Board games are activities that make for a perfect family or game night. They can be designed for two players, four players or more, and have been a fun pastime for thousands of years. They’re strategic, educational, mind-benders or just plain silly, depending on your entertainment tastes. Most importantly, board games should be loads of fun, and whether you are searching for an activity or simply want to spend time with loved ones, there are a variety of new and improved board games or updated classics for 2018 that will make new memories. Here is a list of some of the best board games that 2018 has to offer.
Board Games for Kids
1. Googly Eyes
Googly Eyes implies the skill of coordination and challenges your vision. Simply put on the wacky goggles that are included and try to draw a picture while guests seek to guess what it is. But hurry! You’ll only have a limited time before your time runs out. The lenses come with three levels of difficulty that range from mild to mind-blowing fun. Googly Eyes is ideal for all age groups and those with varying drawing skills since the glasses cause temporary impairment in vision. Don’t know which lens to use? Just roll the dice and it will guide you to a difficulty level.
- 4 or more players
- 30 minutes
- Ages 7 and up
Available at Amazon.com for $17.99.
2. Elementos
Elementos is a game that was created originally as a Kickstarter campaign and became popular over time. Its ideal composition allows kids with short attention spans to strategize, plan, and utilize their thinking skills by using the elements (fire, water, and wood) akin to rock, paper, scissors, to beat the opposing team. It’s up to the opponent who flips the pieces to reveal a different element only known to them. If you are able to advance your wand to the other side of the board, become the Elemaster and win! The game is also lightweight and compact enough to utilize as a carry-on or for road trips.
- 2 players
- 15-20 minutes
- For ages 7+
Available at Amazon.com.
3. Clue
Clue is a classic game that works with a large number of participants; each player is a suspect in the murder of Mr. Boddy in Tudor Mansion. Not only does the game get more intense as time goes on, but in order to solve the case, one must collect as much data as possible on the victim and the accused in order to conclude the game. Clue can be enjoyed by all ages and helps everyone work together to try to solve a case. Clue also has many different versions, but the most updated includes a new member — Dr. Orchid.
- Up to 6 players
- 45 minutes
- Fun for all ages
Available at Walmart.com for $8.77.
4. 5 Second Rule
In order to play 5 Second Rule, one must be quick thinking because you’ll only have five seconds to name three things that have to do with each topic. You’ll think it’s easy but watching players get tongue-tied will become highly amusing as everyone tries to answer. While the game seems simple enough, it’s the time constraints that make it hard to beat. 5 Second Rule is also the perfect travel game that will keep your older kids entertained for hours and will help them to think quickly on their feet while under pressure.
- 3+ players
- 30 minutes
- For ages 12 and up
Available at Target.com for $16.99.
5. The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game
The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game is a fun activity that teaches children a variety of skills. It comes with a book of the same name and is a great tool to use when playing. Each player is given a colored acorn at the beginning of the game, that is placed in the tree. Players then use the spinner to try to land one of the colors, which matches with one of the acorns in the tree. Similar to Bingo, The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel game determines the winner by who has a fully lit acorn tree first. The game teaches matching skills, strategy, and assists children with their reading and writing skills. This educational game is also ideal for those who are in preschool and elementary grade levels.
- 2-4 players
- 15-20 minutes
- For ages 3 and up
Available at Amazon.com for $19.10.
6. Hoot Owl Hoot
This board game is an award-winner kids four years and older can get into. It helps kids with coordination, inclusion, decision-making, and creativity. The great thing about this one is that everyone can play and no one is ever left out, which helps kids include one another. The goal of this game is to have everyone work as a team in order to get the owls back to their nest before the sun comes up. Kids work together and learn the importance of being in a team. It also doesn’t take very long to finish, so kids can play over and over.
- 2-4 players
- 30 minutes
- Ages 4 and up
Available at Amazon.com for $15.99.
7. Quirkle
Board games for kids should teach them important information like patterns, colors, shapes, and a bit of strategy. This game does all those things! The object of this game is to match tiles according to color and shape in order to get six tiles in a row. It’s a bit like Scrabble mixed with Dominoes in that you’ll need a bit of critical thinking to get your pieces lined up, but sometimes it comes down to chance. You’ll need a big tabletop to play this as the patterns can take up quite a bit of room once things get going. Quirkle is good for the family, but children will probably get the most out of it.
- 2-4 players
- 45 minutes
- Ages 6 and up
Available at Amazon.com for $22.99.
8. Go Away, Monster!
Kids typically seem to believe there are monsters in the closet or under the bed. This board game helps calm their nerves with simple instructions and quick gameplay. Players are given a board that looks like a bedroom. In a bag, there are tiles with pieces to suit your bedroom or ones with monsters on them. If a player pulls out a monster, they tell it to go away and then place it in the monster pit in their room. Easy! It teaches kids sharing, shapes, and helps squash any fears.
- 2-4 players
- 15 minutes
- Ages 3 and up
Available at Amazon.com for $21.00.
Most Popular Games For All Ages
1. Sequence
Sequence is a game that the entire family can get involved in. With an intermediate difficulty level, Sequence is pretty easy to catch onto. All you have to do is play a card from your hand to be placed on the matching square on the board. When you have five in a row, it’s a sequence. This game helps build skill levels in the realm of STEM and enables you to create any combination of rows, columns and diagonal. You may also play by teams, if you choose to do so. It’s a good idea to rotate your players, so those that are playing are sitting across from each other.
- 2-12 players
- 30 minutes or less
- For ages 7 and up
Available at Amazon.com for $16.49.
2. Codenames
Codenames requires two or more players who can unlock the names of 25 top secret agents. Two teams must decide who can detect the real names of their agents first. Spymasters can only give one-word clues and while opponents have to try to guess words of the right color, they also need to avoid the colors of the opposing team. Just be sure to avoid assassin or else risk losing your place. Whether you win or lose, you’ll have fun trying to decode the clues.
- 2 or more players
- 15-20 minutes
- Ages 14 years and up
Available at Target.com for $16.59.
3. Monopoly
Learn the value of property ownership, assets, and general wheeling and dealing in a classic game of Monopoly. Players have to learn to navigate the perils of losses and taxes when an opponent arrives, as well as the benefit of gaining income by selling land. Simply roll the dice and move that number of spaces on the board. If a player lands on a property that hasn’t been purchased, that player has the opportunity to build wealth and purchase it. If a player owns all the spaces within a specific color group, that player is then able to build houses and hotels on their property, thus gaining even more wealth if an opponent lands on that property. Other actions, such as “pay taxes”, “collect income”, or “go to jail”, are some of the other forms of penalties that one is subjected to in the world of Monopoly.
- 2 or more players
- 1 to 2 hours
- 8 years and up
Available at Target.com for $14.79.
4. Pandemic
Several contagious diseases have broken out in the world of Pandemic, a game of wills as each player participates as a specialist to help eradicate each of the four diseases plaguing the planet. The board itself highlights major population hotspots on earth. With each turn, a player may choose from four different actions to travel between the cities, discover the cure, treat the infected populations, and build a research station by using a deck of cards. Cards labeled “Epidemic!” intensifies the diseases, while another deck of cards is responsible for spreading the normal illnesses. Careful cooperation and planning are necessary for this game, as time is of the essence and you must help cure all the diseases, which determines a win, or lose if the diseases spread beyond recovery.
- 2-4 players
- 60 minutes
- 8 years and up
Available at Amazon.com for $35.99.
5. Settlers of Catan
A classic in family games, Settlers of Catan requires some serious strategy and planning in order to win. Players are meant to build their land through settling, trading, and building. The more players that are involved, the more people you need to compete against for a battle in space on the board. You can build roads, settlements, and cities, but you’ll need to acquire the proper tools first like bricks, lumber, or wool. The things you need are drawn through cards and you can trade with other players for things you need.
- 3-6 players
- 60 minutes
- Ages 10 and up
Available at Amazon.com for $27.97.
6. The Game Of Life
This guy is one the adults may remember from their family game nights, but it’s still popular today! The objection of this board game is to have the most money and green tiles at the end of your “life” when you retire. (Talk about a game that knows what we want in real life.) Players will go through life needing to make payments on their housing, attending college, and taking vacations. Whoever does the best for themselves when they retire wins.
- 2-4 players
- 60 minutes
- Ages 8 and up
Available at Amazon.com for $19.99.
7. Ticket To Ride
Get the family together for one of the most popular board games of 2018! Ticket to Ride lets players collect matching train cards in order to build their railway on the board. The board includes various cities which you can spread your railway through and whoever has the most land covered after seven in-game days is declared the winner.
- 2-5 players
- 60 minutes
- Ages 8 and up
Available at Amazon.com for $44.97.
8. Suspend
Suspend takes balance and patience as each player must scramble to become the first player to get rid of all 24 of their pieces. The game is played by hanging each piece on a shared stand, utilizing just one hand to place each piece on an empty space. if anything shifts or touches the table once you place your piece, you must remove your piece then readjust it. If anything falls off, you have to keep those pieces and then attempt to hang them again once your turn comes. The first player who is able to suspend all their pieces without anything touching the table or falling off wins.
- 1-4 players
- 15-20 minutes
- 8 years and up
Available at melissaanddoug.com for $16.99.
Most Popular Games For Adults
1. Star Wars: Legion
Lead your troops to victory in Star Wars: Legion, set in within the intergalactic realm of Star Wars. Become the commander of your own army to lead them against Darth Vader and his troopers in the Galactic Civil War. Star Wars: Legion takes you on a thrilling ride within a miniature action adventure game. Ward off ground or repulsor vehicles, while embodying icons, such as Luke Skywalker (The Force) or Darth Vader (The Dark Side). The game’s easy assembly and unpainted territory enables you to bring the battlefield wherever you go.
- 2 players
- 1-2 hours
- Ages 14 and up
Available at fantasyflightgames.com for $89.95
2. The Castles Of Burgundy
The Castles of Burgundy is set in the Burgundy region of medieval France. Each player gets to take over a small area as an aristocrat, tasked with taking over settlements and placing them in their princedom. There are also five rounds within each game and each round is stocked with a settlement and goods tiles. All players roll their dice at the beginning of each round and rolls a goods die, which is then stocked according to the type of goods on the die. Each player takes turn with trading, livestock farming, city building, and scientific research. The player with the most points in the end wins.
- 2-4 players
- 30-90 minutes
- 12 and up
Available at target.com for $27.49.
3. Keyper
Keyper consists of 2-4 players interacting in four rounds. Each round represents one of the four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, winter. Each player gets their very own village board, also called a key board, in which each player is influenced according to the current season. All in all, it’s important for players to work with each other, as this can also have an advantage when deciding to continue working on your own board, or alongside others, as you accumulate more strategies and work around your keyples.
- 2-4 players
- 60-120 minutes
- Ages 14 and up
Available on amazon.com for $67.99.
4. Betrayal At House On The Hill
Board games for adults need to have different traits. In order to keep us interested they should have some competition, mystery, and maybe a few spooks? If you’re a horror buff, this game is one you and your friends should check out. The object is to go through the haunted house defending yourself from monsters. But, there are traitors in the game as well that are destined to get in the way of you completing your goal. Make your way through the house successfully – either as the hero or traitor – to win.
- 3-6 players
- 60 minutes
- Ages 12 and up
Available at Amazon.com for $32.99.
5. Risk
Risk is one of those board games for adults that takes a while to get through. Between all the betrayal and conquering of land, you’ll be seated for an hour or two. If you’re down to get competitive for a few hours, Risk gives you the chance to eliminate every opponent and taking over territories. Build your armies, trade with players, attack them, and become the winner by being the last one standing.
- 2-6 players
- 60-120 minutes
- Ages 12 and up
Available at Amazon.com for $37.89.
6. Dixit
This awesome game is a good way to test your storytelling skills with your friends. Players are each given six cards with original artwork on them and a small bunny to move along the board. One at a time, players choose a card and make up a clue describing what’s on it (it can’t be too obvious or too vague). It’s then placed down face down so you can’t see what’s on it. Opponents will then play one of their own cards based on the clue given. Once all the cards are collected, everyone puts their vote in to see whose card belonged to who. Players earn points based on whose card they voted for (or if someone voted for theirs). You then move the bunnies along the board and the first one to the end wins.
- 3-6 players
- 30 minutes
- Ages 8 and up
Available at Amazon.com for $31.49.
7. Indian Summer
Spring Meadow is known for its captivating artwork, but what really sets this game apart from other board games is its notable spring foliage. As we embark into summer, we must first travel through spring’s beauty, unearth treasures and discover some treasures along the way. Spring Meadow completes Uwe Rosenberg’s puzzle trilogy, which also includes Indian Summer and Cottage Garden, and lends its complexity as being the most interactive of the three. This game also allows you to skillfully place your tiles, while you navigate through the marmots. Whoever has the largest meadow by the end of the game, receives a hiking pin. Once you earn two hiking pins, you win!
- 1-4 players
- 45-60 minutes
- Ages 8 and up
Available at amazon.com for $38.62.
8. Dice Throne
If you are fond of players with unique abilities and intriguing heroes, then this game is for you. Dice Throne is a highly engaging combat game, which enables you to select from a variety of avatars and combat your opponent with unique abilities, with just a roll of a dice. You may earn and spend your combat points to apply to unlock your player’s unique abilities or spend them to unlock special effects. Other characteristics of the game include the ability to manipulate your opponent’s men, as well as upgrade your own ability as the game progresses.
- 2-6 players
- 20-30 minutes
- Ages 8 and up
Available at roxley.com for $45.00.
Board games never go out of style. In 2018, they are just getting even better. Keep yourself and your loved ones entertained, with these classic and groundbreaking games that you’ll never want to put down.
