOVE the theme.) Also, this game is a big game that requires a lot of time. Often Indie Boards and Cards Terraforming Mars Board Game takes over 2 hours sometimes bordering on 3 hours. As much as I love playing games, I honestly just don’t enjoy any game for that amount of time.

Now, Indie Boards and Cards Terraforming Mars Board Game has some amazing features. My husband does enjoy the theme and the board is especially cool. We both enjoy the fact that each card is unique. With no duplicate cards, each time you play through this game, it will be a completely different game which is a huge plus. And if you enjoy the space theme, this game does a wonderful job of immersing you within that theme.

Don’t let my distaste for a game keep you from considering Indie Boards and Cards Terraforming Mars Board Game There are some games I love that others find annoying too. It really is about finding what works for you and your family. 🙂

Dead of Winter

Here is another game that I struggle with in some ways. Zombie themes simply gross me out or at the least make me roll my eyes. Now, my husband finds zombie type games to be an intriguing theme. It really is just a difference in our taste.

I enjoy the mechanics of Dead of Winter greatly. It is a co-op game that does come with a hidden betrayer element. You don’t have to use the betrayer element if you don’t want to. We love getting to work together in this large co-op game to gather resources and beat the zombies. If teens are interested in zombies and you want a friendly game that puts you all on the same team, Dead of Winter should be seriously considered. 

Stuffed Fables

Oh my goodness, this game will remind you of every favorite toy you had as a child. Each player selects a stuffed animal character and you dive into a story book world. You will read a story and then your characters will work as a team to help the young girl in the story.

Basically, Stuffed Fables is a role playing game in a box. If your family enjoys good storytelling and want to work together through adventures, this game might interest you. My favorite part about this game is the beautiful colors and pictures mixed with childhood nostalgia.

DC Dice Masters

We “cheated” and bought our DC Dice Masters on eBay as a complete set because we can’t stand the tedious process of collecting a game over time. If you have a kid who likes collecting cards and dice over time to play, they will appreciate this game a LOT. (Think collecting Pokemon cards but with DC characters…)

Personally, we love all things DC related in our house. (Did I mention we named our kid after the Flash?) The theme of DC Dice Masters was what drew us to the game. However, I will say that the game play with DiceMasters is amazing. We love picking characters to battle and working our way through the game process. 

 

 

 

Final Thought On Costs Of Family Games

Building a game collection takes years. We have a dedicated line item in our family budget for game purchases and we plan for these purchases ahead of time. It really is our family’s only entertainment expense as we don’t eat out or attend movies, etc.

Games are able to be played over and over again which makes them so feasible for our single income, debt-free way of life. Hope that helps if you are surprised by the prices of some games.

Also, search independent game shops. Sometime you will find great deals on games there plus they often will allow you see the game box close up before purchase.

Your Turn

As you look for family games, remember to consider what works best for your family. If competitive spirits tend to ruin family game night, consider looking for cooperative games which allow you to work together as a team in the competition against the game.

Most of all, find games that excite you and your family together! 

When we first started the hobby of collecting and playing family games, we had no idea how much it would bring us together and build such a lasting wonderful bond. I hope your family can enjoy this as well!

Be sure to share what family games you enjoy playing together as a family in the comments below. 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

 

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