Best Family Board Game Gift Guide for 2015 24

Our favorite way to bond as a family is to play board games.  Our board game collection totals more than 200, many of them old childhood favorites. Board games are such a great way to bond with your tweens and teens.  We always start laughing while playing a board game (occasionally crying from so much laughing).  The key to a good board game is easily understandable rules(we hate to fight over rule questions), less than 30 minute game play time, creativity is encouraged in some way, and finally, the game should be so good that the kids beg to play a second time in a row.  As a Mom and a former teacher I love when a game has some educational value in it, and many of these games teach something as well (SHHHH, don’t tell my kids this one)!  All of these games follow all of these rules and have been family favorites from the first time we tried them.  Narrowing down this list to only 10 games was a challenge, I really had about 35 games I wanted to list, but my husband said no one would read a list that long!  So I present to you 10 of our favorite games of 2015.  Get a new game for your family this Holiday season and make some wonderful memories.  If you have any questions about any of these games please leave me a comment below or email me cookwith5kids @ gmail.com.  I love to match up families with perfect games.

Family Board Games Gift Guide 2015

1. Dohdles by Thames & Kosmos: This game is part sculpting, part creativity, part good guessing, and full of tons of laughter.  Your job is to create two objects out of some super soft dough.  The hard part is making an object that is not too easy to guess, but at the same time not too hard to guess.  Some of the sculptures my kids have made are hilarious.  When we are going to play with game two of my kids start working on their creations an hour before game time.  Younger children can be on an adult’s team or even play on their own. Perfect game for all ages.
2. Blurt by Educational Insights:  Blurt is just what you think it will be. The first person to shout out the answer gets a point.  You can picture a table full of kids all thinking so hard what the answer is, then shouting out some crazy responses.  We love this game.  You roll the die and read the clue that corresponds to the number you rolled. This game is easy to learn, straightforward rules and fun to play. The only hard part can be to figure out which person blurted out the right answer first.
3. Googly Eyes by Goliath Games:  When I first saw this game I did not think that anyone in my family would like it. Boy was I wrong.  You put on a funny pair of glasses and then try to draw a picture of a word.  There are three levels of confusion to slide into the special glasses.  Each level messes up your vision a little more.  The best artists are now at the same disadvantage as the worst artists.  We laugh so hard while playing this game.  Just looking at the person wearing the glasses can make us crack up. In case you are wondering, the glasses fit fine over your existing glasses or you can just take off your own glasses and put on the funny glasses.  Get this game if you enjoy laughing.
4. Wits and Wagers by North Star Games:  Combine crazy trivia questions with wagering and you have Wits and Wagers.  Our family mathematician loves this game. He pulls out his calculator and is calculating his guesses for 20 minutes each round.  Anyone can play this game because you are guessing what the number answer will be.  Sometimes the person who knows the least about the subject guesses the closest number. It is such a fun game and you always learn some insane numerical facts.  Family favorite for the over 6 years!
5. Slap by Goliath Games:  When you have 5 kids and 4 of them are boys, you realize over time that they love slapping things, and of course each other. This game can only be payed with 4 players.  Each person listens to a trivia questions and then tries to write down the answer first so that their answer slaps into the center first.  But wait, you only win a point if you were first with the CORRECT answer. I won’t say who, but one person in our family is ALWAYS first to answer with a usually incorrect answer.  Fun for 4 or less people.
6. Dixit by Asmodee:  Dixit is a real family favorite.  Just a few people or a big crowd in teams can play this game.  Try to come with the most creative clue that some people will get and others will not.  Creativity is key in this game.  We have played this with kids ages 4-75 and they all love it equally.  It is hard to explain this game in just a few sentences, just trust me that if you like to think, and you want to try a game that is a bit different, you will enjoy Dixit very much.
7. Rollick by The Game Chef:  This is the perfect game to play with a large group.  Divide into two sides. Each side picks two actors and the rest of the people try to guess what charade the actors are portraying.  Try to get as many clues acted out as you can before the time is up. You can only pass once.  Some clues are really easy and some are quite hard, all the charades will make you laugh hysterically.  This game can be played in as much time as you want to devote to it.  Fun to play on a family gathering over the holidays.
8. Say Anything Family Edition by North Star Games:   I call this an excellent fun family game night choice.  Take turns being the asker, and ask a silly question, like Where is the best place to have a birthday party? Everyone playing writes down an answer. You choose your favorite answer from the choices they write down. Then everyone tries to guess which one you voted for. You will learn lots of funny things about your family while playing this game.
9. Word on the Street by Out of the Box:  On this list, this is the most educational choice.  You spell words that fit into a category and then move the tiles for each letter in your word.  We usually play this in teams with one adult helping to spell the rods on each team.  The categories can be a bit challenging but it is fun to use your brain and try to come up with the best word using the right letters.  When you move each letter to your side it eventually falls off the board and you get to keep that point.  We play this game with kids as young as 5 with an adult.
10. Ruckus by Imagination Games:  This is the game I pull out when we have less than 15 minutes to play. It is a pretty simple matching game with a twist.  Other teams can steal the cards you were collecting.  The cards themselves are colorful and funny. You might be collecting a big pile and then two seconds later someone else steals the whole pile. But watch out, two seconds later you might be able to steal it right back.  Fun for all ages and very easy to learn.