That said, it should be obvious that not all board games are fun for every adult. Fun board games for adults I’m associated with might not be the same fun board games for adults you have contact with. Among the dozens that I’ve played as an adult, there have been a small fraction that I haven’t particularly enjoyed. They are few and far between though.

When speaking of adult board games, I’m not going to devote time to those that have risque content. The adult-ness referred to here will only be a reference to an age group, not to games that are for “adults only” because they would be rated R if they were movies.

There are some traditional gateway games mentioned fairly often by those who make suggestions for board games for adults – and I think understandably so. Ticket to Ride and sometimes Carcassonne are most frequently brought up, and I agree that they should be as I would also recommend them, especially for adults who have not yet played anything remotely like a Euro board game before. Yes, that’s how these fun board games have earned the moniker of gateway games. Once people see how much fun these are, they tend to look for more fun board games that they haven’t played before.

Sequence

Sequence is a combination card and board game for 2-4 players. It is somewhat reminiscent of the classic Pente in that you need to get a row (or two, depending on the number of players) of five chips – vertically, horizontally, or diagonally – for a victory.

The board shows all the cards in the deck twice except the jacks, which are wild and have special properties. Play a card and place a “poker” chip of your color on a corresponding card space. Then don’t forget to draw a card to replenish your hand. If you don’t pick up a new card before the next player plays, you have to finish the game with less cards in your hand than you deserve, which can severely limit your options – especially if you forget more than once.

Sequence is a light-weight board game strategy-wise, so there’s plenty of time for socializing, if that’s what you like to do while playing with friends and family. Still, there is enough challenge to make you think a little before placing just any old card anywhere.

Wits & Wagers

As its name suggests, Wits & Wagers is a combination trivia and betting game that is great for parties. It plays quickly, especially if you enforce the time limit imposed by the hourglass. And it doesn’t really matter if you know the answers to the trivia questions; you can still win by intelligent wagering.

A question is read from one of the cards included. All answers are numeric. (This includes years.) Players write down their answers secretly within 30 seconds. When all are ready, answers are revealed simultaneously and are arranged on the betting table from low to high. When sorted properly, players then have 30 more seconds to place their “poker” chips on the answer they think is closest (without going over) to the correct one.

Winnings are paid only to the player or players who guessed the correct (closest) answer according to the odds shown on the betting table. The farther away from the median answer, the higher the odds.

Alhambra

Alhambra is another combination card and board game. Cards are money in four flavors usually identified by card color (though other cues can be used by those who have difficulty with colors) and come in various denominations. Normally, you pick up cards on your turn or discard some of your cards to pay for one of four tiles available on the board.

These tiles, most of which have dark-colored “walls”, are used to construct your own personal Alhambra. The tiles also come in different colors. Twice during the game and once at the end, players score points based on how many tiles of each color are in their Alhambra.

The challenges come in deciding when to purchase a tile, when to bide your time and collect more cash, where to place a purchased tile in your Alhambra (as there are restrictions), and which tile to go after.

When playing with three or four people, you can usually do a fair amount of planning ahead. With five or six people, chances are that the tile you were waiting to buy is going to be taken by someone else before your next turn.

With just a little more strategy involved than in Sequence, this board game will provide many hours of fun for most adults.

Outburst

Party games like Outburst and Balderdash are two more fun board games for adults that you might like to try. Balderdash is virtually the same as the generic “dictionary game”. Having the actual game just makes finding good words to stump people with a lot easier.

Outburst is similar to Family Feud in that you’re trying to come up with lists of items in a category as a team. The main and significant differences are that everyone on the team participates at the same time and that the items in the unknown list are not necessarily the ten most popular answers. Sometimes you’ll wonder why in the world they didn’t list an item that your team came up with, and other times you’ll be puzzled at where the creators came up with an item that none of you thought of.

Quiddler

Quiddler is a card game that works best with players of roughly equal vocabulary levels and spelling ability. You have a hand of three to ten cards (depending on which round it is) that have letters instead of numbers. After drawing a card, you try to spell one or more words using all the letters except one, which you will discard. When one player accomplishes this, the rest have one more chance to do the same, or to at least play as many cards as they can. Any cards left in your hand score negative points. Bonuses are awarded for the longest word and most words each round.

With these suggestions as a starting point, you should be able to find your way to many, many other fun board games for adults.

Before you play or purchase any more board games, you should definitely check out http://FunBoardGames.org/ where Gary Sonnenberg welcomes you to learn more about fun board games to play with f

The Top 6 Must Have, Most Popular Board Games:

o Monopoly- I’m sure that there are probably less than 10 people in the world that haven’t ever heard of the classic board game, Monopoly. Monopoly is the classic game of real estate and the banker. Players of young and old try to race around the board, buying as many properties as they can and collecting fines from others that land on their claimed properties, all while trying to earn as much money as possible. The player who has earned the most money by the end of the game is declared the winner of that match of Monopoly, but with the game being so addictive that title is usually quickly challenged in hours of follow-up games and re-matches! Monopoly is the perfect game for all types of people and can be enjoyed by both young and older generations, with the help of many different versions of the game, including ‘Star Wars’ versions, popular cartoon versions, special animal versions, deluxe versions, and much, much more for more hours of Monopoly fun!

o The Game of Life- What game is better than one about your own life? The Game of Life is a game in which you travel around the board in a tiny plastic car on the main road of your life. You literally experience all the stages of life right at your kitchen table! Players are given a job and a salary and try to maintain a high fortune after being put through all the joys and troubles of life, such as having children and paying for their education. At the end of the game, each player is led to the retirement home of their choosing in order to count up all the money that they have accumulated throughout The Game of Life. The player who is the richest wins the game! This board game is perfect for any group of people, young or old, who would enjoy having a laugh out of what this board predicts will occur throughout their lives!

o Scrabble- Enjoy using the English language to create long, exotic words out of random letters and scoring points for it? If so, than this game is perfect for you! In Scrabble, players gather around a game board and basically create a crossword puzzle in front of their own eyes! Each player receives random wooden tiles with letters printed on them and must try to create words using their tiles and linking them to the words that other players have already laid out on the game board. Each letter that is on the tiles has a point value, and in the end, the player who received the largest total amount of points by using their tiles to create words is the winner of the game. Scrabble is an excellent game for adults or elders who are trying to improve their vocabulary, or just for children who are just learning the basics of the English language. Either way, Scrabble is an excellent Family Game Night choice!

o Clue- Do you have a niche for solving mysteries? Have you always been the one to know where Waldo was or to discover where in the world Carmen Sandiego was hiding before anyone else could even begin to fathom where she might be? If this sounds like you, then you are sure to fall in love with Clue, the board game. In this thrilling game, players travel around the rooms of a house on the board trying to collect clues to discover which one of their fellow players murdered a member of the household. A player must hurry around quickly before anyone else can discover it and proclaim the suspected murderer out loud. Those who participate in this game will find themselves intrigued by the dark secrets and truths that other players are keeping and will be excited to try to unravel those mysteries! This board game is the next best thing to a live murder mystery party!

o The Settlers of Catan- This game is a pretty new game in comparison to the above classics. First created in 1995, the game offers the power to build a civilization to the normal, everyday person! In The Settlers of Catan, players must try to build settlements, cities and roads to build up the island of Catan throughout the game. With each turn, the dice are rolled in order to determine what resources the island produces and the players use these resources to build up their civilizations even more and to earn victory points. The first player to earn 10 victory points wins the game. This is a phenomenal board game for those who are ‘Civilization’ and ‘Tycoon’ computer game addicts!

o Risk- Okay, so maybe you don’t want to fight for power over just a tiny island, like in The Settlers of Catan. Perhaps, you desire control over much more land, like the whole world? Satisfy this desire through playing the board game, Risk! In Risk, players compete in battles to win over areas of continents and ultimately try to conquer the world by defeating the troops of all the other players. In this game, players fight to the death and the last player to have surviving troops after killing all their fellow players’ troops wins the game. This board game is perfect for competitive spirits and will suffice if you have a lot of spare time on your hands; a good game with friends can potentially last several hours!

We hope you enjoyed our list of the Top 6 Must Have, Most Popular Board Games! Hopefully this list will help you find the board game that is just right for your next friend or family gathering; good luck on your gaming ventures!

Nicole Jacques is an up and coming writer who has started her career in the field of wri

It is the group dynamics of face-to-face, around the table interaction that makes board games the continued choice for all ages. Good old ‘analog’ table-talk provides all the elements of getting to know and understand people in your family and in your circle of friends.

Board games that challenge your knowledge and are sometimes best played in teams. Games like Trivial Pursuit, Cranium and Scrabble fall into this realm of testing ones mental agility, knowledge, recall or deductive talents. Board games that appeal to a broader age group might offer some element of randomness, like the roll of dice, while exercising your strategic and tactical skills. Popular board games like Trouble (also called Aggravation, Tarbles and Wahoo), checkers, or Monopoly are more family oriented, since young children to senior adults can play together.

So how do you choose the game that appeals to your family? Will complement your next friendly gathering?

1) often the simplest games will be the ones that you bring out most often when family or friends gather. Experiment here with 2 or 3 choices. Even mix it up with two different games in a evening.

2) let the reaction from the participants be the measure of approval. Having fun, good natured banter and laughter, are all indicators of an excellent group. If you sense tension, uneasiness or otherwise unhealthy group dynamics, this is could be an indicator to stop, change games or somehow alter the game play.

3) It is all about generating Fun and good conversation and encouragement for everyone playing the game. Remember “it is only a game’. It’s not about wining or losing. Good board games will even draw in observers, those non-participants that gather along the fringe.

4) Good memories and conversation about past played games is always a good indictor that you have a ‘winner” of a game.

5) a board game should be portable and mobile, no batteries required and adaptable to play at home, at the cottage or while travelling.

6) Having a handcrafted board game that is hand built by a friend or family member can also add that special touch of a ‘traditional family game’.

7) Board games that elicit future challenges, like, “Great game, we’ll win the next time”, or “That was just the warming-up game, now prepare to lose”, are good indicators of a board game worth playing again and again.

As with the advent of any new technological innovation, it was predicted that computer video games would all but eliminate the analog board game market. Not so. Board games still enjoy plenty of playtime. Most board games have transformed into alternate digital formats. Games like Scrabble, Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit, Cranium, The Game of Life are in the top 10 of board games in the USA. Some of these are now online as well – Scrabble, Clue, checkers, chess, sorry, risk, monopoly are a few.

There is something charming about a locally crafted board game. Variations of old board games like Hasbro’s Pop-o-matic Trouble and Milton Bradley’s Aggravation have surfaced as handcrafted wooden Marble Board Games like Tarbles (from Cape Breton Island) and Wahoo. These lovingly crafted marble board games are a great family gift. Steeped in memories of wonderful family times, handcrafted board games become heirlooms passed on to future generations for their playing pleasure.

Board Games are perfect for playing at home, at the cottage or on the road. They bring people together for fun and create warm and lasting memories of family gatherings. Memories cherished by all ages. Memo

Ah, the joy of a family night of fun board games played at the dining table! From Chutes and Ladders to Monopoly, through Tripoly and Clue, to Stratego, Risk, and Battleship, board games are just plain fun.

When we were youngsters, our movies were books and our game consoles were stored in boxes on the closet shelves. I recently rediscovered this joy with my seven-year-old granddaughter. We made a decision to watch tv less and spend more time doing things that encouraged conversation and personal interaction. It was a great decision. We spent the summer working puzzles, reading books together, and playing games at the dining room table. I now know which girls in her class giggle too much, which boys will chase you on the playground, and how much homework “they” expect her to get done. I also had the pleasure of watching my really smart, very funny granddaughter become a card shark.

All of this together time took me back to my childhood. We never really had to decide to watch less television. We only got three channels and my father’s interests ran the gamut from the news to football. Chet Huntley, David Brinkley, and Joe Namath pretty well dominated the airwaves at our house. The Philco belonged to Daddy. So we played outside in the sunshine and played inside when the rains came or nightfall drove us indoors. I can still sense the feeling of sitting around the kitchen table on a cold night with my brothers and sister and sometimes my parents, the smell of goodies cooking, the laughter swelling with the ups and downs of game play. I remember so clearly knowing the warmth and comfort of my place in the family. And all of this is connected in my mind with the delightful fun of board games.

Board Games for Adults can be fun!

Board Games for ADULTS??? Okay, “for Adults” doesn’t have to mean “for Adults,” if you know what I mean.

Seriously, most of us just want to have some good conversation, good company, and good clean fun when we socialize. What better way to enjoy the company of friends than with a peaceable evening spent playing a game or two. Put on a pot of coffee, heat up some banana bread or a coffee cake, and pull out a crowd-pleasing board game.

Pictionary is a terrific game. I have a friend who guesses the picture from a straight line. Honest. I have trouble identifying a photograph, so they wait until I’m out of the room to choose teams. I’m much better at Scattergories. And Trivial Pursuit. I am a font of useless knowledge.

How about you? Are you a brain? Maybe Cranium or Scrabble are to your liking. If your ability lies in strategy you may prefer Chess or Mastermind. Backgammon and Yahtzee both utilize a combination of strategy and fortune. There’s always Clue if you’re a sneaky son-of-a-gun or if you harbor suspicions and conspiracy theories. Old reliable Monopoly lets you practice getting wiped out financially. And for all of you would-be Kings of the World, it’s hard to beat Risk for world domination.

There are lots more. Pick a favorite board game or two and call the crew. The adult crew. Adults – grown-ups – having fun just playing some board games. Hanging out. You know you want to. It’s been too long since the last get-together.

Teens want to have a little board game fun, too.

Fun board games for teens just sounds like you’re trying too hard. Really. But you’re not. Young people are just people. They have friends. They like to do things with the people they like. They get tired of trying to say the right thing, wear the right clothes, hang with the right crowd. Heck, they get tired of just trying to figure out what all of that is. They need some easy-going time with no big consequences – just a chance to slow down a bit now and then. Offer them a board game party.

Risk, Yahtzee, Pictionary, Scattergories, Trivial Pursuit – all of these lend themselves to team play. Trivial Pursuit comes in a number of variations, so if they’re big Lord of the Rings fans, go with that one.

They will, however, play with a different intensity than their parents. “Soorrryyy” could take on a whole new meaning at your house. Player pieces may well be slapped around the board with more energy than one might expect. The Game of Life could be assigned choices not listed in the rules. Scene It will cause them to monopolize the television while Monopoly will give them time to take over the refrigerator. Who cares? They’re home, at your house, laughing like crazy and having more fun than they ever thought. No keggers, no missing parents, no car trouble – just friends and food and fun. Even teens have fun with board games.

And how about the children? Do they have any fun playing board games? Mayybeee.

The foundation of board games: children’s board games. I’m talking heart of childhood, elementary school, make a game out of everything age group. They make their own board games. They play board games at school when the weather is bad. They play board games all summer long in the floor, usually in the doorway to the kitchen. They just play. So what do they play?

Old stand-bys are still loved. Checkers and Chess are easily obtained and only take two people. Monopoly can take an entire afternoon and even then may not end with a clear winner. There’s a Monopoly Jr. now that is perfect for beginning readers and only takes about thirty minutes to play.

Sorry and Trouble, with it’s great Pop-O-Matic dice tumbler, remain crowd favorites. The Game of Life has become pretty convoluted, but kids still like to play it. Mouse Trap is fun to build and has the added value of a half hour of trapping mice once the game is done. Upper grade levels have a great time with Clue and Colonel Mustard and the Library – with the candlestick. Then there are cartoon-based games (think Spongebob) and Junior versions of Trivial Pursuit and Cranium. And Chinese Checkers and Parcheesi and Operation and Tri-Bond and Mancala and Aggravation and Backgammon and Scrabble and – oh, you get the idea. The list of children’s board games is as long as your imagination.

Don’t leave out preschoolers. Board games are not just fun. They’re useful.

We don’t always think about board games for preschoolers when we think about their play. Little ones run and jump and fall and get up and do it again. We sometimes limit their calm time to television – cartoons and children’s movies are quite good when Mom and Dad need some quiet time. Still, we miss out on some important training for small ones, as well as missing time spent together in an atmosphere of calm. More and more, children are losing the art of polite conversation and civilized interaction with adults. One solution? Bring out the games!

Pre-school board games help children to develop skills they will need in reading. They learn to match colors, count, recognize letters and their sounds, think sequentially, win graciously and lose gracefully. These are pretty important concepts. Candyland and Chutes and Ladders will wear you out, because your youngster will want to play again and again. There are all kinds of dominos (I know – not strictly a board game) that allow children to match cartoon characters rather than dots. There are games that let them match picture cards arranged on a grid and games that require fine motor skills. You’ll find that all of them are great fun for your four-year old.

Take the plunge. Board games with your preschooler. How much fun can you cram into one day?

WHOOHOO! Most fun section. Vintage board games.

Yep, fun board games of time gone by, making them vintage. Nice word for old. Well, maybe not all that old. Remember these?

Tripoly. We played this one with the neighbors. I don’t remember much about it except we used poker chips. There was a big green mat. And it was pokerish. And rummyish, too, I think. That’s it. That’s all I remember. Probably because I had a crush on the neighbor.

Then there was the Game of the States: VERY educational.

I’m pretty sure this one was a gift from my aunt. Very sure. Really. Aunt Helen. She was always the best at finding “educational” stuff that was pretty fun. Thanks, Aunt Helen. I miss you.

We really did learn all kinds of things about the states. We learned capitals, state birds, agricultural products, population – none of which I remember now. Not that much of it would be the same, anyway.

Now let’s talk about the REAL fun we had with board games. How about Tycoon? You had to be money-grubbing and free of conscience. My brothers slaughtered me. What are some others? Stratego. Mystery Date! Now there’s a great game for a sleep-over. Surfer dude. Hmmm. Remember him? Clue, Monopoly, Scrabble, Rook, Payday, Stock Market – all great games. I wish I still had all of them. But there was one we played ALL THE TIME:

Square Mile. This was the game with plastic roads and bridges. There was a railroad and a swamp. There were these little bitty buildings – houses, a school, a church, factories, apartment buildings, a shopping center. This was a cool game. Square Mile was the best for a rainy day.

Board games are amazing fun. I recommend their resurrection even if you just pull out the Monopoly game for an evening. Step away from the x-box, look your children in the eye and say,

“That’s Boardwalk with four houses. You owe me $1700.”