Family Board Games for Game Night (that we actually play)
- 14 hours ago
- 5 min read
I am very diligent on keeping our game collection small. If a game hasn't hit the table in the last 12 months, it usually gets offered up at our next garage sale or in our local buy nothing group. These nine family board games for game night have stood the test of time. They were fun to play with the kiddos were little and they are still fun now that they are in their teens. Some take five minutes, some take closer to an hour, and each one works equally well for the youngest and the oldest at the table.
Rainbow Bunny Bop | 2-8 players | Ages 6+ | 2-5 mins
This is the one I made, so it gets to open the list (I have no shame!). Rainbow Bunny Bop is a speed card game where everyone flips at the same time and races to build a rainbow from red to violet. There's no turn order to wait through and no reading required and the games are only 5 mins long which makes it a great option to fill short pockets of time during a game night.
Sushi Go! | 2-5 players | Ages 8+ | 15 mins
A pass and pick card game where you're grabbing the best combination of sushi dishes before the round runs out. The art is adorable, the rules take about five minutes to explain, and it's one of the few games on this list that actually works for a table of mixed ages without anyone feeling like they're playing down. We recently played with our friend Kana who was visiting from Japan and she was so tickled to play a sushi game!
Carcassonne | 2-5 players | Ages 7+ | 30-45 mins
A tile placement game where you're building a medieval countryside together, claiming cities, roads, and farms as you go. My dad is annoyingly good at this game. He wins nearly every round and somehow still looks like he has no idea what he's doing. Simple enough to teach in one round, different enough every time that it doesn't get old.
Dragonwood | 2-4 players | Ages 8+ | 20 mins
A dice and card game where you collect sets of adventurer cards to earn dice, then roll to defeat the fantasy creatures hiding in the forest. It's a good next step once a family wants a little more strategy than a pure luck game without losing what makes it accessible to a nine year old. We were introduced to this game while taking a family ski vacation in Revelstoke BC and immediately bought it when we came home!
Ticket to Ride | 2-5 players | Ages 8+ | 30-60 mins
A route building game where you collect colored train cards and claim railway routes across the map. During the pandemic, my family ran a full blown competitive Ticket to Ride tournament online to stay connected, complete with a standings board and some very spirited trash talk. We just found out we can play together on Amazon Luna now too, so the tournament might be making a comeback. Easy to learn in one sitting, strategic enough to keep us coming back.
Kingdomino | 2-4 players | Ages 8+ | 15-20 mins
A quick tile laying game (I'm starting to sense a pattern here!) where you're building your own little kingdom, matching terrain edges as you draft tiles each round. Short enough to fit in before dinner is ready, simple enough that a new player catches up by round two.
Skip-Bo | 2-6 players | Ages 7+ | 30-60 mins
My friend Marie introduced me to this game in the early 2000s and it's held up. Players race to empty their stockpile by building sequential stacks in the center, with wildcards adding just enough strategy to keep it interesting across dozens of plays. A classic for a reason.
Play Nine | 2-6 players | Ages 8+ | 30-60 mins
A card game inspired by golf where you work through nine rounds trying to land the lowest score you can. I play this one with my dad and brother, and it's fast, portable, and fun for the whole family even if not everyone at the table plays golf.
Cascadia | 1-4 players | Ages 10+ | 30-45 mins
You're building habitats across the Pacific Northwest, placing terrain tiles and wildlife tokens to score points for bears, salmon, elk, foxes, and hawks. This is the game I've gifted more times than I can count, and it has never once disappointed. The puzzle of fitting everything together is deeply satisfying, and the art alone makes it worth the shelf space.
Quick Reference Chart
Game | Best For | Players | Time |
Youngest players at the table | 2-8 | 2-5 mins | |
Mixed ages, first game of the night | 2-5 | 15 mins | |
A slower build, different every time | 2-5 | 30-45 mins | |
Kids ready for a bit more strategy | 2-4 | 20 mins | |
Staying connected, even long distance | 2-5 | 30-60 mins | |
Something quick before dinner | 2-4 | 15-20 mins | |
A reliable classic that never gets old | 2-6 | 30-60 mins | |
A family that likes a little competition | 2-6 | 30-60 mins | |
Gifting or a more thoughtful game night | 1-4 | 30-45 mins |
FAQ
What are the benefits of quick family-friendly games?
Quick family-friendly games keep everyone at the table instead of losing younger kids halfway through a long game. They fit into a weeknight more easily, they're faster to teach to a first time player, and because a round only takes five to twenty minutes, you can play again right away if the first round didn't go your way.
What types of games are good for kids and adults to play together?
The best family board games for game night have simple core rules with a little strategy layered on top, so a six year old and a grandparent can both find something to enjoy. Fast card games, tile laying games like Kingdomino, and pass and pick games like Sushi Go! tend to work well because everyone is making the same kind of decision regardless of age.
Where can I find family card games in Seattle?
If you're local to Seattle and want to shop in person, Blue Highway Games in Queen Anne and Meeples Games in West Seattle both carry a solid selection of family card and tabletop games. Both are good spots to ask a real person for a recommendation before you buy. You can also shop games from our collection, shipping is free for orders over $20...and sometimes we will even hand-deliver!
Where can I get quick family-friendly games in the US?
Most of the games on this list, including Rainbow Bunny Bop, are available to order online through the links in this post. If you'd rather shop local, check an independent game store near you, most carry a rotating selection of quick family games beyond the usual big box titles.
