More family board games
Photo: Simon Hill
There are many family board games. Here are a few more we liked.
Dorfromantic: The Duel $25: Based on the video game DoromanticWhat spawned a cooperative board game, this spin-off pits you against another player as you draw tiles to create a landscape and try to complete tasks along the way. With identical sets of red and blue colors, it’s all about who creates the best atmosphere to satisfy their villagers and score the most points. Playtime is under an hour. You can play with two teams, but it works best as a two-player game.
Hey Hey Relay for $15: This super silly dice game is a competition between two teams with challenge cards that prompt silly voices and physical actions before you move on. It’s fast and messy to play, but probably best for younger kids (makers recommend ages 6 and up). My kids didn’t like it too much, but it could be a fun party game.
Best Family Board Games (2025)
Show ships for $29: This cooperative game casts players as stockers and shippers and challenges them to correctly ship orders by guessing the correct tiles based on clues given by the way they are grouped. The deadline adds pressure, and it can be fun for the right group (you have to be on the same wavelength), but we found that waiting for stalkers to set up was dull for shippers and scoring was laborious.
Flip 7 for $21: The thrill of pushing your luck is the draw for this hybrid card game, as you hit or get stuck blackjack-style, trying to get seven different face-up cards. Special action cards and modifiers mix things up, allowing for some strategic play. Suitable for three or more players aged 8 and up, it only takes 20 minutes to play.
Tension: Top 10 Naming Games for $43: Topic cards consist of 10 items in a category and the opposing team has 60 seconds to guess as many as possible. Cards are divided into two colors (easy and hard), making it easy to play with kids or adjust the difficulty on the fly. It works well with any age or group size, but be prepared for lots of shouting and laughing.
You Gotta Be Kitten Me! For $13: A common twist on Liar’s Dice that focuses on bluffing and calling bluffs; I am of two minds about this game. On the one hand, the game is nothing special, but on the other hand, cute cat! My obsessed daughter immediately wanted to play, and we had a few laughs at these cats with outrageous bluffs about the number of glasses, hats and bow ties.
Poems for Neanderthals for $18: Each card has a word, and your seemingly simple task is to get your team to guess correctly within the time limit by speaking only single syllables. If you break the rules, opponents can hit you with inflatable “no” sticks. Suitable for two to eight players ages 7 and up, it’s loud, silly and generally makes everyone laugh.
Jeopardy Jeopardy for $10: Fast and furious, this simple card game for two teams is all about trying to reveal the high-scoring card at the end of each round. There are no turns, you can cover the other team’s cards, and the round is timed, but you must guess when the round will end. Very easy and very quick to play, this game can get messy.
That quickly adds up to $12: This game is fast, easy and fun for up to eight players. “I invented a new game, what is it?” Scenarios like this require players to provide suggestions from least dangerous (1) to most dangerous (10) based on their assigned number for each round. The leader of the round must try to get them in the correct order. It works well with experienced players who know each other well.
Sounds like fish for $20: Another fun group game from Big Potato, the challenge in Sounds Fishy is to find fake answers. Each card poses a question, but only one of the answers you get is correct. It’s for four to 10 players, and we found it more fun but harder with more people.
Cards Against Humanity: Family Edition $29: You can play this party game with up to 30 players, and it will keep the youngsters laughing and giggling. Like the adult version, there isn’t much trickery, but it’s satisfying to find the perfect combination to crack everyone up.
don’t bother
We were not that interested in these games.
Photo: Simon Hill
Gillense: As a group of zombie apocalypse survivors atop a skyscraper, you must choose the correct flight path to grab the resources you need as determined by the cards. A tight time limit makes it difficult to pick the right route from the tangled mess on the game board, and it can be assembled differently for replay value. But the backdrop felt inconsistent, and we all agreed that it wasn’t very fun to play.
connecto: Connect different symbols on your board with a dry-erase marker based on a randomly drawn challenge card to draw a picture of something (eg connect the dots). The first to guess what it should be wins the round (something like what is only vaguely implied). Longevity takes a hit, as there’s no fun in replaying solved puzzles.
A game of cat and face: Incredibly simple, this skill game challenges you to fire rubber balls through the cat’s mouth with magnetic paws, but they end up everywhere. The games tend to be very one-sided and my kids get bored almost immediately. It’s also impossible to play with real cats around.
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