How To Have A Fun Family Board Game Night

A family board game night can be a great way for families to connect offline.

While family game night isn’t a new concept, the recent revival of tabletop gaming has introduced new and exciting kid-friendly games by independent writers and designers.

Family games have moved beyond big mass-market titles like Candyland or Guess Who? to more include diverse plotlines, designs and game mechanics.

Play And Learn Together

Board games can be great way to play and learn alongside your kids. They also create opportunities for kids to explore structured play, decision making and consequences:

• Rules And Taking Turns: Most board game nights start with a review of the rules of the game. A typical game structure involves players taking turns with a set number of tasks to accomplish on each turn. In each turn, kids can practice decision making within the structure of the game. Additionally, children learn how to observe others and practice patience when waiting for their next turn.
• Planning Ahead: The structure of board games often allows kids to develop procedural thinking skills and the ability to plan ahead. Kids can begin to understand how to think beyond their current turn or anticipate the actions of other players.
• Teamwork/Collaboration: As the board game market has expanded, so has the diversity of game mechanics. Lots of games now go beyond competitive play—the game strategy may be collaboration or resource-management, so families can work together to accomplish a common goal. In these games, kids develop their leadership, cooperation and communication skills.

Rules That Work For Everyone

An important and sometimes-challenging  aspect of family board game night can be the explanation of the rules. Here are some ways to help present games and rules to your kids:

Familiarize Yourself With The Game

With the expansion of the board game market, there's also been a growth in the online community of board game enthusiasts who create reviews, blog posts and videos that can give you more information on a given game. Spend a few minutes learning about basics of the game before introducing it to your kids. 

Read Through The Rules As A Family Before You Play 

When reviewing rules, try handing out key pieces first to get kids excited. Explain the story, how to win and review other important rules. Consider removing more difficult rules the first time you play as a family.

Play Through

Play a round of the game together to practice the rules and explore the objectives of the game. This can be especially valuable when introducing a new game or when playing multiple games in one game night.

There are lots of play-through videos and rules explanations online, but they can be complicated for first-timers. Sometimes, it's easier to start on your own and explore online communities once you're more familiar with the game. 

Make-Up Family Rules For Board Game Night

Coming up with family rules around board game night can make the whole experience feel special. These rules can also help address frustrations that arise when playing games together. 

Family rules could include do-overs for a turn or step if a family-member is unclear on the rules or makes a mistake. In more dexterous games, a family rule could be to touch items instead of grabbing them.

Try creating a family rule to settle disputes, such as a one-on-one rematch or playing rock-paper-scissors.

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7 Family-Friendly Board Games You May Not Have Heard Of

Board Games For Kids 5 And Under

• Elephant’s Trunk: Elephant’s Trunk is a great game for little ones (4+). In Elephant’s Trunk, Emmet the elephant needs help packing his suitcases. Players take turns rolling a coloured dice and packing clothing in the suitcase that corresponds to the colour they rolled. But watch out! One side of the dice has a disruptive mouse that adds a twist to this relatively simple game by dumping out the contents of one of Emmet’s suitcases. This game is great for kids who are learning colour identification and sorting. It has great artwork and sturdy pieces. 
• ChickyBoom: ChickyBoom is a balancing and dexterity game. Kids 4+ can play on their own or it can be played as a family. In ChickyBoom, players remove chickens, hay-bales and wagon wheels from a teeter-totter or “perch”. Pieces have different weights and point values. ChickyBoom is similar to the classic game Jenga—as players remove pieces from the teeter-totter, it becomes less and less stable until the game ends when all pieces have been collected or the perch topples over.
• Mucca Pazza: Mucca Pazza is an entertaining pattern-matching game that can be customized for different ages (4+) and expanded as kids gain a better understanding of the game. Cards have the head, torso or feet of 10 different funny-looking animals. The cards are shuffled and laid out in rows, then players take turns sliding cards to try and make a complete match of an animal. This game teaches planning-ahead over the course of three moves in each turn. For younger kids, the board can be folded in half to reduce the amount of animals. The game can also be played with or without the special wooden star pieces that add extra moves to a player’s turn.

Board Games For Kids 6 And Up

• Jungle Speed: In Jungle Speed, players flip cards and look for matching patterns. When a player’s card matches the pattern of another player’s, the two players must race to grab the central totem piece. This game helps kids learn to recognize matching patterns (versus matching colours), which can be tricky as they race to grab the totem. There are three special cards that can be added to make the game more difficult.
• Coconuts: Coconuts is a dexterity game that's similar to the classic game Hungry Hippos—in this game, each player assumes the role of a monkey trying to toss their coconuts into cups placed at the centre of the game area. There are special cards that can be added to the game for added challenge. This game is a great laugh for the whole family, with enough challenge to keep the game-play interesting. 
• Tsuro: Tsuro is a more classic tabletop game setup. In the game, each player must map out their path on the board as they try to avoid other players and stay on the board the longest. The game requires excellent problem solving skills and focus, especially as more cards are placed on the board and your path gets close to those of other players. 
• Forbidden Island: Forbidden Island is a cooperative game for families with older kids. As a group of adventurers, you must work together to rescue treasures from a sinking island and get out before the whole island is lost under sea. This game is a great opportunity to work together as a family. Players need to problem solve and strategize to capture treasures. On each turn, the water level rises and trick cards can speed up the flood.

With lots of new games to try and new ways to play games—such as board game cafés—there are lots of ways to expand your list of favourite family games!