Board Games

[Clonehomer]

Looking for a new board game for a family Christmas present. We have Ticket to Ride (original and Europe), Catan, and 7 Wonders. Really like them all, but looking for something new. Anyone try the Catan spin offs (Seafarers, Cities and Knights, ect)? Are they different enough to own both?

Or are there other options? Need a 6 player game that's not too complicated for 8-10 year olds.

 

[jbhtexas]

Sequence.

Also, while technically not a board game, Mexican Train dominoes are a family favorite of ours. 6 players is a good number for that game.

 

[LeaningCy]

Pandemic is a great co-op game and one of my favorites, although we haven't played it much this year for obvious reasons.

 

[moores2]

Throw throw burrito is a grand time. Need people who are willing to try to be athletic though.

 

[clone52]

Villainous

 

[BryceC]

Love throw throw burrito.

6 is too many for Splendor, but that's a great game for youngish kids. I think 5 is the limit there.

 

[kirk89gt]

Train dominoes is fun, easy to learn, and can provide some spirited games amongst family. Seafarers is definitely more complex that Catan. If your 8-10 year olds like the original and are looking for something a little more challenging, it would be fun too (can take a little longer than the original as well, depending on variables).

 

[Isualum13]

Cones of Dunshire. It isn't available yet, but I am hopeful that some day it will be.

 

[NorthCyd]

I would second Villainous. Another game with a Disney theme I would really recommend is Snow White and the Seven Dwarves: A Gemstone Mining Game. Before you discount it because of the Snow White theme look into the game first. Its not as bad as you might think and kids really love this game.

Another game I think is really fun and cooperative is Flashpoint. You play firemen trying to rescue people and animals from a house before it burns down.

Dixit is a classic if you haven't played it.

 

[BCClone]

Heard in Kentucky that naked twister is a hit.

 

[Prone2Clone]

Some of these sound like NSFW Urban Dictionary entries.

 

[CY22]

Anyone try the Catan spin offs (Seafarers, Cities and Knights, ect)? Are they different enough to own both?

Once you add Cities and Knights, you'll never go back to regular Settlers. If the kids understand the original well, then the expansion shouldn't be too hard. Otherwise if you're helping them a lot, you'll be doing a lot more in Cities and Knights. I'd highly recommend it at some point though.

Another recommendation though would be Codenames. That can be a lot of fun with 4-6 players. Other fun ones for that 8-10 group might be King of Tokyo (think battle Yahtzee), Sushi Go! (Japanese-style card game, quick), or Oregon Trail (Card game, lots of fun with the family).

 

[Cyclonepride]

This is a nice site for evaluating games (they rate them by best games, but also have a difficulty rating so you can see how hard they are to pick up and play): https://boardgamegeek.com/browse/boardgame

 

[DarkStar]

Just get a couple decks of cards and some poker chips.

It's never too early to teach your children how to play seven card stud with a high/low split.

Let them cash in their chips for their favorite candy.

(Learning how to read people is a life skill. )

 

[flynnhicks03]

Cones of Dunshire. It isn't available yet, but I am hopeful that some day it will be.

It's about the cones...

 

[CyberJJJ]

Sequence.

Also, while technically not a board game, Mexican Train dominoes are a family favorite of ours. 6 players is a good number for that game.

2nd the Sequence recommendation. Easily works for 2,3,4, or 6. It is fairly fast paced enough to keep young folks interested and easy to learn with a good mix of strategy and luck.

Old time favorites like Clue might fit your bill.

Labyrinth (may only work for 4) is one they might have fun with.

Not technically a board game, but the card game SkipBo would work with that number of people and ages.

Taboo can be a fun party game that can work with almost any number of people.

Might stress your age group, but my kids have always enjoyed banana grams, with is an easier offshoot of scrabble but with a timing element.

 

[zeke]

5 second rule is fun for family

 

[CyberJJJ]

A fun game that works for any number of people and works for the ages of your kids is Spoons (no, not the drinking version! although, come to think of it, can work as they get older!) https://bicyclecards.com/how-to-play/spoons/

 

[jdoggivjc]

I would second Villainous. Another game with a Disney theme I would really recommend is Snow White and the Seven Dwarves: A Gemstone Mining Game. Before you discount it because of the Snow White theme look into the game first. Its not as bad as you might think and kids really love this game.

Another game I think is really fun and cooperative is Flashpoint. You play firemen trying to rescue people and animals from a house before it burns down.

Dixit is a classic if you haven't played it.

Same with Villainous. I would just recommend, when learning the game, pick one of Prince John, Queen of Hearts, or Maleficent. Not knowing there were “easy” villains and hard villains, I stuck my sister with Ursula as she was a big Little Mermaid fan growing up. She wanted to quit the game after about half an hour. Speaking of, we really need to pick up the second expansion.

 

[AuH2O]

Have the seafarer Catan and is fun once you get the hang of it.
Another one I like is Blokus. Typically a pretty quick game. Ideal for 4 people but works fine for 2 or 3.