We are HUGE game playing family! and I’m so excited that my kids are finally out of the candy land game stage! Now we can all play games we all enjoy!!! I’ve got a great roundup of alll the ones we love (my kids are 6 1/2, 9 and 11!)
Our awesome library actually rents out board games…so I love that we get to try before we buy!
We have actually found a few of our favorites this way!
(psst. this post contains affiliate links!)
1. SPOT IT
guys. This game is only $10. and it is our FAVORITE. Each set of cards have a single picture that matches. first one to find it wins.
There are 5 different ways to play…And sometimes when the kids go to bed me and husband race to see who can get rid of their pile of cards the fastest. Â (i’m the reigning champ! booyah!)
(There is also a frozen version!)
2. AGGRAVATION
Like sorry…you roll dice and try to get all your marbles around the board and back home without anyone landing on your color marble…cause that means you have to go back home! We all love it…and the more you play the longer it takes—so many marbles and so many ways to aggravate people!
3. YAHTZEE
an oldie…but goodie! We just taught our kids this three weeks ago…and we have played about 14 times since!!! The little one needs a little help with the small and large runs..but other than that she’s good to go!
4. HEDBANZ.
a great game–like 20 questions but you get to wear it on your head! We have actually used recipe cards and wrote our own to play! Only $11!
5. BLOKUS
If you love tetris….you will LOVE BLOKUS. You each have a color and are only allowed to have your corners touch. All different sizes and shapes and you it starts to get pretty cramped as you spread across the board! My kids will just make designs with the game board!
 Green cards and red cards. One person lays down a green card that has an adjective on it. Then you pick from your list of red cards that one that fits that adjective the best….
its super fun to guess who picks what. They also have an apple to apple junior version. But I just go through our box and pull out all the kid friendly ones beforehand!
7.TENZI
We got to play this at Christmas….so it was new to us. But we all love it. Lots of different ways to play and if you know your numbers than you can play! (great to learn numbers too!)
We haven’t bought this yet…but we love it! You roll the dice and make up stories (okay…there are bunch of other ways to play) but we like to make up stories. Sometimes we go around in a circle and one person starts the story and then pauses and picks someone and they have to roll their dice and add in another fun element!
9.CURSES
Imagine trying to talk like a cowboy…while having to raise your hand anytime someone says your name….slapping yourself in the face anytime you read a card…and try to get your neighbor to switch seats.
that’s curses.
10.QWIRKLE
like uno, scrabble, dominoes all mixed into one. You can only have one color matching…or a set matching to make rows…you can only play 3 at a time and you get points for the lines you make (we don’t keep score….we just like to play)
11. SCATTERGORIES
Roll the dice. get a letter and try to fill out all the fun catergories with that letter. It’s hilarious listening to what your 9 year old comes up with. (we don’t use the timer FYI…we let the kids take their time (within reason!)
12. TICKET TO RIDE
Sheldon would love this games…TRAINS! you get a few cards that have two places on it. Your objective..if you chose to accept it…is to connect the place with train tracks. the longer the tracks…the more points! My six year old needs a little help. We play together as a team!
Like connect four…you have to get four in a row…but you have flip it on to this double game board…and you have to move fast because the other person can cover your pieces with theirs!
14. THE GAME OF LIFE
I love this game for two reasons: A. nostalgia And B. I think it gives a good insight to real life (kinda) insurance and kids and school and stuff like that. my kids think there is a money tree in our backyard! Gave them a small idea about all the stuff we have to fork over!
15. CLUE JR.
Just like clue..but you have to find out who ate the cake…! and with what drink! Its seriously way fun and way similar to the regular clue…just no murdering. 🙂
16. CRANIUM FAMILY FUN
scored this at the thrift store for $2. best two bucks spend ever! Now…don’t get this confused with the regular cranium game for adults. This one is a BLAST. Walking like a crab with a frog on your stomach. Copy a picture with colored cubes. Unscramble letters. Try to figure out what the zoomed in pictures are…win lose or draw with eyes closed, sculpt stuff out of playdoh! My kids are always sad when someone wins! It goes by too fast!
We also have CADOO from cranium. it’s awesome as well. Im pretty sure if it says cranium you will love it!
17.SEQUENCE
Like bingo but better! We have the adult version and the kids play that just fine!
18. RUMMIKUB
Love this game. You can either lay down colors or a run in sets of 3..you can swap out to make new sets and play off each others. (another great number learning game!)
19. MAD GAB
20. PICTUREKA!
a fun look and find!
we also love BATTLESHIP, PHASE 10, GUESS WHO, JENGA, PERFECTION
What’s your favorite game???
Haley Grossman says
I seriously own like over half of the games you listed. My favorites (well me and my 6,7 and 8 yr old) are yahtzee, anything cranium (what kid wouldn’t want to sculpt a turtle out of playdoh), and life (the zAPPed edition that you play on an i-pad). Other favorites are beat the parents (a game that pits kids against parents…kids are given questions or tasks that parents should know and parents are given ones that kids should know), don’t say it (which is like taboo but for kids) and other old school games like backgammon and cribbage. I grew up playing backgammon and cribbage with my dad, and they are still my favorites today. If kids can count, they can play backgammon. Cribbage is a little more challenging and requires some math, but is totally addicting. Thanks for sharing such a great list.
Kimbo says
we got beat the parents for Christmas! I forgot we had it!