Friday, January 5, 2018

Top 5 Games for 2018

Friday nights in our house are reserved for family game night. The princess has piano in the evenings, making it hard to make other plans, so we decided we'd make Fridays our family night. Knowing that it's game night, we invested in several new games for Christmas! We broke them out again for New Year's Eve with friends and family, and had a blast. If you're looking for some fun, age appropriate games for the whole family, here's my list (with Amazon links) of new favorites and old classics!

1. Forbidden Island - this is a game of strategy where the group works together and either everyone wins or everyone loses. The idea is that you are on a sinking island and everyone has a special talent or skill to offer the team. You have to collect all the treasures and get off the island before it sinks. I love that it encourages us to work together instead of focusing on a competition, and it's a family favorite. Monks (age 4) doesn't play with on this one, but it's still at the top of my list.

2. Sushi Go - This matching card game is another fun one and all the kids can join in. Trying to create sushi dishes as you pass cards around the table and earn points may not sound like a go-to game, but it's a lot of fun and gives you the opportunity to yell "Sushi Go!"

3. Bingo - I never would have thought this would be a favorite game, but the kids love it. Everyone can play, it's great for my youngest to practice numbers and letters (sometimes he even just plays alone pulling out the balls and placing them on the master card in the correct space), and we can play with as many people as necessary. I linked the one we have, but I'd try another one if I were going to do it over because we have trouble with the cage - the balls escape out of the openings and it doesn't quite work the way it's designed. I'm not sure if that's specific to ours or a design flaw. There are tons of models, though!

4. Apples to Apples* - I give this one an asterisk because while the kids had a ton of fun playing this word association game, I thought a lot of the phrases were inappropriate for my kids' ages. It says age 12+ and mine are 4-11. Even with 12+ being on there I still found a lot of cards of things I didn't know or understand! I'll be investing in Apples to Apples Junior in the near future!

5. Twister - We all love Twister! It's a little harder as an adult I've found, but I like this one because it's more physically active. The newer versions have some fun "twists" (yeah, I went there) that allow you to make up your own rules and have added elements.

Honorable Mentions:
6. Uno Wild Jackpot - We loved this twist on the classic where you get to make up your own cards and pull the jackpot handle! We played it a ton last Christmas, but it's been a while since we got it back out.

7. Jenga - Another classic favorite, but it didn't rank higher because I think it's hard to play with as many people as we have. Giant Jenga is a lot of fun too!

I'd love to hear what games you and your family enjoy!


  1. Love these ideas. I need to utilize our Bingo cards!

  2. It's funny how those classics become their favorites!

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