Tired of Monopoly, Uno and Pictionary? Our family loves trying new board games, and these four are newer games the whole bunch loves. Our kids range from elementary age to teen, and these games are a hit with everyone.
Lanterns: The Harvest Festival
- Time: Approx. 30 minutes per game.
- Recommended for ages 8 and up.
- 2-4 players.
I am partial to games with beautiful pieces. In this strategy game, players act as artisans decorating the lake with floating lanterns. Through swapping tokens and strategizing moves, you set up lanterns and earn honor to win. This game is great for fans of Catan who would like a faster game with similar strategy.
Codenames
- Time: Approx. 15-30 minutes per game.
- Recommended for ages 8 and up.
- 2-8 players (or more if you play as teams)
Teams compete to guess which cards their team should claim from a five-by-five board of randomly placed picture or word cards. Each team has a captain who offers one-word clues, trying to get them to claim their teams’ cards. The catch is that you don’t want to guess a card for the opposing team, or the special final card. This is a great team game and works well for a group.
Villainous
- Time: Approx. 1 hour or more.
- Recommended for ages 10 and up.
- 2-6 players (expansion packs available).
Villainous is a strategy game in which each player takes on the role of a Disney villain. Each villain has a goal to achieve in order to win the game, and each goal is different. Villains may thwart the plans of other villains in the race to win. One of the things we enjoy about this game is that it is truly different every time you play, especially with the expansion packs, which alter the cast of characters each time.
Pyramix
- Time: Approx. 15-30 minutes per game.
- Recommended for ages 8 and up (though we have played with younger kids).
- 2-4 players.
This is a Gamewright game, which typically means our entire family will love it. The game involves setting up cubes in a pyramid shape and having players select one per turn. There are four colors of cubes, and each is marked with a different symbol at a different point value. As cubes are taken, they all slide into new positions on the pyramid. Players must strategize to collect the most points as the pieces move.
It’s game night at Kristina Light’s house several times a week.