Looking for your next family game night favourite? We’ve gathered recommendations from our bloggers to bring you a hand-picked selection of board games that are easy to learn, fun to play, and perfect for all ages.
Edwyn Stanyer:
Harmonies
Rich in strategy, simple in rules, and with a quick play time of around 30–45 minutes, Harmonies has become a go-to for me when introducing families to modern board games. It’s one of those games that looks inviting on the table straight away, with beautiful artwork and chunky wooden tokens that give it a really cosy, tactile feel. Being able to focus on your own board, building up your own little sanctuary, means it never feels overly competitive, which is especially important for younger players or those newer to the hobby.
To me, the game almost feels like a puzzle, trying to build habitats just right to optimise animal placement and score those all-important points. There’s something really satisfying about lining everything up perfectly and watching your plan come together. At the same time, it never feels punishing if things don’t quite go your way, which makes it ideal for a relaxed family setting. With different ways to mix things up, like spirit animals and the alternate player board, Harmonies has plenty of replayability and is the kind of game you’ll find yourself coming back to again and again.
Dewan
A game that’s always been recommended as a gateway for families is Ticket to Ride, but for me, Dewan from Space Cowboys has started to take that spot. It shares some familiar DNA, using cards to expand your camps across the board, but feels even more streamlined and easier to get to the table. You can comfortably teach it in five minutes, and be playing a full game in around 40, which is perfect for keeping everyone engaged.
The artwork and theme add a lot of charm, making it really welcoming for players of all ages, and it has that “just one more game” feeling once you’ve finished. What really helps Dewan stand out, though, is the variety it offers. With five different scenarios and ways to play, it doesn’t take long before you start experimenting and finding your favourites. It keeps the experience fresh without adding complexity, which is exactly what you want from a family game. It’s quickly become one I’d happily recommend over some of the more traditional gateway titles.
Gloomies
Gloomies is one of my favourite games to bring out with just about any group, whether that’s families, newer players, or even more experienced gamers looking for something lighter. The components are adorable, the artwork is full of charm, and the whole game just feels thoughtfully put together from start to finish. Ravensburger has a great track record with family games, and Gloomies is no exception.
Played over two distinct phases, you’ll spend the first half planting flowers onto a shared board using cards, before harvesting them later to decorate your own mystical little creature. The shift between phases keeps things interesting, and there’s a nice sense of build-up as you prepare for that second half of the game. The theme really shines through as well, it doesn’t feel tacked on, but instead ties directly into what you’re doing at every step, from planting to harvesting to fulfilling orders.
It’s cosy, easy to pick up, and still offers enough meaningful decisions to keep everyone engaged. There’s a nice balance between focusing on your own plans and keeping an eye on what others are doing, without ever feeling too cutthroat. It’s the kind of game that works just as well with younger players as it does with more experienced ones, and one that always seems to land well no matter who’s at the table.
Chris Ridley:
Cockroach Poker
Can you tell when a family member is lying? Cockroach Poker puts your lie detector and deception skills to the test, while making you question who you can really trust in your family. In Cockroach Poker, you’re trying to offload your cards to other players; each turn, a player will present a card facedown to another player, while declaring what the card is. The receiving player can either state whether they think the player is lying or telling the truth about the card and flip it over, or they can secretly look at it, present it to a different player and declare what the card is.
If you guess wrong, the card goes face-up in front of you, and it’s now your turn to present a card. The first player to collect four of the same cards face-up in front of them loses. The deck consists of 8 sets of eight matching cards, making it a fun and fast game for groups of 2 to 6 players.
As a deck of just 64 cards and light rules, it’s perfect to take on holiday or for a family game night.
Survive The Island
Volcanos. Sharks. And kaiju. Survive The Island is packed full of theme and player interaction, perfect for when you want to put down the screens and connect as a family. In Survive The Island, each player controls a group of adventurers that have found themselves on an island that is shrinking due to rising sea levels and getting attacked by sea serpents, sharks and kaiju - talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Gameplay is fast and simple, and - similar to The Downfall of Pompeii - is split into two phases. The first phase is the Adventurer Placement phase, where you take it in turns placing one of your 10 adventure meeples on the island. Choose wisely, as you want to ensure you place your adventurers on advantageous tiles to help them get off the island, without grouping them together and making them a target for the other players. Each adventurer also has a different secret value on it’s base, which are scored if they survive the game by reaching one of the four map corners.
Once all meeples are placed, it’s time for the Tile-Drafting Phase. Players now take it in turn, removing a tile from the island and moving their meeples, beginning with the low-laying beach tiles, before advancing onto the forest tiles and then the mountain tiles. On the back of each tile is an ability, which either grants additional movement, allows the player to summon a monster or place a new raft on the board. Any meeples on the removed tile, will fall into the sea and become vulnerable to shark and sea serpent attacks. The player to score the most points from their surviving adventurers win.
While Cockroach Poker is ideal as a quick game with limited table space, Survive The Island is best played around a dining table and has a run time of around 45-60 mins - but trust me, the time will fly by as you set Sharks upon the other players and frantically try and get your meeples to safety.
Scrabble: Pokémon Edition
What? Scrabble is evolving! Congratulations! Scrabble has evolved into Scrabble: Pokémon Edition.
This version of Scrabble is perfect for any Pokémon fan that wants to show off their Pokémon knowledge by spelling out obscure names like Beheeyem, Feraligatr and Rayquaza - yes, these are all real Pokémon names. In this version of Scrabble, all Pokémon names are legal words, and the game comes with two ways to play: the classic competitive mode and a Pokémon-themed cooperative challenge mode.
The cooperative mode is a refreshing take on the game that honours the Pokémon IP. As a team, players work together to complete 20 challenges, each represented by a different Pokémon. To help the players out, the game includes 6 helper cards that grant one-time abilities, such as exchanging tiles, refreshing challenges and drawing an extra tile. There are 50 challenges in total, allowing plenty of replayability and scaling difficulty for families destined to become Pokémon Masters.
Peter Bartlam:
I’ve played family games since I was 5 years old and through the years with my children and now grandchildren, in particular, Maya 4½ and Luca 2½. Whilst they greatly enjoy any game that they can actively pop out lots of counters, we’ve had most fun together with various of the Orchard Toys games.
Insey Winsey Spider
Insey Winsey Spider is my first pick. It claims on the box that there are 2 ways to play but I’d say there are many more than that! The two official ways are based on the 2 piece double sided boards – one with blank spaces that you climb up matching numbers on one dice and the other has coloured shapes that you match on the other dice. There’s a spinner to be spun to see if the sun shines or you get washed out with the rain.
Maya started before she was 3 and got much fun out of building the 4 coloured drainpipes. Also the spinner was a great favourite with its umbrella pointer. Like all Orchard Toys it’s well made though the spiders require some care.
Offshoots
Like many of the games played with the younger ones I modify the rules as their abilities develop. So my next choice Offshoots whilst being stated as for Ages 8+ is already being enjoyed by Maya.
Offshoots the “creative game of balance” is like a green Jenga where you build an ever-spreading tree by adding well-made wooden “leaves” to the trunk-like base. The simple rules mean you must build ever upwards until the inevitable fall and cry of
Timber! The last person to add a leaf before the fall is the winner though it’s almost more fun to play co-operatively and see if you can get all 75 leaves on.
This was what most people did when it proved a surprising hit when I demonstrated it at ZATUcon. The leaves at first proved a bit fiddly to add but this improved greatly after a few plays as the varnish smoothed off. Maya can already build and whilst Luca can’t yet he enthusiastically enjoys the great downfall! (leave plenty of clear space!)
HEAT Pedal to the Metal
Moving on - at full speed - we have the high octane world of Formula 1 racing with HEAT Pedal to the Metal. This is my own favourite game at the moment and has an age rating of 10+. Whilst you can look elsewhere to see the full how to play, I’ll highlight a couple of key points that make it family friendly.
First of all, it’s fun to play and outmanoeuvre your family and friends as you slipstream through tight corners to the head of the pack. The standard rules are straight forward and give a balanced contest.
Secondly, the one advanced rule I’d always play is the Legends system of controlling auto drivers. This overcomes the perennial problem of not having enough players. This quick, easy and competitive system means you’ll always have a full grid to test your skills against.
David Ireland:
I’m always on the look out for new games that my children may love to play, but what is also key is familiarity and understanding. In an age where there is so much information on everything I’m keen to not overload them by impressing more and more on them, and that includes gaming.
I played too many of the wrong games as a child. Games workshop titles are just not appropriate for a 6 year old. The key for me is simple rules that will allow my children to think about some strategy on what they are trying to achieve. Here are our favourites.
Stomp the Plank
Stomp the Plank is a delightful game of risking taking and gambling on the chance. A group of pirates are walking their own planks due to theft aboard their vessel. For 2 to 4 players, players need to weigh up the odds of risk taking v distribution of weight on their opponents planks. It is a very fast game and highly enjoyable. I will say if your little ones do not like the surprise of moving parts in the game it could be off putting but the lessons being taught in risk management are well worth it in this one.
SOS Dino
The world is erupting and the dinosaurs are under threat of extinction. In this beautiful cooperative boardgame the team of 1-4 players have to rescue the dinosaurs and their eggs by helping them escape to safety on higher mountainous ground. SOS Dino has been cleverly devised with different pitfalls at every draw as the landscape disappears to molten lava and ruin. The great element is that it’s teaching children to cooperate and devise strategy so that they can all be successful as a team. The intensity will ramp up at points but that feeling of success from working together is wonderful, but it doesn’t happen every time.
Quoridor - Pacman edition
I’m not sure how my kids got into Pacman? They have no screens and I’ve not seen them come across it but they know. So when we played Quoridor - Pacman edition at the UKGE in 2025 it was straight on the Christmas list and a very popular game now in our home. There are a couple of gaming options. The classic where Pacman has to collect pellets before being caught by the ghosts. A 2-5 player game where 1 takes Pacman and the rest control ghosts. Or there is another game where players race across the board to opposite sides whilst avoiding barriers dropped in by appointments, this one is for 2-4 people. There is a high degree of strategy needed to be successful with forward planning needed, like a game of chess, but for me, a lot more fun than chess.
I may not get this right with my children but the key is for them to enjoy the experience of the games and take the wins as a bonus. Ultimately playing to win but critically enjoying the game and so only time will tell if my changed approach from what I was brought up on will be a success. We have had a lot of fun with these games in our home and check so many of the criteria I’m looking for, for my kids in a game.
Neil Parker:
For me a good game for families and children must have a blend of ease of learning and play, good replayability, reasonable interaction between players, looks good and some degree of competitive play for the challenge.
Carcassonne
An old game yes, but still a classic worthy of mention. Carcassonne is a good gateway game into the hobby at large it is simple yet elegant. You draw a tile and you place it subject to a few rules, and then you decide whether to place a worker if you can. Placed workers will hopefully score, but equally scoring quickly allows the worker to be reused. I love the game for the way the cityscape evolves and the tactile element of placing tiles. The farmers add a tougher but critical element that can swing games and increases the scope for tactical play. This is important as it increases the potential for planning and counterattacking opponents. You can’t ignore the usual scoring for cities, roads and monasteries, but equally you do need to plan for several farmers to be placed, but be careful as once placed these don’t get recycled and are fixed until the end of the game and scoring.
Ticket to Ride Europe
Ticket to Ride Europe is set in Europe which I like and is again another simple game to learn and play. Essentially you are mostly drawing a card or placing a set to place train carriages on a route. The tactile and colourful element to the game works well and helps the appeal for younger players, but the game has a sting in that it is designed to be competitive as you all chase routes that will undoubtedly clash with others. I think the competition works well and judging which routes to go for and when to trade cards in is part of the fun. Sometimes families can cause arguments and tension, but equally it can be a good way for families to interact socially. This game is one where each player can affect and be affected by the others.
Fungi
Fungi is a two-player card game that is easy to learn, not taxing on the brain and ideal to bring out for a quiet game. It doesn’t take up much space and is quick to set up and play, so it also a good choice as a travel game. It has a nice theme which will be appealing to many, but essentially it is just a set collecting game. There is a bit of luck and timing needed to succeed, but as it is a quick game, you can easily get several games in for a best of three or five series. For players who like card games, this is likely to be appealing and a good addition to a collection.
