10 Family Games You Can Play At Home
With a temporary shutdown of the entire United States, there doesn’t seem to be much of anything going in the near future. Basically everywhere we enjoy going — movie theaters, sit-down restaurants, bars, clubs, parties, malls, gyms, salons, barber shops, school, sporting evens and casinos — have closed their doors to the public until further notice, urging the majority of the country to quarantine at home for the next few weeks.
While this time of social distancing keeps us all from being around our friends and away from our favorite social settings, we do get to spend more time with our families. Like the good old days, families reunited under one roof again can share dinnertime stories and prank one another again. Families can also bring back the classic family game night, and with stay at home orders places in many states across the country, these nights might be a common theme for the next handful of days. If boredom ever strikes in your household and your family is looking for some entertainment and competition, here are 10 family games you can play right at home!
1. Twister
As if the quarantine wasn’t already making you close enough to your family.
One of the funnier family games you can play at home is Twister.
With your shoes off, you’ll want to stand on any two dots on the mat. The appointed referee will flick the spinner, and one player at a time (or each player to add to the madness) will reach their left hand, right hand, left foot or right foot to the color the needle lands on. Each player will continue on until their knee or elbow touch the mat, or until they fall over. The last player standing wins!
2. Go Fish
“Do you have any…?”
Go Fish is a classic card matching game that you can play with up to three others family members.
Using a standard deck of cards, each player is dealt 5 cards (or 7 each if its a one-on-one) and the player to the left of the dealer plays first. This player can ask anybody in the game if they have a specific card (for example, you may ask if they have any threes, or queens). If they have they have any cards of that number, they must hand all of them over, and the player can ask anybody if they have a specific card. If a player say’s “go fish,” the asking player must draw a card from the remaining deck. Once a player collects four of the same numbered card, or four-of-a-kind, that player stacks them face down and earns a point. The objective of this game is to make the most four-of-a-kind pairings!
3. Monopoly
One of the all-time classic board and family games, Monopoly is a game the whole family can play during the quarantine!
Monopoly is all about owning properties, managing money, having some lucky rolls and staying the heck out of jail. Up to eight players, one of which playing as the banker, can jump into this game. Each player starts the game with about $1500 and gets to choose their own piece to move around the board for the game.
Monopoly has a long list of rules to follow, but here are a few simple ones:
- A player is allowed to buy an unowned property if they land on it. If a player lands on a property already owned, they are forced to pay the owner rent.
- Once a player makes a full lap around the board, they receive $200 for passing the starting point, or the “GO” square.
- If a player rolls doubles three times in a row, they go directly to jail. They can break their way out by rolling doubles again, using a get out of jail free card, or paying a $50 bond
- A player can only buy houses if they own all the properties of the same color, and can only buy hotels once all of these properties have four houses each.
Take on your family and monopolize the board!
4. Trouble
This is one of the more “troubling” family games on the list.
Trouble is a four-player game with a single, pop-o-matic die that pits each player against each other on a mission to get all four of their pegs to the finish line first.
To start, each player pops the dice button, and the highest rolling player starts the game and play continues clockwise. In order to move a player from the home space, you must roll a 6 on the die, and as the game continues, rolling a 6 also allows you to roll again. Players move their pegs the amount of spaces shown on the die. If you land on another person’s peg, you take their spot and their troubled peg all the way home.
When a player rolls their way into the four slot finish zone, that peg is safe for the rest of the game, but pegs following behind it can only get into the safe zone by rolling an exact number in order to fit your pegs in line.
Race your family to the finish line and avoid getting into trouble!
5. Hide And Seek
One of the most well-known games out there can be an enjoyable one for your siblings during social distancing!
Hide and Seek is a really simple and pretty self explanatory game. One person is designated as the seeker and counts to a set number with their eyes closed while everybody else hides in or around the house, depending on your own rules. When time is up, the seeker will yell “ready or not, here I come!” and the hunt is on! The first person found can be made the next seeker, the last person found is deemed the winner, and the next round can begin!
6. Trivial Pursuit: Family Edition
One of the best family games to test your smarts, Trivial Pursuit: Family Edition is a great game to challenge your parents in!
Each player’s goal is to answer a question of each category (art & literature, science & nature, sports & leisure, geography, entertainment, and history) to earn a slice for their pie playing piece. Rolling a single die, you’ll move your playing piece around the board by the number rolled and if you land on the colored space you land on will determine the category of your question. You can keep rolling as long as you get each of your questions correct, but as soon as you get one wrong, your turn ends and the next person rolls. The first player to earn all 6 slices, return to the center of the board and answer their final question wins the game!
Win in Trivial Pursuit and show everybody who’s the smartest in the house!
7. Sorry!
Don’t apologize for taking a dub in this one!
Sorry! is a similar board game to Trouble, except pegs are replaced with pawns and a pop-o-matic die is switched out for a deck of cards.
Like Trouble, the game of Sorry! requires players to start all four pawns in a home space, and they can only put a pawn into play by drawing a 1, 2, or Sorry! card. Each numbered card has its own command or rule for the player who draws it to follow. If you draw one of these cards, here are the special rules that come with them:
- 4 – move backwards the amount of shown
- 7 – move one pawn forward the amount shown or split the amount between two pawns
- 10 – move one pawn forward the amount shown or move backward one space
- 11 – move forward the amount shown or change places with another player’s pawn in play
- Sorry! – this card allows you to take a pawn from home and switch it with another player’s pawn in play. The opponents pawn is sent all the way home!
Duel your family in the game of Sorry! and may the luck of the draw be in your favor!
8. Team Jenga
Team up with a sibling against your parents in a blockbuster battle!
Jenga is another one of the ultra competitive family games you can play at home, and be funner playing with a member of your family on your team.
The object of this game is to be the team that doesn’t allow the tower to topple. One player at a time will remove a block from the body of the tower and stack it on top. Players will alternate turns until the blocks come crashing down, and the person who causes the tower to fall must clean up the mess and set up the next game.
Play with the traditional mini Jenga blocks or take on the taller task of playing with the jumbo blocks!
9. Uno
Uno is a game that has its own set of rules, but the fun of this game (like most games before it on this list) is that you can add your own family twist to the mix!
Playing with anywhere from two to ten players, each competitor will aim to be the first to get rid of all of their playing cards.
The general rules are to play either a matching color card to the face up card or a matching number or symbol card of any color.
Play by the regular rules or jazz up the game a little by stacking cards with the same symbol or number value. Stacking draw 2s and 4s will really crush the hopes of your family member!
10. Pie Face
Will you be able to dodge the epic pie throw?
The messiest of all the family games on this list, Pie Face is not a game of skill, smarts or luck, but instead a game of chance that the entire family can join in on!
For some real fun, load the catapulting hand with whip cream to get the game started. Each member of the family (starting with the youngest) will then take turns flicking a spinner, and the number it lands on is the amount of times the lever must be cranked. Put your face up to the plastic mask and wish yourself good luck!
Being at home with your family is a blessing, and while being quarantined for the next few weeks may get boring at times, it is important to stay home and stay safe from the virus making its way around the world. If there’s ever a dull moment during your home isolation, or any other time you’re with the family, try any one of these 10 awesome family oriented games and get family game night started!
