Get Unplugged: 25+ Games to Play

Also Read: 30+ Ideas for Your Elf on the Shelf

This winter, get unplugged! Drop the devices and try one of these fun family games on a chilly weekend night.

• • • • • • • • • THE CLASSICS • • • • • • • • •
Let’s start with the classics: games that should be on every family’s shelves…

Hi – Ho! Cherry – O
Be the first to pick your trees clean and fill your bucket with cherries. This simple game is easy enough for young children to play and learn a little math as they go along.

Chutes and Ladders
It came out in 1978 and they’ve even made 1978 Retro version that features the original artwork. Perfect for kids even as little as 3, players spin the spinner and move along the numbered path climbing and slides down the ladders as they pop up.
Operation
Perfect their fine motor skills as they wield the tweezers carefully plucking organs from their patients. Touch the sides, a get startled by a “buzz!”

Hungry Hungry Hippos
Kids always seem to squeal with delight as they make their hippos gobble up as many marbles as they can. The faster they press their tails, the more marbles they can chomp!

Gone Fishing
Kids can practice their hand-eye coordination in this original classic! As the game board spins, the fish open and close their mouths and players use their mini fishing poles to try to catch the most fish.

Candy Land
Another game that has been around forever but that my kids still beg to play: Candy Land. Simple enough for your littlest family members. Great for ages 3 and up. They might also like the Candy Land Disney Princess version.

The Game of Life
Players choose their path in life from whether or not to go to college to what kind of house to live in. We all love living vicariously through this game!We like the classic version but there’s also Life’s electronic banking version.

Ants in Your Pants, Cootie & Don’t Spill the Beans
I bet you grew up playing all of these from the time you were 3. They’re simple, fun games that little children love: Ants in the Pants, Cootie, and Don’t Spill the Beans. Get all three

Connect 4
When you only have 2 players and a limited amount of time, Connect 4 is perfect. Line up 4 discs in a row on the grid and you win. It’s simple, fast, and fun.

Monopoly Game: Ultimate Banking Edition
What’s not to like about getting a credit card with $14 million+ on it to start out the game? Plus there are fun editions like Monopoly Game: Star Wars for Star Wars fans or Disney Monopoly Castle and the Disney Princess Edition.

Little ones will love the Disney princess version of Monopoly.

Perfection
Time is ticking! If you need something to entertain kids for only a few minutes at a time, perfection is perfect! Children will work on skills that help with focus, hand-eye coordination, and shape recognition.

Clue Game
An oldy but a goody. Discover whodunit, with what and where. Your kids might also like a version of Clue with their favorite movie characters like the Clue Game: Star Wars Edition and Clue Harry Potter Board Game. Surprise Grandma with A Golden Girls Version of Clue.

You Sank My Battleship!
I can still hear the kid on the commercial saying “Hey, you sank my battleship!” Go to war with your opponent to win or lose epic battles. Battleship is a great game for strategic thinkers as they carefully plan out each move. There’s also a Star Wars Edition.

Trivial Pursuit
With over 1,400 questions, you’re bound to be stumped and learn something new. Play individually or in teams. When playing with a family, pair up adults and kids as you discover who knew the most about Geography, Entertainment, History, Sports and Leisure, Arts and Literature, and Science and Nature.Play the the classic version or get the Family Edition for ages 8 and up.

LifeStories; a Fun Game of Telling Tales & Sharing
My parents pulled this out last Christmas and we all enjoyed hearing people’s favorite memories and stories. It allows you to start top conversations, take a walk down memory lane and maybe make some new discoveries about each person in your family.LifeStories.

UNO Card
We played it as kids and Uno is still a favorite all these years later! race to get rid of all their cards by matching color or number.

Rummikub
We played this all summer and recently brought it on vacation. It’s a fun family game where you use the tiles to create sets and runs of numbers. You can play off each other tiles as your try to be the first one to get rid of all your tiles.

13-in-1 Game Table
Keep your kids entertained for hours with 13 games in one compact game table includes basketball, table tennis, billiards, push hockey, launch football and baseball, tic-tac-toe and skee bean bag toss. Triumph 13-in-1 Combo Game Table, $152

• • • • • • • • • AND A FEW NEWER GAMES • • • • • • • • •
Here are a few games that weren’t around when I was a kid that my own kids have introduced me to…

Watch Ya’ Mouth
This is one of the funniest family games I have ever played and there’s an adult version. Place an oversized mouth piece in their mouths that prevent them from understood and have to read a phrase off of a card. Teammates guess what they are saying. Imagine your someonetrying to say “Warm Beef Meatballs” while wearing a big cheek retracting mouth pieces. It’s hysterical. The Adult version of Watch Ya Mouth that its on my wish list!

We Didn’t Playtest This at All
This is one of the strangest games we’ve ever played. it could last 30 seconds…or 30 minutes. It’s totally random, chaotic, fast-moving, unpredictable and zany. The goal is to win…and to make you opponents lose as you choose cards with odd tasks and rules and play them. One card might involve a game of “rock paper scissors” while another vreates confusing rules that you must follow while you play…like never using the words “I, you or they.” Any number can play from 2 and 15.

Pie Face
I wish the kids liked this a little less because I’m always the one that ends up with pie in my face. Players load the arm with whipped cream and take turns sliding their heads through the mask and spinning the spinner. There are always tons of laughs when someone ends up with a face full of whipped cream!

Tenzi Dice Game
You can throw this in your purse and take this game anywhere. Our family loves to play at the beach because there’s nothing that blows away. There are tons of ways to play and games go quickly.

Phone Phever
If you can’t get them off their phones, at least let them use to interact with you! Players use their wits and smartphone skills in a frantic race to answer fascinating questions and complete hilarious challenges. $29

Rubiks Race
Shake it! Slide it! Solve it! Competitive Rubik’s Race from University Games is a head-to-head puzzle challenge. Be the first to match the pattern on the scrambler and shut the frame on this fast-paced game.

Space Faces
This is the best game to have when you have kids of different ages. Kids as young as 3 or 4 can participate. The concept is simply to find the alien that matches up with the colors showing on the spaceship. It has been a fam fave in my house for years.

Exploding Kittens: A Card Game About Kittens and Explosions…and Sometimes Goats
A very funny card game for people who are into kittens, explosions, laser beams and sometimes goats. Kids love this game because it uses words like “butt” and has fabulous, silly illustrations. It’s the most-backed project in Kickstarter history!

Bears vs Babies
The crazy, furry box alone made me want to buy this. From the people who brought you Exploding Kittens, comes a card game where you build monsters who eat, well, babies. Whoever eats the most babies wins. $29

Cranium Whoonu (Tin)
Rounds go fairly quick, allowing players to easily pop up for a moment.

Apples to Apples
This game always gets laughs and isn’t competitive. Pick the best card you have to fit the topic headers.
Sometimes the results can be very silly.

5 Second Rule
You’ll be surprised what people say when they only have 5 seconds to pick a card, read a topic, and name 3 things that fit the topic. It sounds easy but it really can be tough–and silly. When players get tongue-tied, funny, ridiculous answers come flying out of their mouths!

Ticket To RideTicket to Ride is based on all the train routes in Europe and you actually build routes. Start with the European board game and then move on to the American rail version.

Headbanz Electronic Party Edition
This always gets lots of laughs. One person wears a headband with a word on it and
they ask questions to figure out what the word is. There’s also a Grown-Ups Only
version: Spin Master Games – Hedbanz No Limits

Brain Fitness Pathwords Game
We love Pathwords because we can play by ourselves or as a team. No competition required, which is sometimes nice in a family. We are all working together toward the same goal. Also, we get to select the difficulty level, making it fun for everyone.

Pictionary
My kids NEVER tire of Pictionary and the Junior edition makes possible for even my youngest to play.

Guesstures
You’ll love watching everyone “perform” during this high-speed charades game.

What’s Yours Like? – The Game That Tells it Like it Is
Pick a card, and all players–except for one–get to see what the guess word is. For example, it could be “swimsuit.” Then everyone describes the word and the one player has to see if they can figure out the guess word! For example, it could be swimsuit: “Mine is tiny” “Mine has strings” or “Mine gets wet” and so on!

Would You Rather? Boardgame
Would you rather use hot sauce for eye drops, or Krazy Glue for hair gel? Choose which dilemma you’d rather put yourself in. The categories range from Curses, Unpleasant, Fantasy, Powers, to Pot Luck.

Bananagrams
We love that you can take this game pretty much anywhere. It’s like a portable scrabble game.

Scattergories Game
This is a fast-paced game so if you’re feeling listless, it’s not for you.Players roll the letter die, flip the sand timer, and race against the clock to come up with answers to each category on the category list. You score points for writing down answers that no one else did.

Qwirkle
Here’s a good one for a wide range of ages, from children to adults. Build lines by matching tiles based on either color or shape, and score points for doing so. Qwirkle,, $18

Liebrary
This is a good brainy game. Players have to rewrite first lines of various books and others have to guess which is the actual line. One player serves as the “librarian” and collects the various creative lines but the position keeps rotating, so everyone gets to try their literary skills.