Spending time with the family can be a lot of fun, even if you don't want a screen involved. Board games have been a popular pastime for families for generations. Not only do they provide entertainment and quality time, but they can also improve cognitive skills and promote teamwork and communication. With so many options available, choosing the best board games for your family can be overwhelming. That's why we've compiled a list of the best family board games that are sure to please everyone, from young children to grandparents.
One important consideration for family game night is theme. Board games for adults can be fun, but it would be inappropriate for younger players, for instance, to blast through hordes of the undead in Zombicide. And some of the best board games for kids might try the patience of older children. The games below are appropriate for all ages, and they offer a mix of strategy, luck, and fun, making them perfect for family game night or any gathering.
TL;DR: Best Family Board Games
- Takenoko
- Cascadia
- King of Tokyo
- Kingdomino
- Railroad Ink
- Tiny Towns
- Azul
- The Crew: Mission Deep Sea
- Downforce
- The Isle of Cats
- The Quacks of Quedlinburg
Don't have time to scroll? These are our picks. Read on for details about each one.
Takenoko
Takenoko is a game about taking care of a very hungry panda. Players spend their turns watering plots of land to grow bamboo that the panda will then eat. There are lots of ways to score points, such as placing land tiles in a certain patterns and feeding the panda specific colors of bamboo.Because there is more than one way to score points, the game does not shoehorn players into one strategy. With colors that pop and towers of bamboo that reach far above the table, Takenoko is just as fun to look at as it is to play.
Cascadia
There are few games with quite the wide appeal of Cascadia. For starters, it’s got a wholesome theme of exploring the ecology of the Pacific Northwest. The mechanics are very simple, involving you picking one of four pairs of animal token and terrain hex to add to your growing map. The aim is to satisfy a random range of scoring cards by getting animals into particular patterns, and they range in difficulty from an easy family version to challenging gamer-level objectives. There’s even a fun solo campaign where you’re tasked with crossing off a range of variants and objectives. If there ever was a game for absolutely everyone, this is it.
King of Tokyo
The best way to describe King of Tokyo is “Yahtzee meets Godzilla.” In this monster mash-up, players control one of a stable of greatest-hits monsters straight out of science fiction past. The goal is to take control of Tokyo while fending off the other monsters. Attacks and special abilities are carried out through dice rolls which lends a bit of suspense to the giant-sized boxing matches. Of course, controlling Tokyo makes you a target, and no monster can stay in the city for too long without taking lots of damage. It’s up to you to recognize when to retreat and when to press the attack, but beware: other monsters are out there and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Kingdomino
Released in 2017, Kingdomino is the most recent game on this list. It also won the coveted Spiel des Jahres, the German board game of the year, cementing its place as a go-to family game for years to come. Players take turns claiming tiles to add to their kingdom, but it’s not as simple as picking a tile and moving on. The tile you choose directly affects the turn order for the next turn, so you must be careful when making your decision lest you leave a valuable tile on the table for your opponents. Your tableau is limited to a five-by-five grid, which adds a spatial awareness element to the game as well. Because of its short play time and how easy it is to learn the rules, Kingdomino is an ideal choice for your next family game night.
Railroad Ink
Over the last couple of years, roll-and-write games have experienced a Renaissance of sorts, and Railroad Ink illustrates why they’re so popular. Roll some dice, drop the shown track pieces onto you personal dry erase board, and repeat. Watching your rail network grow is a big part of Railroad Ink, but the true carrot on the stick is the prospect of beating your old high scores. Since everyone uses the same dice rolls, the playing field remains even. It’s also fun to see how your opponents develop their own networks. Solo games are just as fun, too. There are two versions of Railroad Ink to choose from: the red version adds in volcanic eruptions and meteors that can destroy your railroads, and the blue version includes lakes and rivers as new scoring features. Whichever version you choose, this fast and fun roll and write is sure to be a hit with the family.
Tiny Towns
In Tiny Towns, players are mayors of newly developing villages and are tasked with planning and building the town’s cottages, taverns, factories and more. On a turn, the active player chooses one of the available resources, then all players take one cube of the matching resource and place it in their town. Those cubes stay there, taking up precious space, until you can match the pattern on one of the building cards. Then, you place the building in your town and gain its effect, usually in the form of end-game points based on the building’s scoring conditions. Because everyone at the table takes a resource on every turn, there’s little to no down time in Tiny Towns. Keeping players engaged while forcing them to meticulously plan their buildings makes this family game a brain burner in the best possible way.
Azul
A game that is as beautiful as it is enjoyable, Azul is a contest of planning and opportunity. You’re a mason in 15th or 16th century Portugal, and King Manuel I has asked you to decorate his palace with strikingly colored tiles reminiscent of Spain’s Alhambra. On a turn, you choose all tiles of a single color from one of the available groups of four, and the rest get sent to a common area that can be pilfered later. You must insert your chosen tiles into rows on your player board, and when you complete a row you’ll add one tile to your palace wall. Points are scored for meeting various pattern requirements, like covering all tiles of one color on your wall, or completing an entire row or column. Filling up your display is satisfying in a way that few tile-laying games can boast, and the play time is generally short enough that multiple plays in a night are not uncommon. It’s not hard to see why Azul won Germany’s game of the year award in 2018.