Games To Play With Your Family And Friends | Best Board Games | Best Card Games
ARE YOU A GAME FAMILY?
It’s safe to say we play at least one game almost every single day- and I love it! It’s a great way to connect as a family, exercise our brains, and laugh together. It’s also a great alternative to screen time. I love that game companies are still making games from my childhood like Chutes and Ladders, and Guess Who. Once in a while I can even find the same, sturdy, well made games from my youth that are now labeled “retro series”. Who here agrees that games are cheaply made these days and the older versions are a bazillion times better?? Anytime I see the retro series versions of my favorite games I buy them. Guess Who is a perfect example of a game I was so happy to find a retro series version of. Guess Who is a game that is easy for kids and adults a like to play. You can get ultra creative with your questions like “Does your person look like they stayed up all night on a drinking bender and are now super hungover?” and “Does your person look like they live in a van down by the river?” I grew up in a family that loves friendly competition so we get very into almost any game we play.
How to keep your games nice
I’m a psycho- ER I mean person who cares about keeping things nice- and have drilled it into my kids that the lid of the box always goes immediately under the other part of the game box. This insures the game lid doesn’t get crushed and trampled by crazy kids who cant sit still while they play a game.🤣 It’s important to me that the box STAYS NICE. Wow, I knew that was over-the-top, but admitting it in text is even more embarrassing than I thought. Note to self: delete this part of the blog. Please comment below, if you’re like me- or do you just let the kids destroy your game boxes? Should I get a life and worry about something important? Or maybe should you learn to…never mind.
Family Traditions
Games are perfect for a rainy day [something we don’t get often in Southern California], and are a go-to activity for us when we have free time. We love playing games on holidays with extended family. After every holiday dinner we clear the table and play a game. Some of our favorites that we will all play are Clue, Shanghai Rummy, and Balderdash [the first time I played this I literally peed my pants from laughing too hard]. How embarrassing I’m telling everyone, but I’m banking on the odds that people don’t actually read all the text in blogs. Some family members have favorites that other people refuse to play: Risk [my mom ALWAYS opts to do the dishes instead of play this game. I’m pretty sure she’d rather clean toilets and any other horrendous chore rather than play Risk]. I refuse to play any form of Monopoly with the exception of Monopoly Jr, Monopoly Bid, and Monopoly Deal [all three of those games are great]. My kids get SO bummed but I just can not stand playing standard Monopoly. “You landed on my property! Awesome! Pay up…..$ 8” !!!!???!!!! EIGHT dollars?! UGH! Horrible.
DID YOU KNOW WE CAN INCORPORATE GAMES INTO YOUR LIFESTYLE PHOTOGRAPHY SESSION?
GAMES MAKE GREAT GIFTS
I love to give games as gifts. When I gift a game I feel like I’m giving something to the entire family- and giving them opportunities to make memories together. Some of my favorite memories have happened while playing games. As a child my grandmother would come to visit, and sit on the floor with me to play card games like SPEED. She never won. She was so funny, and would act like she was upset each time I won. I can still hear her screaming “Now CHRISTINE! You STOP it!” 🤣
AWESOME ACCESSORIES
WHERE I LIKE TO BUY GAMES
If you’re in San Diego you have to check out Geppetto’s! They are San Diego’s Toy Tradition for over 40 years! Anytime I’m at Fashion Valley Mall I pop into Geppetto’s and pick up a birthday gift for upcoming parties, holiday gifts, & stocking stuffers. They have a great selection, and Geppetto’s is where I’ve discovered many fun new games for my family like Genius Square, Shut The Box, and Tenzi. Another reason I love shopping at Geppetto’s is they gift wrap for free! I love supporting local businesses, and encourage anyone in San Diego to visit.
A GIANT LIST OF GAMES
As I said: I encourage you to shop local to purchase your games. However, I wanted this post to be resourceful and make your life easier, so I’ve linked games below giving you easy access to purchase any you want to add to your collection.
I hope you discover a game that makes you laugh so hard you pee your pants. Please tell me when that happens.
Any game listed with an * next to it is an affiliate link.
5 SECOND RULE*
BATTLESHIP*
BALDERDASH*
BOP-IT*
BOGGLE*
BUILDZI*
CANDY LAND*
CHARADES FOR KIDS*
CHECKERS*
CHESS*
CHUTES AND LADDERS*
CLUE*
CONNECT 4*
CRANIUM*
CRAZY 8’S*
FARKLE*
GENIUS SQUARE*
GENIUS STAR*
GO FISH*
GUESS WHO
HUNGRY HUNGRY HIPPOS*
INCOHEARENT FAMILY*
JENGA*
KIDS ON STAGE*
LIFE*
MASTERMIND*
MATCH A TRACK*
MEXICAN TRAIN*
MILLE BORNES*
MONOPOLY DEAL*
MONOPOLY BID*
MONOPOLY JR*
MR. MOUTH*
NERTZ
OPERATION*
PANCAKE PILE-UP*
PERFECTION*
PHASE 10*
PIT*
PUSH*
QWIRKLE*
RISK*
RUBIK’S RACE*
RUMMIKUB*
SANTA COOKIE ELF CANDY SNOWMAN
SCRABBLE*
SCRABBLE JR*
SHUT THE BOX*
SIMON*
SKIP BO*
SORRY!*
SPOONS*
SPOT IT*
TACO CAT GOAT CHEESE PIZZA*
TENZI*
TROUBLE*
UNO*
UNO ATTACK*
UNO FLIP*
WHO POOPED?*
YAHTZEE*
ZINGO BINGO*
ZINGO BINGO 1-2-3*
Did I leave your favorite game off of the list? If your favorite game is Monopoly, that was intentional so move along. If you have a fun game I didn't mention, PLEASE comment below, drop me an email, or a DM and change my life!
ARE WE FRIENDS ON THE GRAM YET?
