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We love to play games and we also like to find new and different games that aren’t your average everyday run of the mill games. I was going to just highlight 2 or 3 games, but my kids kept telling me more games that I needed to add to the list, so here is a good size list of games that our family gives rave reviews to.
The majority of these games are played at our house by teens and adults, but a few of them would work for younger kids too. I will include the minimum age of each game for your reference.
STRATEGY GAMES
7 Wonders Game – This game is one of my teen boys and husbands favorite games. They love a good strategy game and they think this is one of the best. You can play a game in about 3o minutes, which is great because sometimes strategy games can go on for hours. This game is loved by serious and casual gamers, it’s a crowd pleaser. You won’t be disappointed in this one!
Ages 10+
Dominion – This is another very popular strategy game at our house (as you can tell by my sons affection for the game). The goal is to race to get as much of the unclaimed land as possible, fending them off other players along the way. To do this you will hire minions, construct buildings, spruce up your castle, and fill the coffers of your treasury!
Ages 13+
CARD GAMES
Killer Bunnies Conquest Blue Starter Card Game – I actually bought this game at Target several years ago when they had one of their 75% off toy clearances, and it has been one of my best purchases ever! We have owned this game for over 5 years and it is still played on a regular basis.
My kids loved this so much that they have had to get each and every one of the Killer Bunnies Booster Packs. It was kind of nice, since the teen boys are so hard to buy for every time one of their birthdays rolled around we would give them another Booster Pack. It made gift giving easy!
Ages 12+
Five Crowns Card Game – Sorry, no goofy photo with my kids with this one, we actually left this game at the last house we played games. Each round you add an extra card to your hand, it starts with 3 cards and 3’s are wild. The next hand has 4 cards and 4’s are wild, and so on.
We have had many fun nights staying up late playing this game with friends and family. It’s also an easy game to take along with you anywhere you go. (just don’t forget to bring it home with you)
Ages 10+
Munchkin – This game is great for guys! I have yet to play this game, because it’s a little too geeky for me. If you have friends or family that are fond of playing D&D, they will find this to be a slightly silly and hilarious card game that is a parody of D&D. (No D&D knowledge is required to play this game).
My husband actually picked up several of these games at last year’s Target toy clearance to give as birthday gifts for teenage guys (they are so hard to buy for!) This game also has Booster Sets.
Ages 10+
GROUP GAMES
BANG – This is a great party game that is a ton of fun! You draw cards to see what character you will play: Sherrif, Deputy, Outlaws or Renegade, each character has someone they are trying to get rid of, but you don’t really know who is who (except for the sheriff). We actually own the BANG! The Bullet! edition which contains some expansion sets. Great game for a group!!
Ages 12+
Bananagrams – This is an all around great game for the family. Players race against each other to build crossword grids. You can play with up to 8 people at a time. It’s even great for solo play, kids can work on their spelling. Plus, it is great for taking along with you to play anywhere.
Ages 7+
I would love to hear about some of your favorite games. We usually give our kids some new games every year for Christmas, so I can always use some recommendations.
For the next week or two I am sharing some of our family favorite games, toys and more. These are items that have been used over and over at our house and are items that I would gladly purchase again…even at full price.
Here are the other items I have mentioned so far:
Jess Bors says
Rat a tat cat from Gamewright is our alltime favorite. It’s memory, addition, strategy and luck all rolled in one. Fast paced fun for a family! Our new favorite is Blue Orange’s Spot It. Again fast paced and you have find matching symbols in the cards. Both I think may be available at Target.
Melanie Wiser says
Our families would have a blast together- those are some of our favorite games too! Some others that we also like are Shadows Over Camelot and Settlers of Catan.
Lisa D says
One of our family favorites is Telestrations. 🙂
Kara O. says
We like Apples to Apples and Zingo. Zingo is especially good for younger kids (a bingo style game).
Kelli says
We love Killer Bunnies, and it’s younger counter part Kinder Bunnies. All time favorites in our house and my sister’s house!
Mae says
Have you ever played FLUXX? It’s best played with at least 3 or 4 people and can get quite crazy. There are a few versions out there including a zombie version as well as an easier family version. I just bought the family version the other night as it was one of the card games on sale for $4 at target
Karen says
We love to play Ingenious.
Chrystal says
We love killer bunnies and we have all the expansion packs as well but not the kind bunnie one. We do a bingo night at our house as well but my son is really stuck on battleship right now (I know it’s a regular game but still a fav)
tina says
Christy,
I little off topic, but I was wondering what Christams presents you bought from Office Max with your Max Perks rebate from the backpacks deals in September (since you mentioned that you did that last year). Mine are about to expire at the end of the month so any ideas are appreciated :).Thanks!
Christy says
@Tina Last year I bought a Nook, this year I just bought printer toner.