Looking for something fun to do with the kids? How about playing a game together? Board games are one of the easiest ways to spend proper, phone-free quality time as a family — and it’s amazing how competitive everyone gets, no matter what age they are.
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Whether you’re looking for ways to fill a rainy afternoon or planning a proper family game night, here are 22 of the best board games for families, recommended by parents in the MyKidsTime community.
You may also enjoy: 15 Completely Different Board Games To Play With The Family
Best Board Games for Families
#1. Monopoly
Buy! Sell! “Go directly to Jail!” Buy up real estate, collect rents and build hotels — just don’t go bankrupt along the way. Monopoly remains one of the world’s most popular family board games, and it’s still a brilliant way to fill a wet Saturday afternoon.
2–8 players, ages 8+
#2. Scrabble
The classic crossword game that families have been enjoying for generations. Build words for points, land on bonus squares to boost your score, and if you manage to use all seven of your letter tiles in one go, you’ll bag an extra 50 points.
There’s also a Scrabble Junior version for younger word-lovers.
2–4 players, ages 8+ (5+ for the Junior version)
#3. Connect 4
A well-known vertical game played with coloured checkers. Slot the board into its stand, then take turns dropping checkers into one of the 7 columns until someone gets four in a row — horizontally, vertically or diagonally.
2 players, ages 5+
#4. Frustration
The aim of Frustration is to get all four of your coloured pieces around the board and “home” before anyone else. You need to roll a 6 to get a piece moving in the first place.
The frustration really kicks in when the dice won’t play ball, or when a rival lands on your piece and sends it all the way back to the start — even if you were nearly home.
2–4 players, ages 5+
#5. Pictureka
Find it fast, find it first! Pictureka puts a lively visual spin on hide and seek. Pick up a card and try to spot the matching object somewhere across the 9 game board tiles.
It’s finders keepers — grab the card if you spot the object quickest. Watch out though, because the board keeps changing: special mission cards let players flip, rotate or swap a tile at any point.
Players take turns rolling the dice, drawing a mission card, then racing to find objects fast or first. Three different card decks keep things fresh, since you’re sometimes matching an exact image and sometimes hunting for something in a category, like “things that can fly.” Collect enough cards and you’re crowned Pictureka champion.
2–4 players, ages 6+
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Looking For More?
Don’t let the weather dampen the fun — we’ve also got 25 of the best indoor games for 8–12 year olds to keep everyone happy on a housebound day.
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#6. Ludo
A simple but timeless board game for two to four players, racing your four tokens from start to finish on the roll of the dice. Easy to learn, quick to set up, and still a hit with younger kids.
2–4 players, ages 4+
#7. Boggle
Boggle starts with a good shake of a covered tray of sixteen letter dice, which settle into a 4×4 grid so only the top letter of each cube shows. From there, every player races to spot words made from letters that sit next to each other — horizontally, vertically or diagonally.
2+ players, ages 8+
#8. Articulate
Articulate is the fast-talking description game where players try to get their team to guess as many card entries as possible in 30 seconds flat — no “rhymes with” or “sounds like” allowed.
There’s also an Articulate for Kids version for ages 6+.
4+ players, ages 12+
#9. Rummikub
This is one of our own favourite family games — and a sneaky way to sharpen maths skills too. Rummikub is played with 106 sturdy tiles. You need 30 points to make your first “meld,” and from there, like the card game Rummy, you build runs of the same colour (say, Red 7, Red 8, Red 9) or sets of the same number in different colours (Blue 8, Red 8, Black 8). First to get rid of all their tiles wins.
2–4 players, ages 8+
You may also enjoy: 15 Fun Card Games for Kids
#10. Cluedo
This classic murder-mystery deduction game never gets old. Players move around the mansion as one of the game’s characters, gathering clues to work out who committed the crime, with what weapon, and in which room.
3–6 players, ages 8+
#11. Dixit
Dixit is a beautifully illustrated, multi-award-winning game where imagination is the real star. It tests logic, bluffing and deduction, with wonderfully simple rules.
Each round, one player becomes the storyteller and gives a clue — a word or phrase — that matches one of their cards. Everyone else picks a card from their own hand that best fits the clue. The cards are shuffled together, and players secretly vote on which card belongs to the storyteller.
It’s simple, brilliant fun that adapts to any age, and with expansion packs adding extra cards, it rarely gets stale. Great for family nights or evenings with friends.
3–6 players, ages 8+
#12. Jungle Speed
Jungle Speed rewards sharp eyes and even sharper reflexes — a steady hand helps too, though it’s hard to keep one during the fits of laughter this game tends to cause.
A wooden Totem sits in the middle of the table, waiting for the fastest player to grab it. Each player has a hand of cards, and the aim is to be first to get rid of all of yours. Every turn, players reveal a card each; if two cards match, those players dive for the Totem, and the slower player takes on the other’s cards.
Some cards look almost identical, which can trick you into grabbing the Totem by mistake, and others shake up the rules entirely. Fast hands and a sharp eye are the order of the day.
2+ players, ages 7+
#13. Villa Paletti
The story goes that a builder named Paletti once tried to construct the tallest castle in the world, but ran short of money and started robbing columns from the ground floor to build higher up. The result: the precarious, brilliant Villa Paletti.
Players try to get their own columns onto the highest level of the tower before it collapses, or before nobody can build any further. Quick, tense and genuinely fun for the whole family.
2–4 players, ages 8+
#14. Carcassonne
Carcassonne is a clever tile-laying game where players build roads, cities, cloisters and meadows around the medieval French city it’s named after, then place their “meeples” — farmers, knights, monks and thieves — to score points.
The rules are simple, but because the board is built fresh from a shuffled set of tiles every time, no two games ever play out the same way. A world bestseller and multiple award winner, and a strong addition to any family games shelf.
2–5 players, ages 8+
#15. Jenga
The classic block-stacking, tower-crashing game. Stack the wooden blocks into a sturdy tower, then take turns carefully pulling out one block at a time and placing it on top — until the whole thing comes tumbling down.
Is your hand steady enough to make the tower wobble without falling?
2+ players, ages 6+ (younger kids can often manage it too)
#16. Hungry Hippos
Four hungry hippos, one bunch of marbles — press the tails fast to chomp as many as you can. Whoever’s hippo gobbles the most marbles wins.
It’s a great way to build hand-eye coordination in younger children. Start with just one marble in the middle for the littlest players, and add more as their skills come on.
2–4 players, ages 3+
#17. Guess Who
A firm family favourite in plenty of houses. Each player picks a mystery character, and the other player has to work out who it is by asking yes-or-no questions — “Do you have brown eyes?” or “Are you wearing a hat?” — flipping down faces until they can make their final guess.
2 players, ages 6+
#18. Candy Land
A nostalgic classic that plenty of today’s parents grew up playing themselves. Choose your sweet character and travel the rainbow path through Peppermint Forest, the Lagoon of Lord Licorice and Princess Frostine’s Ice Palace, watching out for tiles that send you backwards.
Simple, colourful and genuinely suited to very young players — one of the best board games for preschoolers.
2–4 players, ages 3+
#19. Junior 30 Seconds
Junior 30 Seconds bills itself as the “quick thinking, fast talking” board game. It works best played in teams, though two players can simply take turns if there aren’t enough people around. Teams move along the board by correctly guessing the names their team-mates are describing.
You get 30 seconds to identify as many of the 5 names on a card as you can. Describers can say anything except the actual names on the card. First team to reach the finish square wins.
4+ players, ages 7+
#20. Pie Face
A firm family favourite for a bit of silly, suspenseful fun — somebody’s bound to get splatted! Load a splodge of whipped cream (or use the wet sponge included) onto the hand of the game unit, then start turning the handles.
It could go off at any turn, so keep your fingers crossed. Score a point every time you turn the handle without getting pie-faced; first to 25 points wins.
Whipped cream not included.
2+ players, ages 5+
You may also enjoy: 10 Insanely Easy Ideas For a Fun Family Game Night
#21. Hearts (Online)
Hearts mixes strategy with a good dose of luck, and it’s long been a family favourite. Players exchange cards over several rounds, aiming to finish with the fewest points by steering clear of high-penalty cards — especially the Queen of Spades. It’s become even more popular thanks to free online versions, making it one of the most-played card games around.
1–4 players, ages 8+
Available to play free at Hearts.Land.
#22. Spades (Online)
Spades is a strategic card game where players or teams bid on how many “tricks” they’ll win, aiming to be first to reach 500 points. It’s a great choice for families — it builds teamwork, sharpens critical thinking, and makes for a properly enjoyable bit of friendly competition around the table.
1–4 players, ages 8+
Available to play free at Spades.co.
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Which of these are your family’s favourites? Leave a comment below and let us know — we’d love to hear from you!
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s a good board game for very young children?
Simple, colourful games with easy rules work best for preschoolers. Candy Land and Hungry Hippos are both designed for ages 3+ and don’t require reading or complex strategy, making them a gentle introduction to board games.
What’s a good option for a big family group or game night with friends?
Games like Cluedo, Dixit and Articulate work well with larger groups, since most support up to six or more players and involve everyone at once rather than just two people taking turns.
Are there any quick games for a short burst of fun?
Yes — Jenga, Connect 4 and Pie Face are all fast to set up and play, making them handy for a quick game between dinner and bedtime.
Do we need to buy anything extra to play these games?
Most of the games on this list are ready to play straight out of the box. A couple of exceptions are noted in their entries — for example, Pie Face needs whipped cream or a wet sponge, which isn’t included.
Related Articles
If you enjoyed this list, you might also like:
- 15 Completely Different Board Games To Play With The Family
- 25 of the Best Indoor Games for 8–12 Year Olds
- 15 Fun Card Games for Kids
- 10 Insanely Easy Ideas For a Fun Family Game Night
Save This for Your Next Game Night
Bookmark this page so you’ve always got a list of tried-and-tested family board games handy, and browse the related articles above for more rainy-day and games night inspiration.
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