Board Game Recommendations

[Saimaeve]

Munchkin!

Also, seconding Exploding Kittens. Very easy to learn, and hilarious.

(The game I play most often with my family is Cards Against Humanity, but my "kids" are 18 and 20 years old.)

I was coming to suggest these exact ones.

We also like Uno Attack, Jenga Quake, Trivial Pursuit, Sort it Out, Apples to Apples.

Ladies and Gentleman is pretty good (Even better with pairs that like to act)

Dixit is great. Especially for kids as it plays on their imagination and descriptive ability. This is great if you are working on communication skills.

Codenames is another communication game. (And also helps with vocabulary) But it's very fun

One of my favorite newer games is Lanterns: The Harvest Festival. This is a really good game for most ages. It's rated for ages 8 I think. I agree any younger wouldn't get it at all and some 8 year olds may struggle.. (although it relies heavily on visual skill so if you have anyone that may have major sight issues like colorblindness, it may not be good) I like it because it is really good for hand/ eye coordination.

 

[JaxDad]

And, maybe mention to him that true "coolness" is having the confidence to like things just because you like them, without worrying about how you'll appear to other people.

True. I think his "issue" is not so much worrying about how he'll appear to other people, as not spending his time doing the other things he loves. I think he knows he could easily get hooked!

 

[Magpie]

True. I think his "issue" is not so much worrying about how he'll appear to other people, as not spending his time doing the other things he loves. I think he knows he could easily get hooked!

Ah, I can definitely understand that! That's why I'm not on Facebook.

My son could get snarky about other people sometimes, when he was younger, and I never let him get away with it. Though, to be fair, he'd never have have been foolish enough to try the "comic book nerd" line on me, considering the size of my comic collection, and knowing I used to work in a comic book store. If he had, I'd probably have dragged him up to those "interesting gentlemen" and introduced them each by name and preferred fandom.

 

[Saimaeve]

Oh! Wits and Wagers is good. (I like trivia style games)

They make a Family version. The other version isn't really inappropriate by any means. At least from what I've played there hasn't been anything scandalous. The Wits and Wagers Family is probably a bit easier for younger children.

 

[Tinijocaro]

Munchkin!

Also, seconding Exploding Kittens. Very easy to learn, and hilarious.

(The game I play most often with my family is Cards Against Humanity, but my "kids" are 18 and 20 years old.)

I've had Munchkin for two years and haven't played it yet. The directions are long and every time I sit down to read them, I get disturbed. I think we would really like it if I could just get through the long instructions. Dominion was like that for me-my older son ended up figuring it out. Sometimes the directions are harder than the actual game.

I just bought Bang! and spent two nights sorting out the rules. Now to get someone to play with me. Sucks when you love to play games but no one else wants to!

 

[Magpie]

I've had Munchkin for two years and haven't played it yet. The directions are long and every time I sit down to read them, I get disturbed. I think we would really like it if I could just get through the long instructions. Dominion was like that for me-my older son ended up figuring it out. Sometimes the directions are harder than the actual game.

I just bought Bang! and spent two nights sorting out the rules. Now to get someone to play with me. Sucks when you love to play games but no one else wants to!

It's worth the effort to learn the rules for Munchkin! It really all just boils down to...

1. Put any cards you want to play on the table in front of you now (these are armour, weapon or race cards, that sort of thing).

2 Draw a card from the door deck (ie, kick in the door). Do whatever it says.

3. If you didn't find a monster when you kicked in the door, you can choose one from your hand to fight now. Or not. As you choose.

4. If you didn't find a monster when you kicked in the door, and you didn't fight one from your hand, then you can draw another card from the door deck and add it to your hand (ie, loot the room).

5. If you have more than five cards in your hand, then give the excess to the player with the lowest level. If you're that player, just discard the extras.

And that's it! Most everything else you need to know is either explained on the cards, or you can look it up in the rules, if necessary.

I find the best way to learn a game is just to dive in and try it a few times.

 

[Tinijocaro]

Thanks for that explanation. This weekend I'll take your suggestions and watch a couple videos of the game in action on youtube. Thanks again!

It's worth the effort to learn the rules for Munchkin! It really all just boils down to...

1. Put any cards you want to play on the table in front of you now (these are armour, weapon or race cards, that sort of thing).

2 Draw a card from the door deck (ie, kick in the door). Do whatever it says.

3. If you didn't find a monster when you kicked in the door, you can choose one from your hand to fight now. Or not. As you choose.

4. If you didn't find a monster when you kicked in the door, and you didn't fight one from your hand, then you can draw another card from the door deck and add it to your hand (ie, loot the room).

5. If you have more than five cards in your hand, then give the excess to the player with the lowest level. If you're that player, just discard the extras.

And that's it! Most everything else you need to know is either explained on the cards, or you can look it up in the rules, if necessary.

I find the best way to learn a game is just to dive in and try it a few times.

 

[njpyro]

We love apples to apples (and cards against humanity when it's just adults!), Zombie Fluxx, Scattergories, Cranium disney edition and bananagrams.

 

[garada3]

Thank you all so very much for the suggestions!

Now I need to pick which ones to purchase.

 

[nugov2]

Munchkin!

Also, seconding Exploding Kittens. Very easy to learn, and hilarious.

(The game I play most often with my family is Cards Against Humanity, but my "kids" are 18 and 20 years old.)

This looks good! I think exploding kittens and this game will be put in the kids easter baskets!

 

[Angc77]

Sequence, UNO attack, Aples to Apples, Rummikub

 

[losfp]

Codenames is another communication game. (And also helps with vocabulary) But it's very fun

I know this is an old thread but I was wondering if there was any discussion of codenames on here Love it, one of the better party games of the last few years. I normally play more complex strategy games, but codenames and a few others are great options to start or end a games night.

They have actually just released Codenames Disney, which is why my mind went to the DIS I ordered it from Amazon, looking forward to its arrival and to playing it.

For OP and anyone else still paying attention.. my suggestions for 8 players (tricky number to cater for):

- Codenames as above
- Telestrations as above
- Tsuro as above
- Incan Gold - fantastic push-your-luck game, all you do every round is decide to stay in the cave (and potentially grab more gold) or leave the cave (if you're afraid that the dangers in the cave are going to kill everyone). Works well for 8.
- The Resistance / Spyfall / Saboteur - great social deduction games where each person has a secret role and may or may not be working against the group.
- Timeline - fun series of games that each come in a small tin. It's a bunch of cards with an event/invention/etc on the front and a year on the back. On your turn all you have to do is insert one of your cards into the proper place in the timeline, If you get it wrong you have to draw another card into your hand. You want to lose all your cards.

 

[Skippy918]

I know this is an old thread but I was wondering if there was any discussion of codenames on here Love it, one of the better party games of the last few years. I normally play more complex strategy games, but codenames and a few others are great options to start or end a games night.

They have actually just released Codenames Disney, which is why my mind went to the DIS I ordered it from Amazon, looking forward to its arrival and to playing it.

For OP and anyone else still paying attention.. my suggestions for 8 players (tricky number to cater for):

- Codenames as above
- Telestrations as above
- Tsuro as above
- Incan Gold - fantastic push-your-luck game, all you do every round is decide to stay in the cave (and potentially grab more gold) or leave the cave (if you're afraid that the dangers in the cave are going to kill everyone). Works well for 8.
- The Resistance / Spyfall / Saboteur - great social deduction games where each person has a secret role and may or may not be working against the group.
- Timeline - fun series of games that each come in a small tin. It's a bunch of cards with an event/invention/etc on the front and a year on the back. On your turn all you have to do is insert one of your cards into the proper place in the timeline, If you get it wrong you have to draw another card into your hand. You want to lose all your cards.

You mentioned you play complex strategy games. Have you played Terraforming Mars or Scythe?

 

[losfp]

You mentioned you play complex strategy games. Have you played Terraforming Mars or Scythe?

Yes!

Scythe is pretty good. It's actually not as complex as it LOOKS. Simple action selection every turn, basically on a rondel of sorts. Gorgeous components. If anything it's maybe a bit TOO light, and can give players the impression that it's a wargame or in some way more fighty than it really is.

Terraforming Mars is a beauty. You can set some wicked combos up and there's a pleasing amount of forward planning that you have to do. I don't love the downtime at higher player counts, and the player mats are annoyingly inadequate (I bought the broken token insert and replacement player trays.. expensive but amazing). Overall great game.

 

[Skippy918]

Yes!

Scythe is pretty good. It's actually not as complex as it LOOKS. Simple action selection every turn, basically on a rondel of sorts. Gorgeous components. If anything it's maybe a bit TOO light, and can give players the impression that it's a wargame or in some way more fighty than it really is.

Terraforming Mars is a beauty. You can set some wicked combos up and there's a pleasing amount of forward planning that you have to do. I don't love the downtime at higher player counts, and the player mats are annoyingly inadequate (I bought the broken token insert and replacement player trays.. expensive but amazing). Overall great game.

We got the insert and player trays for terraforming mars as well. It’s now one of my favorite games. Have you played with drafting cards? You deal out the 4cards, then you take one, pass it, choose from the next set. It helps reduce odds of a bad hand. Dh has bought many of the game organizers because it makes it easy to set up. We just finished a game of Dominant Species. That one takes awhile. Players tend to get analysis paralysis. It’s still fun but more cut throat than the others. We own a good chunk of the top 20 games on the board game geek list.

 

[PollyannaMom]

We often play games at family gatherings. Left, Right, Center is always a hit, and Scattergories is a go-to favorite as well (sometimes we make up holiday categories).

 

[Twilight Sparkle]

Does anyone have Pictopia? If so, is it a good one for family game night? The versions we are considering are the Disney version, the Star Wars version, and the Harry Potter version.

Our favorite group play games are Trivial Pursuit, Monopoly, Clue, Scrabble, Harry Potter Triwizard Maze, Doodle Dice, Sorry, and What Bird Am I. We also enjoy two person games like Battleship and Mastermind. We have Catan but rarely play it. We also have Dicecapades but we opened it once and that was it. Never even played it. I keep wanting to get rid of it, but I'm voted out because of the never ending supply of dice it yields.

 

[Parker Clan]

I didn't read through the whole thread but Balderdash is amazing! We've had so much fun and too many laughs playing this

 

[ZephyrHawk]

I must put in a vote for our perennial favorite, Arkham Horror.

Honorable mentions go to Settlers of Catan, Dixit, Sushi Go, Forbiden Island, 7 Wonders, Letters from Whitechapel, Downfall of Pompeii, many....many others.

If there's one game you SHOULD NOT play with anyone you want to keep as a friend: Illuminati.

 

[losfp]

Have you played with drafting cards?

Yeah I've played with and without drafting. If there's first time players at the table I lean towards non-drafting because you can't really gauge the value of a card unless you're familiar with the game, and it DOES add a bit of extra playing time.