We do love a family game afternoon here, and it’s been fun introducing the kids to so many over the years. As they’re now getting older, I thought it’d be good to share some of our current favourites, for those of you on the lookout for board games for older kids.
Games are always a great gift here, a year rarely goes by without them getting one or two new ones, and Christmas is always a time for lots of game play.
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Hitster
THE ULTIMATE PARTY GAME: Turn any gathering into an unforgettable experience with Hitster, a thrilling party game for adults combining music and fun. Groove to the biggest hits of the last 100 years
If you love music, you need this one. We play this one a lot, and whilst this says it’s a party game, you can play it with 2 just as easily as with a big group.
221b Baker Street Detective
BECOME A MASTER DETECTIVE: Step into the shoes of Sherlock Holmes and compete with friends to solve one of 75 compelling mysteries. A thrilling family board game perfect for board games nights and themed parties.
This one’s a little like Cluedo in that you have to solve the mystery with clues, but it’s a real step up as some of the clues are tricky! It’s different to other games we play, and it really gets us thinking.
Check out 221b Baker Street Detective here
Articulate
ARTICULATE! Bring everyone together with this fast-talking description board game as players try to describe as many card entries as possible within 30 seconds. No “rhymes with” or “sounds like” allowed
We love this! We played Articulate Kids when the children were younger, so there are options for a range of ages.
Uno
The classic card game of matching colors and numbers.
Special Action Cards and Wild Cards for unexpected excitement and game-changing fun.
We’ve been playing this one for years, and the kids will still grab it to play pretty regularly. Can’t go wrong with this!
LOGO Best of Sport & Leisure
Just as fun as the original LOGO game, only this time it’s about your favourite Sports – everything from Football to Fishing, Badminton to Basketball, Walking to Weightlifting
Just as we have several music games as my daughter loves music, we have several sports games as my son loves sport. This one’s a favourite, easy to set up and play, with a good range of questions.
Check out LOGO Best of Sport & Leisure
Humm Bug
SIMPLE RULES: Hum a song from a certain decade; Get your team to guess correctly; Advance across the board; Your team is first to the finish line and wins
Another fun music game. Probably my daughter’s favourite game, this one comes out of the games cupboard a lot!
Tension
A riotous race to name ten examples to a given subject
400 topics make this a perfect thinking game for both children and adults
We have the classic version and a sports version of this, and enjoy playing them both.
Rummikub
The numbers strategy game that is never the same
The fast-paced game of tile manipulation
Place all your tiles from your rack on the table
Based on the card game, it’s simple to grasp how to play and then it takes you a couple of plays to get the tactics so you can actually win!
Smart Ass
Play Smart Ass, the game where it’s OK to yell out the answer, even when it’s not your turn
Be the first to answer the Who, What, and Where Am I questions, and move closer to being the ultimate Smart Ass
A fast-paced party game for 2 – 8 players, ages 12 and up
This one’s quite quick to play, and we like the variety of questions and categories.
Scrabble
A game that needs no introduction.
OK, this one’s not actually popular with the kids in our house, but that’s our own fault.
The Husband and I love Scrabble, so will often settle down to a game and we are pretty good at it. Which then puts the kids off playing with us! But it would be remiss of me to leave it off this list as it’s such a great game, a real favourite in our house, with us at least.
You’ll notice no Monopoly on this list. Monopoly has been banished from our home since 2009 when a particularly long game ensued and we all swore never to play again. Sorry Monopoly fans, it’s not one for us!
Have you played all of these games? Which games are the favourites in your house?
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links