Fun Family Games

In a world filled with electronics and social media, communicating face-to-face is becoming a historical event of a past generation. Even when people are sitting next to each other in the same room they communicate through text or battle it out through a competitive word game online.

Long gone are the days of family dinners with meatloaf and potatoes followed by Mom, Dad, Brother and Sister competing to be the first to get into the winner’s box at the end of a game board.

With all that sadly becoming a piece of history, it’s time to make a change. It’s time to make family night popular again!

Here’s the perfect plan to unravel this sad scenario and make it a cool and common event that is found throughout households across the nation.

• Pass around a box or a basket to collect all the electronic devices. There can’t be any of that on a family night, because, after all, how are you supposed to communicate when Sister’s nose is on her phone.
• Have food, lots of it! Make dinner, order pizza, or build some tacos in the kitchen. Then be sure and have plenty of snacks for what’s to follow.
• Set up a game table with lots of choices! After dinner, take turns choosing which games to play. If there isn’t a lot of time for all the games, let each family member take turns planning which games to play on which game nights.
• Put out the snacks, you can’t play games without munchies!

The following is a list of 7 fun family games that can help you get started building your collection.

You can play games from a box or create games on your own, it doesn’t matter what you play as long as you are all together to enjoy the fun.

Pull up a table, grab some whipped cream and enjoy the fun with this hilarious game of Pie Face!

The kids and grandparents alike will have just as much fun while they try to avoid getting hit in the face with the whipped cream, and even though they know it’s coming, it’s still funny to watch their face expressions as they wait for it!

The game comes with a pie thrower, a throwing arm, two handles, a chin rest, a splash guard mask, a spinner and a sponge that can be used in place of the whipped cream, just in case you don’t have any on hand.

Take turns passing the game unit around the table. As each person takes a turn, they will twist the arm in hopes that they don’t get smacked. A point is earned each time a person avoids getting hit and the first person to reach twenty-five points wins the game.

Take caution, this game contracts contagious laughter!

Calling all family members from ages 10 to 110! Who can guess all three answers with the 5 Second Rule? How hard could it be to name three produce items or three breeds of dogs right? Well, with only five seconds, what seems easy suddenly becomes hard.

Not only are you challenged with answering the questions within a five-second limit, but the timer will distract you with its silly noise, and if that isn’t enough, you will feel more pressure while everyone sits and stares at you waiting for your answers.

This game has simple rules and the questions are made to fit anyone who is playing the game. You can make the game clean, or add an ornery twist depending on the company you are in.

During a round, when a player can answer before time runs out, that person keeps the card and the game continues with a new category. If a player cannot answer within the time limit, the card then gets passed to the next player.

Play as many rounds as you want and at the end of the game, the player with the most cards earns bragging rights.

The game includes 288 cards with 576 questions, a twisted marble timer, and instructions.

This game can be so addicting that your guests might have to stay the night!

Remember sitting around your parent’s table as a kid with a deck of cards and spoons from the kitchen cabinet? With the Spoons Card Game, you will have the same amount of fun except now you won’t risk bending a good spoon.

This game comes with a standard deck of 54 playing cards,  five plastic spoons, and instructions, all packed perfectly into a plastic box for added convenience.

Gather three to six family members around the table and see who can leap the fastest to grab a spoon, because nobody wants to be left without.

Everyone passes the cards around the table and the first person with four of a kind in their hand will reach for a spoon and the others will follow. There will always be one less spoon on the table than players, and the one left without will get a letter. The first player that earns all the letters of the name of the game, s-p-o-o-n-s, loses the game.

This game is simple to play and can be enjoyed by everyone of all ages. Don’t be surprised if someone pulls the game out before the dinner dishes are cleaned because it’s that much fun!

Get the family involved in a battle of who knows the most about random trivia.

It’s much like the party version, but this game of Wits & Wagers is designed for the whole family to enjoy.

With simple rules and questions that are designed for all ages, this is an opportunity for the kids to beat the adults, and even Grandma and Grandpa will enjoy playing.

There are 250 random questions in this game that involve a number answer. Each player will write their answer on a dry erase board. Once the answers are on the table, each player will then have a chance to place a meeple (token) on the answer they feel is correct. The players who guess correctly without going over score the points. The first player to score fifteen points wins the game.

Besides the 250 questions, this game also includes five dry erase answer boards, five dry-erase pens, a 1-inch answer board, five large meeples, five small meeples, one dry erase scoreboard, and the instructions.

Put this addictive game at the top of the list when it comes to the one everyone will choose on family game night.

When you’re looking for a different game to play and all your other options have been exhausted, try this fun family game.

The Name Game is simple to play and all you need is paper, a pair of scissors, a bowl, a stopwatch, and something for everyone to write with.

Cut the paper into strips and contribute approximately five to ten strips to each person. Ask everyone to write down one name of a person on each strip. The person they choose must be someone everyone would know and the person can be real, fictional, dead, or alive.

When everyone has completed their strips, ask them to fold them in half and place them in the bowl.

There is no limit to the number of players in this game, but everyone must divide into two teams.

There are three rounds of play with each round being played differently from the previous round.

Round 1: One person from a team will draw from the bowl. That player will have thirty seconds to give as many clues as needed to their team making them guess who’s name they have drawn. If the team guesses before the thirty seconds are up the player will draw another name from the bowl and the play continues. Once the thirty seconds is up, the name that hasn’t been guessed goes back into the bowl and it’s passed to the first player of the opposite team. As each team makes a correct guess they must keep the paper, and the game continues until all the names have been correctly guessed. At the end of the round each team must count one point for each piece of paper they have collected. Once the scores are tallied the names must be folded again and placed back into the bowl.

Round 2: This round begins with the person that would have gone next in the last round. Once again, each player will get thirty seconds to make the other team members guess the name. This time the clue must be given using only one word. If the player gives more than a one-word clue to the team, the round must be forfeited and passed to the next team. Just like in round one, play continues for thirty seconds and each team adds up their number of correct guesses at the end of the game adding the score to that of round one.

Round 3: The third and final round is played just like the last two rounds except for this time the clues will be given as charades with absolutely no talking allowed by the clue giver. When all the names have been guessed, the points will be added to those of the last two rounds and the team with the most overall points wins the game.

This game can easily be prepared ahead of time, and to make the game last longer in the future, don’t discard the strips; continue to add to them by creating more names the next time you play.

This is another simple paper and pencil game that can be played with as many people as you can gather around the room.

Give each player a piece of paper and a pencil.

Start this game by writing out all the letters of the alphabet on index cards. Cut the letters into even square pieces and put them into a bowl.

Next, pick ten categories and each person should write them across the top of their paper.

When play is ready to begin, choose the first person to draw one of the letters from the bowl. That player should place the letter in the center of the table for everyone to see. The letter drawn will be used for that round to name something from each category that begins with the letter.

For example, if one of the categories is a form of transportation and the letter is “T” you might say taxi or train. Continue to the next category using the same letter until all ten categories are filled with something beginning with that letter.

Set a time limit that is fair for everyone. Two minutes is a good time, but consider the ages of the players before setting a time. You will also want to take into consideration some time to explain the categories to the younger players who may need a little extra help.

The players each score one point for the correct answer, however, if more than one person says the same answer then nobody gets a point for that word. The player with the most points at the end of a round wins the game.

For added competition, try playing the same categories with more than one letter. For example, play three rounds with a different letter each time. Tally the score from all three rounds and at the end, the player with the most points from all three rounds wins the game.

No Tools Required

Sometimes the family just needs something to do to pass some time. Maybe you are waiting while your car is being serviced, or the food is taking longer to prepare and the kids are getting impatient. If this is the case, try playing a quick game that requires no tools or preparation.

Pull up some chairs or gather in a circle on the floor, it doesn’t really matter where you are for this fun game of wordplay.

The only thing you have to do for this game is to choose a topic such as food or colors. The older kids might be challenged with US cities or State Capitals. Once you have chosen a topic, start your word chain moving clockwise. The first player must say a word related to the topic. The next player must say that word and add a new one. The next player must say the first word, followed by the second and then add a new one. The game continues until someone breaks the chain by forgetting a word along the way. It sounds easy, but it is harder than you think. The more people playing this game, the more challenging it becomes.

Now that you have these ideas, gather your family and renew an age-old tradition of the family game night!