best games for family game night

Top 15 Games for an Epic Family Game Night

We LOVE family game night in our house! So, we have compiled a list of our 15 favorite games for a family game night full of laughter and fun.

With so many game choices out there, it can be hard to figure out the perfect game for a great family game night.  So we put together this list to make choosing games for your next family game night easier. These games are perfect for ages 7 and up. If you are looking for games for younger kids, here are the best board games for preschoolers according to Abigail.

Our 15 Favorite Games for Family Game Night:

wet head board game

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HedBanz Game

best games for family game night hedbanz game

The Hedbanz Game is a fun interactive guessing game that’s entertaining for both kids and adults!

Each player gets three chips and a card that has an animal, food or common object on it, but you can’t look at your card! Instead, you wear your card on your headband for other players to see, and on every turn, you get 60 seconds to ask yes-or-no questions about your card, trying to guess what it is. If you guess correctly in 60 seconds, you discard one of your chips. If you don’t guess it, you pick up a chip. The first person to get rid of all their chips is the winner!HedBanz also comes in different themes such as: Pokemon, Marvel or Shopkins.  So you can make this game even better by acting out your child’s favorite characters!

 

Harry Potter Clue

best game for family game night harry potter clueHarry Potter Clue is your classic murder mystery, without the murder.  Instead you’ll get to solve a mystery for students who disappear from Hogwarts!

What I love about this game, is it adds a twist on the traditional clue.  With secret passageways, and spells, there are more ways to strategize, leaving the winner of this game up to anyone until the last minute!  Although you can still play this game with the traditional clue rules, we love playing with the added elements that Harry Potter Clue provides.

 

 Googly Eyes

best game for family game night googly eyesGoogly Eyes provides a twist on the classic pictionary which makes for an exciting family game night.  Wearing these glasses will give you crazy vision.  With either easy, medium or hard inserts for your glasses and sometimes you’ll have to use your opposite hand, you’ll have to draw the picture for the card you draw and hope your team mates guess!

This game comes with a pad of paper for drawing the pictures on, but we prefer to use a dry erase board for an extra dramatic effect.  This game isn’t just for family fun night though.  It’s one of those games that we play as adults as well on a girls weekend away!  Trust me when I say that using the dry erase board will add so much more fun and laughter to this game!

 

Phase 10

best games for family game night phase 10Phase 10 is a really fun card game to play with 2-6 players.  It is a blend of rummy but with classic twists.

Each player has 10 phases to complete (sets, runs, etc).   Each player must complete each phase before advancing to the next.  The object is to be the first player to complete all 10 phases.  But with Wild and Skip cards thrown in the mix, it’s a lot more exciting and challenging that you’d think!

 

 



Bop It! Game

best games for family game night bop it gameBop It! is a game that will bring a lot of fun and excitement to your next family game night.  This is another one of those games that aren’t just for kids.  You’ll want to bring this one out during your next get together as well.

With 10 different moves, Bop It has you signing, whipping it and much more!  It offers both a solo mode and multi-player mode so you can practice while no one is watching!  Pass the Bop-It around and see how long you can last!

 

 Bean Boozled

best games for family game night bean boozled challengeBean Boozled is not the type of board game you are used to playing and is not for the faint of heart.  If you think you have what it takes to compete in this exciting challenge, then get ready for a night of laughter and gag faces!!

Bean Boozled provides a variety of jelly beans.  Each color of jelly beans has 2 flavors.  One will be a yummy flavored jelly bean and the other something completely rotten.  For example, the white jelly beans can be either spoiled milk or coconut flavor.  The only way to know which is which, is to try it!  You and your opponents will spin the wheel to determine which color you’ll try.  Who will get the delicious jelly bean and who will get stinky feet?  There’s only one way to find out!

 

Break Free

best games for family game night break freeEver wanted to test your lock picking skills?  Think you have what it takes to be the fastest at breaking free while being chained to your friends?  This new game, Break Free, will put your skills to the test in a fun and exciting (and safe) way.

This game offers several different modes of play, but let’s face it, sometimes it’s fun to just chain people to items and see how fast they can escape!  With 12 different mazes and 3 different levels of difficulty, you’ll stay entertained as you continue to crack the different codes!

 

 Pictopia – Family Trivia Game: Disney Edition

best game for family game night pictopiaWith Pictopia: Disney Edition, you’ll discover exciting trivia that celebrates the world of Disney, from animated classics and blockbuster movies to television hits and dazzling theme park destinations! Test how much you know about touchstone characters like Mickey Mouse, Cinderella, Jack Sparrow, Buzz Lightyear, and Elsa from Frozen! It’s a game of teamwork—with a competitive twist! Along the way, are guess-my-answer questions that reveal how much you know about the other players!

This game is also available in the Harry Potter and Star Wars edition so you can enjoy this classic trivia game with your favorite characters!

 



Exploding Kittens

best games for family game night exploding kittensExploding Kittens is a card game for people who are into kittens and explosions and sometimes goats.

In this highly-strategic, kitty-powered version of Russian Roulette, players draw cards until someone draws an Exploding Kitten, at which point they explode, they are dead, and they are out of the game — unless that player has a Defuse card, which can defuse the Kitten using things like laser pointers, belly rubs, and catnip sandwiches. All of the other cards in the deck are used to move, mitigate, or avoid the Exploding Kittens.

 

The Game of Life

best games for family game night the game of lifeThe Game of Life was a favorite of mine as a kid and is now a family favorite with my kids as well.

Just like life, this game is full of twists and turns. Players spin the wheel of fate to see where their choices take them. Do good deeds to earn Life Tiles and more money. You win if you retire with the most wealth at the end of the game. Made for 2-4 players, The Game of Life is perfect for game night with family and friends.

 

Watch Ya’ Mouth

best games for family game night watch ya mouthImagine your friends silly faces while they try to say “Warm Beef Meatballs” while wearing cheek retractors/mouth pieces.  That’s exactly the type of family game night fun you’ll have when playing Watch Ya’ Mouth.

In this laughter-inducing, competitive card-based game, teams of players, hampered by cheek retractors, attempt to read and interpret/speak out phrases and…. Hilarity ensues! Good for Ages 8+, with virtually unlimited players (when played using our “Alternate” rule set), Watch Ya’ Mouth is a must for any gathering, party, game night, or family night. The mouthpieces are FDA and CE certified.

 

Classic Jenga

best games for family game night jengaJenga was a classic when it was first released and continues to remain a classic now.

Jenga is a game experience that combines friends, skill, suspense, laughter, and maybe a little luck.  It’s the perfect game for everyone, with edge-of-your-seat, gravity-defying action. Do you dive right in and pull your block, or take your time and study the stack? Any way you choose, show your Jenga style!

 

 

 

 Pay Day Game

best games for family game night pay dayPay Day, is great for social interaction and a game that parents and children can play on a relatively even level. Simple and quick, a two lap game takes as little as 15 minutes.

Learn how to get from a Payday to the end of the month. The game board resembles a calendar month, and each space has events like a buying “deal” or receiving “mail” (includes bills, insurance offers etc.) The object of the game is to have the most money at the end of the game, which is over after as many months as the players decide on.  Have fun with your children while giving them a better understanding of what loans and interest rates are!

 



Guesstures

best games for family game night guessturesAct and guess as fast as you can in this hilarious, high-speed Guesstures game!  We love the excitement this game brings to our family fun nights!  It’s the perfect game for 4 people or even large groups!

All you have to do is pop four cards into the Action Timer, then set it and start acting fast! The words may look easy, but you only have a few seconds to use classic charades techniques to get your team to guess each one. Did your team guess right? Then you’ve got to grab the card out of the slot before it gets “munched” by the Action Timer! Easy cards are worth 1 point, Medium cards are worth 2, and Hard cards are worth 3. When the game’s over, will your team have enough points to win?

 

Apples to Apples Junior

best games for family game night apples to applesThis classic Apples to Apples game is now available in both a Junior version or a Disney version so you can enjoy this party favorite for your next family game night!

Apples to Apples is the game of hilarious comparisons! Based on the popular card and party game, Apples to Apples, this Junior version gives kids hilarious, fast-paced fun while also building their vocabulary and thinking skills. The 576 cards provide hours and hours of fun!

 

Related: Game Reviews

We hope you enjoy these games for your next family game night as much as we do!  Make sure to pin this if you found some ideas you love.

best games for family game night

 

74 Comments

  1. Love these! My twin boys are 4 years old. They already love Bop It and Jenga. I can’t wait until they have the patience and understanding to play some of these other great classics.

  2. We LOVE game nights. There are so many games here I want to try. First on the list is Bean Boozled. Thanks for these ideas!

  3. I’ve played a lot of these games, and they are so fun and perfect for families! I’m excited to add the other ones to my list to try! Thanks for sharing, we are always looking for new games!

  4. We love family game night. Some of these games we have – others we don’t. Though our children are older we still play very easy games since our 17 year old is autistic. We all need to be able to join in the fun.

  5. Our family LOVES game night, and we’re always down to try new games all the time. We have not heard of a couple of these–will definitely look into getting them (probably around the holidays when we stock up!)

  6. These are great games. I will look for Googly Eyes AND Break free if they have it in toy shops near my place. They look exciting and really fun to play.

  7. We love board games with my husband. I can’t wait for our daughter to grow up a bit so that we will be able to play all together. I miss this so much!

  8. Thanks for taking the time to put this very useful blog post together. I really like the idea of family games night. I’m excited for this to be a part of our lives once the kids are older

  9. I’ve never heard of 80% of the games you mentioned here. As an adult, I love games! Even the children’s games on here sound like they’d be fun for adults too

  10. Games are so much fun to play with kids on family night. Most of the games I was not aware of , but they all look like big fun.

  11. Our family loves playing classic Jenga. Recently, we even had an opportunity to play with a giant one during an event. It was so fun!

  12. We have a fun game night every time the grandkids come over. I was just thinking I need some new games soon. There’s a couple on here I’ll have to check out.

  13. Family game night is a favorite around here! My kids are still little so I am pinning this for future reference! Thanks for the ideas!

    1. We will be doing a post of all of Abby’s favorite games she is outgrowing from when she was 5 and under. She has always loved games so we have like all of them! She is super excited to help me with the post when she figured out how to narrow down her favorites!

  14. We love game nights in our house! We’ve looked at Exploding Kittens a few times but were not sure. We may have to reconsider. We have the Doctor Who version of Clue but may have to get the Harry Potter one as well. Now if I could convince them to let me get Scrabble!

  15. We love family game night! We haven’t placed some of these games… Looks like we’ll be going shopping to try some of these games.

  16. I love a lot of these games. You couldn’t for the life of me ever get me to play bean boozled or whatcha mouth. However I love watching other people play them lol.

  17. Oh wow all these games look like a blast. I’m all for some Harry Potter Clue and Jenga. In fact, I still take Jenga with me to some potluck with friends since it’s such a great way to break the ice and have fun.

  18. So many of these are on our families list of favorites, too! Although only one of us likes Life so he only gets to play in on New Year’s Eve when we all get to pick any game we want for the whole family to play.

  19. These games look like so much fun! We have not purchased a game in a while, but love games! We will have to get a few of these for our next game night!

  20. Exploding Kittens! what a funny name for a game. Your description of it made me laugh, too. This looks like one that we must have! lol

  21. Wow, so many of those I’ve never heard of. We do all love a bit of Headbanz in our house. Jenga and Game of life are cool too. I’ll have to try some of the others sharpish.

  22. These are great! We love our family time which sometimes includes games. We Love the Monopoly game on the PS4 game system but do have some of these like Phase 10 and Jenga. And my younger son just started liking Scrabble.

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