Family Game Night: 10 Family Game Board Favorites

One of the most rewarding activities as a family is spending time together and having some fun. With my family, we head outdoors when the weather permits, and when the weather does not cooperate, we pull out the game boards and play some adrenaline filled games.

There are several companies that manufacture board games, but for this particular article, I will be focussing only on Hasbro – the manufacturing and creative giant of board games, games and pretty well anything child/family oriented that is in relation to entertainment.

The following ten suggestions are based on experience of raising a family of five children. Yes, board games can become intense competition to the extreme where we laugh until our sides ache. This is the best part of spending quality time together as a family. We do this every Friday night, along with a pizza and after the game, a good movie that satisfies everyone’s tastes.

10. Cranium – Family Edition

Cranium is a game that is geared for players that are ages 8 and over. It’s a game that involves multi-talents and it interactive in the sense that you are physically involved in solving the riddles and providing the clues. There are 14 different activities including sculpting with Cranium clay, sketching, acting, performing stunts and more. It will bring out the creative you and guaranteed to make you laugh.

9. Clue – Discover the Secrets

Clue is a game of intrigue and mystery. It is a game of “who dunnit” where there are 6 personalities, played by individual players, and each player receives “intrigue” cards that provide clues as to who is the murderer. There are rooms that you move through, weapons that are present and questions that you pose until you can identify the murderer. If you love murder and mystery, and are 9 years or older, you will enjoy this game.

8. Connect Four

This, technically, is not a board game unless you consider the board to be vertical, which I do. Connect Four challenges two players to drop tokens into columns in order to connect four of their tokens in a row but the opponent can block each move while aligning his tokens to win. The tokes are red or black, so it is easy to visualize and to keep track of. A great game of strategy and skill for players ages 6 and up (this age is recommended but my two year old loved this game and quite often won).

7. Operation

A classic game for children! It takes skill, a steady hand, focus and concentration while you remove game pieces from the body of the patient. The goal: remove the game piece without touching the side of the cavity or, the game will buzz and you lose your turn! Children ages 6 and over can try their operating skills in this game. For older children, add a twist of making them laugh while it is their turn!

6. Twister

Just as the name implies, this is a game that will “tie you up in knots”! Twister has been a party favourite for generations and remains one of the top sellers. It’s a game of laughs, flexibility, balance and concentration, especially if you are ticklish or laugh easily. Teens love this game as much as the younger children. The recommended age is from 6 and up but, again, my children began playing this game when they 2 years old. Get ready, and twist!

5. The Game of Life

Modelled after what we can encounter in the real world, The Game of Life has entertained families for over 50 years. Each player will be taken down the path of life with each roll of the dice and with each decision that he makes. Accumulate wealth, or not, decide to help others, or not, go to college, or not. Whichever your decision, it will determine how your life unfolds in this game. The Game of Life – from the beginning to retirement – can be enjoyed for players ages 9 and up!

4. Trouble

The board is unique in this game as there is a bubble that you push which, in turn, pops the die that are in it to roll. There are four sets of coloured pawns with four in each color category. The goal is to move the pawns to the safe home spot without being bumped back to the start. This is a great learning game for players ages 5 and up. I do not recommend this for younger children as the pawns, and the die if removed, can be choking hazards due to their size. Don’t be troubled when playing Trouble!

3. Mouse Trap

An educational game, without appearing as one! Players ages 6 and up will learn to build a mouse trap with each roll of the dice. It involves gears, pulleys, levers, switches, and of course, mice. Build your trap and catch your opponent’s mouse before they catch yours!

2. Sorry!

One of the easiest games to learn to play for players ages 6 and up (again, my sons at two years of age were able to play this game, but I replaced the small pawns with large tokens so that he could not place them in his mouth). This game involves a deck of cards and each card has a number on it. There are four sets of pawns, and four pawns in each set. There are no die, as the cards act as the number that you move your token forward. Certain numbers allow you to move your pawn with specific manoeuvres, while others are simply “move forward”. The game’s name Sorry is derived from the card that is labelled “Sorry” as this card will send your token back to the beginning while the player who plays the card, moves his pawn to your spot. Move your pawns around the board to their home before the other players while being careful not to be sent back to the beginning. Truly a classic family chosen by families for over 60 years and continues to be a favourite choice.

1. Monopoly

Monopoly is one of my family’s all-time favourite games. This is a game of buying, trading and building an empire on property. There is plenty of strategy involved and preplanning to maximize the properties to your advantage. The only goal in this game is to accumulate the greatest amount of wealth as the one with the most wealth wins. My six year old loves this game, and has a knack for buying and trading properties so that he can build houses and hotels. Monopoly is a game that can be played by younger players, recommended age is 8, to older players aged 99 and up! Be prepared for hours of endless entertainment and with 13 different themed games, hours can become months of countless hours of fun!

Copyright Beth100

© March 4, 2010