THE BEST BOREDOM BUSTING BOARD GAMES FOR FAMILY GAMES NIGHTS

BEST BOREDOM BUSTING BOARD GAMES FOR FAMILY GAMES NIGHTS

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Here is a roundup of some of the most fun board games to play when you’re having a family games night. These are the most fun, challenging and enjoyable board games around at the moment.

BRILLIANTLY FUN BOARD GAMES THAT KIDS AND TEENS WILL LOVE PLAYING WITH FAMILY

1. BANANAGRAMS

The Bananagrams game is like Scrabble on steroids. It’s a fast-paced, brilliant word-building game for kids and adults. We love playing Bananagrams, not least because we are a super competitive family when it comes to board games. 

The main aim is to be the first player to use all your letter tiles to create a grid of intersecting words. It is designed to be fast-paced. It is great for an impromptu family game on a rainy afternoon, brilliant for taking on family travels, and a good game for teen sleepovers and teens hanging out together. 

The game challenges players to think creatively and expand their vocabulary, so it’s great for helping teens up their reading game.

  • Number of players: 2-8. Optimum: 4-8.
  • Average duration: A round lasts 15 minutes, depending on the number of players and how good they are!
  • Age: 7+
  • Ease of getting started: Easy to learn.
  • Skill building: Vocabulary, strategic thinking, creative thinking, spelling, word recognition
Bananagrams
£14.99
It's like a Scrabble speed test. Fast-paced and great for impromptu fun as well as parties.
Buy from Amazon Buy from Waterstones
11/02/2024 08:10 pm GMT

2. QWIRKLE

Qwirkle is one of my absolute favourite board games. It is a deceptively simple-looking game that is actually a complex game of strategy that involves creating lines of tiles that either match in shape or colour. 

Players must use critical thinking to create the highest-scoring combinations of tiles and ensure that their opponents can’t achieve such high scores. It’s a great game for teens who love to outsmart their parents! 

The joy of Qwirkle is that it is simple enough for younger kids and beginners to enjoy playing it, but the more advanced the player and the more strategic the player, the more competitive and challenging the game becomes. 

This is a great game for game nights with family or friends. There is also a travel-size version perfect for taking on holiday. We have had this game for several years and gifted it to friends and family who have enjoyed playing it with us. 

  • Number of players: 2-4. Optimum: 4. 
  • Average duration: 45-60 minutes. 
  • Age: 6+
  • Ease of getting started: Easy, but there is plenty of scope to learn tactics and strategy along the way. 
  • Skill building: Critical thinking, strategic thinking, memory, logic, pattern recognition
Qwirkle
£24.99 £22.99
This game appears simple, but there is so much more to it than first meets the eye. It's an absolute modern classic.
Buy from Amazon
11/02/2024 07:02 pm GMT

3. CATAN

First released in 1995, Catan is a classic. Players are immersed in a world of resource management (more exciting than it sounds, much more exciting!!) as they compete to build the most successful settlement on the island of Catan. 

The game is strategic and engaging, with a healthy mix of collaboration and competition. It is ideal for teenagers who enjoy a challenge, and it’s great for parents to know that their teens will be developing their problem-solving skills. 

With a completely variable board, the possibilities for playing the game time and again are endless, and there are expansion packs for completely new trials and ways to play.

  • Watchpoint: The rules take a little time to understand as there is so much to the game. But it is worth it!
  • Number of players: 3-6
  • Average duration: 60-90 minutes
  • Age: 10+
  • Ease of getting started: The rules do take a little time to understand as there is so much to the game. But it is worth it!
  • Skill building: Strategic thinking, negotiation, risk assessment, adaptability
Catan
£49.99 £39.99
An engaging game of strategy, perfect for teens who like a challenge.
Buy from Amazon Buy from Waterstones
11/01/2024 11:41 pm GMT

4. BETRAYAL AT HOUSE ON THE HILL (3RD EDITION)

For fans of mystery and suspense, I wholeheartedly recommend Betrayal at House on the Hill. The game starts collaboratively as players explore a haunted mansion, discovering new rooms and encountering hidden dangers. Then halfway through the game, one player becomes the traitor, and the game turns into a one-vs-all game, with the traitor trying to defeat the other players.

The game features a modular board that is randomly generated each time you play, and 50 different scenarios, each with its own unique story and set of rules, making it a highly replayable game, with no two games the same. 

Additionally, the game includes 50 different scenarios, each with its own unique story and set of rules, so you can play the game many times without ever getting bored. The game also allows for different players to take on different roles, which can change the outcome of the game and keep things fresh and exciting.

  • Number of players: 3-6. Optimum: 5-6
  • Average duration: Around 60 minutes 
  • Age: 10+
  • Ease of getting started: It’s pretty easy for new players. You don’t need to know much at the start and can simply explain things as they come up. 
  • Skill building: Cooperation, risk assessment, role-playing, adaptability
Betrayal at House on The Hill (3rd Edition)
£44.99
Brilliant for teen fans of mystery and suspense.
Buy from Amazon Buy from Waterstones
11/01/2024 11:53 pm GMT

5. CODENAMES

Codenames is a game of word association and deduction. Players form two rival teams, each led by a spymaster, who gives single-word clues to guide their team towards uncovering the identities of secret agents on the board while avoiding the opposing team’s agents and assassin. 

The game is quickfire and high-energy. Players can play multiple rounds either with the same or different teams in one session. Whilst it can be played with just two players, it is much more fun with at least four. 

  • Number of players: 2-8. Optimum: 4-8
  • Average duration: 15-30 minutes per round. 
  • Age: 10+
  • Ease of getting started: Easy to learn. 
  • Skill building: Word association, strategic thinking, teamwork, creative thinking
Codenames
Super fun for teenage fans of word games.
Buy from Amazon Buy from Waterstones

6. TABOO

Taboo was first launched in 1989, making it another classic board game that has stood the test of time. It is a word-guessing game where players must get their teammates to guess a word without using certain ‘taboo’ words or phrases when describing it to their teammates.

The game’s main aim is to get your team to guess as many words as possible within a set time limit. I have played this game on many occasions, and it never fails to induce giggles and near-hysteria as players battle to get their word scores up. It is utterly addictive, competitive fun. 

The game is played with two teams of at least two players each. 

  • Number of players: 4+. Optimum: Equally fun with four as it is with more. 
  • Duration: 30-60 minutes, depending on the number of players and rounds played. The game typically consists of several rounds, each lasting a few minutes.
  • Age: 13+
  • Ease of getting started: Easy to learn.
  • Skill building: Communication, creative thinking, teamwork, vocabulary 
Taboo
£24.99 £20.25
A modern classic guaranteed to induce giggles.
Buy from Amazon
11/02/2024 12:07 am GMT

7. TELESTRATIONS

Telestrations is a hilarious combination of drawing and guessing. Think of it as a hybrid of the Telephone game and Pictionary. It is perfect for fun with family and friends. Players take turns drawing a word or phrase on a notebook and then pass the notebook to the next player, who has to guess what the drawing represents and draw their interpretation of the guess, and so on.

The injection of hilarity comes as the drawings and guesses get more ridiculous as the game progresses. 

The game is played in rounds, each with a different word or phrase. This means there is always a new challenge to tackle, and the game never gets boring.

Telestrations is a great game for families and teens to play at smaller parties or sleepovers. It is particularly good as an ice-breaker at a party because it is so easy to learn and pretty much guarantees laughter. 

For older teens, you could opt for Telestrations After Dark, which is specifically for players 17+ as it has some more risqué words and phrases.

  • Number of players: 4-8. Optimum: 6-8. The more players there are, the more chances there are for hilarity. 
  • Average duration: 30 -45 minutes. Each round lasts around 2 to 3 minutes.
  • Age: 12+ or 17+ for Telestration After Dark 
  • Ease of getting started: Easy to learn.
  • Skill building: Drawing, creativity, time management, communication
Telestrations
£26.99
The hybrid game-child of Telephone and Pictionary.
Buy from Amazon Buy from John Lewis
11/02/2024 05:04 pm GMT

8. SPEED CHARADES

Charades is one of those games that just about everybody is familiar with. Enter Speed Charades! It’s Charades with a twist.

Teams of players play against each other to act out and guess as many words or phrases as possible within a limited time frame. The team that earns the most points by successfully guessing the most words or phrases within the given time limit wins the game.

  • Number of players: 6+. Optimum: The more, the merrier!
  • Average duration: 30-60 minutes, depending on the number of players. 
  • Age: 13+
  • Ease of getting started: Easy to learn.
  • Skill building: Acting, communication, time management, creativity
Speed Charades
£31.24
This game of charades with a twist of speed is guaranteed to get the party started.
Buy from Amazon
08/03/2024 10:14 am GMT

9. WHO IN THE ROOM?

Who In The Room is a brilliant party game. Players are challenged to answer questions about each other. The competition aims to guess who will most likely do or say certain things in the room.

To play, one player reads a question out loud, and all other players write their answers on a card. The responses are then collected, and the player who read the question must guess who wrote each answer.

This is a great game for parties and sleepovers for teens. I’d say it is better with groups of friends who know each other well unless they are a particularly resilient group of guests.

However, some questions encourage risqué answers, so if you want a similar game for younger teens, go for Who’s Most Likely To instead. 

  • Number of players: 4+. Optimum: 4-8. 
  • Average duration: 30-45 minutes. 
  • Age: 17+
  • Ease of getting started: Easy to learn.
  • Skill building: Observation, diplomacy, communication, creativity
Who in the room?
£24.28
This is a brilliant game for sleepover parties.
Buy from Amazon
11/02/2024 05:49 pm GMT

10. TUG!

Tug! is, as you might imagine, a tug-of-war style trivia game for 2-20 players. Two teams battle back and forth to answer 50/50 true or false questions.

Every time a team gets an answer correct they can tug the rope towards their side. The aim is to pull the flag to their end to win. Essentially the tug-of-war rope is a novel take on a scoreboard.

The questions get more challenging as the stakes rise and players will find themselves racing to get their answers out as the tension mounts.

This is a great game for teen get-togethers. It’s also one of those games that is perfect for families with teens to play together.

  • Number of players: 2-20 in two teams. Optimum: The more the merrier! 
  • Average duration: 20 minutes. 
  • Age: 12+
  • Ease of getting started: Easy, but it helps to have a good level of general knowledge and trivia.
  • Skill building: Quick thinking, broadens knowledge
TUG!
£19.99 £17.50

Tug! Is a novel twist on a classic quiz board game. It's hugely fun to play and tends to be addictive for those with a competitive nature!

Buy from Amazon Buy from Argos
11/01/2024 11:40 pm GMT

CLASSIC BOARD GAMES

I thought it would be great to include a list of absolute classic board games, the games we parents played and enjoyed as kids. There’s a certain lovely nostalgia to playing a classic board with your kids. 

  1. Monopoly – This classic game of strategy has been a family favourite for generations. Players buy and trade properties, build houses and hotels, and try to bankrupt their opponents. Make like the Roy family (Succession) and pit the wits of parents versus kids!
  2. Scrabble – The word game that challenges players to create words from letter tiles and earn points based on the length and complexity of their words.
  3. Chess – This strategic game has been played for centuries and challenges players to outmanoeuvre their opponents and capture their king.
  4. Draughts – This classic game is easy to learn but challenging to master. Players try to capture their opponent’s pieces by jumping over them with their own pieces.
  5. Cluedo – The mystery game that challenges players to solve a murder by gathering clues and eliminating suspects.
  6. Pictionary – The classic drawing game that challenges players to draw and guess words and phrases, leading to lots of laughter and fun.
  7. Trivial Pursuit – The OG trivia game that challenges players to answer questions from a variety of categories, testing their knowledge and memory.
  8. Backgammon – The age-old strategic game that challenges players to move their pieces around the board and capture their opponent’s pieces.

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