The Best Board Games for Family Bonding
The best board games for family bonding teach strategy, logical thinking, and math skills. They’re also great for teaching kids about patience, slowing down, and taking their time. This junior version of Monopoly is perfect for younger kids and helps encourage money management skills. Plus, it has a fun twist on Slapjack.
Entertaining
After a busy week of school and work, you might need a game to entertain the whole family. Fortunately, you can have fun while still learning when playing one of the best board games for all ages.
You can’t go right with classic Monopoly, which requires math skills and strategic thinking. Plus, so many versions, including Monopoly, Star Wars, Empire, Disney princesses, and Minions, are available that everyone will find something to love.
For younger kids, consider a game like Spontuneous, where players take turns singing words as prompts to move along the board. It’s a great way to build confidence in creative expression and improvisation, and it also helps kids learn how to follow directions.
Another kid-friendly option is Cranium, which has everything from sculpting clay to Pictionary-like challenges and pop culture trivia. This game is excellent for families with kids as young as 5 or 6 and offers a good introduction to traditional table gaming.
A more sophisticated and challenging option is Ticket to Ride, which has just enough strategy for older kids and adults. Its railroad theme may not be as exciting as other choices, but it hits a nice balance between kid-friendly and maintaining some tactical depth. Opting for the best family board games provides enjoyable moments and cultivates a sense of unity and communication among family members. These games are a delightful way to enhance social skills, encourage healthy competition, and create lasting memories for everyone involved.
Fun for all ages
Regarding family game night, the best board games for kids and adults must be engaging and challenging enough to keep everyone interested. The following games offer fun for all ages and encourage friendly competition without making anyone feel left out or angry.
Cranium is a classic with everything from sculpting clay to Pictionary-like challenges to pop culture trivia. While it’s marketed for teens and adults, younger children can also enjoy the game. It’s a great way to get the whole family laughing and bonding together.
For a brain teaser that can pit parents against their kids, this fast-paced card game is the perfect option. Players try to match colored cue cards with a word on the board – such as ‘sloth poop’ — before the judge declares a winner. It’s the perfect way to test your family’s vocabulary and see who is the most observant!
This strategic game is a must for families with older children. It tests their logic skills and requires a significant time commitment. However, growing your child’s knowledge of history and world geography is fun while building teamwork and communication skills. Plus, it’s fun to spend quality one-on-one time with a sibling.
Budget-Friendly
Being on a budget doesn’t mean avoiding fun family activities altogether. While pricey amusement parks and movie theater tickets are likely out of the question, board games provide a low-cost alternative that kids and adults alike can enjoy. And best of all, they don’t have to be boring!
Many of the best board games for family bonding are surprisingly affordable, even more so when looking at used options. You can often find classics like Monopoly, Life, or Scrabble at thrift stores or online for a fraction of their retail price.
Other affordable choices include a wildly fun Bluey game based on the popular show’s episode where the girls play “The Floor is Lava.” This balancing and maneuvering game tests players’ physical skills as they move around a mat covered in color-coordinated dots. Or try Clack, a fast-paced game that uses a similar format to “The Floor is Lava” and has gotten rave reviews from all ages.
Another great option is Apples to Apples, a wacky word association game that requires quick thinking and teamwork to beat. Boggle is a timed word game that can help kids expand their vocabulary, and there’s even a junior version of this game for younger players.
Educational
Educational board games teach kids new skills, expand their vocabulary, inspire their imagination, and encourage family bonding. These educational games also teach children to take turns and respect other players, which can be valuable life lessons. Moreover, they can be a fun way to help kids understand math concepts. For example, The Oregon Trail is a popular computer game adapted into a board game, perfect for rainy days or family game nights.
Another tremendous educational board game is Photosynthesis, which teaches the process of photosynthesis through a beautiful game with intricate tokens and tree models. For younger learners, there is Ticket to Ride First Journey, a simplified version of the original Ticket to Ride that is perfect for kids. Other educational board games include Qwirkle, which helps kids learn patterns, and SET, which is an interesting STEM game that teaches about elements and molecules.
Many other educational board games teach kids to solve problems and think critically. For instance, strategy games like chess and Risk teach kids how to plan their moves carefully. Similarly, cooperative games such as the Pandemic encourage teamwork and cooperation. Finally, science and chemistry games such as Subatomic teach kids about the universe’s building blocks.