This list was the result of a request of my mother-in-law to help her recommend some games to a friend and her family ranging in age from 7 to adult. She wanted games that the youngest to oldest could enjoy. So my husband and I put this list together and I decided to share it in case anyone else would be interested. I know there are a lot of holiday gift guides out there, and I hope to give you some different ideas with this mix of games. I tired to keep the games simple, with rules that are easy to read and understand. Each category has five games. Many of these games won't be found at your big box stores. Target and Barnes and Noble do offer a good selection but if you can't find it there try Amazon or other online game stores.
Family Games
Games in this category are geared to the whole family being able to participate. Though children below 7 will probably need a partner to help them. The Themes have a wide appeal and the rules are simpler to learn.
1. Ticket to Ride
Ticket to Ride is one of the first "gamers games" that I learned to play, and it is still a favorite. The rules are simple, the components amazing, and the strategy a blast. There are many versions out there. New versions seem to be made every year. I would suggest starting with the North America version, or whatever country you are most familiar with, and then trying out the others most interesting to you.
In Ticket to Ride players are collecting card of different colors to claim railway routes. Players have secret routes, or Destination Tickets, they are trying to complete while earning the most points along the way. The longer the route the more points you can score. The player who scores the most wins. Ticket to Ride is a wonderful game and always a hit with everyone I play it with. And it has become a holiday tradition to play the Nordic Nations version with its snow theme sometime during our Christmas break. Regrettably, that version is only three players.
2. Carcassonne
Carcassonne is also one of the first games I played when I got into the hobby. And, like Ticket to Ride has many, many versions and expansions to keep fans happy. Again, start out with the original version and add from there.
Simple rules with just enough strategy make this game a family favorite. It is a tile-placement game where players draw and play one tile on their turn. Carcassonne is a walled city in France and the tiles feature art that looks like the city and the countryside. There are city pieces, roads, grassland, or monasteries on the tiles. Meeples, the wooden people pieces, are placed on the tiles to score points. Players may try to complete a city, build a road, farm the fertile soil around the city, or completely surround a monastery to score points. Players may choose wisely as they place their meeples because the supply is limited and only when a meeple scores does the owner get it back.
I know I love tile-laying games, but Carcassonne is one of the best for families. It is beautiful, fun, and easy to learn. The meaningful choices and risk keep older children interested and the easy rules means even younger children can play. My suggestion is to not use the farmers is they are confusing during your first few games, but add them in once you get the basics down. Then of course you might want to add some of the many expansions to keep the game fresh. Or you may want to look into the winter version, to go along with the holidays.
3. Qwirkle / Qwirkle Cubes
Qwirkle is an abstract game, or a game with minimal luck and very little theme. Chess, for example, is an example of an abstract game. In Qwirkle players are using wooden block with one of six shapes and colors on it. The first player will place as many blocks of with a single matching shape or color. Then, the other players place blocks to at least one previously played block. Placed blocks must all be placed in a line and match, without duplicating the color or shape of the other blocks in the line. You score points for each placed block and all blocks adjacent. You can even score in more than one direction. Bonus points are awarded when you complete a line of all six colors shapes.
Qwirkle is a great game for families, but younger children may need some help to play. It has won many awards including the Spiel des Jahres, or the German Board Game of the Year. It is light and fast to play, but offers a lot of strategy and decision-making. I personally prefer Qwirkle Cubes, where the pieces have six sides, all the same color, but different shapes. You get to roll them before your turn. Yes, it adds some randomness to the game, but I think it makes it more interesting.
4. Zooleretto
Taking the family to see the monkeys, zebras, and tigers at the zoo is a great way to bond as a family. Another great way to bond is by playing Zooloretto. Players are trying to build the best zoo to attract visitors while avoiding taking too many of the same animal and running out of room. The rules are simple and the theme appealing to almost anyone. The deeper strategies and having to know what your opponents are doing may mean younger players will need some help. Zooloretto has also won the Speil des Jahres and has many expansions to add if players enjoy the game.
5. Fauna
Keeping with the animal theme, the last game for this category is Fauna. But this game is very different from Zooloretto. In Fauna, players are looking at a single animal each turn. All they see of the animal is its name and picture. Players are trying to guess the animals weight, length, height, tail length, or the areas where it lies. Sounds simple, right? It is, until you splay and have to guess just how long an Asian Elephants tail is or where in the world you can find a Beluga Whale.
Players get points for guessing correctly but lose tokens temporarily when they are put into the wrong areas. So it can be risky to guess if you aren't absolutely sure. While this is an educational game, it is amazingly fun. Animals lovers will enjoy testing their knowledge and anyone can have fun guessing how much a ferret weighs.
Card Games
Most of these games involve a deck of cards and maybe a few other components. They aren't your traditional card games like poker or solitaire, but they can all be enjoyed by the family and are easy to learn.
1. No Thanks
We start out with a true card game. All that comes with the game is a deck of cards and some chips. Players win by scoring the least amount of points. The cards are numbered 3 to 35 and each card count points equal to their face value. On a player's turn they can either play a chip to avoid taking the current face-up card or pick up the card, and any chips that may be on it. Runs of cards only count as the lowest card value. So if you have 20, 221, 22, 23, 24 you only score 20 points. Chips are worth -1 at the end of the game. Runs may be hard to get not only because other players may take the card you need, but you never know what numbers will show up because some cards are taken out before the game starts.
No Thanks is a quick, push your luck game, which can be enjoyed by the whole family. Plus it can help younger family members count! Deciding to take a card or using a chip can be a harder decision to make then you think! Plus games are so fast that even if you lose big one game, and I have, you can try again in a few minutes.
2. For Sale
For Sale, our next game is all about buying real estate for low prices and selling it for the highest price possible. The player with the most money wins! It is played in two phases, which makes it an easy game to teach and learn. Learn one phase at a time. First you have an auction for the houses and when all the houses are bought, you sell them for the highest profit. It's quick, light, and so much fun when you realize you just bought the outhouse for 5,000 dollars and sold it for zero profit, or you bargain castle you bought sold for the most money possible.
3. Timeline Series
The history teacher in me loves Timeline not only as a family game but also as an educational tool. The fun is a definite plus! The game is to build the timeline and be the first to play all your cards. Each card is double-sided showing the picture of the invention / event / or discovery on side with the date on the other. Players need to place the card in chronological order of the timeline. If they are correct it stays if they are wrong, it is discarded and players draw a new card.
I enjoy playing games that test my knowledge and sometimes my guessing skills. Younger players may have a harder time because they may not be as familiar with the dates or inventions so team play may be a better option. I have used this game in my classroom, with adult friends, and with my family. It can be a bit of a brain burner as you try to remember when the submarine was first invented, but it is all in good fun and a great family activity.
4. Incan Gold
In Incan Gold, players are explores, searching and old temple to find gold and treasure. The player with the most treasure wins the game. Each round the players must choose to either face the dangers inside the temple or leave with the riches in hand. Leaving too early may mean leaving with too little treasure but if the player stays and the dangers are just too great they leave with nothing at all.
Incan Gold if a fun, push your luck game, where players can be cautious or adventurous. The rules are simple, the components beautiful, the game play quick, and laughter always abounds as players face the dangerous spiders only to lose all their treasure.
5. Super Circles
Super Circles is a fast paced game where players are trying to get rid of all their cards before the other players. Players need to place cards by matching the colored rings on the previously played card. There are no turns and players try to match cards as quickly as they can. The rings must match in both position and color.
Super Circles is a speed game and some people will just be much better at it than others. I have had mixed reactions to this game and people either love it or are indifferent. So families who like speed will enjoy the game. It is also easy for younger children to play and they may even better than the adults.
Party Games
Party games are great icebreakers, family bonding experiences, and ways to pass the time with friends and loved ones. These games may involve some loud noises, laughter, and memory making opportunities.
1. Dixit (Dixit Odyssey)
Dixit isn't a party game with lots of loud noises and crazy gestures, it is a story telling game where players listen, think and get to be creative. There is still usually a lot of laughter and joking around the table. I love the game and the artwork and want to play it any chance I get. The cards in Dixit are beautiful and surreal. The storyteller gives a clue about their card. It can be a word, sound, phrase, statement, quote, movie title, poem, or so on as long as it describes the card. The other players look at their cards and choose one that best goes wit the clue. These are mixed together and placed in the numbered spaces on the scoreboard.
Players try to guess the storyteller card. When everyone has voted the players reveals their vote together. The storyteller reveals their card and the round is scored. The trick is for the story teller to not be too obvious with their clue while at the same time not making it too difficult to guess. If all players pick the storyteller's card or if no does, the storyteller scores no points. Each other player scores two points. For any other result, the storyteller scores three points. Every player who choose the storytellers card scores three points as well. Any card that was voted for, scores one point for its own, to a maximum of three points.
2. Telestrations
Telestrations is another artistic game that reminds me of the game telephone but with pictures. The players are sketching a word chosen from a card within the time limit. Then they pass the book to the next player who writes a guess as to what the picture is. The book is passed again and the player draws the word, the fourth player writes a guess again, the fifth draws a sketch, and the sixth writes the final guess hoping to match the original. With fewer players you just play less rounds.
3. Reverse Charades / Reverse Charades Jr.
I love Reverse Charades for its twist on a classic game. Instead of one person acting and everyone else guessing, you reverse the roles, and everyone acts while one person guesses. Players get to work together to act out words like Merry-go-Round or Wedding. It is hilarious to watch people slowly warm up to playing together and scoring a touchdown with their teammates.
I also enjoy using this game in the classroom for either an icebreaker or even a vocabulary lesson. Students look forward too it and ask for it all the time. Adults can also feel more comfortable when they aren't the only ones making a fool of themselves in front of the group. There is also a junior version available but either version works well.
4. Word on the Street / Word on the Street Jr.
Word on the Street can be played on teams or as a single player. Players are trying to claim the tiles from the game board. On the players turn they are given a category such as "something that stretches" and they must come up with a word that matches and then move the tiles in that word toward their side of the board. If the letter isn't on the board it is skipped. If the team is able to move a letter off of the board it is theirs. The first team to move 8 letters off the board wins.
5. Wits & Wagers Family
Wits and Wagers is a game of guessing and numbers. The family version is geared more towards family play so that is why I would recommend it over the original version. Also the "gambling" element is removed. In Wits and Wagers Family, players are asked a question, they write their guess down (don't worry if you aren't right) and then put them on the table from smallest to largest.
Everyone then places their Meeples on the answers they think are correct. Players get pointsfor placing the meeples on the correct answers and by getting the correct answer. The first player with 15 points wins.
This is a fun trivia game where you don't have to know the answer to enjoy the game. Children may be better at some questions than they adults in this game!
Cooperative Games
Not everyone enjoys competing against others. But don't worry there are games even they can enjoy. These games are called cooperative games. In cooperative board games players are working together rather than individually to win the game. The win or lose the game as a group. Sometimes the games may introduce a traitor who may be secretly working against the group. Below is the list of my favorite games to play with family / friends.
1. Flash Point Fire Rescue
I love the theme of this first game. Players are firemen and women working together to put out a fire and rescue the people / pets inside. The game offers rules for both a family version and an expert version. The expert version includes special abilities for the rescuers and the ability to drive the Fire Truck. The expert version even offers different levels of difficulty
Players win if they are able to rescue seven victims from the flames or lose if four victims perish in the fire. I love the dice rolls, the fear of the fire spreading as your try to rescue the victims and those amazing feats of the rescuers as they battle to flames to bring the 7th victim to safety, with everyone around the table cheering them. It's beautiful production, quality components, theme, and exciting game makes it my favorite cooperative game. Just know they rules can be a bit hard to read for new players. I suggest playing with someone who knows the game well.
2. Escape: Curse of the Temple
In Escape: Curse of the temple, players are, you guessed it, working together to escape from a curse temple before it collapses. Everyone escapes, or everyone loses. The game is timed and will last only 10 minutes! So, if you lose, it is easy to set the game up and try again. The game comes with a great soundtrack or you can use the sand timer.
Players simultaneously roll dice and take actions. The symbols on the dice let you enter room, reveal new tiles, or discover magic gems that help you escape. But beware of the black mask because it is cursed. And until a golden mask is rolled it cannot be used. Because you only have ten minutes there may not be a lot of strategy discussion. There will be a lot of chaos, cheering, and shouts as players call for golden dice to unlock the cursed ones, and run to help unlock the gems. It is intense, so play without the timer the first time with younger players until they understand the basics. Once you have the basics down, the race against the clock opens up an incredible cooperative experience.
3. Forbidden Island / Forbidden Desert
Forbidden Island and Forbidden Desert are two cooperative games by the same designer Matt Leacock. I have not had the opportunity to play Forbidden Desert but the theme of escaping the desert may be more appealing to some people so that I why I included it with Forbidden Island. Both games are similar, but I'll speak more about Forbidden Island since I have more experience with it.
I start with the beautiful artwork and components of Forbidden Island. They are gorgeous and will definitively draw players in right away. The solid rules and game play make this beautiful game an incredible experience. Players are trying to collect treasures and escape the island before it sinks. As the game progresses the water level rises, making it harder and harder to win the game.
Like many cooperative games, there are varying levels of difficulty to help players first learn the game and then challenge themselves. Special player powers give players many options. The strategy is fun discuss and even younger players can offer valuable thoughts. Plus both games are very affordable and can be found for around twenty dollars or less.
4. Pandemic
Pandemic is another game by Matt Leacok, but the more difficult rules and larger scale makes it more appropriate for older children and adults. In Pandemic diseases are spreading around the world and players must work together to treat and research cures for the diseases.
Players must travel around the work to treat infected people, build research stations, and discover cures. But every turn players must spread the diseases and watch out for the Epidemic cards that spread the diseases more quickly.
If one or more diseases spread beyond recovery the players lose. If they can cure the four diseases they win.
The theme of curing diseases will bring in players. Who doesn't want to save the world? Only through working together can players defeat the diseases and cure the world.
5. Shadows Over Camelot
The first cooperative game I played was Shadows Over Camelot. Players are Knights of the Round Table who must work together to complete different quests. For example they will need to defeat the Black Knight, find the Holy Grail, or claim Excalibur. Completed quests place white swords on the Round Table and failed quests place black swords. Too many black swords and Camelot will fall and the players will lose. The Knights also face invasions for siege engines and barbaric tribes. Too many siege engines will also cause Camelot to fall. But if players can gain the majority of white swords Camelot will be saved.
The Theme, the beautiful high quality components, and various quests make Shadows Over Camelot a family favorite. The game also introduces the possibility of a traitor into the cooperative game. So players may start to wonder if one of their own is working against them.
Picture Credits: Users from www.boardgamegeek.com: Fawkes, Jeff Goris
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