Obscure but amazing board games

[SarahJane796]

Please can you recommend some less well-known board games for a family of 5. Youngest is 8.
We already have Sushi Go, King Domino, Patchwork, Rhino Hero, Sequence, plus the usual Monopoly etc.
thanks in advance

Disney’s Villainous! It’s so underrated.

Look at big potato, they have lots to choose from.

Takenoko, the little panda is so bloody cute!

Not exactly a board game but taco cat and exploding kittens both very entertaining

Ticket to ride, absolute classic

Carcassonne also good but might not be great for 8yo, depends how into strategy they are

Teach them how to play cards as well. Small children playing Shithead is awesome. (You would have to re name it to something like Granny's Footsteps or something)

Seconding Carcassonne. Also photosynthesis - might take the 8 year old a little while to get the hang of it, but well worth it (and it's a really pretty game). Both have expansions too

We love Evolution. The box says its for 12 up but I've seen kids of 8 or so enjoy it. We used to take it to home ed meetups and it was a solid hit with all the kids.

Or.....Escape from Atlantis. I adored this game as a kid. It doesn't seem to be on the market anymore but there's loads of second hand copies knocking about on Ebay.

Forbidden Island, Ticket to Ride, Sounds Fishy and for something more energetic .. Taskmaster

Carcassonne and Ticket to Ride are both hugely popular here, as is Blokus, but I've just remembered that it is for four.

We recently bought some expansion packs for Uno which really take the game up a notch. You need an original pack, then mix these in. The tou shop had four different expansions to choose from.

More of a card game but Monikers is absolutely brilliant - daft and funny and just a lovely game which, if you're a close family, will be perfect!

Cockroach poker, Saboteur, Sheriff of Nottingham, King of Tokyo, Dixit, Flash Point and Hanabi

Dungeon mayhem

I saw it first

Settlers of catan, you can get an expansion to make it up to six players

Zombie Kids. It's a collaborative board that evolves, so each time you play you get to open an envelope with new rules or playing pieces. This means your strategy has to evolve as your play pieces get more powerful but so do the zombies.

Skyjo is a great card game.

Forbidden Island and Labyrinth are truly games that work for any are, even 5y. Still my favourites after all our dc have grown up.

Labyrinth and settlers of catan are both very good!

Munchkin is great fun but more of a card game, there are also loads of expansion packs you can get for it

Carcasonne, Ticket to Ride, Settlers of Catan.