Five best board games
Do you like playing board games? I love having board games around the apartment for when people stop by or friends stay the night, since they instantly make an evening fun and funny. Here are my five current favorites...
Jenga gets everyone's heart racing. (Alex and I played it a lot when I was pregnant.)
Scattergories is perfect for quick-thinking wordsmiths.
Taboo always makes people laugh (especially with the buzzer).
Have you played with an Ouija board since you were 16? Turn off the lights, gather around and ask it spooky questions. (Bonus: The updated version glows in the dark.)
Mancala is the perfect game to play with a glass of wine in hand, and it's fun for both kids and adults (it gets harder as you get smarter!).
What games would you recommend?
(Layout by Em for Cup of Jo)
Tweet
Pin It Now!
160 comments:
cranium is my favorite ever!
My family loves cards and board games! Definitely check out:
Settlers of Catan, Five Crowns, and Wise and Otherwise. Wise and Otherwise always leads to lots of laughing!
We play Apples to Apples quite a bit, and Password can be fun. I can't play the Ouija board since I (stupidly) watched Paranormal Activity.
Apples to Apples!!!!! Best game for a group
Scrabble! (Or Bananagrams.)
last winter a few friends and i got really into CLUE! totally forgot how much fun that game is!
I L-O-V-E board games! I have spent great evenings with friends playing Pictionary, Taboo, Trivial Persuit, Party (wich is a mix of Pictionary, Trivial, and Taboo). Always with a glass of wine on my hand ;-)
I love games! I think Apples to Apples is my favorite though! :D
One of my favorite games is Catchphrase! My family plays it at every holiday gathering and it's always such fun.
I love board games! Haven't played one in forever though.
Dicecapades!...it started out as a gag gift to my parents since everyone always loses the dice to games and its claim to fame is that it has "more than a 100 different dice!". But now all of us kids are eating our words. We all bought the game and love it.
oh yes, apples to apples!!!
Quelf . It is the funniest, weirdest game ever but so awesome
LOL, hannah, that is so cute.
Quelf, never heard of it! going to google now:)
Have you played the Game of Things? HANDS DOWN the best game of all time. If you like Scattergories, you would just love the game of things. Check it out!!
One of my very favorite group games isn't a board game at all - you just need books!
One person is designated to pick a book from the pile, and they read the description on the back/sleeve. Everyone writes down what they think the first sentence could/should be, and the picker writes the actual one. Then they're thrown into a hat and read one by one.
It's usually fun just because they're so crazy -- you vote which one you think is the real first sentence. If you get it right, you get a point, and if someone picks your sentence you get a point.
The more ridiculous the book is (romance novels are great!) the more fun the game is.
Love taboo! The family plays it, gets a little intense at times, but always a good laugh!
http://aneverdayadventure.blogspot.com/
I strongly recommend Pandemic. It may be the best board game I've ever played. And it's a co-op game (everyone body wins or everybody loses) which is helpful when you have competitive kids. The expansion to it, On the Brink, is also worthwhile. I would also recommend Settlers of Catan.
apples to apples!
Beyond Balderdash (which is pretty much Anni's game with the books but with definitions, acronyms, movie summaries, and historical dates)... it's hilarious.
Jenga and scattegories are two of my favorites. Also always loved calico which I think they don't make anymore, but it's similar (or identical) to a game called tantrix. So fun, I highly recommend it. And then there's always charades, which we play (pretty brutally) every christmas and never gets old.
http://nomadic-d.blogspot.com/
Cold nights in with good compny and board games = winter bliss! I love taboo, always a good laugh with it!
I have to chime in with several of the comments above, and say that Apples to Apples is the perfect large group game. So interactive and so fun!
Katherine @ thistle handmade
LOVE these 2!!
... http://torriesessions.blogspot.com/2011/08/all-work-some-play.html
Apples to Apples usually makes everyone laugh constantly (and there's a junior version so kids can play with adults). There's a lot of domino-playing around here which as well which is also fun for a group.
Have a wonderful weekend. :-)
My boy and I just played Scrabble last night, it's our favourite board game. I also love Apples to Apples and Monopoly!
We have what we call "Party Jenga" in my family. It started during a beach vacation that included over two dozen family members and close friends. My cousins wrote ridiculous tasks out on the Jenga pieces, and you had to perform the task written on the piece you pulled out. The game was gifted to my brother-in-law as a pollyanna gift a couple of Christmases ago. It travels to the shore with us every year when we all take our giant family vacation. Much malarchy and giggling ensues every time it gets pulled out.
Note: There is a flash game called Pandemic that has nothing to do with the board game Pandemic that I was recommending.
I love Pictionary and Boggle!
I have never heard of Apples to Apples, but I am going to look it up now. I love Scatergories, too, Joanna.
Apples to Apples is a total winner!!! We play it a lot with my extended family. We run a pretty broad spectrum of political, social and religious viewpoints throughout, and Apples to Apples is a fun way for us to all acknowledge our differences and make them reasons to love each other rather than divide us.
The colons of Catan is my favourite one!!
Connect Four! I love how simple and yet war-like it is. Strategy, and first middle slot, always!
Mad Gab is my favorite game. You read nonsense but you're actually saying something. Your partner has to guess what you're saying.
Abe Hum Pen Thin Height.
Us My Leaf Ace
Thud Hen Verb Wrong Goes
Can you guess those?
Balderdash is my fav! Have you ever played?
I've been all about the board games in the past year or so.
The commenters have listed some of my favorites: Catch Phrase, Apples to Apples, and Wise and Otherwise. We also love Hit or Miss, which is like a combination between Scattergories and Family Feud.
I always thought that games are a bit pricier than I expect/want them to be, so I recommend checking thrift stores for games. I've got some great ones, and as long as you check to make sure all of the pieces are there, it is a great deal!! (I do have to buy some new clay for Cranium, though...)
Lindsay
www.wearingitall.blogspot.com
Joanna - you simply must play Articulate! My group of girlfriend's are all obsessed with it - weplay it everytime we go on girlie holiday & when we meet for dinner at each other's houses! You & Alex will love it!
In college we made Jenga into a drinking game. Each piece had a number on it and if you pulled it out you had to drink that many sips of your drink. So not only were you trying to not knock over the tower, but you were trying to find the pieces with the lowest number. Fond memories.
We LOVE Taboo! Mexican Train and Uno are also major faves.
My college roommate and I also used to have Gin/Gin Nights - we'd mix gin and tonics and host gin rummy tournaments late into the night! Aaaand that makes it sound like we went to a college for elderly ladies. We didn't :)
Hilary
Have you ever played Celebrity? It's one of my favorites, especially to play with people you know well.
Everyone puts the names of a few celebrities in a hat (or even just people the group would know, like one time we played with a pregnant friend and her soon-to-be-born baby was a celebrity :) and you divide up into two teams. The hat goes around and you grab a handful of names and try to get your team to guess as many as they can in 45 seconds. In the first round, you can give any clue (without using the name) to get people to guess. In the second round, you can only use two words (but by that point everyone has already guessed all the names in the hat, so you can use that to your advantage by using things that went on in the last round). In the third round, you have to do it with charades!
Girls seem to be better at the first round (when you can use a lot of words) and guys always kill it at round two, when you're only using two words. I wish I could communicate how hilarious this game is!
So many good ideas here! We play Clue at Christmas (family tradition), but need a new game for a crowd.
Bananagrams is a recent favorite :)
I just had a game night last weekend--we played Apples to Apples, Catchphrase, Quelf and Taboo. Quelf was a little too complicated for my semi-drunk friends, and I had to worry about their loud singing annoying my landlord (who lives in the basement)! But it was tons of fun. Game nights are so great--and inexpensive!
Joanna, you've got to try Bananagrams! We bought it a year ago and love it! It's an off-shoot of Scrabble, only faster.
Yahtzee is another favorite. My mom and I try to play every day, and we keep a running tally of our scores. Then at the end of the month, the winner gets take-out bought by the loser. :)
Balderdash is my new favorite! It's so fun to see what people come up with and it always gets us laughing really hard. Another favorite is Tripoley, which is a mix of poker and a few other games.
I definitely second Catchphrase (the electronic one actually, since it has thousands of phrases). It's a great party game (lots of laughs!), works with big groups, and is a little less stressful than Taboo can be.
I also really like Loaded Questions. In this game everybody writes down the answer to a question and whoever is "it" that round guesses who said what. It's another good group game. It comes with a board, but you really don't need it.
The very best game, though, is a free game. All you need are pencil and paper and some friends. We call it Telephone Pictionary, but I've heard it called other things, too. At the start of the round, everyone writes down a phrase (or character, or song lyric, or book title, etc.) and passes it to the person to their left. That person then has to draw whatever the phrase is. They pass it on to the next person (covering up the original phrase) and that person has to write down what the drawing is. Keep passing, alternating drawing & writing until you get your own page back. The best part is everybody sharing the hilarious path their phrase took.
Our family loves playing Dictionary.
You basically take a dictionary and someone finds a word that nobody will know. They write down the real definition and everyone else makes one up. You vote on which you think is real and points are distributed to those who faked others out and for those who get the right def.
This game ALWAYS results in some serious fun and laughter.
p.s. Booze and friends make the game even better.
apples to apples, best game ever!
The game what and balderdash are perennial favourites. They involve thinking, laughing, and interaction which is the best part about games.
We love board games! Our favorite for just an evening at home is Scrabble, but if we have people over we like to play Qwirkle or Ticket to Ride.
Monopoly....goes on forever!!:)
I haven't played a board game in forever. These would make great family Christmas presents. Except for the Ouija... Scares the crap out of me, lol.
Apples to Apples!
I also like Cranium, but it can be harder to get the "too cool for school" crowd into that one :)
Settlers of Catan is amazing! You should definitely check it out.
OMG Mancala is one of my favorites when I was growing up!!!
This is such a fun post! I love board games. My favorite board games are Settlers of Catan, Risk, Sequence, and True Colors.
I'll have to check out Mancala!!
For all the Apples-to-Apples lovers, check out Dixit. It's similar, but with pictures done by a very creative & talented artist. It's a big hit with our friends.
I've never played with a Ouija board but have always wanted to! My absolute favorite is CLUE & 2nd favorite is Cranium
Apples to Apples and Things are hilarious with a group of good friends. I have never laughed so hard as when we've played those. Also, Wits and Wagers is pretty fun (though someone really needs to understand the rules well - I always get mixed up!).
I love board games! Scattergories, Balderdash, and Apples to Apples are my favorites.
We play a lot of games and my two favourite are, by far, Ticket to Ride and Dominion. Both are absolutely addicting.
I second Dicecapades - it's so fun! It's like a million mini games! There's trivia and word games and physical games - but I do worry about losing all those 100s of dice (especially after a few beers!)
Rummi-Kub - best game ever!
Balderdash! And of course...Cranium!
Bubbs...
www.paris-on-my-mind.blogspot.com
Pictionary is always fun too!
My fiance just suggested yesterday that we have game night tonight! So excited.
Taboo and Jenga are family faves!!
Cranium & Quelf. I never stop laughing when I play those games.
Uno and mastermind when I want a good thinkin' and some relaxing time.
Check out my blog and giveaway at:
http://flyingfarandfree.blogspot.com/
Compatibility is a great game to play with couples. Really gets some discussion (arguments) going! :)
Whenever my family visits my grandmother, we play her vintage board games from the 1950s. Our favorite is "Encore"- where a team draws a card with a word and that team has to sing as many songs as they can think of with that word. It can get intense!
Apparently there is a new version:
http://www.amazon.com/Endless-Games-300-Encore-Game/dp/B00000JKL7
Dominos!
I love mancala! They say it's the oldest game. : )
Bananagrams is awesome, too.
Scrunched around the coffee table with a fire going and knowing s'mores are in my future while playing Rummikub is the BEST! Glad some other readers love 'the kub' as much as I do! -random nicole
Oh i LOVE board games. Growing up my fam played monopoly every wednesday. We would play into the wee hours of the night because that game never seems to end! Now I love playing banangrams! It's a hyped up version of scrabble.
Fun! I love Apples to Apples, Bananagrams, scrabble, Life and good ol' Battleship.
In college we played "beer jenga." We wrote something to do on each piece like take a drink or do a dance, things like that. It made the game a bit more challenging :)
Scrabble has got to be up there!
I agree with the Settlers of Catan suggestion - a really good board game for 3+ players. Don't think many people have heard it but it's really good!
Catch Phrase always makes for a fun night :).
its all about speed scrabble.
My husband and I play Boggle all the time, as well as a game a lot of people haven't heard of called Set. I love Boggle because, well, I always win! And Set is fun because it really works your brain - I always feel like my brain got a good workout after playing it.
Taboo is a Thanksgiving tradition! We play it every year after we have all recovered from food coma. Ha-Ha.
Happy Veterans Day...Semper Fi.
www.dylandrake.blogspot.com
i love love jenga!!! and monopoly! it's my favorite!!
♥ allister bee blog
I played Bananagrams at my friend's bachelorette party earlier this summer and now it's one of my favorites. I also really love Pit. It's a weird crop trading game but it's really fun!
I grew up playing board games with my family! We still love them... so whenever the family gets together (the more the better!) we always break out the dominos for Mexican Train Dominos. Another favorite in college was MindTrap. We never quite figured out the board part so we always just read the riddles out to each other to see who could figure them out first.
I LOVE playing Catch Phrase and Apples to Apples with a group. Also...Balderdash can be absolutely hysterical. I also enjoy Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit (when I'm feeling particularly intellectual)
I have to agree with gillian that Cranium is my favorite. My immediate family and I always play it when we get together. My sister and I rock when we're on the same team. Also it is a great party game to play with cocktails. Who doesn't like a game that involves charades, trivia, pictionary, word puzzles, etc? Everyone will find one category they enjoy or at least listening to my tone deaf dad attempt a humdinger.
www.ccerebrations.blogspot.com
here are our favorite games (not just board):
his - chess, risk, settlers of catan, pinochle, and monopoly.
mine - banangrams, scrabble, rummikub, catch phrase, blokus.
now i just want to play games all day!
How can you leave Scrabble off that list of top five board games? We play grudge matches of it here into the wee hours all the time.
Apples to Apples is always a hoot! It's more fun when everyone decides to play silly instead of giving serious answers.
my fiance loves star wars and i love monopoly. so we play star wars monopoly. enough said. :)
also, JUNGLE SPEED! BEST GAME EVER!!!
Bezzerwizzer. Trivial knowledge + betting + bluffing. It is hilarious and way competitive with a good group of friends!
We also love Bananagrams (also known as pick scrabble) and celebrity with friends and, when it's just the two of us, Boggle and Blokus.
my favorite go-to game--the original Trivial Pursuit. we hadn't played it for years until my daughter and son-in-law moved into our apartment. One day i just thought of it---we've been playing it not so frequently ever since. so much fun! (we play the speed round version where every right answer gets a piece of pie. it goes much faster then--my daughter won in 20 minutes the last time we played!!)
Scrabble is another fav--my mom used to beat my dad every time! this post is being sent by grandma-kathleen.blogspot.com not dad. same with the previous one.
Oh and "Fast" Scrabble is one of my faves! I played this all the time with my college roommates.
Everyone starts with seven letters, as usual, but instead of using the big Scrabble board, everyone creates their own little board right in front of them. Instead of working together, you work individually. The first person to use all seven tiles yells, "Draw two!" and everyone takes two more tiles from the center of the table to add to your growing crossword. (You can always change and rearrange as you get more tiles if you want.) And you keep going until all the tiles are gone. Then you all read your words aloud. Leftover tiles count as points for each person. Then you start over, and keep a running tally of all the leftover points. The person with the least amount of points wins! It's so much more dynamic than regular Scrabble!
Ticket to Ride - a fun game where you compete with friends to build train tracks across America or Europe!
we are constantly playing what we call "the train game" -- actually called Ticket to Ride and it's a total blast. i also love Jeopardy and Trivial Pursuit.
I love board games!! My all time fav is Catch Phrase but I am really looking forward to playing some of these other suggestions!
Apples to Apples is by far my favorite game! It's so much fun to play with friends…it's just constant laughing and you don't have to get competitive about winning. It's just pure fun!
Does anyone else love Settlers of Catan?? It seems weird at first - settlers building roads, towns, and cities by trading wheat, orr, wood, brick, and sheep - but its completely addicting and so much fun. You can really strategize to win points, or you can just get lucky. The most fun part is that you can come from behind to beat everyone else if you play strategically. It is a favorite of our friends and highly recommended!
A couple of people have already said, but I feel so strongly about this that I had to chime in, too... Settlers of Catan is REALLY good!
Telestrations! It's an illustrated version of Telephone and is GREAT for groups of friends, and always gets everyone giggly and is endlessly entertaining. You can buy the actual game, or easily do a homemade free version yourself. I believe that Meagan outlined the general idea in one of the comments below. I just had to share it again though - it's literally the go to game these days with my friends and family
I totally have noticed how mancala is more difficult now.. I play with he kids at work and they are SO MUCH better than me! bahaha we also like Apples to Apples and Things.. too funny
I like Monopoly and Taboo!
ticket to ride, settlers of catan, and five crowns!
Love this!
I'm a scrabble girl, but my in-laws are epic board game types who choose monopoly or risk or chess. They are super competitive!
Rapidough is the most amazing game ever. It's like pictionary but instead of drawing you have to mold a piece of playdough into what you're trying to say instead.
So much fun!
I love board games! My sisters and I were seriously addicted to Taboo at one point. This post kind of makes me want to check out some new games. =)
Satisfy Your Cravings For Celebrity Style and All Things Stylish and Sweet
we love to play catch phrase when we have friends over. you have to describe a word to your team, and get as many as you can before the buzzer runs out. it tends to get rowdy!
www.uptowndogblog.com
I loved Mancala growing up! Now we play apples to apples which always promises a good time!
My roommates and I LOVEEE Taboo. We get pretty rowdy and almost violently competitive! We also have it in French :-)
My roommates love bezzerwizzer. My cousins love Quelf. I think they are new ones. My favorite will always be cranium though.
Also my family(which is huge) on thanksgiving plays scattergories after lunch! love it
Haley
outingsandoxfords.blogspot.com
Apples to Apples is the best party game! Always gets everyone laughing :)
ouiji boards scare me!
We recently bought the Settlers of Catan! It is so much fun, I recommend it :)
acupofsparkle.blogspot.com
I second Quelf. It is so bizarre but totally hilarious and super fun.
Wow, I really love board games.
I'm from Italy, and my favorite are Pictionary and Visual Games (nearly the same, but I think it only exists in Italy).
We have Scattergories, Jenga and Taboo, too.
Never saw Ouija or Mancala, but I will look for them!
Vale
Ive never heard of alot of these games.. will start especially with my kids!
scattergories, scrabble, apples to apples, scene it (though because i was a film major, either everyone wants to be on my team or doesn't want to play against me!), phase 10, uno, and pit. i take uno with me whenever there's a long wait somewhere - you always end up finding people who want to play!
Farkle! Slow and a little confusing to start but really gets rolling (no pun intended).
I would have to add Clue and Life! One is pure strategy and the other is just good fun with the family.
Christina
www.becauseofmadalene.blogspot.com
My friends and I used to get a kick out of playing with Ouija boards in junior high. Once it started doing 360°s all over the board and spelling "w-i-t-c-h-c-r-a-f-t" over and over, though, I was done. Haven't played since. Haven't played any board games in years, actually, although I have fond memories of Monopoly bouts.
Taboo is the best! If you really like board games, I recommend scouting out "Ticket to Ride"- they sell it in some Barnes and Nobles, and it's Fantastically fun! me and my husband love it. xoxx
Guillotine!!!!
Cranium! Monopoly! Pictionary! All guaranteed to bring a lot of laughter and fun!
Maria xx
www.cheekypinktulip.blogspot.com
My husband introduced me to Dominoes and it is a BLAST, especially when his family gets together. They are from Puerto Rico and the game usually turns into a drinking/ hysterically laughing/ yelling match. It is surprisingly complex, almost like playing a card game. I never knew there were strategies in Dominoes! :)
yes, another vote for scrabble and bananagrams! We also play a lot of good, old-fashioned card games, especially when we are staying with or being visited by my parents, or if a certain prof of mine comes for dinner and wine - we'll play cards all night! Some of our favorites are pinochle, spades, hand and foot, up and down, etc. They're classics for a reason!
Cranium is always fun :) but Scrabble Slam is my fave!!!!!
I love cranium and partini
XO
Apples to Apples and Uno are hilarious to play with a big group.
Like wine and camping, board games are up there with things I wish I could learn to like...but I just can't do it!
I'm a Scrabble geek! I also love trivia games. Basically, I'm up for anything with a hint of nerd. :)
Another vote for Catchphrase.
best. game. ever.
loved apples to apples too.
both are fun with a big group.
Scrabble!
windeater.blogspot.com
Mancala gets harder as you get smarter? : ( Why does our seven-year-old routinely beat my husband and me?
Articulate! best game ever for family christmas get-togethers Xx
talked about favorite board games on the car ride back from the farm today. the winner for all three of us in the car: trivial pursuit. for me, it's mostly because i have the 198_ version that my parents have mostly memorized.
cna't wait to play articulate!!! :)
If you really want to discover some cool newer board games, try titles like Glory to Rome, Agricola, or Carcassonne.
Find reviews at FunBoardGames.org and more details about thousands that are out there at BoardGameGeek.com.
Balderdash!! So much fun.
I also love play cards with my family, not really a boardgame though.
xx Sally
These are all fabulous games, but I have to add that Ticket to Ride is the best board game of all!! Oh and Bananagrams rocks too!
oxo
Settlers of Catan (once you learn how to play) is the BEST board game.
Apples to Apples! I have a collection of quotes from when friends and I would routinely play the game, framed on my desk because they make me laugh.
Bezzerwizzer and Phase 10! so addictive!
When we want a night full of laughter we always play Activity. It's amazing.
i've always loved scatergories and taboo. my family is big into games and our recent faves are quelf (100 silly and great with a few drinkies) and bezzerwizzer (like trivial pursuit with betting :)
if you have an ipad, TaBOOM is a great, protable taboo alternative
No Scrabble?! That's crazy!
catchphrase is the best family game! do check it out!
Settlers of Catan is amazing! My flatmates and I play this regularly. It's perfect for 3 - 4 people, it's easy to learn, and it only takes one - one and a half hours to play.
oooh, LOVE board games! my faves are taboo, say anything (like apples to apples but more hilarious), ticket to ride, and spot it (meant for kids but superfun to play as adults)! thanks for the fun post
I love Say anything as well!! It's my favorite board game and it's a lot of fun with a group of friends. Pretty close to "apples to apples" but way much better! Outrageous questions and it gets even better with the most interesting and unpredictable answers. Definitely great to play for this time of the year.....:)
I love board games! My husband and I play them all the time. While it's not a board game, per se, we love Mad Gabs - hysterical!
I have that glow in the dark Ouija board! I remember bringing it to a slumber party at a particularly old English farmhouse and none of my friends believed it would work ...but it did! It was so scary, we had all the lights off (since it glowed) and when it started to move we all screamed and ran out of the room. Then in the middle of the night the light in the room we were sleeping in turned on by itself and then off again. I think I'm too neurotic to play with it these days.
As for slightly dorkier word games I love Balderdash!
Apples to Apples and Scrabble
One of my favorite games of all time :-
http://highlycompressedactiongames.blogspot.com/2011/10/homefront-full-pc-game-game.html
Cat Attack: http://www.kedidefteri.com/?p=2607
You are a street cat. You have to scrach, bite for survive and not to loose your 9 lives...
Wits & Wagers
Post a Comment