Family board games

[TwoBlueFish]

I’d like to buy family gifts this year for my siblings families, what are your recommendations?

Family 1 - 2 adults, boy & girl ages 9 & 13.

Family 2 - 1 adult, 1 boy age 15
Family 3 - 2 adults, boy & girl ages 6 & 9
Family 4 - 2 adults, 1 girl age 9

Budget around £40 per family

Family 1 - try a game like forbidden Island, it's a really fun and it's co-operative rather than competitive which is nice!

Family 3 try Blokus. It's a 4 player game, rules are easy but it takes skill to get really good at it. Doesn't take ages to play so younger child won't lose interest.

Actually it might be better for family 2 as it's super fun even with 2 players and not many board games can say they truly support just 2 players

For the larger family we have a game called Betrayal at House on the Hill which is really good - it takes a while to play through the first game but once you have got the hang of it it's really fun.

I personally also like Ticket to Ride by dp got bored by it quickly

My recommendation for family 1 with the 15 year old boy would be 221b Baker Street. Interesting game, gathering clues on a crime to solve it.

For family 4 with the young girl I would suggest Game of Life. It's an old classic, quite funny with the challenges you have to perform. Can easily be played with 2 players but also with visiting friends.

Other games we love:
Horrible Histories Board Game. All multiple choice so you can win without being a history buff. As you would expect from the TV series, quite a lot of gruesome facts, very funny.

Trivial Pursuit family edition. This is really well thought out with questions for adults and children and doesn't take as long to play as the original edition.

Genius Square from The Happy Puzzle company. This is just for 2 people. Very quick to play and fun.

Another idea for family 2 with the older boy would be a games compendium with chess, backgammon & chequers. One of my DC has a portable one which is very much loved and comes with us on all family holidays.

Abalone - for all.

It reminds me of chess: easy to learn, strategic and tactile. The game depends on the skill of the players. Suits all ages.

Great suggestions so far, will go and look them all up. I remember playing Game of Life but haven’t heard of a lot of the others.