Having spent the recent school holidays playing games with my teenage son and his friend, I felt this was a good top 10 to create with their input. My son has played games from a very young age, however his friend was interested in games but there wasn’t keen interest in his family. We’ve combined this list based on keeping teenagers engaged, entertained and replayability. In a generation of limited patience we chose games that either remained the same rules throughout or started simple and gather complexity allowing teenagers to decide how easy or difficult they wanted the game to be each time but still with the same entertainment value.
1. Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard requires tact, deduction and a desire to win. Played with a minimum of 3 players, the excitement is there whether you are trying to evade capture as Mr X or whether you are desperate to find the elusive Mr X as a detective. The two players trying to deduce Mr X’s location work as a team to try and close in and capture, with Mr X rising out of the shadows of the streets of London at various points in the game it keeps all the player on their toes.
Players – 3
Mechanics – Team Based, Hidden Movement
Playing time - 30 minutes
2. Kitchen Rush (Revised Edition)
Kitchen Rush is a cooperative, worker placement game. It is played over 8 scenarios allowing the players to gradually build up their restaurant and learn the rules and aspects of the game in stages. The scenarios are timed which add to the drama of the game ensuring that the players help each other complete their tasks, because if the timer runs out and anyone hasn’t completed their tasks everyone loses. No one wants a grumpy teenager at the end of the round so it’s the perfect game to help keep kitchen dramas at bay. Kitchen Rush is replayable and depending on the energy levels of the players each time you can either start with scenario 1 and keep it easy, calm and achievable (but not always) or you can go the whole hog and play the harder scenarios. We think this is a great game for those that need a bit longer to get to grips with the tasks, the
game gives you a rough time frame for each scenario but if you’ve players that require longer in decision making and processing information then you choose the time that makes it achievable for the group playing.
Players – 3
Mechanics – Team Based, Hidden Movement
Playing time - 30 minutes
3. Aspens
I backed Aspens via Kickstarter and purchased the mega box edition with deciduous duos expansion. I would say this is a great Sunday afternoon game, keep your wits about you when planning your plots or you’ll soon be cut off by an opponent. The aim of this game is to have the biggest section of forest plots. The colours of the trees are gorgeous, regardless of whether you buy the standard game with coloured triangular pieces of the deluxe version with tree shaped pieces. This is a comforting and aesthetically pleasing game. The simplicity of the game play makes this an easy go to game with dice actions as the main function to each turn. Dice control the weather and tree planting numbers. With the additions available, with the deluxe box the game opens up to with more strategic thought, tactical game play for the more advanced player. The wild weather expansion does as it says, provides the game with floods, strong winds, tornados and sunbeam which can and do have devastating affects on the forests being built. Ancient Artifacts adds in unique powers of one of eight Ancient gods, the artifacts are placed at the start of the game for the players to utilise the powers as they grow their forests around them.
Players – 2
Mechanics – Territory building, Strategy and Dice Rolling
Playing time – 30-45 minutes
4. Sequence
Do you like Connect 4? Then this is the teenagers version with a few extra elements to make it an enjoyable but slightly harder game. The game board is made up of two standard packs of cards excluding the Jacks. Each player takes it in turn to play a card from their hand and places a coloured counter on one of the corresponding spaces, the aim is to get 1-2 rows of 5 connected counters horizontally, vertically or diagonally. There are Jacks within the dealt packs and these are either wild Jacks so any space can be used or they provide the ability to remove a counter for another player. There are three different coloured counters so the ideal is to play this game as a 2-3 player however for 4+ players a team approach is taken to the game.
Players – Best played with 2 or 3 players
Mechanics – Hand Management and Pattern Building
Playing time – 20-30 minutes
5. Barenpark
Barenpark is great for pattern building fans, storing up park sections, animal enclosures small, medium and large. The aim is to have the highest score at the end of the game, which is when the first person completes four park grids with no spaces left. Points are gained based on the animal enclosures chosen, and vary depending on the number of players in the game. For each fully completed park grid an additional bear stature (with points) is rewarded. Seems simple but if you’ve not got an eye for shape sorting and placement then you can find yourself with tricky choices. Once a tile is placed it cannot be moved so making choices correctly is crucial. Toilets, food trucks and playgrounds can be used to fill in gaps on the parks but they carry no points so chose wisely and avoid having too many unless the balance with a final bear statures provides the point rewards before another player.
Players – 2-4
Mechanics – Tile drafting
Playing time – 30-45 minutes
6. Art Society
We first played this at the UK Games Expo 2025, as it looked different to games we’d played before but also looked appealing. It was a good choice and soon became a must have for Christmas, we played this on New Year's Eve and often we start with our own simplified rules whilst we get used to all the various concepts to the rules, and then the next time we play we re visit the rules to ensure we are playing them all. The first time we played we made many “faux pas” and therefore we ignored this rule at the end of game scoring as we were all guilty in forgetting whilst trying to remember all the other bonus features.
Each turn the players all bid for the chance to choose a piece of art work, if your options are limited then you need to bid high to ensure you get the painting of choice, but if you can have any of those available then bid low and take whichever is left. Each player has 20 bid boards number 1-20, once a number is played it can’t be used again by that player so
wise, strategic choices are required. Want to take the art piece your opponent really wants? Then outbid them
Players – 2-4
Mechanics – Auction/Bidding, End Game bonuses and Pattern Building
Playing time – 30-45 minutes
7. Ticket to Ride (Europe)
Ticket to Ride (TTR) was the first proper game I played with my son when he was 6 years old, and since then we been building up the expansions. Europe and the original can be played as base games to the other TTR expansions but also as standalone games. Each version has unique game play that adds new challenges and strategic moves. We chose Europe as it has a few changes to the game play and introduces tunnels, ferries and stations. Tunnels may require additional cards to claim them and the luck of the draw of the pack contribute to the number of cards required, so having some locomotives or additional colour cards can ensure the route is claimed when you try. Otherwise your next track claim is exposed to your opponents. Ferries require at least one locomotive to be played with the colour of choice, indicated on the board by a train icon. Stations allow the player to join onto another players route, but this costs a few points so it needs to be used at the right time if at all. For all of the Ticket to Ride games the number of train carriages to points gained is the same ensuring that the simplicity of the main game is throughout with additional features to increase and decrease end of game bonuses.
Players – 2-5
Mechanics – Connections and Network/Route Building
Playing time – 30-60 minutes
8. Splendor: Marvel
For the Marvel fans within the family, or just an alternative to the original game. This was given as a birthday gift and builds on the original game with some additional tasks to complete before winning the game. Team building/set collection is the aim of the game, collecting gems to exchange for recruiting the best heroes will set you on your way to success. Each turn offers 4 different action choices, like Ticket to Ride games, you can collect gems, play, reserve or purchase cards. The difference between the Marvel and the original version is the ending, each player must hold one of each gem, a Tier 3 card and the required 16 VP points.
Players – 2-4
Mechanics – Race and Set collection
Playing time – 30 minutes
9. Route East
We were introduced to Route East at our local board game café, we wanted something that suited our love of travel/destination games such as Ticket to Ride and Trekking the World. Route East fits this genre of destination route building, race to the end games. Unlike Ticket to Ride you have 3 actions available to you each turn, which is required as you need various resources to bag your selected attraction visits. The aim is to travel from Istanbul to Shanghai, refuelling your car, collecting funds from the ATM to ensure you can travel and pay for accommodation overnight (at the end of each turn). Strategy is key to winning this game, foul play is recommended as your opponents steal fuel, money and bribe the border control. If you want a nice game with the least family arguments then you can be nice and help them on their way. No game is the same, each time you play it feels fresh, your attractions (2-3 depending on player numbers) could be really close together or miles apart and on lengthy routes. This game is one of the longest from this top 10 and I would chose a time when your teenager is the most rested and has the highest level of concentration.
Players – 2-5
Mechanics – Betting and bluffing, Resource to move.
Playing time – 60-90 minutes
10. Ink
A brand new game for 2025, various gaming reels on social media showed this game off post UK Games Expo, but somehow we managed to completely miss it at the event. So the first time we tried this was online and then purchased and gifted it for ourselves and family. For me the cute little ink bottles are so unique but fundamental to the game, they are so beautifully designed. The aim of the game is to place all your ink bottles before your opponents, creating your own harmonious masterpieces using coloured tiles to build up sections of colour and achieving the associated objectives.
Whilst planning your next tile pick from the round, be careful your opponent does not choose it first. Balance making patterns, and collecting the most white spots to ensure you get your ink bottles used up first.
Players – 1-4
Mechanics – Rondel, pattern building, tile placement
Playing time – 30-45 minutes
