My family game closet has six deep shelves, and each one of them is overflowing with board games. It began years ago when the children were young with Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders and keeps going today with more sophisticated, funny and often unusual games.
Andrea Stetson
The Stetson family game closet brims with games.
Family game night is bonding time. No one is watching television or on their phones. It’s a time to be together, talk, laugh and have fun. We’ve even done many game nights with other families, which allows us to play games that work better in a large group.
There are some board games we love so much we play them all the time, while others are buried so far back on the shelves we probably have not seen them in years. This month we set out to help readers find the greatest games.
Some people go right to the classics.
The Hutcheson family says they play games every Sunday.
“Like it’s our religion,” says Kelly Hutcheson, whose children are ages 11 and 9. “We play Monopoly, Yahtzee, Clue and some others like that. It’s so bonding.”
“Yahtzee or card games,” agrees Sharon Brown, who has three daughters who range in age from 12 to 25. “We love that we are together. I like that I get to spend time with them and they aren’t on their phones. We are always looking for a new family game.”
Children in an after-school program at Veterans Community Park in North Naples say they enjoy playing board games, too. They play at the park and at home with their parents and siblings.
“I used to like Monopoly, but now my favorite is the Game of Life,” says Chloe Giaconetti, 6. “I like it because it has different money.”
“I like Ice Breakers, because you get to break the ice,” adds Colton John, 7.
Rex Darrow, 7, and Logan Tungett, 8, both say chess is their favorite board game.
“It’s challenging,” Logan says.
“I like Uno,” says Urijah Siongco, 10. “It can be challenging when you go up against the right people.”
“Mancala is my favorite,” adds Lily Marshall, 10. “It is kind of difficult.”
Zayden Kihle, 7, says he enjoys Jenga, while Niko Eyre, 7, says his favorite is Twister.
“It can get you flexibility,” Niko explains.
Shannon Darrow, mother of Rex and an 11-year-old daughter, enjoys family game night.
“Monopoly, that’s a classic, and Uno, and we still like Old Maid,” she says. “It’s family time, no TV, no phones. We like that.”
In our home, with its stuffed game closet, the family favorite is Telestrations. It’s like the game of telephone only with picture drawing. The outcome usually leaves us laughing so hard. My son enjoys Quelf, which is another funny game where participants must do what each card states. Ticket to Ride, Lego Creator, Labyrinth, Sorry, Wits &Wagers, Big Bang Theory Trivia Game, Uno Attack, Pente, Mouse Trap and Mr. Mouth also seem to come out of the game closet often for family game night.