OUR FAVORITE GAMES
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MY TOP FIVE
Playing games is one of our favorite family activities!
Games are such an excellent way to create lasting memories and also are a great way to encourage learning.
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This is not an exhaustive list of all of the games we enjoy, but I tried to choose our top favorites. For more suggestions, you can check out my Amazon storefront.
AGES 3-6
Ages 6+
Easy to learn and quick to play!
Players collect train cards, claim routes on the map, and try to connect cities shown on their tickets to achieve victory. The game ends when one player completes six tickets , claiming the Golden Ticket as their prize.
Ages 5+
Mrs. Plumpert's pot pie has gone missing and now it's a chase to crack the case! Move around the board to collect clues, then use the special evidence scanner to rule out suspects. You have to work together quickly because the guilty fox is high-tailing towards the exit.
Ages 4+
Let's Go Fishin' teaches hand-eye coordination as players use their mini fishing poles to try to catch the most fish. With a rotating pond and hungry fish that open and close their mouths, this classic kids game provides fast-paced fishing fun!
Ages 3-6
In this color coordinated matching game, players cooperate to help the owls fly back to their nest before the sun comes up. Help all of the owls home before sunrise and everyone wins!
Ages 4+
Players take turns matching a card in their hand with the current card shown on top of the deck either by color or number. When you're down to one card, don't forget to shout "Uno". The first player to get rid of their cards wins!
Ages 4-6
Take turns hanging fruit and jungle friends on the orangutan, but watch out! At some point, he'll be holding too much and he'll spring up and send the fruit and friends flying! How much can he hold before he twangs?
Ages 2-4
Chugga Chool is a puzzle game for toddler ages! As you play, kids will develop color identification, spatial recognition, and choice making skills.
Ages 4+
Your kids can have fun playing with a parent or a friend, encourage the development of your toddler's hand-eye coordination and attention span.
Ages 3-5
Your forest friends are hungry, and they need your help. Spin the spinner, squeeze the matching-colored acorn with your squirrel squeezer, and place it into your log. Be the first to fill your log with delicious acorns and you win.
Teaches colors, matches, hand-eye-coordination, taking turns, and counting.
Ages 3-6
Stone Soup is a game drawn from the classic tale of cooperation. In this simple game, players work together to "cook" a soup by making matches of ingredients. Match all the ingredients before the fire under the kettle goes out and everyone wins! This is a fun take on Memory.
Ages 3+
This is a fun one to play with multiple age levels! Go Fish is a great way for young kids to learn how to play cards – how to hold them, how to deal, how to read the numbers, and how to be polite by taking turns. Swim with the sharks and lunch with the lobsters while playing this classic card game of Go Fish!
Ages 3-6
Everyone works together to help Mother Hen collect her chicks and bring them back to the chicken coop. Spin and count to collect chicks while working together. Collect them all and everyone wins!
Ages 6+
Nuts About Mutts is an innovative spin on the classic game of Uno, where the first player to get rid of all their cards wins! With unique twists and fast-paced play, this game is one of a kind!
Ages 3-6
This adorable version of the classic Candy Land game features gingerbread men as movers, colored cards, and fun illustrations that kids love, with different destinations like Cookie Commons and the chunky Chocolate Mountain.
Ages 3-6
It's the classic game of SEQUENCE made just for kids! Play an animal card from your hand, and place your chip on the corresponding animal on the board. Wild cards add excitement to the game. The first player with four chips in a row wins!
FAMILY GAMES
I have marked each game with the suggested age range.
Ages 8+ (our six-year-old enjoys it as well)
Race against your fellow knights through the castle, where behind every door waits a surprise! By opening and locking doors, be the first to cross the precarious maze to the other side. There is no time for chivalry! Padlock doors and charge ahead as your opponents hacksaw their way through barred doors and hunt for keys!
Ages 8+
You're digging for gold deep in the shadowy maze of a mining tunnel, when suddenly a pickaxe shatters your lampand the cavern goes pitch black. The saboteur as struck again! But who is the saboteur? Can you and your fellow miners to the hidden gold, or will the saboteurs thwart your efforts?
Ages 8+
This quick playing dice game will have you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end! Quixx is simple to play but each decision is crucial - the more numbers you cross off, the more points you score!
Ages 8+
Trash is treasure! In this raucous card game, paw through the deck to find sets of old-day pizza, half-eaten candy,and other luscious leftovers. Roll the die to tip over the garbage or raid a rival's rubbish. The more you roll, the more actions you take - but get too greedy and your turn is scrapped! Stash the most trash to win.
Ages 8+
Perpetual Commotion is an outragiously fast game! The object of the game is to play your cards - as many and as fast as fast as you can - into a common area. To win, you must play faster and more aggressively than your opponents.
Ages 10+
Welcome to Tikki Island! In this fast-paced strategy game, try to maneuver your secret tikis to the top of the line by playing the right combination of cards.Watch out for the sneaky Tiki Toast cards which knock your tikis off the board. Score the most points to win
Ages 7+
Headbanz is a fun party game! Place a headband on your head and pick a card to put into the card holder. Don't peek! As "yes" or "not" questions to figure out what food or item you are!
Ages 8+
Pass the sushi! In this fast playing card game, the goal is to grab the best combination of sushi dishes as they whiz by. Dip your favorite nigiri into wasabi to triple it's value. Be sure to leave room for dessert or else you'll eat into your score! Gather the most points and consider yourself the sushi master!
Ages 7+
You've Got Crabs is a team-based party game! Try to collect four of the same card before the other teams, then pass your secret signal to your teammate. If your partner sees your signal and yells, "You've Got Crabs, you gain a point. If an opponent sees your signal and yells, "You've Got Crabs", you lose a point. The team with the most points wins!
Ages 7+
This is a fun party game is full of hilarious motion and perfect for all ages! Race against each other to slap a match between a card and a spoken word. But watch out, your mind will try to play tricks on you!
Ages 7+
It's the exciting card game where king's go in the corners! Play your cards, Solitaire style and extend your turn as long as possible. Can't make a single play? Pay the pot. First to empty your hand? You win the pot. Be the first person to reach 100 points and win the game!
Ages 7+
Quirkle is playable for early ages on up, allowing players to hone their spacial recognition, planning, and problem solving skills. Build lines by matching tiles based on either color or shape, and score points for doing so.
Ages 7+
Stake your claim and protect your territory! Blokus takes less than a minute to learn, but offers endless strategy and fun challenges for the whole family. Each player gets a set of 21 pieces and takes turn laying them on the board. The goal is to fit the most pieces on the board!
Ages 7+
Players take turns placing numbered tiles in runs (consecutive numbers of the same color) and groups (three or more of different colors).
It's easy to learn, but packed with strategy!
Ages 8+
Twist and shake and set to play! Search for words before the three-minute timer goes off! The longer the words, the more points you can score. Try to find ones that your opponents won't see to collect as many points as possible!
Ages 7+
Play a card from your hand , and place a chip on the corresponding space on the game board. When you have five-in-a-row, it's Sequence. Learn to block your opponents or remove their chips, and watch out for Jacks - they're wild!
Ages 7+
Build your dream home in this fast and fun board game for 2-4 players. Select rooms to fill your board over the course of twelve rounds, earning points for more extravagant spaces and a functional home. Hire help to make changes to your three-story abode.
Ages 10+
It should be easy to name three breeds of dogs, but can you do it under the pressure of 5 seconds twisting down, and with other players staring at you, waiting for you to get flustered? Time is not on your side so just say what comes to mind.
Ages 10+ - Two-player game
Players take on the roles of the city's two most powerful traders seeking to earn their invite to court. Collect and exchange goods at the market then sell them for rupees. Arrange a larger sale to receive a reward. The camels have no sale value but are useful for trading.
Ages 14+
In this game, smart sowing lets you reap big rewards. Plant the beans you do want, trade the beans you don't want to other players. The one who ends up with the most money wins!
Ages 8+
The object of the game is to roll as many combinations that keep adding to your score without rolling too much that you lose everything! Roll a Makin' Bacon for an even bigger score.
Ages 8+
Azul is a tile placement game in which players become artisans tasked with creating the most beautiful tiled mosaics. Compete for the highest score by claiming tiles from a central market and arranging them on your board to score points. Earn extra points for collecting sets of the same color tile and creating particular patterns
Ages 8+
Each round of Second Thoughts is an hilarious highspeed attempt to stump the other team. Both teams create a list of five things using letters revealed on the colored dice. Be witty and wise but don't take too long because time is not on your side. The amount of time it takes your team to create your list is how much time the other team has to guess them!
Ages 14+
A Sneaky family game of social deduction share players must race to catch the chamelion before it's too late Everyone knows a secret word except for the player with the chameleon card. Use hidden codes, carefully chosen words and a bit of finger-pointing to track down the guilty player before he blends in and excapes.
Ages 8+
Players must rain X's down, rapid-fire, and in the right configurations to close out island cards and hit the right bonuses before they can jump to the next card. Every card in the game can be written on and cleaned off!
STRATEGY GAMES
I have marked each game with the suggested age range.
Ages 10+
In Kingdom Builder players create their own kingdoms by skillfully building their settlements, aiming to earn the most gold at the end of the game.
Ages 8+
Players collect train cards that enable them to claim railway routesconnecting cities through North America. The longer the routes, the more points they earn.
Ages 8+
Players must work together playing to their character's strengths as they plan their strategy of eradicating the diseases before they overwhelm the world with ever-increasing outbreaks. Only through teamwork will you keep the world safe from outbreaks and epidemics.
Ages 14+
Pioneer Days is a dice-drafting game reminiscient of Oregon Trail. While you pursue you strategy you must be prepared for impending dangers such as storms, disease, raids, and famine. Saddle up and guide your wagon along the perilous Oregon Trail. Build a team of hardy folk and gather resources and equipment to help you along the way.
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*This game is no longer in production. It is one of our favorites though so it is worth trying to find it second-hand.
Ages 10+
Players vie for control of gem mines, trade routes, and storefronts to master the gem trade and attract the attention of the nobles. By accruing more ways to produce gems, players work to accumulate victory points.
*One of our favorite games!
Ages 8+
Build your tracks across Europe. Connect iconic European cities across a map of 20th-century Europe and build your train routes to earn points.
Ages 8+
Develop the landscape of a medieval fortress city one tile at a time.Whether blocking a city's growth or connecting with your opponent's road to share the points, Carcassonne provides plenty of ways to use your cunning and outsmart your oppenents.