As the weather gets colder and days get shorter, your kids will be spending more time inside. Make family game night a regular activity at your house to help beat cabin fever. There are dozens of board games, both classic and new, as well as other fun games you can play at home. Don’t forget everyone’s favorites snacks!
Try these family game night ideas for lots of indoor fun!
Classic Board Games
You probably loved playing these games as a kid. It’s time to introduce them to your own family, if you haven’t already.
- Candy Land: Race each other to the Candy Castle, without the need for counting or reading.
- Connect Four: This two-player game takes a little bit of strategy, so it’s best for kids over 6.
- Chutes and Ladders: Simple addition and no reading make this game great for younger kids.
- Scrabble: Play this classic game in teams of kids and adults to strengthen letter recognition and spelling skills.
- Trouble: Somehow, popping the dice is so much more fun than rolling it. This game is great for kids 5 and up.
New Board Games
Some of the best family board games are newcomers. Coordinate with neighbors to swap games, rather than buying each time your family is looking for something new.
- Mole Rats in Space: While the board looks likes Chutes and Ladders, there’s a lot more to this game, which features cute mole rats escaping into outer space.
- Otrio: While rated 8 and up, with help, much younger kids will enjoy placing the wooden circles in this strategy-based game.
- Pictopia: The Disney edition of this trivia game is great for Micky, princess and Muppet-obsessed families.
- Richard Scarry’s Busytown Eye Found It: Younger kids (ages 3 and up) will love the huge board game, Where’s Waldo-like challenges and race to the end.
- Robot Turtles: Programming principles are woven into this fun game even preschoolers can play. Take turns navigating the game board using coding basics.
- Suspend: Even adults are going to love this game from Melissa & Doug. The balancing pieces help kids work on fine motor skills and strategy.
Family Game Night Ideas that Aren’t Board Games
For all the fun without the pieces that will definitely get lost under the couch at some point, try these games.
- Charades: You can’t play charades without ending up laughing together! Try making all the words themed for a fun twist.
- Minute to Win It Games: The TV show may not be on the air anymore, but it left quite a legacy of hilarious games the whole family can play.
- Puzzles: Opt for a puzzle or two instead of a traditional game for a lowkey family game night at home.
- Telephone: Invite the kids’ friends over and play telephone, the game where a sentence is whispered down a line of participants and the last person says out loud what they heard.
