The BEST Family Games

Here’s a collection of our favorite family games! I’m including both board games and card games in this list.

Overall, I’m not a “game person.” I don’t love games that involve a lot of waiting for your turn haha. So the games in this post are (mostly) fast-moving and fun for the whole family!

Lots of games these days also involve crude humor or language, which can make it difficult to choose a game at the store if you’re not familiar with it. All the games on my list are family friendly and appropriate for school settings.

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Cover Your Assets is a card game about money haha. My kids play this one ALL the time! They’ll often get it out after lunch and then they’re getting along so well that I don’t want to make them stop and do school. Fun for elementary age up through adults.

Moose Master is a super SILLY card game where the rules are constantly changing. There are rule cards that players can use to create rules like, “You can’t refer to anyone by their name” or “you can’t point your finger.” This is a great party game, and the rounds don’t last super long so you can play however long you want to.

Happy Salmon is a great ice breaker game because the rounds only last a couple of minutes. It’s also a high-energy addition to your family game night! Very fun for family reunions, etc.

This game does NOT involve turns. No waiting here! Everyone plays at once, trying to work through the cards in their pile by finding another player who has the same card as them. Once you find a match, each player does the motion described on that card. Then they set the card down and move to the next card in their pile! The first person to work through all their cards wins.

Exploding Kittens is another super silly card game. This one is easy to learn, even for young kids, but it’s also interesting enough that teens will love it. Clean but funny, and a great party game!

Throw Throw Burrito is a combination of a card game and a dodgeball game. The main point of the game is to collect matches, but then you’ll also come across cards for a burrito duel, a burrito war, or a burrito brawl. My favorite is the burrito brawl. When you play this card, the players on either side of you have to quickly grab a burrito and throw them at each other while you sit back and laugh! The first one hit gets a penalty.

We got this game free with Kohl’s cash, and we’re so glad we did. It’s hilarious!

Guesstures is a classic game that everyone should own! Get your team to say the right word by acting it out. You’re not allowed to talk. This game comes with easy, medium, and hard cards, but sometimes for younger players we will go through their cards first to make sure they know what all the words are.

Blokus will remind you of your childhood rounds of Tetris on the computer, but the rules work a little differently. Each player has their own color, and they each play one piece per round. Each of your Tetris-type game pieces must touch another one of your pieces on a corner, not a side. The goal is to play all of your game pieces first. This is a calm game, but very fun. It’s one of those rare games that are fun for all ages. It definitely involves strategy, but young kids can hold their own in this game. Adults don’t have much of an advantage.

Settlers of Catan is another calm game that is perfect for a Saturday afternoon or a holiday break from school. Build your own settlement with resources such as ore, brick, and lumber. This game takes a long time to play, so I have never actually played it! But my family loves this game. Jordan often plays it with the kids on holidays.

Rummikub is a rummy-style game that uses tiles instead of cards. I enjoyed this game as a kid, and this updated version can be played with 2 – 6 people. Players will collect runs (1, 2, 3, etc.) and sets (7, 7, 7) in order to play their tiles and win.

Family Games with a Deck of Cards

Need some new card games to play? Here’s a collection of more than 20 family card games to play with a deck of cards.