A Screen-Free Weekend Night: Picking Board Games for the Whole Family

Family board games are a simple way to put the phones down and spend an evening together. Saturday night, the family is in the living room. Dad is on his phone, Mom is on hers, the kids are on a tablet. Close together and nobody talking. Many families try a “no phones” rule and it fails, because once the screens are down nobody knows what to do instead.

Board games are an easy place to start. Pick the wrong one, though, and it gets played once and goes into the cupboard.

What to check on the box

Number of players. Every box says it, for example “2–6 players.” For a family of four, choose a game that plays well with four, not one where four is the maximum.

Time per game. For a first try, pick something that takes 15 to 30 minutes. Two-hour games are for when everyone already enjoys playing.

Age. Go by the youngest player. Too hard and the kids get bored. Too easy and the adults get bored, so look for games with some luck in them so everyone has a chance to win.

Easy types of games to start with

• Speed and reflex games: short, loud rounds that young kids love.
• Word guessing, drawing and charades: work for big groups and need no strategy.
• Cooperative games: the whole family wins or loses together against the game. Good for kids who cry when they lose.
• Simple card games: compact and easy to take on trips.

Monopoly, ludo or a regular deck of cards you already own count too. You do not need to buy anything new to start. Pick family board games everyone can handle and they will ask to play again. Family board games do not need to be expensive, just a good fit. One box of family board games can last for many weekend nights.

Keeping game night from turning into an argument

• One person reads the rules beforehand and explains them in five minutes. Play a practice round.
• Set an end time at the start, for example 9 p.m.
• Put all phones in one place, away from the table.
• Adults should not play all-out to beat the kids, but do not let them win too obviously either.

One night a week is enough. Do it a few times and the kids will start asking “what are we playing tonight?”

This weekend, try one of these family board games together. Learn more about board games, or read our tips for a movie night at home.