By Amy | Leave A Comment
Our family loves to play board games and after we had children, we began to play them a lot more. We are usually home more in the evening, so we pop some popcorn and catch up on our television shows while we play.
I try to get our board games at our local thrift store because it is a great way for me to try them out without making a huge investment. Sometimes I buy games and we discover that it isn’t something we would want to play over and over again. When they cost us only $1.50, it makes it much easier to donate it back and try something else out. You might be able to do this without even making a small investment by checking with your local library. Our library actually has games and toys that you can rent for your children. We were able to try some games out for our son and found that he either didn’t like them or they were way too advanced by just checking them out for a week. We were able to return them and then try them at a later date with him, when they were more age-appropriate.
1. Rummikub: This is a game that my husband loved to play when he was growing up, and now he has me addicted to it too! The game is intended for ages eight and up and can be played with two or more players. With rules similar to gin rummy, Rummikub is a classic tile game that’s guaranteed to get at least a million kid-hours of use in any family. Players take 14 numbered tiles and try to get rid of them as fast as possible by creating runs (for example, 7-8-9) and sets (7-7-7). The link provided is for their deluxe edition (which we do not have). This deluxe edition is cleverly designed so that the four plastic tile racks fit together to form a carrying case for the game.
2. Scrabble- What is not to love about this game? Intended for two players or more and recommended for ages eight to ninety-nine, you can play this game for years with your children. The game has been improved with a swivel board (less stretching required!), raised holders to rest the tiles into, and a bag to store all of the tiles. This is one of my personal favorites and we play this a lot in our house. Don’t forget to purchase a copy of the Scrabble Dictionary and store it with your game board. Take some time to study some words and really beat your opponents! Want to see what Scrabble obsession looks like? Rent the movie, “Word Wars.” It is all about the Scrabble championships that are held and people who attempt to make a living from this sport.
3. Upwords- Along the same vein, this is another fabulous word puzzle game, but with a twist. You build words just like Scrabble, but you can build up and up (five letters high) to change words into new words. The more you stack, the more points you earn. I think it is more challenging than Scrabble, but the scoring is much easier to do. This game is for two players or more and recommended for ages eight and up. This game can be a powerful tool when your children are beginning to read because it can help teach them how to change words using different letters. Consider it a cheap version of “Hooked on Phonics” and a game that they can enjoy for years after they have learned to read!
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Yahtzee is great for teaching math skills! So is Monopoly.
When the kids get a little older, some that we have really liked are Settlers of Catan, which is become almost a cult favorite among youth, and Carcassone, which is less expensive and really fun! The best thing about both is that adults love them, too. And with Carcassone, it only takes about 10 minutes to explain the rules!
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cranium, trivial pursuit, phase 10, and true colors.
who gnu is a great game for kids! I play it with the children i babysit and they love it. It’s a good game to get to know people. it’s by the makers of cranium i think.
oh, and i totally buy games at thrift stores and garage sales.
I agree with the above post in that my family loves Settlers of Catan my kids are 8 to 17. We also bought the game Blokus this summer and it has also been a huge hit. We also enjoy Othello.
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Rummikub is my most favorite game! I loved playing that game when I was younger and it was not because no one could seem to beat me either. I just really liked the game. The one time I did lose was because my cousins parents asked me to let her win so she would not pout. How awful is that! and she even cheated! Cheating is one of my pet peeves! I still have the game, I think 2 of my kids are old enough to play it with me now, I should pull it out and teach them. My other favorite games are on your list also, scrabble (my daughter loves that game), Yahtzee (played it a lot with residents in a nursing home, they loved it next to Bingo. LOL!), and Skip-Bo(me and sister used to play this game all the time).
Ohh love family games and you have listed a lot of the ones we play.
Here are a few you don’t have listen
Triominos
Life
Bingo..with a real spinning ball dropper
Hungry Hippo
and good old card games.
We like Rack-O. It’s also a sequencing game but you don’t have to get consecutive numbers, just in the right order from least to greatest. It’s fabulous for teaching kids “greater than and less than.” My youngest child was beating adults at this game when he was 5. Bonus–it goes quick–15 minutes–so you can play many times, or even just when you have a short while to play a game.
One of our favorite games we got for Christmas this past year is Quirkle – it is a take off on domino’s and is so fun – my kids are older but even our younger neighbor kids will play with us. 4-5 people can play together.