One of our favorite activities as a family is family game night. It’s even become a sort of tradition in our house: After a long week of work, we’ll usually unwind on Friday or Saturday with an easy dinner and some fun board games.
Much of the tradition is sparked by Ted’s life-long love of board games. Even though we already have an entire wall in our living room dedicated to storing dozens and dozens of board games, don’t be surprised to see Ted combing through the selection at one of Pittsburgh’s games stores!
Ted loves visiting local game stores!
Ted’s energy is infectious, and the entire family loves gathering around the table for a good game!
Today, we looked through our wide selection to recommend the very best board games for your next family game night. And since our kids are so young, we’re being sure to include games your entire family can enjoy, regardless of their age!
Cooperative Board Games
One thing parenthood has taught us: Playing cooperative board games on family game night removes much of the competition among siblings, and the entire night goes a lot smoother. Because of that, we’ve built quite a collection of cooperative board games! Here are some of our favorites:
MicroMacro: Crime City - Full House
Game Type: Cooperative
About: The original MicroMacro: Crime City is an exciting crime-solving game featuring murders, robberies, and other serious incidents. But the Full House version tones it down into family-friendly mysteries for everyone to solve together. As a group, you’ll collect clues about where different characters have traveled around the city, and you’ll use these nuggets of evidence to crack each case!
Cuphead: Fast Rolling Dice Game
Game Type: Cooperative
About: This dice game is based on the popular video game, and it’s arguably just as hard! Cuphead: Fast Rolling Dice Game is one of those games that takes 5 minutes to learn and 10 minutes to lose—while having plenty of fun in the process. Together, you and your team will work to defeat a variety of bosses by frantically rolling dice.
Fireball Island
Game Type: Cooperative
About: Fireball Island is a fun game geared toward young kids. It comes with a giant, interactive map with dice and balls that roll down ramps and potentially knock over character pieces. As a combination of classics like Sorry and Chutes and Ladders, Fireball Island is a fun, fast-paced game.
Return to the Dark Tower
Game Type: Cooperative or Competitive
About: Return to the Dark Tower is a great game for people who are interested in epic series like Dungeons & Dragon, Magic, and even classic dungeon-crawling RPGs, as it contains many of the same dangerous foes and magical entities. In a typical session, you’ll defend the tower from various enemies hellbent on taking it over. Though the game’s roots in classic RPGs may seem intimidating, it’s an easy-to-comprehend game with straightforward rules—so it’s suitable for the whole family.
Competitive Board Games
While cooperative board games are certainly fun and prevent much of the bickering kids are bound to get into, we do enjoy pulling out a competitive board game from time to time! Here are a few that we’re currently into:
Azul
Game Type: Competitive
About: Azul is an abstract game where players work with colorful tile sets as they try to develop specific patterns. This award-winning game is simple enough that our kids can play on their own, but it’s also fun enough that Ted and I will jump in when we can. Plus, since it’s such a popular game, you can also find it at major stores like Target!
Roll Through the Ages
Game Type: Competitive
About: Roll Through the Ages is a quick, competitive dice-rolling game like Yahtzee, but instead of building combinations, you’re building civilizations by collecting different resources. This is a game that can be learned quickly, and games generally last somewhere between 20-40 minutes at a time.
7 Wonders: Architects
Game Type: Competitive
About: 7 Wonders: Architects can accommodate up to seven people at a time, and it’s simple enough that even our three-year-old can hop in for a game. In 7 Wonders: Architects, players race to complete an architectural wonder by collecting different resources.
Wits & Wagers
Game Type: Competitive
About: Wits & Wagers is a trivia game with a nice family-friend twist: Every answer is a number. That means all of our kids can jump in regardless of their knowledge of the topic because all they have to do is guess a number! And although it’s a trivia game, it’s really a party game at heart, so it’s always fun!
Patchwork
Game Type: Competitive
About: Patchwork is a little like 2-player Tetris. Essentially, both players compete to create the most aesthetically pleasing patchwork quilt, and their efforts are rewarded with a score. The highest score wins!
MIND MGMT: The Psychic Espionage
Game Type: Competitive
About: This is a campaign-style game based on a comic book of the same name. Set during the Cold War, MIND MGMT is a game of one versus many, where a Recruiter must scour the city for recruits—while everyone else works to stop them. Although it sounds complicated, it’s an easy one to pick up!
What Are You Playing Next?
These games have brought us hours of fun over the years, and we hope you enjoy them as well!
Cheers,
Julie & Ted