Top Seven Games You Can Enjoy With Your Friends & Family Over a Long Weekend

Finding something to bring everyone together can be a challenge, but playing board games with friends and family is an excellent way for people of all ages to come together. Whether you are looking for a fast-paced competitive game or a calmly strategic one, there is a board game out there that is perfect for the occasion.

Make Lasting Memories with Board Games

Board games are a great way to bring people together, build relationships, and enjoy quality time with friends and family.

• Board games can provide hours of entertainment while also teaching valuable skills like problem-solving, logical decision-making, and communication.

• The social aspect of board games brings people closer together as they work together as a team or compete against each other in a friendly way.

• Board games can help boost creativity and strategic thinking as players come up with unique solutions to challenges and obstacles.

• Playing board games can reduce stress and anxiety by providing an outlet for frustration and boredom.

• Playing board games helps to create lasting memories that will be fondly remembered for years to come.

Here is a list of seven popular and entertaining board games that you can play with your family and friends next weekend for hours of fun and quality time!

1. Game: Pandemic Legacy

When we take a step back and look at the global health situation, it’s not difficult to see why the name Pandemic Legacy resonates with so many of us. Considered one of the best board games for those who want to understand strategy through imaginative recreation, this game is known across the world. Every player has their role in limiting the spread of four devastating viruses across the globe while working on finding the cure.

But it’s not just a scenario – as more games are played throughout the season, the virus mutates and rules change, cities rise and fall, and new characters and characteristics appear (or disappear). Every session is different due to game modifications which are intended to be permanent and passed on to other sessions, creating an ever-evolving story. Wirecutter explains that with every round, players get increasingly curious (and frightened) to find out what will happen next.

Furthermore, there are three seasons available, inclusive of a Cold War prequel called Season 0. Each campaign can stand alone – although it would be wise to start from Season 1 – making this game immensely enjoyable and always full of surprises.

2. Game: Blockbuster

The Game is one of the best social board games around. This unique movie quiz game is extremely fast-paced and can be surprisingly tough, yet always fair. You don’t need to be a film connoisseur in order to play; it’s simple enough for anyone with just enough wits about them to join the fun. The game begins with a head-to-head competition, where players are prompted with categories like ‘sci-fi films’ and must quickly call out an applicable example.

Whoever wins gets to draw six cards, pick three, and then act them out, quote them, or describe them so their team can guess. The losing player must contend with the remaining three cards, which usually turn out to be more difficult. The dynamism and challenge Blockbuster offers make it an ideal pick for any house party or game night. It’s also an excellent choice due to its ever-changing nature; because you never know what prompts may come up, you can’t simply memorize the answers. Put plainly, this is one of the most exciting adult board games available today.

3. Game: Clue

The Clue is an enthralling mystery game that was brought to life by Anthony Pratt from Birmingham, England, and is currently published by Hasbro. The objective of the game is to discover who murdered the victim—Mr. Boddy—and determining the murder weapon as well as its location. I had lively memories of playing Clue with my friends during my childhood.

Despite modernized versions of Clue existing today, I have a marked preference for the classic version. This game stands out beyond others due to its strong components—board, cards, and weapons—all created from good-quality materials. Therefore, for anyone fond of solving riddles, I highly suggest giving this product a try.

4. Game: Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time is an interactive storytelling card game that provides players with an opportunity to explore creativity and collaborate with their friends. With specially designed cards, each person gets the chance to craft a unique story that transitions from one narrator to another.

The goal is to create an amusing narrative by building off the cards’ plot points and ending. By expressing words and ideas in new ways, players come together for an entertaining experience and put their minds to work on a definition-expanding adventure. The instructions as well as the detailed list of cards are publicly available on Atlas Games’ website.

Fans have even gone a step further, creating their own version of Once Upon a Time with personalized card content! If you’re looking to have some fun while mastering your language, grab some friends and see where the story takes you.

5. Game: Star Wars- Outer Rim

Get ready to experience a thrilling ride of adventure, strategy, and intrigue with Outer Rim, a game set in the original Star Wars trilogy era where players take on the role of a smuggler, scoundrel, or bounty hunter. Characters like Lando Calrissian, Boba Fett, Jyn Erso, and Doctor Aphra from the comics offer special abilities to provide different playing styles.

It’s an easy yet well-balanced game that allows you to gain Fame points – not by zero-sum resource competition but rather by helping others – through collecting bounties, delivering illegal cargo, and so forth. Players start out with a basic starter ship and can upgrade their gear by earning money from jobs or replacing their starter ship with the Millennium Falcon, Slave I, or other vessels.

Each turn typically involves moving between planets, buying upgrades, and then undertaking jobs that require skillful rolls of the dice to succeed. The goal is to reach 10 Fame Points before your opponents but if you’re tight on time, the player who has the most points at the end wins. Crack open this box and join in on the intergalactic fun.

6. Game: Scrabble

For those that are looking for a fun and rewarding game to play, Scrabble is perfect. Assemble an arsenal of letters on the playing board and arrange them into words in order to earn points. Create further opportunities with special tiles on the board that award extra points, and ultimately compete against your opponent(s) to come out crowned victorious.

You don’t even need to know a lot of words beforehand; most people just play with the dictionaries at hand. Practice a few rounds and you’ll begin to recognize English words from letter combinations you previously wouldn’t have noticed before.

For example, spotting the letters L, E, E, and R – does Leer ring any bells? Check the dictionary and you’ll find out it means ‘to stare at someone in an unpleasant way’. Lastly, Scrabble doesn’t require big gatherings of people; it’s an ideal game for two!

7. Game: Ticket to Ride

Ticket to Ride is a great choice for those seeking a relaxing and enjoyable game that the whole family can enjoy. Despite its lack of intensity, this railway-themed game cleverly incorporates an element of strategy, offering a perfect balance between fun and light tactical challenge.

It’s often seen as a classic board game, even for those who are familiar with Scrabble but it is not overly competitive by nature. Unlike many other entries on this list, there is much less focus on getting one up on each other and more emphasis on providing alternate paths to success. This makes Ticket to Ride an ideal candidate for times when tempers around the table may be running high.

Summarizing

Spending time together playing board games can be incredibly rewarding. Not only does it provide an opportunity for some quality family time, but it’s also a great way to blow off steam and have some fun! Whether you’re looking for more strategy or something more lighthearted, there’s bound to be a game from this list that will suit your family’s tastes and interests. So, what are you waiting for? Grab some friends and family, choose one (or several!) of these popular board games, and prepare for some enjoyable weekend entertainment.