Playing games as a family is a great way to build relationships and memories! Growing up, my family didn’t play very many games. But when I got married, I learned really quickly how fun and exciting playing games with the family can be! I also found out that I am super competitive… and so is my husband. Which can be a tad bit dangerous! Let’s just say, we’ve had to learn some important life skills while playing to make sure that it stays fun.
Every time we get together with my husband’s family, it is all about the games… We’ve pulled some pretty late nights enjoying some of our favorite games together… even after we all had kids! And we always know what we’re getting for Christmas – another awesome game to add to our collection! Games are so great for date night, too! If you love games, or if you want to start playing more games with your family, this is the perfect resource for you. We’ve rounded up the best games for the whole family. We’ve separated the games into categories to help you find what you’re looking for:
18 Board Games for the Whole Family 10 More Strategic Board Games 17 Board Games for Kids 22 Card Games 10 Word Games 24 Party Games
Are you ready to find some new favorite games to add to your game closet?? Here we go! 18 Board Games for the Whole Family We’ve found all the best board games out there including classics, like Blokus, and new favorites, like Ticket to Ride!
Blokus – We love this bright and fun game. It’s fun seeing the kids (and adults) trying to fit every last piece on the board!
Ubongo – Race to solve a puzzle in this fast paced game so that you can collect the most treasure!
Rummikub – I totally dominate this game, every time… It’s so fun to rearrange the board trying to get all of your number tiles down first!
Farkle – A simple game of dice becomes a little more complicated as you take some risks.
Heads Up – A game all about pop culture!
Sushi Roll – If you like games that are a little more out there, this one is for you!
Monopoly – This classic game kept me busy for hours growing up. I love how there are so many versions, so you will never get bored!
Imaginiff – It’s fun to imagine your friends and family in odd situations – we seriously laugh the ENTIRE time we play.
Greed – This one is really fun! My husband and I, and our friends, play it together often! We always add a “dare” for the loser to complete at the end of the game, which makes it more interesting!
Bounce-Off – Check out this game that requires a little coordination as you race to recreate a pattern!
Cranium – This is a MUST for groups of family and friends. I don’t recall a time I’ve played this and not died laughing! Since it has four different categories of questions and activities, everyone is good at some part of it – so everyone loves to play!
Ticket to Ride – This is one of our family’s favorite games! We love playing it with just two players, but there is so much strategy involved when you add more players! Plus, you get to know your geography a little better!
Scene It – This is a fun, interactive game the whole family will enjoy!
Wits and Wagers – Combine trivia with gambling–do you have the guts or the brains to win this game!?
Quelf – So hysterical! We play it every Christmas!
Scotland Yard – I love being the criminal mastermind in this cat and mouse game. Outwitting the detectives is so satisfying!
Yahtzee – Go-to game night staple! I like it because it doesn’t get overly cut throat or competitive – you just focus on your scores and you can’t do anything to affect the other players!
Up-A-Bit – I love games that require some skill… In this game, you have to describe to the group how to draw something and they have to guess what it is. The trick… you can’t see what everyone is drawing to see if they understand you!!! 10 More Strategic Board Games If your family loves strategy games, you will love all of these! I bet there are some in this list that you’ve never seen, but you’ll definitely want to check them out.
Carcassonne – Such a fun game! Easy to learn but requires a lot of strategy to win.
Sequence – We’ve played this with company many times because it’s so easy to learn and so much fun.
Balderdash – We get really creative with this one and it’s always interesting to find out what the true answers are!
Pandemic – This game is so unique because instead of playing against each other, you have to work together to save mankind!
Settlers of Catan – We LOVE this game! It is one of my favorites because the board changes every time you set up the game, so you never have two rounds that are the same!
Risk – My brothers and I played this all the time! It would be out for days at a time.
Qwirkle – Not only is this game fun to play, it’s also fun to say! Kids of all ages can play and the colorful tiles make it even more exciting!! We’ve even made up our own verbage–Qwirked it!
Dominoes – There are so many fun games to play with Dominoes… but our favorite is Mexican Train!! We could play for hours…
Powergrid – In this game, your goal is to get power! You want to light up as many cities as you can before the other players… it’s a fun one!
7 Wonders – We love this game. It’s definitely for families with older children and is all about strategy, so it will make you think. But if you’re one who enjoys that kind of stuff, (like my whole family) this will be a hit! 17 Board Games for Kids Want to start your kids young? Here are some great games for the littles to learn what it takes to be competitive–and a good sport!
Guess Who – This a great game that will help kids start to notice small details! Oh… the teacher in me loves games like this!
Sorry – Try to win this game without getting “bumped” too many times!
Clue – Clue was my absolute favorite growing up! I LOVED it!
Life – A game that walks you through all the stages of life! Who will win at Life!?
Candy Land – My three-year-old LOVES Candyland because it’s one of the few board games with rules simple enough for her to understand. To keep it entertaining for our 5-year-old and 8-year-old too, we add silly rules for each color. For example, if you draw a red you have to spin in circles until your next turn.
Chutes and Ladders – Who can get to the top of the game board without sliding back down!?
Hungry Hippos – Join in the feeding frenzy with this funny game!
Connect 4 – If you’re ready to start playing a little more strategy with the kids, you’ll enjoy this game.
Pie Face – Such a silly game, but we laugh all night.
Beat the Parents – Parents verses kids! Do parents know about kid stuff? Or are the kids really in charge?
Operation – I would concentrate so hard at getting the part out of him that when it buzzed, I would jump out of my seat!
Kerplunk – It is always so nerve-racking hoping the marbles won’t spill out on your turn.
Battleship – Can you sink your opponent’s ships? That’s how this simple battle works!
Parcheesi – The race home begins with this classic!
Stratego – A classic game of battlefield strategy!
Headbanz – You’ll definitely have to use your head with this game as you try to figure out who you are!
Fibber – Stretch the truth without getting caught. 22 Card Games for the Whole Family We love card games–they are classic and you can take them and play them anywhere.
Skip-Bo – A classic card game… and a favorite!
Phase 10 – 10 rounds of fun – this is another classic game!
Uno – This is the perfect game for families with young children. A lot of other games are too complicated for our kiddos to understand, but even our three-year-old can play along on her own. Plus, its great for practicing their colors and numbers.
Rook – Rook is one of my husband’s favorite games–full of strategy and a great team game.
Dominion – We love how this game is different every time you play it… once you learn how to play, you can play a round in 30 minutes!
Killer Bunnies – This is a hilarious and irrational game! Your sides will hurt from all the laughing and you might just get SUPER competitive and protective of your bunnies!
Canasta – My family LOVES this game! We have major Canasta tournaments and there are serious bragging rights if you come out on top! This is a game for teenagers and adults {the kids in our family usually help by being on someone’s “team”}. It will become a favorite in no time!
Exploding Kittens – This is a highly strategic game where you try to avoid the exploding kittens.
Bohnanza – Beans, beans and more beans! Such a cute game, but it can get VERY competitive.
Munchkins – Get ready for a dungeon adventure with this unique card game.
Spextrix – This is such a fun and colorful game! Reminds me a bit of Phase 10, but with colors.
Spot it – This is great to play with both young and old. Between any two cards is one and only one matching symbol – call it first and win!
Five Crowns – This is a game that is a lot of fun and is easy to get in to. Simple rules, simple scoring, easy to learn and the game never loses its luster with repeated playings.
Nertz – I totally dominate at this game to the point that I can’t get anyone to play it with me anymore! LOL! This is a fun, multi-player solitaire game that is based on SPEED! It makes for a good time with a group of people.
Scum – Family favorite for us! We love to tease each other based on our status and can play rounds and rounds of this game!
Mille Bornes – My husband’s favorite! A fun, quick, and easy game.
Blink – The world’s fastest card game!
In A Pickle – If you love to play the trump card, this game is for you!
Set – Fast-paced fun for the whole family! Everyone can play!
ION – A completely different kind of card game that everyone will love!
Sushi Go – This card game requires a little strategic thinking as you choose whether to pick or pass!
Hit the Deck – This is a hit or be hit game–A challenging and fun card game! 10 Word Games for the Whole Family If you like to prove your smarts, these games are definitely ones you’ll want to add to your stash. We love all of these; I can’t even choose a favorite!
Bananagrams – This twist on Scrabble is a super, fast-paced spelling game. So much fun!
Word on the Street – This tug-of-words is not like any other word game! We love the strategy that goes into choosing the best word before the timer runs out!
Taboo – We played this as a family all the time growing up. Definitely a family favorite.
Dabble – You have to try out this entertaining word game!
Scrabble – I have so many good memories playing this with my grandma. Her vocabulary is MUCH better than mine!
Boggle – I played this in college all the time with a group of friends and it got super competitive. Just don’t play it in the library!
Password – This game is so simple, it’s actually perfect for road trips, too!
Upwords – A unique take on Scrabble, but now you’re building the words UP!
Mad Gab – Translate unrelated words into real phrases!
Quiddler – This is fun and challenging. You will be using the dictionary for sure! The object is to arrange all of the cards in your hand into one or more words. 24 Party Games When we did play games as a kid, we always ended up on one of these… Scattegories, Catch Phrase, Jungle Speed… they are all winners.
Scattegories – This game requires some quick thinking and creativity. It is one of our favorites and a great one for a big group of people!
Catch Phrase – Okay… if you haven’t played catch phrase, you haven’t truly lived. This is a fast talking game that gets your heart racing!
Jenga – Plain old Jenga is fun–but have you seen any of the fun versions of Jenga that we have on our site?
Pictionary – The worse your artistic skills are, the more hilarious this game becomes… bring it on!
Apples to Apples – Such a funny game! It will have you giggling and laughing all night!
Pit – This is an oldie, but a goodie! It’s also a crazy loud game!
Guesstures – When you try to move fast, you never know what will happen!
Rollick – Award winning party game!! Get ready for some teamwork and fun as you race to win this charades game!
Wink – We got this for Christmas and it is a BLAST! This is a great ice breaker game! Your mission, is to covertly wink at your secret partner without being detected by the other players.
Spoons – If you want something fast paced and energetic, this game will keep you on your toes!
Dixit – This is a family favorite, and will provide some excellent memories as you try to deduce how others might think. Get the detective skills out!
Curses – We love playing this game whenever my family gets together for Christmas. It’s one of those games that will get you cracking-up laughing in no time.
Pass the Pigs – This game is crazy fun. There really is no skill involved, but that is half the fun!
Bang – We love BANG in our house! It takes a little bit to get the hang of all the rules, but once you do, it’s a blast! My husband requires that we all create sound effects every time we play a card!
Like Minds – This is GREAT for a group date night! Players pair up and write their answers in hopes of matching them with their teammate’s.
Likewise – This is a funny and easy, family game. You’re given a silly category and the goal to write something you think everyone else will write as well.
Tenzi – This is a very simple and fun game of chance. Even little kids can play an adapted version!!
Selfie – Funniest game EVER! Basically, you draw a card with an expression on it and have to take a selfie with that expression on your face. Then your family and friends have to guess what the expression is, based on your selfie picture. We die laughing every single time.
Strike a Pose – So many people can play this fun freeze-frame, recommended by our very own Becca!
Telestrations – It’s like a mix of telephone and pictionary–very funny for all ages!
Reverse Charades – An active imagination is required for this fun ice breaker game that even young kids will enjoy!
Jungle Speed – Quick reflexes will make you a pro at this game… And make sure to cut your fingernails before playing! Ha ha… It is so fun!
5 Second Rule – This is a hilarious game that will require quick thinking. You never know what will come out of your mouth! Be prepared to laugh your head off!
The Game of Loaded Questions – Want to get to know your family and friends a little better? Try out this game for a fun time! And one more game that we are LOVING! Wackee Six – It is fun a speedy card game good for kids 6 and older, fun family game! Can’t get enough games?? 20 Amazing Two Player Games are perfect for just the two of you after the kids go to bed. Or, you can check out our post 65 Outdoor Party Games and take the play outside!
