Board / tabletop games that don't require language?

[monsterastuckiosa]

I live in Spain, and have a DP and DSS (16). DP speaks fluent English, I speak decent Spanish, DSS is doing an amazing job between school and hanging out with us at learning English, although he's not fluent yet.

DSS has a lovely girlfriend he's been with for a year or so, and she's like part of the family – spends a lot of time with us as her (single) mother works 3 jobs and is out of the house a LOT. She hardly speaks English at all.

My dad (who speaks very little Spanish) is coming out to visit for a couple of weeks in September, and so we're probably going to have a few days or evenings where it's all 5 of us together – and I'd love to find some games we can play after dinner / around the pool to help my dad and DSS's GF feel connected and relaxed, and have a giggle together... but they need to be easy to play with people who don't speak the same language!

We have which is perfect because it's so physically-focused, and Taco Gato Cabra Queso Pizza, which is great because it only involves 5 words, but I'm looking for more options...

Any games enthusiasts with good ideas?

Uno is pretty well known all over the world and easy to play without a common language.

Labyrinth!! Great for all ages and abilities

www.craftyarts.co.uk/labyrinth-the-moving-maze-game-p12216/s23535?cid=GBP&glCurrency=GBP&glCountry=GB&msclkid=ed6692cbd9d311725655f023f54c2564&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=%5BVS%5D%20-%20UK%20-%20Shopping%20-%20All%20Products&utm_term=4582008561076154&utm_content=All%20Products

Dobble
Toru
Yahtzee

Pairs or snap would be an easy warm-up game

Magic the gathering card game. Very easy to understand the basics and many starter decks and a product called party night for magic the gathering

Azul Summer Pavillion is a great game and I don’t think you’d need to speak at all to play, it’s all on where you put your coloured tiles. A great game that’s a bit different

I would recommend Dixit and Spanish pirate game Cartegena. Carcassonne is pretty great too.

Azul.
Splendor
Jigsaws?

Rummikub
Kerplunk

Another vote for labyrinth, everyone loves it!

Othello
Chess
Draughts
Backgammon
Cribbage (although it needs a pack of cards too, but they are quite visual)
Snakes and ladders
Ludo aka Frustration
We have Cat Bingo, but there are other variations around
Jenga
Jackstraws

Tsuro - board game, easy, but addictive.
Shithead - card game, might need the rules explaining but no talking required once you know what to do
Dutch Blitz - card game, you do need a deck per player though.
Irish snap - cards, you just need to know numbers and Jack, Queen, King in both languages

Uno
Things like poker dice?
Yahtzee ? Not sure on spelling
Maybe some games with actual decks of cards like snap, Irish snap, or blackjack, or even poker?
Old fashioned games like snakes and ladders?
Connect4?
Physical games like kerplunk?

Halli Galli - great fast paced matching / adding card game with a bell in the middle which makes it very competitive but funny

Wowee, look at all of you go! This is amazing - thank you so much!

Disappears down a Google rabbithole...

Magic the gathering card game. Very easy to understand the basics and many starter decks and a product called party night for magic the gathering

I think you all need to be fluent in the same language for MTG as you have to tell everyone the moves you're intending to make. Plus the descriptions on the cards about its properties are all in English.

I thought that MTG was an odd suggestion too.

Sushi Go Party might be worth a shot.

Qwirkle?

Hungry hungry Hippos

Ticket to ride

Magic Maze, you have to be completely silent, but master the art of conveying you need to move the bloody pawn to your team mate with your eyes

Each person can move any pawn in one direction as detailed on the card they are dealt and may have other abilities such as use the escalators. Everyone collectively works moving the pawns to different tiles. See the video below for an easy explanation.

Don't do Dooble or dixit- I have tried both with groups of mixed English language abilities and found they fail because the fluent speakers have a big advantage.

Labyrinth is great and also karuba and caracassone. They are fun for all ages and abilities and languages.

Connect 4 Launchers
Much, much more fun than the original and works really well as a tournament-style family game

I'd reccomend dobble.

Games that could work as long as you download instructions in Spanish off the Internet 7 wonders could easily be played with little language needed, my city and Istanbul the dice game I think could work.

Pandemic is amazing game and as long as they can read place names and can explain instructions or download them in Spanish you should be good. The only reading you need is the role cards but they are explained in the instructions and assume you can get those easily translated (I found them with a quick Google)

Ticket to ride is brilliant and you don’t need to speak at all!