Game Nights with Elementary-Aged Kids
We love games in our house. And not just during this time at home. We’ve always been big on game nights. As the kids have gotten a little older, we are actually able to play games now that Chris and I genuinely LIKE, instead of playing Uno over and over and over again. Here are some of our favorite games for game night these days:
(Reminder: My kids are in 3rd and 5th grades.)
Rummikub – This is our all-time favorite family game. We even have an ongoing score that we have been keeping for the past year. (I’m WAY ahead, in case you were wondering…).
Sequence – This one is always a favorite around our house. We play in teams, two against two. It is a lot of fun and doesn’t involve a lot of strategy, so it’s probably even good for early elementary aged kids, too.
Mexican Train Dominoes – Admittedly, I like this game more than the rest of my family, but they indulge me because they love me.
Carcassonne – This is not as popular in the U.S. because it’s not an American game. It is German. My mom got it for Chris and I years ago, way before we had kids. Now, we play it with our kids and even have some of the expansion packs that change the game up. It is a lot of fun. The kids really like this one!
Farkle – We love this dice game. It is simple and easy and we have been playing it with the kids for a few years now. We also play this on adult game nights with friends!
Disney Cranium – Chris and I aren’t as in love with this game as our kids are, but it’s still pretty fun. We play on teams and it’s a fun game when the kids have lots of energy, but we’re trying to wind down for the night.
That’s what’s keeping us entertained lately. What about you? What games should we try next???
11 Comments
Erin
We love games round these here parts. I have a 4- and 10-year old. My 4-year old is slowly starting to play games with us, but mostly, we play after he’s gone to bed. We can’t wait for him to be able to join in. Here are some games we love:
>Enchanted Forest
>Labyrinth
>Sleeping Queens
>Dragonwood
>Forbidden Island
>Skip-bo
>Pass the Pigs
>Zombie Run
>Cover Your Assets (a new favorite!)
Lauren
Oh! We LOVE Ticket to Ride! Others we’ve taught our 10 year old are Gin and Rummy. Cards, not board games, but we love them! And Phase 10!
Erin
We love games too! My kiddos are 8 and 11. Our faves are Dutch Blitz, Five Crowns, Ticket to Ride, Quixx, Labyrinth, and Sushi Go.
Jenn
Enchanted Forest and Sorry! are two favorites on our house.
Chanon
Another vote for Ticket to Ride! Some others we’ve enjoyed lately is SushiGo, Blockus and Sequence. We have some Canadian friends who introduced us to Pegs and Jokers (or Jokers and Marbles) and we liked it so much we made our own set for our house.
Brad
Some of our favs:
Hare and Tortoise
Love Letter
Sushi Go
Melisss
My kids are 6, 8, 10, and 13. We were introduced to SET this school year – the kids love it and are probably better at it than me.
Beth Millett
Thanks for this! You introduced us to Farkle years ago and it’s become a favorite for us! Just ordered Ticket to Ride and Carcassonne to add to our collection.
Another we recently discovered and love is Leaps and Ledges.
Brigitte
all the iterations of Fluxx. We have been playing that since ours was 8 or so and it’s super fun (my favorite is Batman fluxx)
Carrie
My daughter is fourteen and LOVES board games!! Some of her favorites that we play a lot are Monopoly, Clue, Sorry, Yahtzee and Scrabble.
andrea
Carcassonne is one of our favorites too! I bet you all would enjoy Dragonwood and Splendor