Top 11 Board Games

By CJ Tiernan

I love a good game night. Just hanging out at home, gaming with the fam, is one of my very favorite things in the world. I accumulated a list of my 11 favorite games I've ever played. As a disclaimer, the term "board game" is used a little loosely as several of the games on the list do not have "boards." This term is used in part to distinguish them from games that just use a deck of cards, video games, and the games the Backstreet Boys sang about in the song "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)." So whether you play with family, friends, or people you found on Craigslist, get on out there and plays these games!

1. The Crew

3-5 Players

My family and I have gotten pretty addicted to this game. We have sacrificed multiple weekends to playing this one dawn to dusk. I love this game because it is collaborative and everyone is on the same team. This game is trick-taking card-game missions meets outer space. There is also a deep-sea version that functions better for 3 player games. Playing this one takes a little time to get a feel for the strategies but once you get it, it's tough to walk away.

2. Catchphrase

2 Teams

This is a team game. It combines hot-potato with clue-giving (verbal or physical) for a random word or phrase. It is plenty of fun to play as is, especially in larger groups. However, my siblings and I have spent countless hours playing it as more of a travel game, ignoring the hot-potato aspect and the team elements and just trying to get as many answers as possible before the timer runs out. We've played it in a car and on a plane and played many versions including the O.G., the Music Edition, and our favorite: Catchphrase Decades.

3. Uno Attack

2-10 Players

Pictured: Me and two of my brothers playing Uno Attack. Not Pictured: The rage-fueled table flip to come

Uno Attack is the best way I've ever found of turning friends into enemies, short of inflicting a physical wound. I love it. It takes the standard version of Uno you know and hold dear and adds several elements of chaos: a random number of cards when you have to draw, dumping all of a single color from your hand at once, and the ability to switch hands with someone. Oh man, when you have a bunch of cards and take someone's hand when they only have a couple cards, you can smile as you break their soul. The "Attack" is more than apt, but in Germany they call it "Uno Extreme," which is also spot on.

4. The Settlers of Catan

3-4 Players (Can Expand up to 6)

When I first played "Settlers," it was a lot to think about. There were a lot of different strategies and ways to go with it and it was tough to decipher which would be the best. Now, I'm a Development Cards guy (when possible). One of the fun and unique things about this game is that the board is different every time. It is comprised of a slew of small hexagons that create the large hexagonal board. It combines dice rolls with strategy and resource spending in a real fun way. There are also a ton of fun variations and expansions.

5. Outburst

2 Teams

As you may have guessed by the name, in "Outburst" you simply attempt to shout out answers to a trivia prompt. Sometimes, they are really specific names like "US Airports" and other times they are a lot more broad like "What Kids Want to be When They Grow Up." Every time, there are 10 answers on the card. Your answers have to match the card to a get a point. Aw man, is there some heartbreak in this one. You get about a minute to just shout out as many possible answers as you can, but sometimes it can get really quiet. As it says in the instructions, "This Game Is Unfair... MAYBE YOU'VE GOT A GREAT ANSWER... BUT IF IT'S NOT ON THE CARD, DEMS DA BERRIES!"

6. Codenames

2 Teams

"Codenames" is a fun and unique game. You create a grid of 25 randomly drawn word tiles (or pictures, depending on the version you're playing) and each team has one person designated as the "spymaster" who has access to which of the tiles each team claims as their own. The "spymaster" has to provide single-word clues in an attempt to get their team to correctly guess the correct tiles and avoid the opposing team tiles (and the insta-loss tile known as "The Assassin"). It can be a little intense trying to think of the perfect word to get your team to guess the largest number of tiles, but if you think of a good one, it's really gratifying.

7. Apples to Apples

4-10 Players

The stakes are a lot lower in this game. This is what games should be, first and foremost: fun! This is a silly card game where a judge (rotates around the table every round) has to decide which red card best fits the adjective or adverb on the green card. It is a real treat when you get to use cards like "festering wounds" or "picking your nose." This is also another game with several variations (and the genesis for the adult version: Cards Against Humanity).

8. Monopoly

2-6/8 Players

Of all the games that have ever been made, this one may be the most iconic. It also may be the one with the greatest number of different versions (I happen to own over 30 versions myself). I remember playing it against my grandfather when I was young. It is a really fun game with a good amount of strategy mixed with a fair dose of luck. It is also a time investment. I recommend the speed dice they use in competitive tournaments to pare-down the time it takes to play (unless you love losing your whole weekend on a single round of a game like when playing "Risk"). My favorite version I've ever played was the 2000 Millennium Edition. It was so futuristic-looking. Of the O.G. pieces, my go to was always the Top Hat.

9. Clue

3-6 Players

I love the game "Clue!" It is a great murder mystery for kids. There just aren't enough murder mysteries for kids. You get to choose a character in the beginning (my go to was always Mr. Green. Favorite Color Alert!) and then work your way room to room taking a stab at trying to deduce the murder weapon, the murderer, and the room in which the murder took place. Fun fact: when playing the Harry Potter version with my siblings, I once guessed the exact correct combination on my very first guess. My siblings hated it and we never played again.

10. The Game of Life

2-6 Players

"Get lucky...in The Game of Life" was the jingle I remember hearing in ads as a kid. In my experience, that is unlikely. I was never very good at this game, probably because I always went to College and started in debt (that's not gonna hit too close to home in the real game of life for anyone is it?). Nevertheless, this is a fun game and the wheel that you spin in the middle of the board is one of the most satisfying physical parts of any game I've played (unless you spin a 10 when someone is the cop).

11. Trivial Pursuit

2-6 Players

I'm a sucker for some general knowledge trivia. "Trivial Pursuit" is the O.G. Plus, it's a lot of fun to collect those colorful wedges. I may have had this game ranked higher on my list, but I usually only had access to games that were made before I was born, so I felt a bit disadvantaged against the adults I usually played with. The requirement to be able to succeed in a range of different topics was a big draw for me. Recommended for any and all fans of trivia and general knowledge. "Moops!"

Final Thoughts

Game night is dope. Do you play weekly with friends? Every now and then with the fam? My grandma used to just play solitaire all the time with an actual deck of cards before Microsoft invented the digital version (she wore the deck of cards down from the standard rectangular shape to more of an hourglass shape. She also referred to a couch as a davenport, which isn't relevant, but is interesting). I would say these days, I mostly play games when my family gets together around holidays and stuff, but I love to play games. I love so many more games than I was able to squeeze on to this list. A couple variations on Pictionary called Pictionary Man and Telestrations are the ones that just missed my list. I'm sure I left some of your favorites off my list. Please set me straight in the comments section below. Thanks! Happy gaming!