Best for Teenagers: Prospero Hall The Shining Board Game. Team up and play Codenames, an espionage-themed guessing game. Best Overall1 MindWare Qwirkle Board Game Photo: amazon.com Check Latest Price Qwirkle is a strategic but simple dominoes-like matching game for two to four players, ages six and up. Players flex their deductive reasoning skills with the game’s simple question-and-answer premise: What am I? We like the game because it employs artistic interpretation and creative thinking, and lots of humor. Well, for starters, this is a six-foot-long board game, so you'll win over the kids with its sheer epicness upon foldout. It’s premise? Get six tiles in a row and you’ve made a Qwirkle. 20 board games and puzzles for the best family game night. Who doesn’t love dragons, treasure, and wizards? It’s a simple, two-player game that consists of a rack and checker-like pieces. A hint: Start in Australia. The rules are loose, so players can decide which answers are correct and which are not. Warning: Unlike other board games on the list, this one may also leave you wanting to renovate the master bath. This fill-in-the-blank game, a riff on the popular Cards Against Humanity (definitely not for the kids! The game can be played by teams, so it encourages collaboration. It’s also great for one-on-one parent and child time. There aren’t a ton of cards, gadgets, or pieces, one of the reasons it’s affordable. Telestrations is like a sketching and word-guessing game crossed with the old game of Telephone. Then, it is time for the big reveal. To play, contestants roll the dice to get resources that let them build a new settlement or upgrade an existing one. Also: This means they'll grow up to be engineers, right? There’s enough headwork in this game to make it interesting for both beginners and experienced players. The basic premise of Qwirkle? (Turns out those don't skip a generation.). Players take turns in the “hot seat,” getting a point each time they come up with answers before a timer goes off. It’s also great for one-on-one parent and child time. Be the first player to form a line of your colored discs. Yes, there's lots of potty humor here, and some innuendos for the adults, but even your hard-to-please tween will be caught laughing. Move around the board as your favorite character from the PBS hit — dibs on Dowager Countess! The goal? — compatible with Alexa, which means you can skip the rule book and have the device walk you through how it works. We like that Catan lends itself to story building. Sequence Family Board Game. The rules are loose, so players can decide which answers are correct and which are not. Two to four players race around Busytown solving mysteries and finding hidden objects with characters like Huckle Cat and Lowly Worm. Family game nights are fun, competitive, and absolutely unquestionably necessary for the perfect night in. The 85-year-old game lets you buy, trade, and sell property with fake money until you become a real estate king and drive your fellow players into bankruptcy. For holiday gatherings, vacations and family game nights, Ticket to Ride is your ticket to family board game fun. Players take turns in the “hot seat,” getting a point each time they come up with answers before a timer goes off. And with these board games for families, couples and even solo players to play virtually, they're all just a few clicks away. A typical game lasts between one and four hours, so it’s a good way to spend a day indoors. Players must strategize on the best place to build their city and how to get points by doing things like buying development cards and raising an army. Bonus: Maybe, just maybe, it'll foster an appreciation for vegetables? There’s something for everyone in this game. (Child-whisperer Willems also worked on Sesame Street and The Muppets, so the man knows how to speak "kid" while keeping grownups engaged.) Each house counts as a point, cities as two points, and the first person to reach 10 points wins. Little kids can develop shape and color recognition skills playing Qwirkle, while older players can get deep into logic and strategy. CHECK PRICE ON AMAZON. The premise? Having fun is important right now. A round lasts 20 to 30 minutes, and it’s good for repetitive play. The 20 Best Board Games for Kids, According to Parents and Experts Families gave these fun board games the highest marks. Players build rows of tiles in the same color or shape. To play, contestants roll the dice to get resources that let them build a new settlement or upgrade an existing one. Play this instead of: Life. Codenames is a good party game because it can be taught in just a few minutes, and games last between 15 and 30 minutes. The book is passed again, and the next player reads the guess, turns the page, and sketches the guess. The goal of Busytown: Get to Picnic Island before the pigs eat all the food. Best board games 2020: For adults, families, two players, and more By Kelly Kaliszewski September 27, 2020 In case you missed it, board games have gotten really good recently. Whoever has the most points when the game ends is the winner. The classic version of Monopoly is suitable for older kids (8 and up) and adults, but there is a simplified version for kids as young as five (Monopoly Jr.). Scurry around the board while stealing cheese wedges — the first to six wins — while trying your best to evade the coolest-ever cause-and-effect contraption. Each player is dealt an identity card to place in their headband, without peeking at it. 41 Best Matching Family Christmas Pajamas, 31 Best Kitchen Gifts for At-Home Bakers and Cooks, 15 Best Christmas Tree Stands to Buy This Year, The Game: Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, The Game of Life: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Edition. Kids learn to win or lose, together. Fortunately, it remains just as resonant with today's kids, who, no surprise, also inherited a sweet tooth. Country Living editors select each product featured. This nautical classic gets a light electronic upgrade, with sound and lighting effects to bring your shots to life. (It's like the decorative tile-loving hashtag #IHaveThisThingWithFloors has come to life in game board form!) This award-winning board game is a crowd-pleasing cross-country adventure in which players collect and play cards to claim routes across North America. Little kids can develop shape and color recognition skills playing Qwirkle, while older players can get deep into logic and strategy. In this eye-pleasing diversion, players — make that artisans — compete to decorate a royal palace with beautiful mosaic tiles. Board games can also strengthen kids’ brains and help with language development. It’s a fast game, too, good for the short attention spans of small children, with a round taking less than 15 minutes to complete. It’s a simple, two-player game that consists of a rack and checker-like pieces. If you like Minecraft, you’ll like Catan, a board game where you build a civilization with cities, roads, armies, and settlements all while keeping an eye out for the robber. Kids aged 3 years and up will love Busytown, Eye Found It, which is full of classic children’s book illustrator Richard Scarry’s adorable animals and bustling cityscapes. Players give up a chip for each correct guess, and the first player to run out of chips is the winner.We like that kids practice critical thinking and deductive reasoning skills, while kids and adults have fun playing a silly game. Get six tiles in a row and you’ve made a Qwirkle. — send your opponent back to the beginning as you make your way around. There’s enough headwork in this game to make it interesting for both beginners and experienced players. Welcome! Players immerse themselves in this fantasy world for around an hour. Ahead, the variety in these family board game recommendations may lead you to a crowd-pleaser for the next game night. Sure, there are less pricey options available, but a timeless, generation-spanning game like Scrabble is practically a family H-E-I-R-L-O-O-M and well worth a splurge. Take, for example, this reintroduction of a 1958 edition featuring vintage graphics (thump), classic wooden pawns (thump, thump), and collectible packaging (thump, thump, thump). (“You’re going down, dad!”) It’s also likely why board games, like puzzles, are suddenly trending with a younger generation looking to escape the assorted pressures of social media in the name of simpler, old-fashioned, technology-free pursuits. Players each get a sketchbook, draw a card and pick a word, write it in their sketchbook, then turn the page and sketch the word. Join Mickey and company through 12 illustrated, familiar-to-Disney-fan worlds, from Wonderland to Neverland, while using your mini mouse ears to locate hidden pictures along the way. Try to find fame and fortune against a backdrop of 1950s New York City. You sank my submarine! Players can use cards to block opponents from exiting from the maze, or to expedite their own exit. Two to four players race around Busytown solving mysteries and finding hidden objects with characters like Huckle Cat and Lowly Worm. Players also decide how long the game lasts. It’s a fun first board game for little ones. Is he wearing a hat? 20 Best Board Games for the Whole Family. Players each get a sketchbook, draw a card and pick a word, write it in their sketchbook, then turn the page and sketch the word. Labyrinth wraps all those figures into a creative storyline and strategic game that makes it fun for players of all ages. See More Reviews. Candyland remains a marzipan-lined memory lane for older players who will find refuge in its peppermint forest, lollipop palace, and licorice lagoon. Pass go and collect $200! Those Ceramic Christmas Trees Are Worth How Much?! In this case, a valuable object has been stolen (hooray, no one was murdered!) The goal? (Fortunately, it's a visual feast for kids, too!) It comes with a deck of cards with 576 questions, so while the game moves fast, you could play all evening. Rival Spymasters know who the agents are and give their teammates clues, who guess identities while trying to avoid an assassin.