Best board games for family game nights

We all want to spend more time with our families, having fun and making great memories together. But sometimes it can be challenging to find activities that the whole family can enjoy. My family’s solution is to break out the board games. We find a new one every year to play on Christmas Eve, a tradition that has brought a lot of laughs and smiles to our household. And now we have a great collection of games to pick from whenever we have some free time together throughout the year. So here are some of our favourite choices for the best board games for families.

Ticket to Ride

You won’t find a better example of a great family board game than Ticket to Ride. It’s a simple game that everyone can learn quickly. And it’s fun and fast. The goal is to build train lines connecting major cities in North America. You score points for the length of each line, and for completing specific routes joining several destinations. I’ll give you a little advice: keep track of how many trains you have left before you start a new route, so you don’t run out.

Settlers of Catan

Settlers of Catan is an all-time classic. I love the bartering aspect of the game, trading the resources you have for the resources you need, without giving your opponent what they need to win. And to be honest, I love shouting “wheat for sheep! Who will give me wheat for my sheep?”. This is a fast-playing game with very little text to read, so your younger players will have a great time. And the layout of the board tiles is random, so every game is a little bit different than the last.

Pandemic

I know the subject matter of this game may be a little too familiar right now for some folks. But trust me, Pandemic is a fun cooperative game that will entertain the family. Communication is the key to succeeding in this game, so brush up on your listening skills before game night.

Marvel Dice Throne

Who doesn’t love a battle royale? With Marvel Dice Throne, you can have 6 players competing against each other to become the hero (or villain) on the Marvel Throne. Or you can play as teams, or a simple 1 on 1 battle. The combination of dice randomness and tactical card playing means this game has endless replay variety. The Marvel Dice Throne comes with 4 characters, and you can add others for even more options.

Telestrations

Sometimes miscommunication is great for family fun night. Telestrations is a combination of Pictionary and Telephone. You draw a picture to represent a randomly assigned word, then you pass it to the next person to guess. And then, the person after that has to draw their interpretation of the guessed word. So your final image may have absolutely nothing in common with the original word. You’re bound to have fits of laughter break out around the game table when Telestrations is being played.

Codenames: Disney

Do you have a cluemaster in your family? Your cluemaster likes to hand out hints to lead their team to victory, and Codenames: Disney is the game for them. Each team’s cluemaster gives one word clues to identify their team’s tiles. Then the team has to guess the right tiles without picking the danger tiles. The familiar faces from Disney will make the game more fun for the younger members of the family.

Best board games for families

Before you can choose the right game, you need to consider a few things. Are your family members strong readers? A game that relies on text might be frustrating for the younger players. Do your players work better as a team than as competitors? And how much time per game can your players handle? Every board game has an age rating, and an estimate of how long each game will take, so use this information to find the right games for your family. And don’t forget to make the process of choosing the new game a family activity. The best board games for families are the ones that let everyone have a good time! You can find a great selection of board games at Best Buy.