Highlights
- Board games offer a more engaging and interactive family activity, promoting communication and bonding.
- Disney Villains: The Card Game features iconic baddies and is easy for all ages to understand.
- Goats’ Day Out is a strategic and silly game that guarantees lots of laughs and is reasonably priced.
Board games are a great way to liven up family time. They’re a break from the usual TV and movies, and offer something more engaging and interactive. Rather than spending time in the same space, board games ensure you actually spend time communicating with your family. There are plenty of board games out there you can play with all members of the family, especially your kids.
There are board games of numerous genres that can be played by everyone in the family, but it’s the kids we need to worry about the most. So, we’ve curated a list of board games that make for a great time with your children. Sure, you may need to remind them of the rules now and then, but it’s a great way to get them into your favourite hobby.
Best Board Games For Families
Disney Villains: The Card Game
Best Card Game
Disney Has The Best Baddies
Disney Villains: The Card Game tasks players with creating a deck of iconic baddies from throughout Disney history. Scar, Jafar, Ursula, they’re all in there, and Disney’s heroes are trying to stop you from assembling them and enacting their evil plans. A simple game to pick up and play suitable for all the family.
- Very easy for almost all ages to understand
- Effectively a classic card game with an evil Disney twist
- Just about every iconic Disney villain is in here
- Basically just a fancy set of Disney playing cards
Disney has a real talent when it comes to creating villains. That’s a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it makes Disney movies that much better. A curse because it ultimately means fans love the villains too. Rather than dial back the quality of its baddies, Disney has made merch like Disney Villains: The Card Game. In this game’s universe, players are the villains, assembling a team of baddies and henchmen to take down the heroes. A card game that turns the Disney formula on its head, is a lot of fun, and is very easy to understand.
Goats’ Day Out
Best Value
Fill Those Bellies
Goats have escaped from a local petting zoo and now they’re eating everything in sight. Your goal in Goats’ Day Out isn’t to stop them, but to help them. Move around the board, strategically choosing what your goat eats as you try to become the first player to fill their farm animal’s tummy.
- Equal parts strategic and silly
- Guaranteed to get lots of laughs
- Very reasonably priced
- Not as simple as it looks
Animals escaping from a zoo is usually a reason to panic. Not when that zoo is a petting zoo, and the animals running riot are goats. You might have been a little panicked had you been tasked with rounding up the goats, but that’s not the goal here. In Goats’ Day Out, you are the goats, and all you need to do is eat as much as you can get your grubby little hooves on. That won’t be as simple as it sounds, though. The goats’ bellies are a very specific shape which means you can’t just cram anything in there, and the routes you take and what lies ahead shift all the time.
That’s Not A Hat
Best Quick Game
Can A Traffic Cone Not Be A Hat?
That’s Not A Hat is a simple yet captivating game that tests both your memory and your ability to deceive. Cards that represent gifts are shown, flipped, and passed around, and you have to either remember what’s on them or convince everyone you do as you pass them to someone else.
- Very easy to pick up and play
- High replay value
- Very cheap
When most people hear the term board game, they probably think of sitting around a big square while someone explains an elaborate set of rules, hours of their life set aside so they can play it. Not all board games need to be that. It’s Not A Hat is the exact opposite. The rules are easy to understand, there are no board and game pieces to keep track of, and a round could be all done in ten minutes. All you need are the cards. Cards are flipped over and players need to remember what’s on them. Either be honest, if your memory is good enough, or bluff well enough that your rivals believe you can remember what’s on the cards.
Sushi Go Party!
Best Deck Building Game
Teach your kids about deck building and tempura in one go
A great twist on the classic card game. Sushi Go Party! is a great way to spend time with the family, especially if its sushi night. The adorable sushi art will not only be fun for the kids, but will also whet your appetite for the maki rolls later on.
- Adorable artwork.
- Simple ruleset.
- Games don’t last too long.
Most kids take a while to develop a taste for sushi, and deck building. Sushi Go Party! is a great way to introduce them to both these amazing things in a fun way. Besides, with most of the rules explained on the cards themselves, it’ll be easy to teach everyone how to play this game.
Codenames
Best Deduction Game
Junior spymaster
Here’s one to keep everyone on their toes. One player from each team must use an alphanumeric code to indicate which card on the table is the spy. While this may be a bit advanced for younger kids, it’s a great team-based game to play with the family. The goofy art also helps keep it fun.
- Relatively easy ruleset.
- High replayability value.
- Requires four or more players.
Codenames makes for a great party game, but that doesn’t mean you need to be having an actual party to play it. As long as there are four or more players, a game of Codename can create absolute chaos during family time. Hopefully, real spies don’t have it this bad in their line of work.
Wingspan
Best Art
For future bird lovers
Wingspan is a beautifully designed game that’s perfect for family game night. The water colour art of the birds is a great way to teach your kids about our feathery friends, as they even have some bird facts printed below each image. The goal of the game is to build the best bird sanctuary.
- Gorgeous water colour art.
- Great way to learn more about birds.
- Fun set pieces.
Everybody loves birds. So, why not spend family game night trying to build a sanctuary for them? Sure, it will teach your kids a bit about birds, but Wingspan will also teach them some beginner level strategy. The water colours on the cards is the highlight of this board game, and may even spark your child’s interest in art.
Pandemic Legacy: Season 1
Best Strategy Board Game
Save the world as a family
This one is definitely for older kids, as you may want to shield your younger ones from the difficulty of living through a pandemic. However, nothing is more special on game night than saving the world as a family. You may need to assist your kids with their next moves a bit, but Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 is a great starting point for getting into strategy co-op games.
- Great for teaching your children about working together.
- Could spark an interest in medicine.
- Prompts strategy-based discussions with your kids.
Forming a plan, executing it, and adapting when things don’t go as planned is all part and parcel of a family trip. So, what better way to train for this as a family than a game of Pandemic Legacy: Season 1? It requires a bit more complex strategy, so it’s ideal for kids who are a bit older.
Azul
Best Tile Game
Tiles are more complicated than they look
Azul may be the simplest looking game on this list, but I can assure you it’s not as easy as you may think. Strategically placing tiles to maximize your points is not only more difficult than it looks, but also makes for a great brain exercise for the kids. Who knows, maybe it will also improve their spatial awareness.
- Beautifully designed tiles and boards.
- Great for training spatial awareness and math.
- Simpler puzzle mechanics.
- Can only be played by a maximum of four players
Azul is not only a pretty looking game, but also requires strategy with an element of puzzle solving. It may not seem like the most fun game for younger kids, but once they grow to appreciate puzzles and matching, Azul may become a regular at your family game nights.
Santorini
Best Abstract Strategy Board Game
By the gods
While the game itself is fun, there are a number of things we can all learn from Santorini. It’s a great tile-based movement board game that rewards strategic gameplay. However, it also teaches us about the ancient Greek pantheon. Thankfully, it includes PG-13 versions of the gods, and doesn’t mention their more ‘adventurous’ exploits.
- Great art and cute looking set pieces.
- Introduction to Greek mythology.
Santorini, while being a strategy tile-based game, is pretty simple in terms of gameplay. The aim is to be the first to get to the top of a three-story tower. It’s a great introduction to beginner level strategy, and the cards may even pique an interest in Greek mythology.
FAQ
Are board games good for families?
Board games are a great way to spend time with your family as they encourage communication and also boost mental health and knowledge.
What is the world’s most famous board game?
Based on the number of republished editions and translations, Monopoly can be considered the most popular board game.
Which is the toughest board game in the world?
Chess is believed to be one of the toughest board games, due to its various approaches and strategies.