No one’s safe from the flying burrito. Not even grandma.
1. A pub trivia team game that will test your knowledge across five different categories to see who really is the know-it-all of the family. Drinking optional!
Amazon
Promising reviews: “This is a fun family game. We like playing in teams.” —Florence M. Mayes
“I have played many trivia games, and this one is by far my favorite. It’s questions aren’t too difficult or too easy; it’s a perfect middle. There are also different types of questions like multiple choice, short answer, and even drawing! I highly recommend.” —Ashley
Get it from Amazon for $24.50.
2. A game of Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza because it’s easy to learn, fun to play, fast-paced, and a round is sure to end in a barrel of laughs!
Dolphin Hat is a small business whose mission is to create easy-to-learn games that are fun for the whole family!
Promising review: “Fun for the whole family! Even my 5-year-old granddaughter learned it with no problem and can win!” —E/A
Get it from Dolphin Hat on Amazon for $9.95.
3. A laser tag set to turn your living room or backyard into a battle arena!
You’ll get four guns, four vests (front and back), and one charging station.
Promising reviews: “Everyone in the fam enjoys this game! It gets us all moving and laughing!” —MC M.
“This set was perfect for my grandkids, ages 7, 11, 14, and 17. Even us adults played. They had so much fun. We set up obstacles to hide behind, such as patio furniture, foldable tables, ice chests, etc. Very easy to set up and play. Was definitely worth it.” —Debbie L.
Get it from Amazon for $199.99.
4. Unstable Unicorns, a friendship-destroying strategy game about unicorns and betrayal. Be the first to build up an army of seven unicorns using action cards to slow down your opponents.
Promising review: “We love playing this game as a family!!! It’s a staple in family game night now. It only takes a couple of play-throughs and some kind of patience to learn for the whole family. My 11- and 13-year-olds love it. My boyfriend and I even play it without the kids every now and then.” —Chelsea Wolfe
Get it from Amazon for $20.
5. A game of Photosynthesis so you can plant and nurture trees. Earn points as your trees grow and collect energy from the sun. This calm-yet-strategic game is great for new gamers!
Promising review: “This was certainly off the beaten path, but my kids really like this game. It’s a good game for discussions about the lifecycles of plants and trees. It’s also just fun for the whole family! My 8- and 10-year-old children really enjoy it. It is a beautiful game.” —Eric Mabbott
Get it from Amazon for $35.99.
6. A strategy-based wooden board game because it’s a new take on the classic game tic-tac-toe that up to four people can play. This family-friendly game encourages the building of reasoning and critical thinking skills.
Promising review: “This is a blast for the whole family. Anyone can learn this in 30 seconds. We say ‘one more game!’ over and over whenever we get this out. It’s hard to put down, and if there are a bunch of players, it gets easy to miss someone’s plan, so even our 6-year-old can surprise us with a fair number of wins, making it fun for everyone.” —Shawn
Get it from Amazon for $49.99.
7. Or a game of Toss Across if you’re looking for a more physically active version of tic-tac-toe. You’ll take turns tossing a beanbag, hoping to turn your opponent’s “X” into an “O.”
8. A game of Throw Throw Burrito that combines dodgeball with a card-matching game. Get three of a kind while evading a toy burrito being thrown at you by your Great Aunt Sally. What can I say? She’s got a great arm.
Promising review: “We love this game! I recommend it to anyone! I have played with kids as young as 8 and adults as old as 50! It’s great for the whole family and is very interactive! Would definitely purchase again!” —Shantelle olson
Get it from Exploding Kittens on Amazon for $19.82.
9. Scythe — an engine-building board game where the only way to protect your land is to build armored mechs, go into combat with your friends, and explore “The Factory.” Be sure you have time to play, though; this game takes a little while to set up and at least 90 minutes to play.
Amazon
Promising review: “It has enough strategy to be engaging but isn’t so heavy or complicated, which means our whole family can play it. My 8- and 10-year-olds enjoyed playing it, but their mom and I definitely had the upper hand for being able to think about longer-term goals when choosing moves. Once you understand the mechanics, it is really a simple game and the instruction manual covers almost all of the odd edge-case scenarios and is very well written. The quality of the pieces and artwork is above average. Despite being one of the more expensive board games we own, it is probably one of the better values as far as quality and entertainment. I wouldn’t go with this if you are new to board games, but if you are looking to expand a new collection, this is a great game!” —OneSeventeen
Get it from Amazon for $67.33.
10. A game of Catan so you can strategically buy, steal, and trade to build a new world while making sure your opponents don’t have the resources to do the same.
Promising review: “The whole family enjoys playing this, from age 7 and up! (Incredibly, everyone but the oldest person in the family has even won a game or two!) I really like that there are no bells and whistles to this game; the game pieces are little wooden shapes, which feels a little different (nice!) compared to the normal plastic pieces that we are used to in our day and age. It’s a fun game in that even when it’s not your turn per se, you still need to pay attention to the board, and you can still barter/make trades with the players. Also, the time factor is really nice — it takes about two hours to play, give or take 20 minutes.” —Walla folks
Get it from Amazon for $43.97.
11. A TikTok-famous 1,000-piece puzzle sure to bring you a sense of adventure and accomplishment with each new detail you and your family piece together! It’s even got a surprise twist ending once you’ve completed it.
Amazon
Promising review: “This puzzle is absolutely high quality and so much fun to put together! All of the details put into it made it an experience, not just a puzzle. We loved doing this as a family. Was going to frame it, but then we wouldn’t be able to do it again!” —Britney
Get it from Amazon for $22.99.
12. Sushi Go! because you fancy a quick game of chance. Build the perfect sushi meal with cards that are passed around to each player and prove that you are the sushi master.
Promising review: “We were looking for a fun game for the whole family, and we found it! Our 4-year-old is pretty advanced when it comes to games, but we were still surprised by how easily she understood and picked up this game (the game says 8+). Super fun for kids AND adults. Rules may seem complicated at first, but it’s very easy to pick up after just one round!” —Taryn Gross
Get it from Amazon for $11.99.
13. A game of Coup if you’re really great at bluffing in order to get your way. The rebellion is underway, and your objective is to be the last one standing.
Promising review: “It’s hard to find a game my whole family likes. This game is parent and teen/YA-approved in my house. It’s easy to learn, and the game can be played in just a few minutes. Each player gets two character cards. The player has the power of those characters (duke, ambassador, assassin, etc). You can play as those characters or bluff as if you’re another character as you try to get enough coins to stage a coup and win the game. It’s simple but fun.” —MMom
Get it from Amazon for $14.49.
14. A family-friendly game of Ticket to Ride where you are tasked with building train routes from one city to another. Gain points by completing routes and by having the longest one!
Promising review: “My whole family likes this game, from my 10-year-old nephew to my 61-year-old mother-in-law. Definitely a fun game for two, but it’s even more fun when you have more people playing.” —Samantha Scheppard
Get it from Amazon for $43.97.
15. Betrayal at the House on the Hill — explore a haunted house, but beware! There is a traitor amongst your group. With seemingly infinite potential storylines to follow, you’ll never get bored playing this cursed game.
Amazon
Promising review: “Fun family game! We love this game. It’s not the quickest game to learn, but it is tons of fun. It’s set up so that every time you play this game, it’s different. Different characters, items, omens, bad guys, etc. That’s one reason we love it: It’s not the type of game you play a couple of times and then get tired of it. Every time is different. We love taking it to friends’ houses for game nights.” —Taylor
Get it from Amazon for $27.99.
16. A game of Connect Four because you’ll love challenging members of your family to this strategic one-on-one competition. The first to get four in a row, wins!
17. A portable putting green so you can all take turns trying to get a hole-in-one! It even has a slight incline at the end to add some realistic difficulty.
Promising reviews: “This has worked out to be a fun thing to have around for family game night! We assign points to each hole and hazard spot, and just have fun!” —Rachel C.
“Our entire family loves to practice putting on this mat. We’ve had it for almost a year now, and I’m thrilled to report that it is holding up wonderfully. It never wrinkles or buckles. Stores easily and is all around a fantastic product.” —S.H
Get it from Amazon for $34.89+ (available in two styles).
18. Golden Girls Monopoly for having fun traveling down the road and back again. And when it’s time to play, just make sure you grab the cheesecake token before anyone else does.
Amazon
Promising reviews: “Excellent game. Whole family played and had a great night.” —Kenneth Goich
“Love this game, and to play it Golden Girls–style adds to the enjoyment! Love buying properties like Shady Pines and Blanche’s bedroom. The TV show may be over but the fun goes on! If you’re a fan of the Golden Girls, you’ll love this game. Get it, you’ll be glad you did!” —Rosemary Wiseman
Get it from Amazon for $44.99 (also consider GG Trivial Pursuit and Clue).
19. Clipology, an always-updating streaming trivia game of with thousands of questions about movies and TV shows that’ll keep you and your friends entertained for a long time.
Promising review: “This game is a must-have at game nights!! If you love trivia and remember the Scene it? games, you need this game!! It is basically the same concept as Scene it? but sooooo much better!! Plenty of trivia for the whole family, 100% recommended!!” —Ashleylynn
Get it from Amazon for $18.24.
20. The Chameleon — in this game of suspects and secrets, the chameleon doesn’t wanna get caught not knowing the topic at hand. See if you can fool your friends into thinking you know exactly what’s going on.
Big Potato Games
Promising review: “This game was a little difficult to explain to the younger kids, but everyone caught on within a few rounds. It is very fun for the whole family. We couldn’t stop playing! Buy this!!!!!” —simplysunshineblog
Get it from Amazon for $19.79.
21. Codenames if you’re both a wordsmith and a mind-reader. You must work with the other agent(s) on your team to make contact without landing on the assassin.
22. A spicy, fast-paced game of Sriracha — this is a fun but intense slapping game where you must quickly collect all the cards.
23. A game of Bohnanza where you and your fam will work to plant, sell, and trade different kinds of beans in the hopes of harvesting enough to earn the most amount of gold.
Promising review: “Bohnanza is our favorite family game. Whenever the kids and grandkids come from all over the US, you can be assured that this game will hit the dining room table. It is simple enough that the younger grandkids and great grandma can understand it. It is exciting enough that everybody in between loves to play.” —Ted A. Bear
Get it from Amazon for $19.99.
24. Classic Jenga because it doesn’t get any better (or more anxiety-inducing) than this strategic stacking game!
Promising reviews: “We spend so much time playing this game. So much fun for the whole family.” —Eric C
“Jenga is a great toy for all ages!! Kids and adults will all be entertained for hours trying to outwit the game. Sturdy and well-made pieces will last for a long time!” —D. Nelson
Get it from Amazon for $9.97.
25. An all-in-one box dive bar murder mystery game — in this immersive experience from Hunt A Killer, you get to play an investigator looking into the suspicious death of a bar’s owner. You’ll solve puzzles, discover secret messages, and find new evidence to reveal whodunnit!
Promising review: “So much fun! The whole family played, even the 8-year-old. It took us about an hour to solve. I was a little worried about the appropriateness for the little one, but it was not graphic. It made for a great family fun night.” —Kindle Customer
Get it from Amazon for $22.39.
26. The Herd Mentality card game, an aMOOOsing way to spend time with the family! Try your best to stay in the majority or else risk landing the dreaded pink cow.
27. A game of Ransom Notes where you must answer absurd prompts with a limited pool of word magnets. Get ready to LOL at all the funny responses you and your friends come up with!
Ransom Notes is a game-making small business!
Promising review: “This game is different from others. Had the whole family hysterically laughing every time we played. Funniest game ever.” —Ellen V Kimelman
Get it Ransom Notes from Amazon for $34.99.
28. A kid-created game of Taco vs Burrito so you can steal, trade, and fight to craft the perfect meal with the best toppings before it’s too late!
Tacos vs Burrito is an award-winning small biz making unique card games that are fun for the whole family.
Promising review: “Was a huge hit over the holidays this year. So many games are overly complicated these days; they take too long to get the hang of, but this is super easy to understand and can be learned in just a few minutes. The action of each card is written right on them, so you can easily learn on the go with no need to constantly refer to the rule book. It’s very enjoyable for the whole family and also highly replayable.” —Kevin C
Get it from Taco vs Burrito on Amazon for $19.99.
29. A game of One Night Ultimate Werewolf — everyone has a secret identity, but only one of you is the werewolf. Can you figure out who it is?
Promising review: “This is one of my all-time favorite games. We bought it last month for my sister-in-law’s birthday, and our whole family loved it. It seems a little complicated when you start out, but it is really very simple and easy to learn. It is easy to switch up the characters you play with to add dimension to the game and keep it from getting boring or old. This game goes really fast, which is AWESOME because if you lose (or you know you’re about to lose…), it only takes a few minutes and then you’re playing the next round. You get to play as a lot of different characters this way, which is fun since there are so many fun characters to play as!” —Sam & Tierney
Get it from Amazon for $22.95.
