🎴Board & Card Games You Haven't Heard of

What we've been playing on family game nights

You’ve probably heard of Settlers of Catan, Azul, Sushi-Go, and Codenames. They are some of our favorites but in this week’s post we wanted to provide a few “long tail” recommendations for family game night. All of them are fun, uncomplicated, and good for upper elementary and middle school-aged kids.

Skyjo

Age range: 7+

This is a simple to play game that allows socializing while playing. It involves a lot of luck with just a bit of skill as you try to improve an array of cards in front of you, turn by turn.

This has been the house favorite for the past three weeks for us.

Strangely not available on Amazon - but was in Target.

Just One

Age range: 7+

This is a fun and hilarious cooperative game where everyone but one person writes one word that describes a given clue. If there are any duplicates, the dupes are removed and whatever remains is used for the odd person out to guess.

For instance, last night we were playing and I got the clues “Titanic” “Plumbing” and “Water.” The answer was “sink.”

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C4BFWV2R

Don’t L.L.A.M.A.

Age range: 5+

A fun, simple “get rid of your cards first” game. It’s played out over multiple rounds with a fun mechanic of being able to reduce your score by a lot if you do well in a future round.

Plus, there are cards with llamas on them.

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07W8ZL5M7

For Sale

Age range: 10+

For slightly older kids and adults, this is a two-phase game. In phase one, you bid in an auction to collect as many high value properties as possible. In phase two, you sell your properties for the highest amount.

A bit of math. A bit of strategy. A bit of bluffing and bidding. It only takes one round of play - about 10 minutes - to get the concept, so the quick cycle time is a great feature.

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001PQLNY0

Bonus: For Even Younger Kids

While we’ve aged out of these, for the 4-6 age range it’s worth checking out Sleeping Queens, Yeti in my Spaghetti, and Skip-bo

Extra Bonus: For Adults

With friends, we’ve been playing Antiquity Quest, Listography, and Sheriff of Nottingham.