Thursday, February 7, 2019

Game Recommendations

It's no secret that we LOVE games!  I grew up playing games all the time and we play a game of some sort pretty much every night.

I get asked often about our favorites and recommendations and while I've mentioned games in Friday Favorites and other various posts over the years I decided to give y'all a peek into our game closet and share a fairly comprehensive list of some of our favorites.  (Yes... we have a lot of games... I know.  I think games are a great way to spend time together as a family, practice math, reading and spelling, work on critical thinking skills, and the list goes on and on)




We love a card game - our favorites are Farkle Flip, Skip Bo and Uno.  Blink is a new game that we got for Christmas and it would be GREAT for younger kids because you're making matches based on color, number or object... it's like the card game speed but more kid friendly.


My favorite card game is  Skip Bo... Mason started playing it when he was around 6 and Griffin is catching onto it as well. It's family friendly, doesn't take forever and it's just a lot of fun.  Farkle Flip is a new game to us as well and while we're just getting the hang of it we're all loving it.  

 

Moose in the House is my boys favorite along with Sleeping Queens (which I still haven't been able to figure out - hahaha) and if it's just Griffin she loves Skip Bo Junior  , Go Fish or  Crazy Eights.



We have a few other toys stored up here as well including  counting bears pattern play, and some  alphabet puzzles. The bottom basket holds pieces to the boys Kodo discovery ramps set.


We also keep our "games in a bag" in door organizer as well.  I love these kind of games because they're perfect to toss in my bag for waiting rooms, dinners, etc.   Zip It is twelve big letter cubes that you roll and try to make word grids.  It's also great for early spelling and even letter recognition.  Bananagrams is another great one, although it has a TON more pieces so it can be a bit harder to keep track of.   Mobi is our new favorite game - it's essentially scrabble with numbers and operation symbols - it's so much FUN!



On to larger games....

Stratego is for two players and is possibly Luke's favorite game.  He's recently gotten Mason into it and now that Mason's understanding more of the nuances and strategy they're having a blast.

Yahtzee is a favorite pre-bedtime pick and  Tri-ominos is a game that we grew up playing with my grandparents growing up.  It's essentially 3-sided dominoes and all three of the kids love tri-ominos.

Headbandz is HILARIOUS with kids and  Dr. Eureka is one of my favorite gifts to keep on hand for birthday parties - it's a speed and logic game that can be played independently or against an opponent and I love the problem-solving aspect as well.

Ticket to Ride Europe is AWESOME if you love the original Ticket to Ride.  It's a little more complex - it has more routes, tunnels and ferries  AND it takes longer than the traditional Ticket to Ride, but it's a blast.

We were introduced to  One Night Ultimate Werewolf while we were in Broken Bow with friends over the summer and it's such a fun party game for adults (or older kids who can understand strategy).  It's not a game we can play as just a family because it works better with a large group  - but we seriously had to make ourselves go to bed (after playing for hours) while in OK and again on NYE.  If you have teens/preteens or play games with friends it's a total winner.

Two of our other family favorites are  Quirkle and  Rummikub.  Both of these are great for families with older and younger kids... Griffin can participate in both of these and totally "gets" them, but they're still fun for Luke.





I'm the first to admit that I'm not the biggest Monopoly fan... it takes FOREVER and I just don't find it all that entertaining BUT we have McKinney-Opoly (we found it at our local Wal-Mart) and it is pretty fun to have a version with lots of our favorite places on the board.

Quick Cups was a Christmas gift this year and we've really loved it.  You flip over a card and it'll have an image on it with colored objects and you have to stack your cups in the same order.  All three kids can play this together and while it gets pretty competitive it's super fun.

Rush Hour is a one-person logic/critical thinking puzzle game that we really enjoy because it has challenges of all different levels so all three kids can play it and feel successful.  My brother and I had this game growing up and I can remember taking it on road trips and playing it at my grandparents cottage :)

Guess Who is an oldie, but a goodie and one of Griffin's very favorite games.





I feel like I've talked about  Ticket To Ride a bunch - but I think if I was going to recommend one game that would be it.  

Ingenious is a newer addition to our game closet and is kind of like Quirkle meets Dominos.  It's also great because up to four people can play it but it can be played solo as well.

We love Rummikub so much that we decided to try out  Rummikub Twist - and it's definitely more of a challenge.  It's for ages 8 and up and has more jokers - but the strategy and sequencing are similar to the original.

I feel like  Yeti in my Spaghetti is this generation's version of "Don't Break The Ice" :)  It's not my absolute favorite game to play but the kids love it and it's quick - so that's a winner.

Sorry is another game that everyone understands and enjoys - and it's also another one that I grew up playing as well.  We've given it as birthday party gifts and I'm always surprised by how many people haven't played it before!



So there you go!  I'd love to know what games your family loves to play!  Leave me a comment and let me know! 

One last note - you can find the door organizer that we have HERE and it's currently 30% off and doesn't require screwing anything into your door!

Happy Thursday, friends!

PS - this post contained affiliate links... thank you so much for reading and supporting my blog!

36 comments :

  1. thank you for all your recommendations. we love games in our family too and a favorite of ours is KingDomino.

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  2. I bought Stratego based on your recommendation. My son LOVES it! Do your kids play chess? If not, I would recommend "no stress chess" it's a board game that teaches you as you go. Happy Thursday!

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    1. My son joined chess club at school this year and fell in love with it. He got No Stress Chess for Christmas just so that I could use the cards to teach me how to play with him. So fun!

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  3. Have you tried Qwirkle. I think your family would love it. Our granddaughter's school allows them to play during inside recess since it is a "thinking" game. It is by Mindware. Really fun! I love reading your blog and seeing your day to day life with your beautiful family.

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  4. We love games around here too! Griffin got Game of States for his birthday and that one is soooo fun as well as educational and Brody got LIFE for Christmas. We've already played that several times as a family and I love the updated version. I've told my husband before these game nights with them all around the table are going to be some of my favorite memories from these years xo

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  5. What a great collection of games! I'm going to buy Skip-Bro, and Quick Cups for my son. I was able to teach him a lot of basic skills (colors, patterns, numbers, etc) using games (he has autism)--they truly are a fun (and motivating) way to learn. This is just one more way you have helped your children get so smart. And, like you said, games are a fantastic way to get the family together and have fun doing it! Thank you for sharing your games!

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  6. Have you all played Telestrations? Fun game that marries Pictionary and Telephone.

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  7. We have a game closet just like this. Ticket to Ride is our family’s favorite game. We also love Catan. My kids, ages 9, 13, and 14 all can play. Scrabble is another favorite of ours,

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  8. Yay!!! I’ve been requesting & anxiously awaiting this post.
    So excited to try some of the ones we don’t have.
    Not sure if you have Spot It but that’s a super fun, easy to go game
    Some of our favorites that you didn’t mention include Battleship , Jenga, connect 4 and Zingo

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  9. We love to play games as a family too! In fact, when we built our house we made sure we built a "game closet". Ha! I bought several games for our kids this Christmas that you had recommended! Simply Tish

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  10. 5 Crowns, Set, Dutch Blitz and Mexican Train are our family's favorites -- they would all be great for your kids. Thanks for sharing your favorites!

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  11. We love playing PicWits. It's something even our 5 yr old can help with, one of us has to read the captions when it's her turn but it's such a fun game for all ages! I've never played apples to apples but I've heard it's similar to picwits, just picwits uses pictures instead of words. Let me know if you try it :)

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  12. We love games in our house too! One of our favorite games is Mexican Train Dominos. We can play rounds of that. We play games a lot and yet, we still have not played Ticket to Ride. I feel like we would love that. The one game I just cringe at is Monopoly...hahahaha! It takes forever!

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  13. I grew up playing Michigan Rummy, it is SO fun!! basically card game with pennies, I will be terrible at explaining it, HAHA google it!! trust me, it's a great family game for all ages!!

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  14. I second Telestrations!

    Our other favorites are Codenames and Catan, both of which Tim's (just barely) 9 year old sister can play after a few "teaching" rounds haha!

    Thank you for all of the great recommendations!!

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  15. We love to play the dice game Farkle. We also got a game called Sushi Go over Christmas and we all love to play. It might be a little advanced for Griffin, but your boys would catch on quickly.

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  16. Oh and I forgot about Tenzi. It is a quick dice game that provide lots of laughs!

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  17. One of favorite card games is Dutch Blitz. It’s an Amish card game and so much fun!

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    1. I bought this game and cannot figure it out. I think I'm going to have to watch a YouTube video. Ha!

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  18. What a great resource! I have grandchildren the same ages as Luke, Mason and GG and your suggestions are always spot on! Thank you for helping me to be a "fun" Mimi ;).

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  19. Try Monopoly Empire it actually has an end! When you purchase all the company logo tiles and build your tower it’s over. The kids love it because they get to purchase companies they know like XBox etc.... It also makes a great gift.

    Ps thanks for the recommendation on the Halogen caftan/swim cover up. I love it!!

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  20. Our newest favorite games are 6 Nimmt and Skull King. Both are card games and great for the whole family. We highly recommend them!

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  21. The Hive is a new favorite in our house. I originally bought it because it's a good two person game and my husband and I love to play games at night after the kids go to bed. It takes about 10-15 minutes per game so we usually do a best out of 3 situation. My 10 year old is also getting into it! Super fun! And portable!!

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  22. Sleeping Queens would be a great one for G!

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  23. Great list!I second 6 Nimmt-it's great because it can be played with 3-10 purple and is quick and easy. We also like Kingdomino , Qwixx, and Bonanza. Any of the 10 Days in (USA, Europe, etc) .. games are really fun, too.

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  24. Our daughter is the same age as Griffin and we have been playing Uno Attack and having so much fun! I highly recommend. Nothing more enjoyable than the laughs that come with someone getting a big shot of cards!

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  25. Your kiddos might enjoy Blokus if you don't already have it. My current favorite is Telestrations (recommended for 8+). My kids are grown now but some favorites through the years were Don't Wake Daddy, Jenga, Apples to Apples Jr., Uno Attack, Pretty Pretty Princess (GG would love it!), Mancala...just to name a few! We love games. My young-adult son still has a weekly board game night with a group of his friends!

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  26. Have you tried Aggravation? It’s similar to Sorry but more fun! It’s my 7 year olds favorite game!!

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  27. I bought ticket to ride on your recommendation but I don't get it? We sat down as a family to play and seems really complicated. Am I missing something ?

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  28. We love Spot it! at our house. I have as much playing as my little folks do!

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  29. My family is huge on board games, and we also love Ticket to Ride Europe! Some of our other favorites are Settlers of Catan, Code Names, Carcassone and Sheriff of Knottingham.

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  30. Scattergories is the game we play most often in our family and have for years.

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  31. I don't like Monopoly either but my son got the Monopoly Gamer version a few years ago and we really like it. It's the Mario/Luigi version of it and it doesn't take all day to play and it's actually really fun.

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  32. My sons and I love playing Qwixx - it's a fun dice game with strategy. You can buy it at any local store.

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  33. 7 Wonders and Love Letters (or Loot Letters) are two i haven't seen mentioned that I think your whole family would enjoy.

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  34. Have you guys played Mancala? It's one of our faves and Sadie (who is almost 7) got it so easily and can beat both of us!

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