Family game night is a great tradition to start with your family. Whether your brood is into cooperative or competitive games, there's a lot to learn about each other through board game play.
It takes some work to keep game night from getting stale. You don't want to have games that are played out or that are no longer age-appropriate. Ideally, you want games that keep kids engaged and are a little bit different each time you sit down for a session.
These titles are sure to bring the enthusiasm back to family game night. Kids of all ages will enjoy spending time around the table, making memories with these games.
Dice Forge
Players: 2-4
Ages: 10+
Dice Forge is an awesome game with dynamic dice, thanks to faces that pop off and are changed out throughout the game. Your dice give you the resources you need to accomplish heroic feats, gain special powers, and get the glory you need to win. There's also some sneaky math in the game that makes it feel like productive downtime.
Machi Koro
Players: 2-4
Ages: 10+
In this game, you're the new mayor of Machi Koro. Your city is pretty bare and basic, but it's up to you to make decisions to build it up and give your residents the establishments they want in town. The first player to build all their establishments wins, but there's a million different ways to get to the finish line.
The Grimm Forest
$49.99
from
Miniature Market
Players: 2-4
Ages: 13+
Your favorite fairy-tale characters all make an appearance in this game. You're one of the little pigs working to build your houses. You can also disrupt other players in their build and, in turn, be disrupted. It makes for a fun, competitive game with a lot of familiar figures involved.
Tiny Towns
Players: 1-6
Ages: 14+
In this game, each Master Builder is making their own Tiny Town in the woods. These Tiny Towns are populated by woodland creatures who hide from predators, so resources are scarce and you've got to work with what you get. The player to build the best Tiny Town wins.
Santorini
Players: 2-4
Ages: 8+
Santorini is a race to build a three-story building, but strategy elements make it more challenging than you'd think! You'll need God cards to score extra powers to get through your obstacles. The difficulty of this game can be adjusted depending on the crowd playing, so it's great for a mixed group.
Calico
$31.99
from
Game Nerdz
Players: 1-4
Ages: 14+
Who doesn't love the idea of a cat-themed game? Your job is to make the comfiest quilt for your cat by collecting and arranging tiles. Each quilt has particular patterns to follow.
Imaginarium
Players: 2-5
Ages: 14+
Imaginarium is all about building up from tiny machines to more powerful machines. You've got limited workspace to utilize, so it's important to make every move count.
Herd Mentality
Players: 4-20
Ages: 10+
Answer simple questions where you have to pick between two options, all while you try to anticipate what other players are going to decide. If you've got an odd answer that no one else chose, you get the pink cow, and it's your job to get rid of it before the game's end.
Wingspan
Players: 2-5
Ages: 14+
In Wingspan, you're a bird enthusiast looking to bring beautiful birds into your aviary. Attract the best birds by building combinations and improving your facilities. The winner is the player whose aviary has the most points after four rounds.
Best Treehouse Ever: Forest of Fun
$32
from
Green Couch Games
Players: 2-4
Ages: 10+
It's your chance to build the best treehouse ever, and you're calling all the shots! Players work to add rooms to their treehouses over three turns while managing the size and variety of the rooms. Whoever has the best treehouse with the most points at the end wins.
Gnomes at Night
Players: 2-4
Ages: 6+
A cooperative game is great for teaching kids that competition isn't everything. In this one, gnomes work together to maneuver through mazes and collect the Queen's lost treasures in a twisty castle.
Blokus
Players: 2-4
Ages: 7+
Blokus is a fun strategy game that takes just minutes to learn how to play! This is a fun one for younger players because of the basic rules, but strategy keeps it engaging for players of all ages. No two games are the same!
Abandon Planet
Players: 4-8
Ages: 14+
Ready to escape a big meteor headed right this way? You'll have to think fast, make alliances, and read the room as you make your decisions on when to get out and who with. It's a fun game with a group and gets everyone engaged.
Tsuro
Players: 2-8
Ages: 8+
Tsuro keeps players engaged because it's a game that's different every time you play it. In this game, you lay tiles that create a path to safety for you, while making it harder for your opponents to beat you there.
Labyrinth
Players: 2-4
Ages: 7+
Labyrinth is all about finding the shortest way through while getting your hands on treasures and targets along the way. It's easy to get kids excited about it since it now comes in a number of themed varieties including characters they love, like Mario and Spider-Man, and franchises they can't get enough of, like Pokémon and Harry Potter.
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