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My Game Night Go-To’s | Board Games That Never Collect Dust
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items Looking to level up your game nights? This list includes my personal favorite board games, perfect for families, word nerds, competitive thinkers, and late-night adult sessions. Each category is packed with gems that offer something different, from f...
Sections
5
Family Game Night Favorites
Word Games
Strategy & Logic Picks
Grown-Up Game Night (18+)
Expansions
Family Game Night Favorites
Wholesome fun, big laughs, and just enough strategy to keep everyone engaged, these are the games we reach for on cozy nights with family or laid-back weekends with friends of all ages. Great for mixed age groups and casual gamers alike!
Part card game, part strategy, Sequence challenges players to form five-in-a-row with chips on a game board by matching the card they play. It’s simple enough for younger players to understand but has just enough depth for adults to stay competitive.
Sequence | Classic Strategy Meets Card Play in a Race to Five-in-a-Row
Become the mayor of your own town! Roll dice, collect income, and construct landmarks to expand your city. Machi Koro combines light engine-building with charm and accessibility, making it a perfect family hit.
Machi Koro: Ultimate City-Building Dice Game
Build your zoo, manage animals, and compete for the best exhibits! With colorful components and cute animal tokens, Zooloretto is easy to learn but includes clever tactical decisions that keep players coming back.
Zooloretto - Award-Winning Zoo Building Game
One player is a ghost giving visions through dreamlike cards, and the others are psychic investigators solving a murder. It’s Clue meets Dixit with a spooky twist and a ton of cooperative storytelling energy. You can even mix in Dixit cards!
Mysterium: Cooperative Murder Mystery Game
A twist on classic dominoes where everyone’s building off the same train hub. Easy to learn, endlessly satisfying, and great for casual conversation as you play.
Mexican Train Domino Game - Addictive & Strategic
Each round, players pick a surreal illustrated card to match a story clue—and then try to guess which one is correct. It’s imaginative, whimsical, and deeply replayable for kids and adults alike.
Dixit: Dreamy Storytelling Card Game
Word Games
For the pun-loving, dictionary-devouring players who can’t resist a clever clue or a triple-word score, these word games challenge your language skills and tickle your inner bookworm.
A word association game with a secret identity twist, Codenames is a party staple. It challenges players to give and interpret clever clues to identify hidden agents before the other team does.
Codenames - Top Word & Spy Game for Families
Race the clock to get your team to guess the word on your card—but without saying the forbidden clues. Taboo is loud, hilarious, and perfect for families who love high-energy party games.
Taboo - Hilarious Party Game, Avoid Wrong Words
Shake the cube and race the timer! Boggle is a fast-paced word search game that’s surprisingly intense for how quick it plays. Ideal for 2+ players and perfect for travel.
Boggle - Rapid Word Search Game
A super-sized version of the classic, Big Boggle adds more letters and more time for wordsmiths who want an extra challenge. It’s great for solo play or small groups.
Big Boggle Supersized Word Game Classic
The quintessential word game. Build words crossword-style, score big with tricky tiles, and make your vocabulary shine. Scrabble is as classic as it gets and never goes out of style.
Scrabble Timeless Crossword Tile Game
Is your fake definition believable? In Balderdash, players invent plausible-sounding answers to obscure words and try to bluff others into picking them. It’s like Dictionary meets improv.
Balderdash - Hilarious Bluffing Game
Strategy & Logic Picks
These are the games for thinkers and planners, ideal if you enjoy building engines, outwitting opponents, or sinking into a good game with a satisfying arc.
Gather resources, build settlements, and negotiate your way to victory. Catan is the gateway to modern strategy board gaming and offers endless replayability with trades and tactics.
Settlers of Catan | Iconic Resource Game
A sleek, elegant game of collecting gems to purchase development cards and attract nobles. It’s quick to learn but requires careful planning to chain combos and outpace your rivals.
Splendor | Sleek Addictive Gem Strategy Game
Create creatures, adapt them for survival, and evolve to outwit predators and changing ecosystems. Evolution is an engaging blend of science and strategy with stunning artwork.
Evolution: Build Your Own Species Game
Move the shifting maze to reach hidden treasures before your opponents. It’s a mind-bending spatial puzzle with a magical theme and perfect for logic lovers. I have the old version, and trust me, it's way prettier, but the gameplay is the same and is...
Master Labyrinth: Magical Maze Strategy Game
Connect cities, collect train routes, and build the most impressive railway network across the map. It’s strategic without being overwhelming and ideal for newcomers to board games.
Ticket to Ride - Beloved Train Adventure Game
A rummy-style tile game where players build number runs and sets, rearranging the board to fit their tiles. It’s mathy, fast-paced, and surprisingly cutthroat in the best way. And this one welcomes 6 players!
Rummikub Classic Number Tile Game
Grown-Up Game Night (18+)
These games are definitely not for the kids. Whether you’re laughing over raunchy prompts or spilling secrets, this section is for adults-only fun, with a healthy dose of humor and chaos.
A spicy mix of dares, questions, and challenges designed to bring out everyone’s bold side. Great for girls’ nights, bachelorette parties, or when you just want to be ridiculous together.
For the Girls | Spicy Party Game of Dares
The infamous party game where players compete to create the most outrageous (and often wildly inappropriate) combinations. It’s hilarious, deeply offensive, and completely unforgettable.
Cards Against Humanity - Wildly Inappropriate Game
Expansions
Already own some of the games on this list? These expansions are must-haves for bringing new life to the games you love. Whether you want to invite more players, add wild new mechanics, or spice up the artwork and themes, these add-ons will keep your...
This beloved expansion adds ships, exploration, and water-based routes to the original game. Seafarers lets you discover new islands, build sea routes, and explore richer strategies that bring a whole new layer of depth to Catan.
Catan: Seafarers Expansion - Explore Seas
Let even more friends join the settlement race with this official 5–6 player expansion. It adjusts gameplay for a larger group while maintaining the balance and challenge of classic Catan.
Catan 5-6 Player Extension - More Friends!
Each Dixit expansion introduces 84 new gorgeously illustrated cards that seamlessly mix into your original game. Whether it’s the dreamy whimsy of Daydreams or the deep imagery of Harmonies, these decks keep the storytelling fresh, making every round...
Dixit: Memories Expansion - New Cards
Each Dixit expansion introduces 84 new gorgeously illustrated cards that seamlessly mix into your original game. Whether it’s the dreamy whimsy of Daydreams or the deep imagery of Harmonies, these decks keep the storytelling fresh, making every round...
Dixit: Quest Expansion - Surreal Art Add-On
Each Dixit expansion introduces 84 new gorgeously illustrated cards that seamlessly mix into your original game. Whether it’s the dreamy whimsy of Daydreams or the deep imagery of Harmonies, these decks keep the storytelling fresh, making every round...
Dixit: Daydreams Expansion - 84 New Cards
Each Dixit expansion introduces 84 new gorgeously illustrated cards that seamlessly mix into your original game. Whether it’s the dreamy whimsy of Daydreams or the deep imagery of Harmonies, these decks keep the storytelling fresh, making every round...
Dixit: Odyssey Expansion - Up to 12 Players
This expansion introduces new vision cards, characters, locations, and objects to the base game, allowing for more variety and replayability. Perfect for those who’ve memorized the base set and want to keep the chills going.
Mysterium: Hidden Signs Expansion - New Visions & Suspects
Replace object cards with motive cards to add a new narrative element. Combined with fresh vision art and characters, this expansion deepens the storytelling aspect of the game and spices up deduction.
Secrets & Lies Expansion - Add Motives
Each expansion adds dozens (or hundreds) of cards, whether you’re refreshing your old deck or pushing the comedy envelope even further.
Cards Against Humanity: Everything Box
Each expansion adds dozens (or hundreds) of cards, whether you’re refreshing your old deck or pushing the comedy envelope even further.
Cards Against Humanity: Absurd Box Expansion
This expansion introduces four different mini-expansions in one box—Cities, Trading Posts, Strongholds, and The Orient—each with new rules that can be mixed and matched. A must-have for Splendor lovers who want even more variation.
Splendor: Cities of Splendor Expansion 4-in-1