Our family loves playing games together. As always, the kids received some new games for Christmas and were so excited to play them. While we've been busy playing the new ones, we also have some favorites in our closet and wanted to share those with you!
Here are our top 6 family game choices:
- UNO Always a quick, fun game. This classic card game can be addicting and is one of our kid's absolute favorite. Take turns matching a card in your hand with the current top card of the discard pile either by color or number with some special action cards tossed in to keep things exciting. Don't forget to shout "UNO!" when you are down to the last card in your hand. The game states ages 7+, but my kids have been playing UNO since they were about 4 years old. Check out some of the other UNO games such as UNO Flip, UNO Dare, and UNO Flex for even more UNO fun! We even have a waterproof UNO called UNO Splash - perfect to keep in the swim bag.
- Apples to Apples and Apples to Apples Junior A fun game for all ages. The "judge" picks a green apple card from the top of the stack and announces the word to the rest of the players. The rest of the players quickly choose a red apple card from their hand that is best described by the word on the green apple card played by the judge. The judge mixes the cards up so he doesn't know who played which card and then reads them all aloud and selects the one he thinks is best described by the word on the green apple card. The player who played it is awarded the green apple card. Be prepared for some funny card combinations and laughter. This is a great one for a bigger group also. If you have younger kids, go for the Junior version. Apples to Apples is for 12+. My kids are 9 and 10 and have played both versions.
- Spot It! This is the perfect game for all ages, plus it comes in an awesome little tin container that makes it easy to take with you. Players quickly compete with each other to find a match on the center card with the card they have in front of them. The first person to find a match takes the card. The player with the most cards at the end wins. The game gives you about 5 options of games to play and if you check online, you will find more game ideas. This is a quick matching game that encourages concentration. I love that a quick game can be played in just a few minutes making it nice when you are short on time. The box says 7+, but my kids have been playing this one since they were about 4.
- Kluster This game is great for several reasons. It's small and easy to drop in your bag for outings, it literally only takes a few minutes to play each game, and it's fun! Players take turns adding hematite magnets inside a string without "klustering" any other magnets (which you have to take if it happens to you). The first person to run out of magnets is the winner. Game recommendation is for 8+ due to the hazard of younger children swallowing the magnets, but we've played with a 3-year-old with close supervision and she caught on really quickly.
- Scattergories A fast-paced word game our whole family loves. Each player gets three lists that are placed inside each player's included folder. Each round starts by rolling a "letter" die. With the timer set, players attempt to create an answer that begins with the letter on the die for each of the categories on their list. Once time is up, each player reads their lists, crossing out any answers that matched another player's, and score points for each answer not crossed out. We all have quite a few laughs with some of the words we come up with. This game states ages 13+ and it is for older kids, however, we've played it with our younger kids by letting them be on teams.
- Pictionary This game comes with two levels of clues (120 adult, 80 junior) which makes this one a good option for families. We split into teams and then each team takes turns with one player selecting a card and then they have 1 minute to draw clues so their teammate(s) can guess what their card says. It's hilarious fun to see the drawings and trying to guess what they are. The box says ages 8+, but even the youngest can have fun playing along as part of a team. Tip: You don't have to purchase the board game, you can make up your own clues to play!
I hope you have as much fun as we do on your next family game night!
