35 Best Family Board Games – 2025

Looking for a new board game to add to your family’s collection? Is your Uno deck looking a little worse for the wear, and you need something to switch up the rotation? Or perhaps you’re on the hunt for some good, unplugged activities for screen-saturated kids and adults alike? You’ve come to the right place! Our list of the best family board games will give you some great ideas to start your search.

What are the best family board games?

There’s a bit of a board game renaissance happening these days! Not only will you find some recommendations for the best classic board games below, but also some of the many newer games that have entered the scene in the past decade or two. Our list is split into several categories, so you can find the best family board games that fit your family’s specific tastes and needs!

Keep scrolling to see our roundup of:

• Best Classic Board Games
• Best Family Board Games for Young Kids
• Best Family Board Games for Two Players
• Best New Board Games for Families
• Best Family Board Games (Without an Actual Board)

For parents and kids alike, there are many distractions that pull our attention away from each other. From school and jobs to extracurriculars, friends, housework, and the stress of current events, it’s hard to find the time and energy to just be together as a family. Playing games together not only gives you a chance to bond, laugh, and learn together, but it can also help children of all ages develop key skills, including cooperation, communication, fine and gross motor skills, deductive reasoning, prolonged focus, and patience.

Best Classic Board Games

1) The Game of Life (1860; best for ages 8+)

This classic board game takes players through the ups and downs of a range of life milestones, from finding a job, buying a house, and having kids, to paying taxes, running a marathon, and even finding buried treasure! While some of the milestones shown in the game might not fit with every family’s lives and experiences, you might find that it inspires questions and conversations about what your kids (and you!) want most out of life!

2) Sorry! (1934; best for ages 6+)

Sorry! is a good game for a range of ages. It has straightforward enough rules that younger kids can get the hang of it, but a mix of chance and strategy that makes the game engaging for older kids and adults as well! With the updated edition released in 2013, you might notice some new rules and additions since you played this game as a kid yourself!

3) Monopoly (1935; most versions best for ages 8+)

The game that inspired a thousand spin-offs! Based on The Landlord’s Game, created by Elizabeth Magie in 1902, this game has been going strong for over a century! You might have happy (or heated!) memories of playing Monopoly as a kid, and want to initiate your children into the tradition. Consider one of the many themed versions that might appeal to your kids’ interests: from the Sesame Street edition, America’s National Parks, and Animal Crossing, to Chocolate-opoly. There might even be a special edition based on your hometown!

4) Scrabble (1948; best for ages 8+)

Do you have some word wizards and young readers in your family? Then Scrabble might be a good board game to have on hand! The classic crossword-inspired board game is perfect for kids who are learning to stretch their vocabularies. And for younger kids (5+), Scrabble Junior can be a fun introduction to spelling and new words!

 5) Clue (1949; best for ages 8+)

The original murder mystery game! Clue is one of the best classic board games because its elegant game design allows for a different outcome to the “mystery” every time. Inspired by classic detective novels, a game of Clue will allow your kids to flex their deductive reasoning skills.

6) Risk (1959; best for ages 10+)

An enduring classic, this strategy board game is great for kids with longer attention spans (games can take several hours to complete!). Players can make alliances—and betray them—in order to conquer as much of the board as possible.

7) King of the Hill (1960; best for ages 6+)

If you’re looking for a tactile board game with a retro feel, consider King of the Hill! While the game was significantly redesigned in 2006, and is no longer in production, you can still find versions of the original mountain-shaped playing board for sale. This is a great game for younger kids, with its simple gameplay and wow-factor design!

8) Trivial Pursuit (1981; family version best for ages 8+)

Does your family love trading fun facts and talking about pop culture? Trivial Pursuit is a great board game for trivia lovers. While the classic version is recommended for ages 16+, the family version is suitable for 8+. We recommend checking out updated editions of this game with more recent trivia, to keep everyone in the loop regardless of generation or age!

9) Sequence (1981; best for ages 7+)

This classic strategy game uses two standard decks of cards and a corresponding gridded board, and requires players to create rows of five chips by playing cards from their hand. Players can play individually, or if there are 4+ players, on teams.

10) Balderdash (1984; best for ages 12+)

A variation on a classic parlor game, Balderdash requires players to come up with convincing definitions for rare and obscure words. Players earn points if others believe their fabricated definition is the real one. Great for older kids with strong vocabularies and language skills!

Best Family Board Games for Young Kids

1) Chutes and Ladders (1943; best for ages 3+)

Based on the game Snakes and Ladders, invented in ancient India, versions of this game have been a popular choice for young children for millennia. This simple race game is fully chance-based. It may also be a good opportunity for teaching cause and effect, as the Milton Bradley version has a morality theme. “Ladders” show good deeds paired with rewards, and “Chutes” show bad deeds paired with consequences.

2) Candy Land (1949; best for ages 3+)

This is one of the best classic board games for very young kids, because of its appealing candy-coated theme and very straightforward gameplay. The game requires no reading, minimal counting, and is chance-based rather than strategy-based, making it the perfect starter board game for toddlers and preschoolers.

3) Operation (1964; best for ages 5+)

This classic game tests players’ hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. An especially good game for sensory-seeking kiddos! Due to its lights, loud noises, and anticipation, this might not be the best game for young kids who startle easily.

4) Outfoxed! (2014; best for ages 5+)

For young kids who aren’t quite ready for Clue, this game of deduction has a sweet animal-based design. The cooperative gameplay makes it a fun family game, while removing the competitive impulse that might pop up for older kids.

5) Dragon’s Breath (2017; best for ages 5+)

An award-winning game with an ingenious in-box game design, this game’s dragon theme will delight young kids. With only an estimated fifteen minutes of gameplay, this is a quick and engaging game with lots of moving pieces (literally!) that will keep kids engaged and laughing.

Best Family Board Games for Two Players

1) Mancala (as early as 5870 BC; best for ages 7+)

A true classic! Versions of Mancala have been around for many millennia. This turn-based strategy game is best for kids who have started to master some basic math and deduction skills.

2) Battleship (1931; best for ages 8+)

Originally played with paper and pencil, Battleship was released as the more recognizable board and peg version in the 60s. This guessing game is one of the best classic board games for two players, with straightforward gameplay that will appeal to kids of many ages.

3) Mastermind (1970; best for ages 8+)

For kids who want something a little more challenging, strategy-wise, try Mastermind! This two-player code-breaking game requires one player to guess the other player’s chosen sequence, within a limited number of turns.

4) Rebound (1971; best for ages 7+)

This mini-shuffleboard-style board game is perfect for kids who like to have a little more physical action and skill in their games. Players roll marble-sized pucks against a rubber band backstop to reach several point brackets. Good for two players, teams, or even a tournament!

5) Guess Who? (1982; best for ages 6+)

The premise of this two-player game is that each player is trying to guess the character their opponent has chosen from a board full of cartoon characters. Opponents can ask yes or no questions to eliminate choices until the first person is able to guess. Special editions of the game have characters from franchises such as Star Wars, Marvel, and Disney.

Best New Board Games for Families (after 2000)

1) Ticket to Ride (2004; best for ages 8+)

While Ticket to Ride has been around for two decades now, it is credited as one of the earliest forebears of the current board game renaissance. The original edition of this map-based strategy game has players building “train tracks” across North America. There are other versions as well, if it becomes a favorite in your house. There’s also a simplified version for younger kids called Ticket to Ride: First Journey.

2) Dixit (2008; best for ages 8+)

This beautifully illustrated board game is great for families. With a similar association-based game mechanism to Apples to Apples, Dixit is particularly great for kids with visual brains. The approach is also customizable enough that it works great for groups of only adults as well!

3) Azul (2017; best for ages 8+)

If you’re looking for some eye candy to add to your board game shelf, Azul is for you! This visually stunning pattern-building strategy game has a gameplay that is easy to learn, and enough built-in variation that the outcome is always different!

4) Wavelength (2019; best for ages 14+)

Wavelength is one of the best family board games, especially for older kids. This team-based guessing game has players use “spectrums” (such as hot/cold, wet/dry, safe/dangerous) to pinpoint a given clue on the game’s spectrum device. The gameplay allows for some lively and sometimes hilarious discussions! While the game is recommended for players 14 and up, we think it could be played (with some modification and curation) with willing kids ages 10 and up.

5) Wingspan (2019; best for ages 10+)

An award-winning, beautifully designed, and scientifically grounded board game! This game would be especially suited for families with bird or nature enthusiasts, as well as kids who already have a developed interest in board games.

Best Family Board Games (Without an Actual Board)

1) Liar’s Dice (~1400s; best for ages 8+)

Liar’s Dice is a classic dice game that originated in the Inca Empire as Dudo. This game requires betting and bluffing, so it’s best for older kids who have good deductive reasoning and math skills, and who have a decent poker face. You can certainly buy commercial sets of this game, but you can also make your own if you have several sets of dice and plastic cups on hand!

2) Pass the Pigs (1977; best for ages 7+)

This novelty version of the classic dice game Pig is played using small pig-shaped “dice.” Each throw of the pigs is assigned different points based on the positions in which they land. This fun and fast-paced probability game is great for travel, and is small enough to slip in a bag or coat pocket.

3) Rummikub (1977; best for ages 8+)

Rummikub is a tile-based strategy game similar to the card game rummy. Players create sets of numbered and colored tiles, which can then be used and rearranged by other players. The first player to use all of their tiles wins the round.

4) Scattergories (1988; best for ages 12+)

This category-based party game rewards players who can come up with unique answers to a set of categories, without matching any other players’ answers. While the category lists are pre-made, the letter-sided die lends a lot of variation to the game!

5) Bananagrams (2006; best for ages 7+)

This easy, portable spelling game is great for fans of Scrabble and for kids working on expanding their vocabularies. Players build individual crossword grids of words with a set of tiles—no board needed!

6) Telestrations (2009; best for ages 10+)

Telestrations is a drawing game that combines elements of Pictionary with the classic parlor game of Telephone. On handy reusable drawing pads, players take turns either guessing a drawing or drawing the given guess, until all players have participated. This game can be played with or without scoring, making it a perfect game for families.

7) Sushi Go! (2013; best for ages 8+)

A fast-paced card game with delightful illustrations of sushi and other Japanese cuisine! The original version is small and easily portable, and offers simple gameplay for younger kids and evolving strategy opportunities for older kids and adults.

8) Double Ditto (2015; best for ages 10+)

This category-based party game requires the exact opposite strategy of Scattergories. In Double Ditto, players win points by matching other players’ answers. An especially good game for families, because players who know each other well are more likely to guess what others will answer!

9) Codenames (2015; best for ages 10+)

Codenames is a spy-themed team game in which players have to guess a secret set of code words before the opposite team. This game is great for older kids especially, as it requires creative association and language skills. There are also lots of special editions of this game, including Codenames: Pictures (with images instead of words), Codenames: Duet (for two players), and Disney, Marvel, and Harry Potter versions.

10) Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza (2018; best for ages 8+)

A card-based pattern recognition game, with lots of interaction and silliness involved! This game is a lot of fun with kids and families, but don’t be surprised if the game devolves into laughter and shouts at one point or another!

Looking for more fun and educational activities for the family? Check out these resources:

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• 25 Best Math Dice Games to Engage Students
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