HaleyFrom card games to board games to team games, check out our favorite family game night picks to get inspiration for your own crew.
Growing up, both my husband and I loved games. Though I grew up on the likes of Scrabble, Hangman, Boggle and Upwords, my kids (well, really my boys) aren’t lovers of words the way I was as a child. In fact, a game revolving around spelling would act more as a punishment for them than a reward of fun.
Instead, my boys love trivia, strategy, games of chance, loud cheering and competition. Least to say, we’ve acquired a mix of family game night options over the years that we’ve tweaked as my kids have gotten older.
The past few Christmases, we’ve developed a new tradition where we gift the kids with games on Christmas Eve. With all that pent up excitement for Christmas morning, this game night tradition is a way to funnel all that enthusiasm before the big day. This is a just an idea for you to begin making game nights a regular occurrence in your home.
If you need ideas for where to begin, check out this list of 15 family game night favorites that we enjoy regularly.
Bible Trivia
My oldest three kids (nearly 9 to 12 years old) absolutely love trivia. And what better way to learn about the Bible and provoke thoughtful conversations than with Bible Trivia? We love that this game has questions for both kids and adults, along with references to verses where the answer lies. If we are short on time to play the full game, we will simply take trivia cards and do flash rounds where we ask one person all the questions on one card and he or she has 5 seconds to answer each question.
Blockus XL
Blockus XL is a new-to-us game that my kids received last Christmas. While it is limited to four players, my oldest three kids love playing with me or my husband. It’s a super fun strategy game involving spacial awareness and split-second critical thinking while anticipating future moves.
Clue
Clue is a nostalgic game for many parents, and that’s exactly why we gifted this basic, yet classic game to our kids a couple Christmases ago. They never seem to tire of figuring out the “whodunit,” and we often play two or three times in one sitting. The only caveat with this game is getting younger kids to accurately respond with the right cards when another player makes a guess. We simply have to ask them a second time to make sure they look at all their cards to respond correctly when another player makes a guess.
Farkle
My husband’s family grew up playing this funnily named dice game of Farkle. Though the scoring takes a while to get used to, this game is fun for kids ages 7+ if you have an adult who can help to keep score. It’s super easy to take on the go and comes in a great little carrying case. Just make sure you don’t lose any of the dice!
Golf
My husband taught me the card game of Golf years ago, and we have since taught our kids, who now love it. This is the perfect game to play if you’re short on time—as we are many nights—and realize our family has 20 minutes of free time before we start the bedtime routine. We play Golf with a deck of playing cards (Golf rules), but you can also play Golf using the game Play Nine.
Quixx
If you have kids 8 and older, Quixx is another fun game that doesn’t take up too much time. It’s a dice game that’s similar to Yahtzee, but better in my opinion. Not only do you roll the dice on your turn, you can also benefit from other players when they roll the dice during their turn. Doing this means less waiting for kids and keeps the game more interactive and engaged for everyone.
Skipbo
Skipbo is one of my family’s all-time favorite card games. You can adapt this card game to make it a longer game or shorter game, depending on how many cards you choose to put in each player’s personal stockpile. My kids didn’t start playing until they turned 7, but younger kids can buddy up with an adult to play when needed.
Spoons
I still have such fond memories of playing the game Spoons growing up. While you can easily play with a deck of cards and a handful of spoons, I will say there is something to be said about having a contained case with cards and plastic colored spoons. Plastic spoons are much quieter than silverware spoons, which is a huge plus in this game where the most fun is had when no one realizes the first person has lifted a spoon from the table.
The Game of Life
If you’ve got an hour to spare along with a bit of patience, The Game of Life is a huge hit for kids ages 7+. My kids love choosing their occupation, buying a house, investing their money and a slew of other big life decisions. If you have kids under 10 who want to play, I would recommend an adult playing the role of banker and helping with the rules. The biggest drawback for me is the tiny little pegs for people, babies and pets that you acquire for each player’s car. It’s very hard to keep up with these little pieces and I end up finding them all over my house. Storing them in a ziplock bag would help a ton.
Trekking the National Parks
I purchased Trekking the National Parks game 3.5 years ago for my kids because I loved the idea of a game that teaches about the country’s national parks. This game truly is beautifully packaged and the photos of the national parks are stunning. This game is probably my kids’ go-to family board game at the moment. It requires a bit of strategy and critical thinking as players try to figure out how to get around to different parks while also maximizing their points total. Though it can take longer depending on how many players are present, it typically takes about 45 minutes for 4 to 5 players to complete their trek.
Trivial Pursuit Family Edition
Now that my big three kids are older, they absolutely love trivia games. Though I bought this Trivial Pursuit Family Edition game for them three Christmases ago, they’ve really come to love it this year. I love that there are both kid and adult cards, so we can play right along with them. And many of the kid questions give true/false or multiple choice options, so younger kids still have a decent chance of getting some questions correct. My pre-teen gets quite a bit of the kid questions correct. The entertainment questions are still the hardest for our family—both kid and adult questions alike—since we aren’t super up-to-date on what is going on in that industry.
Uno
Uno is a classic card game that even my youngest, age 5, can play. In fact, it’s one of the ONLY games for our family game nights that he can play independently without buddying up with a parent. For this reason, Uno holds a huge place in my heart. I also remember loving Uno as a child when I played with my siblings in epic games that lasted an hour. I highly recommend this game for young kids!
Bonus Games
This Christmas, my kids are getting some new games that I can’t wait to try out for family game night:
- Kids vs. Parents: Since my kids are on a trivia kick, I wanted to add this Kids vs. Parents game to our game chest. It’s rated for kids 4+ so even my youngest should have fun.
- Taboo Kids vs. Parents: I grew up playing Taboo and was excited to find this version of kids vs. parents. I love that this game has both kid and adult cards, which makes it easy for our whole family to play together.
- Uno Attack: Since my youngest loves Uno, I thought we’d try this Uno Attack version as a Christmas gift this year. I’m excited to see what he thinks about cards flying out toward him unexpectedly.
What are your favorite games for family game night?
