Best Family Games for All Ages: Fun for Kids and Adults
Let’s be real: finding a game that a 7-year-old, a moody teenager, and a grandparent all actually want to play is harder than it looks. Usually, someone ends up bored, or the rules are so complicated that the “fun” part gets lost in translation.
I’ve spent way too much time testing games at family gatherings. Here are my top 5 picks that actually bridge the gap and keep everyone in the room engaged.
1. Spotiguess 🎧
I’m putting this at number one because it solves the biggest family game problem: relevancy. In most trivia games, kids lose because they don’t know who sang what in 1974. In Spotiguess, you choose the music.
- The Experience: High-energy, nostalgic, and totally custom.
- Why it’s cool: You can use the AI feature to generate a quiz specifically for your family—like “Disney Movie Hits” for the kids or ”80s Rock” for the parents. Since there’s no typing (you just shout the answer), even the youngest kids can jump in and win.
- The Downside: You need a phone or a laptop and a Spotify account. If your family has zero musical taste, it might be a long night… but that’s a different problem :)
2. Ticket to Ride
This is the “gold standard” for a reason. It’s a board game where you build train routes across a map.
- The Experience: Chill but competitive.
- Why it’s cool: The rules take about 3 minutes to learn. It’s satisfying to place the little plastic trains, and there’s just enough strategy to keep adults interested without being too mean to the kids.
- The Downside: It can take 45–60 minutes, so make sure you have the snacks ready for the long haul.
3. Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza
Don’t let the name fool you—this card game is pure chaos. It’s basically a high-speed version of “Snap” with specific hand gestures.
- The Experience: Absolute madness and lots of laughter.
- Why it’s cool: It’s tiny, cheap, and anyone can play. You have to say the words in order while flipping cards. If the card matches the word, everyone slaps the deck.
- The Downside: Expect some red hands. Things get physical when people are racing to slap the pile.
4. Codenames: Pictures
While the original Codenames uses words, the Pictures version is much better for families with younger kids who might not have a huge vocabulary yet.
- The Experience: Secret agents meeting for a brain-teaser.
- Why it’s cool: You play in teams. One person (the Spymaster) gives a one-word clue to link multiple pictures on the table. It forces you to think about how your family members’ brains work.
- The Downside: If the Spymaster is too “smart” with their clues, the rest of the team will be totally lost.
5. Herd Mentality
In most games, you want to be original. In Herd Mentality, the goal is to be as “basic” as possible.
- The Experience: Social, funny, and low-stress.
- Why it’s cool: You get a question like “What is the best way to cook an egg?” and you have to write down what you think everyone else will say. If your answer is in the majority, you win points.
- The Downside: If you’re the “odd one out” with a weird answer, you get stuck with the Pink Cow figurine, and you can’t win until someone else is weirder than you.
The Verdict: Which one should you pick?
If you want a game that feels personal and gets everyone singing along, I 100% recommend Spotiguess.
It’s the only game on this list that literally changes every time you play based on what your family listens to. Plus, beating your parents at a “Gen Z Hits” quiz is a feeling you can’t get from a board game.