Family game night is a great way to keep your family connected on a regular basis. Establishing one night per week where you all hang out together and enjoy some time as a family is important for bonding, connecting, and the emotional development of your children (even teenagers). The games listed below are perfect for your next family game night.
Family Game Night- Games for the Younger Crowd
If you are looking for games that will appease to the younger kids in your family, this is the list for you. These games will not only be easy for them to play but will also keep them engaged and entertained the whole way through. These games are perfect for kids in the age ranges of 3 to 10 years old.
1. Race to the Treasure Game
This cooperative game is great for the younger crowd. Working together your children will build a path to collect three keys before the Ogre gets to the treasure! It is a fun way to work together instead of competing against one another- everyone plays and everyone wins (or loses if the Ogre gets there first!).
2. Buzz! The Bizzy Buzzy Beat the Bear
Another great game from Peaceable Kingdom is Buzz! The Bizzy Buzzy Beat the Bear game. Working together you and your children will work to collect nectar drops from the honey jar before the bear gets to the hive! This game is great for kids ages 4 and older, and helps children work on planning skills and visual discrimination.
3. Mermaid Island
In this game, your children will work to help the mermaids swim back to Mermaid Island before the evil Sea Witch gets there. If they are able to get all the mermaids back in time, the whole group wins! This is a perfect game for children ages 5 and older and up to 6 players can play at the same time.
4. Stone Soup
Named for the classic folk tale, Stone Soup is a matching game where your family will work together to make your own stone soup. When an ingredient is matched together, it can go into the pot. Once all ingredients are matched you will have your very own stone soup! Stone Soup is great for kids 5 years old and older.
5. Fish Stix
Another cooperative game, Fish Stix is good for children ages 6 and older. It can be played as a strategy game where every time they add matching sticks to the board they count the number of fish, or without strategy for the younger players. As the board grows, so does the game. It is fun to play and different every time, which makes it a great addition to your family board game collection.
6. Catch
Working together as a team, your family has to surround the mouse with all 4 cats before the mouse can reach the fence. If the mouse gets there before the cats can gather ’round, then everyone loses. But if you get all the cats around the mouse by working together and using some strategy then you all win! It is a game designed for kids 6 years and older.
7. SparkleKitty
This adorably cute and silly card game is perfect for all ages and genders. Each player is a kitty that was locked in a tower by an evil princess, and using the cards you will have to come up with sweet and silly words to escape. The first one to escape wins!
8. Kitty Bitty
This cute and sweet memory matching game will help to reinforce your little one’s color recognition and memory skills all while having fun. The kittens want to play but mommy cats are trying to get them to nap. By rolling the dice you can remove one eye from the mommy cat and if she doesn’t catch you, you can advance to the next yarn ball. First one to the basket wins! For ages 4 and up, this game can be played with the youngest ones in the family, too.
9. Mindo Kitten
As their first ever logic game, your child will have to match the game card using the tiles they have. The pieces only fit in that board, so they have to use logic and strategy to pick the right tiles that will fit and match the game card chosen. This is a solo player game and it has four different levels of difficulty so even the older kids can play!
10. Brain Connect
This four player puzzle game is a race against the clock. Each player has their own puzzle board. They must connect the red lines together as shown on the drawing card and then act out the picture on the card drawn. Once they have done that, they win the round. The first player to collect ten cards wins! This game is intended for children 8 years and older, but if you have younger kids you can act as a team as well.
11. Dr. Microbe
This game is for all the future scientists in the house! Work to help Dr. Microbe figure out what is needed in her petri dish by searching for the microbe missing on your game card. The microbes are different colors and shapes, making it a race against other players to find the exact one you need. This game is for ages 8 and up and can be played with 2 to 4 players.
12. HedBanz
In this fun and silly game, each player wears a headband on their head. They place a card inside the headband without looking. The player can ask yes or no questions to find out what is on their card. Each player takes turns asking a question and the first person to guess what they are wins.
13. Ukloo Riddle
In this game your children will read clues and solve riddles to get to the next scavenger hunt item on the list. Some of the cards involve active play, so it is a great game to get the family up and moving all while working on their reading and comprehension skills. Perfect for ages 7 years old and up.
14. The Game Plan
Everybody needs a game plan. In this feelings management, safety and life skills game children will discuss bullying, teasing, personal safety, and more. Players roll the dice and pick a card from the color coordinating pile. They will answer the question which can lead to deeper discussions with family members about important topics. It’s a fun way to have tough conversations.
15. Harry Potter Triwizard Tournament
Join Harry Potter in this pop-and-go game. Race to the end of the board before the other players, but be wary of spells that can send you all the way back to the start. Great for younger players who love Harry Potter but are not ready for strategy games just yet!
16. Equilibrio
In this fun game, you have to work together to recreate the image on the playing card using the blocks. But be careful- any second all of those blocks could topple over! It is a fun, educational game that works on strategy, problem solving, hand-eye coordination, and STEM skills. And it will have the whole family laughing!
17. Equilibrium
In this active game, kids (and parents) have to mimic the poses they see on their cards. It is a great way to not only have fun together doing silly actions, but also a way to get up and get moving. It is perfect for cold winter snow days and extra hot summer days, too!
Family Game Night- Games for Older Kids
Trying to find a game for pre-teens and teens that are fun and not totally lame can be a difficult task for a parent. But the games listed below are fun, funny, and enjoyable for the older kids (and even the adults!).
1. Fake News
It’s all you hear every time you turn on the news- “It’s all just fake news!” they say. Well, with Fake News by Breaking Games you get to decide what the headlines say. The most hilarious headline gets the points, and the player with the most points at the ends wins! Great for ages 13 and up if you have older kids in the home this one is for them.
2. Game of Phones
Perfect for those teens who are always on their phones anyways, Game of Phones has you actually use your smartphone to find the most hilarious headlines given prompts set out by the game. The prompts are family friendly but the answers might not be! Three or more players are needed for this game, and it is best suited for teenagers and adults.
3. MIXTAPE
This game is for music lovers. Each player picks a scenario, and the other players will find a song on their smartphone or tablet that they feel best represents that moment or action to be played as a soundtrack for that person. This game is intended for ages 13 years and older and for more than 3 players at a time.
4. Poop the Game
This game can be played with kids 6 years and older, but might be best suited for teens or adults. Each player receives a set number of cards, and the first player to get rid of their cards wins. Some of the cards have you doing crazy acts. Don’t clog the toilet before you get rid of your cards!
5. The King’s Abbey
Transport yourself back to the Middle Ages with this worker placement and strategic resource game. Your goal is to build the most magnificent abbey in all the land to defend against the darkness that is threatening to take over. The game can be played solo or with up to 5 players, making it a great game for teens and parents to play together.
6. Rise of Tribes
In this game, players will work to take their tribe through new lands, harvest new resources, and create a legacy as they take their tribe to greatness. They will build villages, raid neighbors, and take different strategies to make their village the greatest. For ages 10 and up, this is a game that might take awhile so settle in and enjoy it with the family.
7. Scarabya
This strategy family board game leads players on an archaeological expedition through Ancient Egypt, the frozen Arctic, the Amazon river basin, and the Bermuda Triangle to find the golden scarabs. Players will have to find the best way to excavate and track the scarabs before the other archaeological teams get there. The player who has the most scarabs at the end of the game wins.
8. Word Q
If word play and crossword puzzles are your thing, then Word Q needs to be added to the family game night rotation. This fun brainteaser game can be made as difficult as you want. Each player is given a letter to start and has to create a word down each row and each column. This game can be played solo, on teams, or as a family by racing against each other.
9. Bundle
An innovative game that you can personalize to your family, Bundle relives memories or starts discussions on events or topics important to your family. You can personalize with names, inside jokes, and other important family events as you move towards the winning spot. Some of the steps take you backwards and some have you jump leaps and bounds, both literally and figuratively as you may have to act out some of the cards! It is a fun way to bring the family closer together.
10. Harry Potter and the Magical Beasts
Do you have a Harry Potter fanatic at home? This game is reminiscent of the movies and will have all the players feeling like they are Harry Potter themselves. Players will go in and out of Hogwarts to catch all of the beasts. The first one to match all of the clues and to figure out which beast they have caught wins!
Family game night is a fun way to get the family connected after a long week of school and after-school activities. You can reconnect, rebuild, and bond through fun games that are perfect for everyone to enjoy, both young and older. These 26 games will have everyone laughing, giggling, and having fun each and every week!
WANT TO READ MORE?
Check out this article on Movin’ and Groovin’: Fun Games to Play with your Child.
