Board games are an activity my family loves! We play a ton of them, so coming up with a list of our favorite board games was a challenge.
There are so many great ones. And I love how they help my kids learn some of those important soft skills like strategy, critical thinking, and taking turns.
Way back at the start of 2018, I shared monthly “Game of the Week” posts. You may have noticed those stopped when spring arrived.
That’s because when the weather warmed up, we started spending more time outside. We played soccer in the yard, had tetherball tournaments, and used walkie-talkies to play the most amazing games of hide and seek.
Outside activities filled our evenings, and there wasn’t a lot of time left for playing board games.
But now, the days are short and the wind is cold. We aren’t outside as often. So we are once again playing games before bedtime.
I was interested in learning what everyone’s favorite board game was, so I asked. Here’s what my game players said, from youngest to oldest.
Brynna’s Favorite Board Game (Age 3)
My three year old loves to “play” games. Often we hand her extra pieces and she loves sitting at the table and playing with them.
There are many games she can play, and I thought she’d pick one of those as her favorite. But she didn’t.
Her favorite game is Monopoly Gamer Mario Kart
I must admit, Monopoly Gamer is WAY better than regular Monopoly. It’s shorter, there are coins instead of dollars, and each character has unique plays that keep the game interesting.
Brynna loves rolling the dice and moving the Mario themed pieces. Her favorite is Princess Peach. Even though she’s a bit young to really play, her siblings include her in the game, which is so sweet to watch.
Simon’s Favorite Board Game (Age 5)
Five is a fun age! There are a ton of games five year olds can play, so I was eager to hear what Simon’s favorite was.
He told me it was Morphology Junior
That doesn’t surprise me! In this game, you use a bunch of random pieces to build words. The other team tries to guess what you built.
Since Simon can’t yet read, he gets to go ask someone who isn’t playing to read his card on his turn. Then he comes and builds.
We have a house rule that if the younger kids won’t know what the word is, we let them pick a new card.
Simon also loves just sitting at the table and having free play with the pieces to this game. He likes to see what big things he can build.
Sydney’s Favorite Board Game (Age 7)
My little Sydney just turned seven, and she’s always enjoyed playing games. Her favorites are ones that are quick to play, so I had a feeling she’d pick a card game as her favorite.
I was right! She selected Tastes Like Chicken. This is a quick playing card game that appears to be no longer available.
The goal of this one is to get rid of your cards first. It plays similar to Uno, except instead of matching colors or numbers, you’re matching animals.
All of the cards have a crazy combination of two animals. So you might have a Snake Cow card with the head of a snake and the body of a cow. There’s also a Cow Snake card, that has the head of a cow and the body of a snake.
When it’s your turn, you have to play a card that matches one of the animals that’s showing on the card in the middle.
If you can’t make a play, you must draw another card and say, “Tastes like (something bad).”
The kids all hoot and howl with laughter when we play this one!
Ellie’s Favorite Board Game (Age 8)
Ellie has a long attention span and enjoys games that take a while. She said her favorite was The Farming Game
She likes that this game has stickers for the cows, fruit, wheat, hay, and equipment. She loves that it’s set in Washington State.
This game certainly takes a while, and really does reward players for going into debt early in the game. Since we want to teach our kids to stay out of debt, we modify the rules a bit. You can see more about how we do that in this post.
Jeffrey’s Favorite Board Game (Age 10)
Jeff is my gamer. He loves playing games and often requests to play for family play time on his day of the week. Since he loves so many games, I wasn’t sure which one would rise to the top of his list.
It was the Catan Expansion: Seafarers
This game plays like most in the Catan series. You use resource cards to build settlements, roads, and cities.
But, since this one is Seafarers, there are also boats. You can use the boats to go explore distant islands and build there.
It’s a fun expansion, and Jeff really likes the different scenarios the game book includes.
Jayme’s Favorite Board Game (Age 16)
My teen also loves playing games. She’s a thinker, and strategy games have always been enjoyable for her.
Her favorite game is Clue
This classic who-dun-it game is one I really enjoy too! I was so happy when Jayme finally got old enough to play it way back when, because my husband and I needed a third player.
Now Jeff and Ellie can play too, and it’s even more fun with more people.
As you play, you use logic and elimination to determine who the killer is, what weapon was used, and where the murder took place.
And there are lots of moveable pieces to keep the younger kids busy while we play. 😀
Lisa’s Favorite Board Game
Picking a favorite is so hard for me. There are tons of games that I really enjoy playing.
I think for this year, my current favorite is Lost Cities – The Board Game
Here’s why it’s my favorite:
- You can opt to play a short game or a long game. I love having the choice!
- It forces the kids to practice math skills like probability and comparing numbers without realizing it
- There’s a lot of strategy involved, but it’s easy to learn
- It’s explorer based, which I think is a fun concept
- The game is well made – the board and cards hold up nicely
Bryan’s Favorite Board Game
My husband’s favorite board game is Ticket To Ride
In fact, he likes the original so much that we now have several of the expansions as well. The 1910 expansion pack is a great one, that’s fairly inexpensive!
The whole family likes this game, but since only five people can play it’s typically Bryan, Jeff, Jayme, Ellie, and me. The other kids sit and watch, and build patterns and things with the trains we haven’t played yet.
Bryan purchased this game for his iPad as well, and it’s what we played on the airplane when we flew to Missouri this summer. It really helped pass the time!
What Are Your Favorite Board Games?
Are you a board game loving family as well? Tell me in the comments what game is your favorite.
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