Getting a babysitter is expensive. So more often than not, when we have a couples’ night, it involves bringing everyone’s kids to one house where the kids can play upstairs, then the adults snacking, drinking, and playing board games downstairs(well, when we aren’t watching some sort of sporting event). It makes for a fun and inexpensive night out(or night in).
I thought I’d share the board games that we really like, since it’s hard to tell when you’re staring at that wall of games in the store(and even harder when you’re browsing at the selection online).
For the record: I bought all of these games. This isn’t a review or sponsored post on anyone’s behalf. I just thought I’d share these with you in case you’re looking for a fun game to play.
Wits and Wagers
This one is probably my favorite. You can play with 3-7 people(or 3-7 teams of however many people). For each round, a question is read, with the answer always being a number. It’s usually such a random piece of trivia that no one will really know the answer. How many pizzas does the average American consume in a year? How many inches tall is the Emmy? With occasional history/pop culture questions with the answer being a year that you might actually know exactly(like what year “Friends” premiered). Every person/team writes down their answer and sets it down. The answers are arranged on the mat from lowest to highest and each team uses their chips to bet on what the correct answer is. Even if you had no clue and end up hating your own answer, it doesn’t matter. It’s not really what you know, it’s how you bet, with the winner being the person/team with the most chips at the end of the game.
Would You Rather?
When it’s your turn, you read a question(silently at first) and select the the answer you think the majority of group will select. There’s an answer dial where you pick(I KNOW they’ll choose A, I THINK they’ll choose A, then the same for B… with moves forward and backward for right or wrong written on the dial). You then read the answer to the group and everyone gives their answer. Questions like Would you rather A. live in a world where people suddenly break into song or B. suddenly break into kung fu fights? If the majority answers(or if you have an even number of people playing, they have to agree on one answer) what you predicted, you move ahead the number of spaces indicated. It’s funny and cute and really requires no skill to be able to play and can be played with up to 6 players.
The Best of TV and Movies
This TV and movie trivia game can be played with 2-6 players or teams. We’ve found it’s best in teams, especially if you make sure the people on each team have very different tastes in what they watch. There are potluck cards, theme cards, and cards specifically about a certain show or movie. Though there are some more recent tv and movie questions, it seems to be a little easier with the over 30 crowd.
Cards Against Humanity
Right on the box, the tagline tells you this is a party game for horrible people. When it’s your turn, you read a question and everyone else puts down one of their cards as their answer. You read them all and select the one you think goes the best with the question. It’s very similar to Apples to Apples, if you’ve ever played that one. However, the questions and answers… well, you were warned that this is a game for horrible people. There’s something in there to offend everyone. It’s not politically correct in the slightest. And sometimes it’s flat out gross. But it can also be hilarious. I would never play it with my parents or my in-laws. When the kids come down to the kitchen to grab snacks, we temporarily pause because we aren’t reading the questions or answers where they can hear them. Aside from the content possibly offending those who play, a drawback to it is that after you’ve played a night or two and heard all the questions and answers, it does start getting old(the shock value is probably what’s the biggest draw), though there are expansion packs available. Probably best played after a few drinks.
Those four games are our go-to’s, though if we’re feeling like we’re in a rut, we also play Catchphrase, Disorder, 5 Second Rule, and Trivial Pursuit Team Edition.
The fact that you play Cards Against Humanity makes me love you more, lol. We love doing game nights with friends, we played Crap or Fact last weekend, which was really fun.
I’ve seen that one for a while and haven’t tried it. Might add it to our collection!
While my own children are still in the “too young” phase for anything more grown up than Chutes & Ladders, we’re running into families where the kids can actually join in the board games. Munchkin has become quite popular at gatherings where some of the players fall too young for the CAH crowd and Apples-To-Apples has lost its appeal.
I have a list of games that we’ve been playing with the kids that I’m going to share later. These ones are the ones we play while the kids are upstairs doing other things. I haven’t heard of Munchkin!
Our favorite (although we do love Cards Against Humanity) is THINGS.
If you’ve never played it, I recommend giving it a try. It’s best played with people who are clever and/or creative – since it requires each player to provide an answer to a topic, then afterward, to match the correct people up with their answers.
It can be hilarious when you’re playing with people you know well – and with whom you have at least some inside jokes.
“Things you don’t want to find in your Christmas stocking…”
“Things you want to say to your boss…”
If you’re with people you don’t know well or who will answer very basically, it’s not as much fun. (People who write COAL for something you don’t want in your stocking or I QUIT for what you want to say to your boss…are sweet but boring.)
I’ll have to look for that one! We tend to play with the same group of people, so we end up knowing each other pretty well. I think it would work well for us.
Great suggestions! We like to play Skip-Bo or Rummikub. We also play different video games (yes, even as adults). I’m a huge fan of Hand-and-Foot card game, too.