Family Board Games

Board Games Can Start the Fun

Playing a board game is a great way to get family members together and involved in something they all will enjoy. The challenge of winning, combined with competing against family members of all ages, makes for a fun way to enjoy an afternoon or evening.

You don't have to preplan a board game adventure. Sometimes the most fun comes when the game playing is spontaneous. Many family dinners, rainy days, meetings of new friends and boring vacations have been saved with a board game.

Selecting Family Board Games

The best games tend to be the ones that capture and hold the attention of all members of the family, regardless of their ages or interests. Not everyone is interested in the strategy involved in Chess or the spelling skills required by Scrabble. However, most players will enjoy an easy to play game that gives them a challenge.

Junior Versions

Many of the classic adult games have introduced a "junior" version that tailors the game to a younger player. These make great family board games since both younger players and adults can get involved in the fun.

• Clue Jr. – Players of all ages can gather clues and solve the mystery.
• Trivial Pursuit - Kid's Version – This game includes trivia questions that are appropriate for players of all ages.
• Pictionary - Junior Version - Players draw clues for their team members to use to guess the name of a person, phrase, book, song, movie etc.

No Age Requirement

Some games are fun regardless of the age of the players. These games make great family board games because they can be tailored to the ages of the players.

• Older players might enjoy a fun game of Twister played with couples as teams. Twister can also be fun when the kids form a team and play against a team of older players.
• Very young players might enjoy games just because of the actions required to play the game, even if they are too young to really understand the game. For example, games that require drawing like Pictionary, singing like Encore Deluxe or games pieces like Monopoly are often enjoyed by the little ones as they play along with older players. Sometimes the little ones enjoy being involved in the game-playing fun as they take their turn tossing the dice and moving their game marker.
• Some agility-based games like Don't Break the Ice is great for any age player. It can keep little ones enthralled after a big Thanksgiving dinner or it can be equally entertaining for adults after a few margaritas.

Customize For Your Family

Everyone loves to have something that is customized, and a customized board game is always a big hit. With just a little thought you can turn a game into a special treat for all players.

• Pictionary – Give players the names of family members, favorite family expressions or things you did and saw on vacation to draw for their team.
• Monopoly – Make your own game board using the names of streets around your home.
• Clue – Rename the characters to names of family members, neighbors, friends and teachers.

Money Games

Players of all ages tend to like games in which they earn and spend money. Older players enjoy having a fist full of money while the smallest players just like arranging the colorful money in small piles. There are many money-based classic board games that you could add to your game library:

• Monopoly – Anyone can buy land, houses and hotels and then earn money by charging rent to other family members.
• The Game of Life – There are many ways to play this game and players can use whatever type of level of strategy they choose.

A Few Final Thoughts

• Get kids involved in the purchase of family board games. They will enjoy playing the game more if they had a part in selecting and buying the game.
• Trade games with other families. Sharing games is a great way to enlarge your game opportunities without spending a lot of money.
• Don't be afraid of buying used games. Garage sales and eBay are great places to pick up well-loved games at minimal prices. If you need to replace game pieces, check out the websites of the game's manufacturer or Amazon.