50 Favorite Family Board Games [List]

Danielle Krebs | June 19, 2018
Family board games are a perfect and inexpensive way to connect with your family; they are also a great learning tool for your children.

Family board games are a perfect and inexpensive way to connect with your family; they are also a great learning tool for your children.

While your child plays, they are also developing social and cognitive skills. Let’s not forget that board games are also a great distraction to occupy your children while you get some cleaning done or even, fingers crossed, a moment to relax.

We asked a group of parents like you for their favorite board games to play at home. We gathered the list below. You’re bound to see old favorites and even games you haven’t heard of before. The next time you’re stuck inside on a rainy day, or looking for your next family night activity, try out one or more of these board games.

Favorite Family Board Games

NamePlayersAgeDescription
Candy Land2-43Candy Land is a racing game perfect for children of all ages. There is no strategy involved; you are only required to follow simple directions.
Chutes and Ladders2-63Spin the spinner to see how far you’ll go. If you land at the bottom of the ladder, you get to slide right to the top!
Memory2-63You’ve probably played a version of Memory before. The concept is simple: Players take turns flipping over tiles to find a match.
Trouble2-44In this board game, you’ll race your friends to see which player gets all four of their pieces around the board first.
Go Fish2-64In this card game, players take turns asking each other if they have a card that matches one of the cards in your hand.
Animal Upon Animal2-44Race each other to be the first player to all of their animals on the pile. it’s great for hand-eye-coordination and fine motor skills.
Blokus2-45This abstract strategy game is Tetris for four players. You lay all your pieces corner to corner, on the board while trying to block their opponents.
Dominoes2-105You can play many different games with dominoes; the possibilities are endless!
Parcheesi2-65Begin the game by rolling the die to see who goes first. Each player starts with 4 pawns, and the player to see all 4 pawns in the center first wins!
Kerplunk2-45Get as many sticks as possible with releasing as few marbles as possible.
Sorry!2-46The object of this fun and competitive game is to get your four pieces “Home” first by drawing cards and moving your pieces.
UNO2-106Each player has cards they try to discard; some of them make others draw more or skip them. The person with no cards left wins!
Chess26This game is between two players each containing 16 pieces on a 64-square board. The idea of the game is to checkmate the other king.
Aggravation2-66Each player receives four marbles to move from “Start” to “Home.” The dice tells each player how many places to move.
Qwirkle2-46Grab a paper and pencil to keep score in this fun tile game.
Guess Who26The first player to guess the other player’s character wins the game. You want to ask your opponent questions to narrow down your guesses.
Yahtzee2-106Get as many points as you can by rolling combinations of 5 dice up to 3 times. Each combination adds up differently.
The Allowance Game2-46This is not just a game, but a learning experience. Practice the importance of making money, learning how to use it, and how to make change.
Sequence2-127Divide into teams and give all players chips and cards. Take turns placing the chips on the board until your team has completed the sequences needed.
Tenzi2-47Begin the game by all players rolling all 10 of their dice at the same time. Each player chooses their match number based on the dice rolled.
Pit3-87Pit takes a dive into the finer economics of the stock exchange where you collect matching commodity cards.
Get Bit3-67Player face one card down, then reveal the numbers. This determines the order of swimmers (higher numbers in front).
Ticket to Ride2-58Ticket to Ride is a fun, competitive game where players make train routes connecting destinations and cutting off other players.
Monopoly2-88In Monopoly (several versions) you move your token around a board collecting property and collecting rent from other players.
Pandemic2-48In this cooperative game, you’re a disease-fighting specialist with a mission to treat disease hotspots all over the world. You have to work together!
Clue3-68Players most travel through the mansion, and, through logical reasoning, solve a murder that occured at the mansion.
The Game of Life2-68Start a career, have a family, pay taxes, and more. The objective of the game is to collect money and LIFE Tiles.
Sushi Go!2-58This is a great game for sushi lovers, and still a fun game for those who loathe it. You have to quickly grab the best sushi combinations as they go by.
Battleship28This classic board game is known all over the world for its strategy and logical thinking. The purpose of the game is to sink your opponent’s ships.
Qwixx2-58This game has a good bit of counting, which makes it great for practicing math concepts.
Stratego28Battleship meets Chess in this game of deception, tactic, and some luck. Seize the flag to win!
Boggle1-88The concept of the game is to find as many words you can in sequences of adjacent letters. The player with the most points wins the game.
Dutch Blitz2-48This game may look old fashioned, but it is a very fun and fast-paced game.
Roll For It!2-48Three simple rules to remember in this game: roll, match, and score. Match your die with the die on your card to claim the card. Player with the most points wins the game!
Pass the Pigs2-108With its small size, this is the perfect game for traveling. You’ll use pigs as dice. Points vary on different spots on the pig.
Guesstures4-998A great game to play with a big group! Each player received 4 cards, each card has a easy and difficult word to communicate to their team.
Carcassone2-58This is a tile game with the objective to earn the most points by completing features like cities and roads.
Settlers of Catan3-410The concept of this game is to build settlements, cities, and roads in order to dominate the island. Resources can be harvested and traded.
Risk2-610Conquer the world by battling your opponents in an effort to gain controlling over each territory on the board.
Scrabble2-410Score points by placing tiles bearing a single letter onto the board in a crossword fashion.
7 Wonders2-710This card game makes you the leader of one of the 7 greatest cities in the Ancient World. You’ll need resources, routes, and military.
Splendor2-410You’re a merchant of the Renaissance with a goal to buy gem mines, transportation, and shops in order to gain the most points.
Forbidden Island2-410Players must work together to win the game. You must collect treasures and items all while trying keep the island from sinking.
Apples to Apples4-1012The object of the game is to get the player/judge to pick your card as their favorite as it applies to the category card, as silly or outrageous as it is.
Caverna1-712Caverna is a game where players become dwarves and compete to collect the goods they need to feed their families and go on expeditions.
Catch Phrase!4-1612Divide up into two teams; you will give your teammates clues to guess the word or phrase on your card.
Trivial Pursuit2-2412In this game, you will answer questions about general knowledge and pop culture questions.
Puerto Rico2-512Each player is granted the role of colonial governors. The point of the game is to collect victory points by shipping goods or contracting buildings.
Terra Mystica2-512You don’t need luck on your side for this game, but you will need strategy. You’ll be governing 14 groups while attempting to grow your homeland.
Dominion2-413Players take the role of monarchs and compete against each other to build the most developed kingdom represented by their individual deck of cards.