10 of the Best Games for Family Game Night

We love games in our house. Whenever we get together as a family — at holidays, birthdays, on vacation, whatever — we end up playing board games, and we try to have family game night as often as possible at home as well. Dave and I still argue about a particularly heated game of Scattergories that happened at the Jersey Shore approximately eight years ago, in which I attempted to earn double points by saying that a french fry was a vegetable. 

Since we often buy games as gifts for each other, I thought I’d put together a list of some of our favorite games to play with our kids. And to round out the list, I turned to my sister, who is a self-proclaimed board game geek. When I asked her for suggestions, I told her that I was looking for games for kids ages 4-14ish that parents can play without wanting to stab themselves. You know the ones. Don’t pretend you don’t.

So here’s what we came up with.

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1. Beat The Parents – Let me just say, my kids take the name of this game very seriously. I think that, out of all the times we have played this, Dave and I may have won once. The other times, we’ve gotten annihilated. In the game, kids and adults start at opposite ends of the board and attempt to move their markers to the other end by correctly answering trivia questions. The best part is that there are adult questions and kids’ questions, so each team has a fair shot at winning. Technically. Now there are a few additional versions of the game, including Beat the Parents Family Challenge and Beat the Parents Card Game, as well as a Disney version that appears to not be available currently. >> Click here to buy Beat the Parents.

2. Tenzi – It’s the simplest game ever: each player has ten dice, and everyone rolls their dice all at once to see who can be first to get 10 of the same number. When you do, you yell “Tenzi!” And this can cause hilarity to ensue, as evidenced by the time that Dave, who was going for ones, yelled “Onesie!” when he got all 10. The boys thought that was the single funniest moment of their entire short lives and still bring it up every time we play. Plus, I just discovered a set that includes a fun 77 Ways to Play Tenzi card pack that shows you… well… 77 different ways to play Tenzi. (You can also buy the 77 Ways to Play Tenzi pack on its own.) Our kids love to play, and it’s a fun game for kids and adults. And, if you want to play with more than 4 people, you can purchase additional dice sets. >> Click here to buy the Tenzi/77 Ways to Play Tenzi Set.

3. Trouble – We actually have the Cars 2 Edition of this game, in which the pop-o-matic roller is actually part of Mater’s head. HUGE hit. But regardless of the edition, this game is always such fun because of that pop-o-matic bad boy. I mean, seriously. Why do you not roll all of the dice in the world with one of these? It is so much more fun than just letting them fall out of your hand. >> Click here to buy Trouble.

4. Spot It – In this game, players attempt to be the first to spot the icon that’s the same on two cards. It sounds super easy, but it is WAY more difficult than you’d think. Our family loves this game so much that we now have numerous different versions, including the NFL version, the MLB version, and a holiday version that makes a perfect stocking stuffer. The other reason I love it is because it’s so small, you can toss it in your purse and take it anywhere. >> Click here to buy Spot It.

5. Wits & Wagers Family – I am so excited that this game comes in a family edition. We have the adult version (and by “adult version” I don’t mean “ADULT” version, I just mean a version meant for grown-ups. Get your minds out of the gutter, people), and it’s one of our favorites to play on family game night. What is so much fun about this game is that you could conceivably win the game without answering one single question right. When a question is asked, everyone writes down their guesses and then lays them out on the table, in order from smallest to largest. You then place your playing piece (called a “Meeple” — I could die at the cuteness of that) on the answer that you think is the closest to the correct answer. So even if your answer was wrong, it doesn’t matter! Great fun for kids and grown-ups alike. >> Click here to buy Wits & Wagers.

6. Labyrinth – This game is like a treasure hunt through a maze. How fun is that?? The game board moves to create a constantly changing maze, while players try to get to all seven treasures shown on their individual treasure cards. Younger kids can also play a simpler version of the game, which makes it great for all ages. >> Click here to buy Labyrinth.

7. Uno – I keep seeing all of these new versions of Uno, like Uno Attack, UNO Roboto, UNO Blast, Dos, blah blah blah, and… No. Just no. I want plain, old Uno. Snowflake, our Elf on the Shelf, brought Uno for the boys a couple of years ago, and we play it all. the. time. I love it because it’s fun, and each round is pretty quick. Unlike, say, Battleship or Monopoly, which are fun but can end up taking approximately 17 hours for one game. >> Click here to buy Uno.

8. Qwirkle – This is another one suggestion from my sister, and I think it looks like so much fun (in fact, I might just have to order this one too!). It’s a similar setup to Scrabble, but with colors and shapes instead of letters, making it much easier for younger kids. >> Click here to buy Qwirkle.

9. LCR (Left Center Right) – I will fully admit, before I had kids, I had only played this game at parties, with dollar bills (and alcohol) and would never have considered playing this game on family game night. But holy moly, do my kids get into this game — and it’s one of the simplest games ever. There are 3 dice, each of which are marked with L, C, R and a dot. You start off with 3 chips (or quarters, or pennies, or dollars … whatever you want. We have even played with M&Ms), and roll all 3 dice. Then you distribute your chips however the dice tell you (giving them to the person to the left or right of you, in the center pot, or, if you get a dot, just keeping them for yourself). The game continues until only one person has any chips left, and then they get the center pot (which is way more fun when you’re playing with money or snacks than with poker chips). >> Click here to buy LCR.

10. Googly Eyes – This game is one of the most fun games we’ve ever played — and I think it’s caused more laughter than all the games on here combined. It’s a drawing game, similar to Pictionary (which is another favorite of ours), but you have to wear one of three sets of vision-distorting glasses before you draw. Not only do you look ridiculous wearing the glasses, but it’s so hard to see what you’re drawing that it ends up being absolutely hilarious. And, if you have younger kids playing, it can help level the playing field a bit if the older kids and grownups can’t really see what the heck they’re doing! >> Click here to buy Googly Eyes.

What do you think? Did I leave off any of your favorite family game night games? Let me know if you end up getting any of these, I’d love to know what you think!!

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