I have played board games for as long as I can remember. I have great, great memories of playing games with my Stepmom and Daddy as a child. We would seriously play certain games all day long! It was wonderful fun. I briefly mentioned in the vacay recap that we played Cards Against Humanity the whole week. So, that was my inspiration for this list you see here. I have compiled a list of some really fun games, mostly board games but a couple card games thrown in there to spice things up!
I have to start with Spades. My stepmom swears and I believe her that I learned to count playing Spades! So yes, Spades is fun for all ages. I remember having to use a book to hold my hand of cards because my hands were not big enough to hold them all. Spades is a game of predicting how many times you can play the highest card while following suit. The catch is that Spades trump all other suits. This game works best with 4 players: I like it best with 2 sets of partners. This is a great game! Leigh took her love of Spades several steps further and learned to play bridge. She gives an overview tutorial here.
I cannot even begin to guess how many hours I have spent playing this next card game. This is one that I would sit around all day (and night) playing with my family. And then in Auburn, we played religiously! I mean, we played a lot! It is none other than Skip-bo. It takes very little more than the ability to count to 12 to play this game. The whole object of the game is to get rid of a stack of cards by building other stacks of cards to 12. So simple and yet, so fun.
Rounding out the card games on my list is Phase 10. This is another game that is good for hours and hours of play time. When I lived in Auburn, there was a core group of us that would get off work, go home and play games. This was one of those games that we would play. To win the game, you must progress through each of the phases by configuring your hand certain ways.
The next game is marketed to a younger audience but, more mature players have also been known to get a kick out of it too. Hedbanz is a cross between Blind Man Bluff and 20 questions. You insert a picture card in a head band and take turns asking questions of the other players until you figure out what is on the card in your head band. You can imagine, it is a fun game especially for the younger player.
And speaking of younger players, my next game was also originally marketed to younger players but, mature players are also equally entertained with this game. Clue is the ultimate whodunit game! I have always loved Clue. This is another example of a game that my Stepmom, Daddy and I along with any number of their friends would sit around and play for hours. I mean, was it Colonel Mustard with the revolver in the conservatory or Ms. White with the candlestick in the billiard room? We’ll have to look for the clues to find out!
Yet another game that I have fond memories of playing for hours as a child is Scattergories. This is a great game. I just love having to come up with all these different categories starting with the same letter. I still have my Scattergories from my childhood. It is beat-up and battered and loved incredibly. Although lots of time passes between the times when I play this game, every time that I come back to it- it is like coming home.
If you have never played the next game, I am certain you have heard of it. Yahtzee! is a wonderful, wonderful game. It can be very, very additive! This is another game that my stepmom and I played a bunch but not nearly as much as one of my old roommates and I did. And then there is the hand-held digital version of Yahtzee… and well, that is a whole different animal- but, a wonderful and awesome animal nonetheless.
And now, a new addition to my board game loves. Bezzerwizzer. Bub and I came to play this game when we went to Tupelo to visit our friends. The best way to describe this game is to say it is a cross between Trivial Pursuit and Cranium. The questions are challenging and witty and yet not so intense as Trivial Pursuit and the game moves along much quicker than Cranium. This is a good game if you need something new in your board game rotation.
Ok. The last two games are so much fun. I wish they had been around in my childhood when my Stepmom, Daddy, their cast of friends and I used to sit around and play games because these would have taken prominence. They are just so entertaining. I love them- these last 2 are just so much fun! I look forward to when we can play them with Baby Bub! (one day)
So, first. Apples to Apples. This is a great game. Each player holds a handful of cards with an adjective on each while a stack of nouns in the middle is revealed each round. The object is to play an adjective card that best suits the noun card. The players in the game take turns being the judge. This may sound a little more complicated than it actually is- this game is good for a thousand laughs.
And finally. The game of all games. The game that I fell head over heels for. The game that has changed my life forever… am I being a little over the top? Well, maybe- but, this game is awesome!
Cards Against Humanity. You need to go right to Amazon and buy this game. Cards Against Humanity is the adult, and I mean adult, version of Apples to Apples. You may not want to play this one with your kids until they have at least graduated from college! But oh. if Apples to Apples is good for a thousand laughs, Cards Against Humanity is good for a million laughs!
So, this is my list of favorite board games. Did your favorites make my list? Do you have any that I need to add to my rotation?
found at the following Linky Parties
http://sweethaute.blogspot.ca/2014/02/thursday-sweet-haute-share-link-party_19.html
Phase 10 and Skip-Bo can actually be played with just a few standard decks of cards. No need to buy something commercial. See the wikipedia pages on both for rules if you don’t already own them.
Now, given the list above, I have a couple of recommendations to add to your list. First is Dixit, which is a very fun creative storytelling game. Second is Pit, a classic game of set gathering, and finally, there’s Love Letter, which is a quick little identity identification game.
As a bonus, I can’t help but mention a few games that don’t require any special parts at all. These are Mafia/Werewolf, Fictionary, Liar’s Dice, and Who am I. Of course, there are commercial versions of all of these games, if you want some additional guidance, or more balanced rules. For the above, the equivalents are “The Resistance: Avalon”, “Balderdash”, “Liar’s Dice” and “Time’s Up”.
Finally, if you’re looking for games for Baby Bub, in a few years, he’ll be ready for many of the games on the BGG Children’s Games list: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/childrensgames/browse/boardgame
as well as classics like Guess Who, Candyland, and Memory.
The world of board games is huge, especially if you’re able to expand beyond games available at the toy store.
Ted! What a wonderful list of tips! Thank you so much. I am a complete sucker for a good game! And they certainly don’t have to be commercial versions. I will def look into the ones you suggested. And thank you for the heads up on BGG! I really appreciate it. -Coralie