Has confinement reconciled you with family games? Why not try out some new board games. They are a great opportunity to bring your tribe together in a good mood. As long as there are no bad losers of course! Here is our top board games to relax mainly with family, two or even alone for one of them.
What if confinement had revived board games? They are booming! If you want to prevent everyone from staying all day in their corner with their smartphone in hand, their computer, glued to the sofa in front of a series running all day, board games are indeed a good option. The growing success of video games has not dampened the interest in board games on the part of children, adolescents and even adults. If the great classics always amuse as much, it is good that there is a magic there born of the well-being together and of a moment of sharing with family. We still laugh out loud at historic games that have become legendary and we are surprised to see the latest generations get carried away by playing a version of Monopoly, brought up to date or Cluedo.
The best board games to play
With the Internet, it is very easy today to find something to do. Watching a movie, a series on Netflix or playing video games alone or with friends has never been easier. But if you’re with your loved ones, why not take down the screens and play a board game?
Citadels
Now classic, Citadelles is an excellent game of bluffing, diplomacy and strategy where 2 to 7 players compete to build the largest city there is. At each turn, players will be able to progress in the construction of new neighborhoods while performing actions according to the characters embodied at the start of each turn, all of whom have powers. These powers allow you to build faster, destroy a district, assassinate, steal gold, draw cards or protect your city. To discover from 10 years old, the game lasts about an hour per game and will keep you busy for long nights thanks to intelligent and rich mechanics.
Splendor
Splendoris a resource-building game set in the Renaissance, in which players take on the role of gem dealers. Tokens (representing gems) are used to buy “development cards” and attract the attention of noble patrons later in the game, to earn even more points. On each turn, you have the choice: you can take tokens, buy a development card or reserve a card for later and take a “gold joker” token. As you accumulate cards, you can use them to take advantage of discounts on your new purchases. The first player to reach 15 victory points (obtained by buying higher value gemstone tokens and seducing noble customers) wins the game.
Carcassonne
Carcassonne is a “Eurogame” (game designed or set in Europe) which requires placing tiles and pawns strategically. The rules of the game are a little easier to learn than those of the Settlers of Catania, the strategy is of a reasonable level and the playing time is shorter. On each turn, players draw and place a tile, one at a time, to build a medieval universe comprising fields, roads, fortified towns and abbeys. They then place their pawns there (peasants, knights, brigands, etc.) to score points. The score depends on the importance of the developed constructions on which your pawns appear. The goal is to have the most points at the end of the game.
Catan
Embark on a race where you play as the first settlers to set foot on the island of Catania in Sicily. Players must use strategy and negotiation to develop faster than other cities and roads! Created over 15 years ago by Klaus Teuber, Catan is one of the best German board games, loved by nerds. The aim is to colonize the island of Catan, building houses, roads, villages and then bigger and bigger cities. In the end, in Catan there is only room for one Lord. Who will win? Obviously the one who will manage to become the richest and most influential settler.
Uno
A great classic of card games, Uno consists of quickly getting rid of all your cards by associating a card of the same color or the same symbol, but beware of bluffing blows from other players! Uno is a classic that we cannot fail to mention! To win, players take turns discarding their cards, matching them by color or number to the face up card on top of the deck. Special action cards are the ones that make the game lively and help eliminate opponents. If there is no card to match, one must be drawn from the deck. When there is only one card left in hand, immediately shout “Uno.” The first player to score 500 points wins. This game is perfect for the fun weekend activities with family and friends.
Pandemic
Intended for casual and experienced players, this board / strategy game signed Matt Leacock and published by Z-Man Games in 2008 received the Silver Tric Trac and was voted best family game by Board Game Geek in 2009. Suffice to say that his reputation is well established. For a period of approximately 45mn / 1h, it will put you and 1 to 3 other people in the shoes of a team trying to stop the spread of four deadly diseases and develop the remedies necessary to save all humanity. A rich and very well designed game.
Monopoly
Monopoly, the most famous bargaining game in the world, perfect for adults but also for children. As you probably already know, the aim of the game is to become a monopolist and bankrupt all the other players. Between the purchase of land, stations or companies, unexpected events and the probability of building houses and hotels, the challenge is becoming more and more exciting. Whoever manages to manage his finances in the best possible way wins.
Taboo
Taboo is the game of forbidden words, which is based on affinity and intuition. The aim of the game is to suggest a word to your teammates, without using any of the 5 taboo words, under penalty of elimination of the card. The team will then have to guess which word it is, in the time indicated by the hourglass. Skill, promptness and creativity are essential to win. The games are never repetitive, because the words to guess are more than 1000.
Risk
Risiko is the classic board game for those who love strategy, which has now become a cult all over the world. The new version has a more compact format, a more attractive graphics and the game variant “Time Attack”, for faster games, lasting up to one hour. Furthermore, the package contains the official tournament rules, and the complete list of the Risiko Clubs.
Trivial Pursuit
For those who love trivia games, the best is undoubtedly Trivial Pursuit . The game includes 2400 questions divided into 6 categories: Entertainment, Geography, Art and Literature, History, Science and Nature, Sports and Leisure. By answering the question correctly, you get the corresponding colored wedges, often called “cake slices.” The winner is whoever completes the cake with slices of different colors first, graduating in all subjects, and answers the final question correctly. The classic edition of Trivial Pursuit has a retro ’80s look.
Pictionary
Born in 1985, Pictionary is the classic board game of drawn words. The rules are very simple: you have to draw a clue card, draw a sketch and help your teammates guess the solution. The group that reaches the finish line first wins. The game is suitable for all ages, because there are two levels of clues, 120 for adults and 80 for children.
Cranium
Created in 1998, Cranium quickly became a classic in board games. Unlike other games, such as Pictionary and Taboo, here players will have to help their teammates guess the answers not just by drawing or miming, but also by singing, sculpting, solving puzzles and even repeating sentences backwards. The team that reaches the finish line first on the board wins.
Go
Go is one of the most difficult games ever as it provides very complex rules and an extremely meticulous study of all the moves to be made and the strategies to be developed to get to victory. Go is a game originating from China that has a thousand-year tradition. It provides for a maximum number of two players who place the pawns, called stones, above the goban, or the chessboard, with the aim of occupying an area of the goban with their stones that is greater than that of the opponent. The players must, therefore, make sure that their pieces are not captured by the opponent and in the meantime ensure a large area of the chessboard.
Jumanji
Who hasn’t wanted to play the Jumanji fantasy board game firsthand, the same one played by the protagonists of the 1990s film of the same name? The aim is to be the first to reach the center of the board, which faithfully reproduces the one seen in the film, unmarking the rhino and deciphering the secret messages written on the cards. Warning: if you start playing you have to finish, even if the effects of the game are unfortunately not as shocking as in the movie!
Guess Who
Whole generations have grown up playing Guess Who! It is a game of intuition, which is played only by two. The aim is to guess which is the mysterious character chosen by the opponent, asking him questions that allow him to lower the greatest number of boxes and therefore to exclude a series of characters. Whoever guesses the other player’s character first wins.
Cheerful Surgeon
The Cheerful Surgeon is a world famous board game, loved by young and old aspiring doctors! Playing is very simple: in turn, each player draws a card, holds the surgical tweezers and tries to extract the indicated part from the patient’s body, without letting the red nose light up, which lights up and buzzes as soon as the metal edges of the cavities are touched contain the various parts of the body. The game ends when all disturbances have been eliminated and the player who has eliminated the most wins.
The game of life
There is a very simple reason why this game is called ” The Game of Life “: Just like in real life, players have to make important choices, on which their future will depend. For example, is it better to start working immediately, or to continue your studies and hope for a better job in the future? As you walk the board from Start to Retirement, you will encounter surprises regarding family, career, holidays and other important moments in life. The player who gets richest at the end of the game wins.
Dixit
Dixit is a fairly new board game, but has already become a cult. It has sold millions of copies worldwide and in 2010 won the prestigious Spiel des Jahres award. It is a card game, illustrated by the artist Marie Cardouat, based on intuition and imagination. At the start of the game, players receive 6 cards each and vote tokens. Each player in turn takes on the role of narrator, chooses one of his cards and says a sentence to the other players, related to the image depicted. Each player will then have to choose from his cards what he believes to be the narrator’s choice. The guesser receives three points. The player who reaches 30 points first wins.
Sink the fleet
There is probably no more classic board game than naval battle. With Sink the Fleet in a travel version, you can have fun sinking your opponent’s fleet wherever you are. Even smartphone addicts will be able to detach themselves from the screen!
Code name
Codename is a cooperative game, to be played in teams, very stimulating and intuitive, perfect for animating evenings with friends. The aim is to make your teammates guess the words indicated on the cards, using only a word and a number. A kind of evolution of the more famous Taboo. There is also a hot version, forbidden to minors, to play with mischievous double meanings!
Pass the Bomb
Pass the Bomb is an award-winning word game that has sold millions of copies worldwide. The rules are simple: you draw a card that indicates two or more letters, you light the fuse (which can last from 10 seconds to 1 minute) and the bomb passes to the first player. Everyone takes turns shouting a word that contains the extracted letter and then passing the bomb before it detonates. Words can only be used once in each round and must be in common use. Of course, the aim is to get rid of the bomb before it goes off!
Double
Dobble is a very simple card game, but also a lot of fun. The tin box contains 55 round cards with mixed designs / symbols. The goal of the players is to draw two cards and identify as quickly as possible the only symbol they have in common. Too easy? Not at all: the symbols have different sizes, just to confuse the view! Whoever finds the most symbols at a glance wins.
Puerto Rico
Created in 2002 by Andreas Seyfarth, Puerto Rico is one of the most successful games in the world, a cult by now among fans. The game is set in Puerto Rico during the colonial era and the players are owners of plantations on the island of Puerto Rico, who have to produce goods and ship them to Spain. At each turn, players choose one of the various roles to play (builder, mayor, captain, craftsman, settler, merchant or explorer). The secret to winning is choosing the right role at the right time, to gain advantage over others. The winner is whoever manages to make the best use of their resources.
Scotland Yard
We then move on to the famous board game Scotland Yard , in which the tactical and intuitive skills of the player who assumes the identity of Mister-X are compared with those of the opposing group of special agents. Mister-X’s goal is to escape the agents and end his run through the streets of London undisturbed, while the special agents’ goal is to follow and capture Mister-X to arrest him.
Carcassonne
Children who love history, princes and princesses, will appreciate Carcassonne, set in the Middle Ages. It is a German-style board game based on tiles, designed by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede and published in 2000 by Hans im Glück in German and by Venice Connection in Italian. The game received the Spiel des Jahres award in 2001. The aim is to accumulate tiles and rebuild elements before opponents do. A match can last up to an hour.
Jenga
Perfect for the whole family is Jenga, a game of skill and strategy that is one of the most fun. The aim is to remove and reposition the wooden bricks at the top without collapsing the tower. The one who remains in the race until the end without making mistakes wins. If nobody wants to play with you, you can also try your hand at it, to increase your skills.
Chess
One of the most classic and timeless games is that of chess, to be played in two or to be used to set up tournaments in which to involve the whole family. Dal Negro’s version is among the most popular because it also includes checkers, a simpler version of chess, to introduce even the youngest to this type of pastime.
Wonders Duel
Wonders Duel is a board game for two set in the world of 7 Wonders. It is a perfect balance between strategy and cunning. An epic battle for the domination of one’s own Civilization over the others that can be reached by discarding the cards according to the planned strategies. Victory can be achieved in three ways: by invading your opponent’s capital, by gaining a monopoly on scientific progress, or by earning the most victory points. Ready to make your city the most majestic?
Concept
Concept is a game of logic and intuition that can be played by 4 to 12 players in groups. The rules are very simple: a group of players has to make the other group guess a phrase or a word that has drawn cards. The clues are divided into primary and secondary. Primaries are marked with a first token on the board on the corresponding object or characteristic, while the secondaries are requested each time. The winner will be only one, the one who has guessed the most words or phrases.
Exploding Kittens
Exploding Kittens is the most explosive game in recent years. This is a very simple card game as players draw cards until they receive the dreaded Exploding Kitten card, which eliminates the player from the game, unless they have the Deflector card, which can save them from the explosion. The last remaining in the game wins. The Party Pack contains 120 cat-themed cards and the pack when opened meow and sing.
The houses of madness
Mansions of Madness is an adventure game based on the Arkham Files universe. It consists of different scenarios that take place in a villa. Each player is placed in a room of the villa and can then interact with characters, objects and secrets present in the setting. Whoever reaches the goal first wins. This game is very innovative as there is a dedicated app which allows you to follow the adventures of the players and which will point them to some hidden objects.
Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones is the board game based on George RR Martin‘s A Song of Ice and Fire novel cycle. The aim of the game is to take control of the Great Houses of Westeros and engage in an epic struggle to reclaim the Iron Throne.
Descent
Descent is a fast-paced, interactive fantasy board game that is played in groups. The story tells of a Supreme Lord who wickedly rules the world and a group of heroes who stand against him. Within the board game there are 20 scenarios to explore, each with different missions to complete. It is a collaborative board game that requires strategy and action.
Terraforming Mars
Terraforming Mars has climbed the charts and is one of the best board games in terms of play and setting. The game can be played either alone or in a group, up to 5 people. The aim of the game is to colonize Mars in order to host humanity. Players take on the role of corporations collaborating to terraform the planet Mars by raising the temperature, increasing oxygen to the atmosphere, introducing water, and importing plant and animal life. During the game, they collect resources that allow them to purchase the blueprints that will lead to the transformation of the red planet.
Red Flame
Red flame is a competition and strategic interaction game between players. The aim of the game is to manage a cycling team in the last leg of the famous race, the Grande Boucle of 1932, as they are about to reach the finish line. Each player will have a sprinter and a walker who will be able to move along the track using the cards drawn from their respective decks. The player who crosses the finish line first wins.
Letters from Whitechapel
Letters from Whitechapel is a detective party game in which participants will find themselves immersed in Victorian London as Jack the Ripper or as the cops who will try to capture him. It is a semi-cooperative game as you can decide whether to be part of the group or play alone. Strategy and great setting make this game addicting and fun.
Terra Mystica
Terra Mystica is a German fantasy game that has had a great success and is among the most popular, winner of the German award 2013. It is based on a turn-based operation during which you have to terraform the territories close to your own to build the largest city. The one who builds the most buildings and earns the most victory points wins. The game turns out to be complex and at the same time overwhelming, as the players are always at attention in order to put into practice the best strategy.
Hive
Hive is a two-player chess game in which the aim is to completely surround the opponent’s Queen Bee. It is a game with simple rules but, thanks to its chess style, it also needs strategy. The pawns depict different types of insects, each of these moves on the table in different ways: the Grasshopper jumps on top of the other pawns, the Spider moves three spaces forward in a single turn, the Soldier Ant can move to any other free position around the hive. It’s one of the best game and activity for adults to have fun and a productive time.