We had a lot of blackouts in the house I grew up in, or so it seemed to me. In my child’s mind, these blackouts occurred frequently, and with them came the opportunity to play family board games by candlelight. This is hands down one of my favorite childhood memories.
Spending time together without interruption from the television or radio really left an impression on me. I loved playing Sorry, Life, Trouble, Clue, Family Feud, or Operation with my mom and sisters. So much so that I would wish for the power to go out because it often meant staying up late and playing games.
So it’s no wonder I’m reveling in the joy of now being able to play board games with my own children. Now that they are 3 and 5 years old, it seems our family board game playing opportunities have completely opened up. With Thanksgiving break in full swing (the kids are off all week), we certainly need some creative ways to pass time and spend quality time together.
Although we rarely encounter blackouts half as fun as the ones we had growing up, these family board games are still a blast. Of course it’s not always smooth sailing. One moment I’m basking in the warm glow of our family togetherness and the next I want to scream “serenity now!” (Seinfeld anyone?). It just so happens the little ones have some practice to do on how to be gracious winners and losers.
Still, we have a full week ahead and I’m mostly looking forward to family games by the fire. Here are some of our favorites and I love how I played many of these as a child. They bring back good old fashion memories.
Trouble: I love the popcorn dice. Big Brother adores this game right now. The great thing is, even Little Sister can follow and play along.
Candyland: Little Sister’s favorite. Who doesn’t love Candyland?
Uno Moo: This is such a fun game we recently discovered. It’s a preschool version of Uno. They use figurines instead of cards. Love it!
Crazy Eights: Fun card game and easy for everyone to understand. My son loves the title of it.
Operation: I loved this game as a kid. They’ve upgraded the classic with cool sound effects and an easy play option for the younger ones so they aren’t constantly getting buzzed at.
Connect Four: We just picked this up yesterday ($7 at Target) and can’t wait to play with the kids. A classic.
Okay, I know I sound like an ad here but seriously I’m not getting paid for these endorsements, I’m merely pointing out some fun games we love playing. It could shape up to be a long week if I didn’t at least have some games at the ready. Plus, we can take these with us to Grandma and Grandpa’s house for Thanksgiving.
What games do you and your family enjoy playing together? What were some of your favorites as a kid?
Living in Florida, we've had our share of hurricane power outs. During Wilma, we had 12 straight days of no power. When we returned to school, it was great to hear high schoolers talk about seeing the stars and playing games with their families!
We liked Mancala. There's a portable version and it's very easy. (You may have read about Monopoly in my chapter on Sibling Rivalry…)Also, we have a big Skittles game (google it) that is loud and exciting and fun! They still love it!
I just detest children's boardgames–totally inane, hard to sit through.
I thought I had won the lottery when mine got old enough to play real strategy games—until they settled on stuff like Risk and Diplomacy that take DAYS to play.
In other words, I can't win. A nice game of gin rummy, anyone?
My family's favorite game is Bingo. All the kids, from age 5 to age 13, enjoy it. We have a huge, old fashioned set. The kids love to spin the handle and call out the letters and numbers (so it's good for the younger ones to learn those things).
Sorry and Trouble were my faves growing up. Right now E loves Uno Moo, Candyland and HiHo Cherry-O. Can't wait until M can play, too!
love, love, love nights like these! the cozy, the fun. we love uno, pretty pretty princess (can you tell my oldest are girls? lol), blockus and (my fave) hollaballoo. does that one count as a board game?!
Candyland is a huge hit here, as is Chutes and Ladders. We also have the Disney Princess version of Pretty, Pretty Princess, but I'm not sure Big Brother would go for that one ;).
We are huge game fans!
My kids are older but our favs are: Qwirkle, Uno, Parcheesi, Mastermind, Blockus, Old Maid, Go Fish, Monopoly Jr.. Just to name a few.
At those ages were played A LOT of Candyland and Chutes and Ladders. And Memory. And Hullabaloo!
A big part of my child's play therapy involved playing board games and learning to be a gracious winner or loser.
I'm warning you that Connect 4 might be a bit sophisticated for them–particularly the 3 year old!
oh, I love board games. LOVE. My husband and I always have a Scrabble game going, but I also love at the holidays if I can convince my family to play. I am hoping this year Maggie is old enough to start playing Chutes and Ladders, last year it wasn't so successful.
I love Scattegories!
i can't wait until maddie is a couple years older and all of us can truly play a game together!
Yay! Isn't it so fun when they start to be able? My son loves playing games. We have been doing Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, Operation, Memory, and domines. It is also such good OT and social therapy for my son. We can even include it in his IEP!
Oops! I meant Dominoes, not domines…
We're currently addicted to Monopoly Junior.
And who doesn't like Candyland??? This mom. Seriously, I don't get the attraction picking the colored cards. That game needs a spinner!
I loved Hungry, Hungry Hippos growing up. I also used to love playing card games with my Grandma. I played everything from Rummy to Pinnochle (which I don't even know how to spell!).
Mine are a little older than yours… 8 and 6.5. I love to play Skip Bo and Quirkle. The kids like Sorry and Monopoly.
Maya loves to play board games! Unfortunately I do not. I think it stems from the fact that my parents never played board games with us. Sometimes I can get myself to play but most of the time I make my husband do it.
My kids and I are heading down to spend Thanksgiving with some dear friends. I too dislike most kids board games. We are loading up with games and heading out. My youngest is 7 and so a new world has opened up for us. We play great little games like Sushi Chef, Pentago, Carcassone, and Sounds like a plan, and a silly little think called Win, Lose or Banana. They are little known games, but the kids and I all love them. They play quickly and are fun over and over again.
I'm looking forward to playing with the kids and I don't have to worry about my brain dying.
What great games! I loved all of them growing up. My grandmother and I played "Crazy Eights" all the time…you're the first person I know that knows about this card game. (For a while, I actually thought she made up the game herself.) It's going to be so much fun when Lil' Lew is old enough to play…although, I'll have to remind/brace myself that he may not enjoy losing…
We never played games together as a family so it's hard for me to get that going with my kids. But it's important. I'd like to start game night once a week soon. I can't think of anything more important.