The good news is that from the time of your childhood with a lot of constant lotto, checkers, chess and a card fool, a lot of relevant, exciting burst into our life board games  - for every taste.

N table game is a universal entertainment, because it works in any weather conditions. What is a modern family board game? This is a game that will be equally interesting to both parents and children, while its rules are simple and clear to the child.

What can adults and children compete on an equal footing with?

Of course, in dice rolls in the game Monopoly!

One of the oldest family board games. The history of its creation dates back to 1934, in the midst of the American Great Depression. Since then, the game, in which players use the dice to move around the playing field, buy real estate and try to ruin competitors, has remained consistently popular among the family audience. And it’s understandable why - throwing a dice does not require great analytical skills, and a child can be lucky along with adults. The bidding process, when the winner is not yet obvious, is really exciting and exciting, and the goal - to collect gaming millions and ruin rivals - seems quite achievable.

The game, of course, has its drawbacks, which is not surprising, based on its venerable age. The first drawback follows from its own advantage - the die does not understand who is a strong player and who is weak. And if this is a plus for entering the game, then for a player who has more than a dozen games behind him, this is already a minus.

The second drawback is tightness. Very often, after the leader has appeared in the game, the remaining players still have the illusion that they have a chance to recoup. And in order to ruin competitors to zero, the leader may need more than one hour of playing time.

From a long game, we turn to very fast games.

Dobble, Lamb, Wild Jungle, Seth, Panic Lab

In games of attentiveness and reaction, children, as a rule, are even more successful than adults. So this type of game is the best suited for joint games in the family. The general meaning is simple - to see something before the others and grab it.

The most popular game in this genre in Ukraine today is undoubtedly Dobble. Round cards with bright drawings in a compact tin box immediately attract attention, and it will be very difficult to tear a child or an adult from the game.

It would seem easier - to find a pair of identical drawings on two cards? Here are just the pictures are bright, multidirectional and just run away from the sight! And around - rivals who can see the right pair before you. The result is a lot of drive, fun and adrenaline.

Dixit

Unique association game mechanics made board game Dixit  one of the most popular in the world. Children without adults will definitely not play this game, but thanks to the original design, psychological component and low conflict, it is great for family leisure, starting from 8-10 years old up to and including grandparents. You have a deck of cards with beautiful surrealistic drawings. The player comes up with an association on one of the cards, and the rest try to guess the mysterious card. In recent years, the game has confidently become No. 1 in Ukraine at parties, family games and psychological trainings.

Alias

Game family Alias  a vivid example of how a popular game for a youth audience migrated to a family format. In Alias, the player draws out a card with words and must very quickly explain to the teammate as many words as possible. An important limitation: you cannot use cognate words and pantomime.

The more words you explain, the further your team moves. Fun, dynamic, and also useful for children. An important caveat - not every Alias \u200b\u200bgame is equally useful for a family evening. Alias \u200b\u200bparty  - definitely not your option. Alias. Say it differently  - Suitable for adults and children from 10 years. Well, and for playing with children 7-8 - a specially created version of the game Alias. Family.

Scrubble / Scrabble

Another game in which we deal with words is the “old man” popular all over the world. Scrubble. A crossword-like game in which players from letters collect words on the playing field and get points for it is interesting for both adults and children. And there is also an additional function - expanding vocabulary.

And what is Scrabble? Yes, the same Scrubble, which in the USSR was released under a different name, so as not to bother with copyright.

Carcassonne

One of the most popular games in the world - Carcassonne. It will definitely not leave parents indifferent and will be clear to the child as early as 8-9 years old. From cardboard squares with different types of terrain (tiles), players spread the whole world.

Tiles are laid out according to the domino principle: the road - to the road, the field - to the field, the city - to the city. Since the player has a lot of options where to lay out the tile, you have to decide where it can be most beneficial for winning points. The game has little conflict - players can’t directly interfere with each other, and therefore has gained popularity as a calm, but at the same time exciting family game. A lot of additions and variations, already created on the basis of Carcassonne and continue to appear, only confirm its relevance.

My funny farm

There is something to brag about in the family format for Ukrainian developers. My funny farm  - This is a few animals for each player that need to be fed. The better you feed your pets, the more points this will bring you at the end of the game. But first you need to purchase seeds, then sow them, then collect the crop and only then give part of the crop for food.

And each move has to be decided which of the available actions to choose right now, not forgetting to look at the neighbors for the troubles on their farm, so that, if possible, they are a little disturbed.

The game is fun and beautifully designed, so it is unlikely to leave your children indifferent. And the process of feeding animals, when an additional part of the body is added to the animal, and it gradually turns from a rabbit to a long taxocroller or from a sheep to a sheep caterpillar, invariably causes a smile.

At the same time, the gameplay is by no means primitive and guaranteed to captivate adult players as well.

Uno, Svintus

If in childhood you played an ordinary card deck in a bridge, then the game Uno  you already know. Yes, this is a special deck for this game. The goal of the game is to discard all cards from a hand by suit or face value. There are various special cards in the game - skipping a course, changing the direction of the course, changing the suit, etc., which not only add variety to the game, but also make you think how to use the cards more efficiently - save for later use or quickly discard to reduce penalty points in end of the party.

A special excitement is not to forget to shout “Uno!” When you discard the penultimate card. If you forget, drag two free kicks from the deck. Elementary, but many forget to do it at a time when the victory is already so close :)

Swintus - A popular option on the theme of Uno. A few changes to the rules made the gameplay more fun and dynamic. It should be borne in mind the "evil pig" design - the basic game Swintus is intended primarily for youth and teenagers. And for playing with children of preschool and primary school age, a more “kind” Young Svintus is better.

Colonizers (Catan)

In contrast to the “old woman” of the Monopoly, which by misunderstanding is called the “economic”, it’s just Colonizers  are the best exactly economic game  for a family audience. And although there are no usual banknotes in the Colonializers, the game has a constant exchange of some resources for others, and the course depends on constant conditions - the player's presence or absence of special cities, and on the changing supply and demand for a particular type of resources. In general, to change one for the other, and both at once - for the third in order to develop your settlement on the island in this game is pretty good.

However, as in Monopoly, the cubes in the Colonizers also play an important role - it is the results of the rolls of the cubes that determine which territories will bring resources to the players this turn. So everyone who likes to roll dice (and which of the children does not like this? :) will be happy.

A successful combination of the factor of chance and the possibilities for choosing a strategy allows us to call it one of the best economic family games for parents and children over the age of 10 years.

Ticket to Ride (Train ticket)

And in this beautiful and atmospheric game we have to lay railway routes. The game is not economic, but rather logistic. During the game, we will receive points both for laying routes between neighboring cities, and for completing secret missions to connect cities distant from each other.

A magnificent playing field, lots of plastic wagons, multi-colored cards of wagons and routes - all this is done in the retro style of the early twentieth century, and immediately sets a cozy and a bit fabulous mood. An additional bonus is learning geography.

Put your child on board games, and he will no longer have money for other drugs;)

What can brighten up family leisure on long winter evenings, when snow is spinning around the window, the beautiful Christmas tree flashes in the room and the house is filled with an atmosphere of comfort and warmth? It seems to me that in such magical moments there is nothing better than taking out boxes of your favorite board games from the shelf and immersing your whole family for an hour or two in the fascinating world of interesting game scenes. Of course, my son and I also have the most beloved desktops, which we have been playing with for a long time and still with great pleasure. But we also do not forget to slowly get acquainted with new board game stories. Over the past few months, several interesting little tables have appeared in my son’s playhouse, which we really want to talk about today. All these games are united by one remarkable quality - they are perfect for joint family leisure (tested in practice). Just what you need on the fabulous days of the long-awaited New Year holidays.

And now we invite you to look into the colorful game boxes with us and find out what is inside.

Board game "Appetizing castle" (ZVEZDA) ()

I want to start today's review with this game, because it is very exciting, story-based and consists of many interesting elements.

Inside a bright medium-sized box depicting a huge hungry monster destroying built castles, we will find the following game elements:

The game is designed for 2-4 players from five years.

According to the legend of the game, a hungry brick-eating monster terrifies the princess, because he once ate her castle. Now she turns to the players for help with a request to build a new castle with 4 towers for her. Whoever rather succeeds in erecting such a castle will be the winner of the game.

And this can be achieved with fairly simple, but very entertaining actions - throwing five dice and erecting pyramids from them. It will depend on the number of fallen faces of the cubes of one how quickly the process of building protective towers of the castle will go.

Very clear and detailed rules of the game with explanatory pictures.

In the center of the table is a small square playing field - you can choose either side with yellow or brown bricks. There are more yellow bricks, so the monster will walk slower on them. For beginners, it is advisable to choose this option. In the center of the field is a brick-eating monster. For their part, each player attaches his own foundation to the playing field - a square card of the same size with the image of building elements. For each foundation, one tower is installed. The remaining turrets and bricks lie nearby on an imaginary construction site.

The task of each player is to build a coherent of five cubes of different sizes. After the first throw on the largest die, the color that the player will collect this turn is determined. If the remaining color has the same color, then you can immediately build a pyramid from them. If with this color only one dice fell out or not at all, then the dice can be thrown again, but without the largest one. Dice are allowed to be thrown several times, but after each throw it is necessary to install at least one dice on the pyramid.

The cubes remaining from the last throw with the faces of other colors become the steps of the monster - how many cubes are left outside the pyramid, the player will advance the monster along the bricks of the playing field by so many steps. Which side the monster will go, the player determines - as a rule, he directs the monster towards the castle of his opponent.

As a reward for the assembled pyramid, the player receives bricks from the construction site - for each dice one brick, and for all 5 dice - an entire tower. The resulting bricks or tower are installed on the foundation of the player. Next, the move is passed to the next player.

But what about a brick-eating monster? How does he act? If he gets to some kind of castle, he will surely eat all the bricks on the foundation or even swallow the whole tower. Then the player returns all the building materials or the eaten tower to the construction site and starts building again. A well-fed and contented monster returns to center field. But as a consolation to the injured player, the princess sends a delicious pie that gives protection against the next possible attack of the monster. In this case, he simply feasts on the cake and returns to the center of the field, leaving the bricks and towers intact.

Each participant seeks to win as soon as possible to build 4 castle towers for the princess on their foundation. Thus, the winner of the game will be determined.

The appetizing castle game is very dynamic and emotional, which is why our family loved it the first time. Throw as many dice at once, conjure over them so that the desired colors fall out, build pyramids, collect treasured bricks and rejoice for each tower built, manage a pretty-looking monster and feed him a delicious pie - all this gives a lot of positive emotions to the child.

The developing game "Market" (Trefl) (series “Koala Clever plays and teaches”)

Recommended by the manufacturer, the age of the players is from 6 years. 2-4 people can play at the same time. A very bright large game box, which depicts children in the fruit and vegetable market, will definitely attract attention, as happened in our case.

The game kit includes:

All game details are small in size, but very durable and smooth - it's nice to hold them in your hands and play with them. And my son and I often borrow coins and bills from this game for other role-playing games. We also did not disregard very strong frames from game elements - we use them as templates for the most diverse images.

Well, now more about the rules of the developing game "Market". Of course, here in the game form the child gets acquainted with the sphere of commodity-money relations, as well as the children learn to show entrepreneurial skills and strategic thinking.

Before the start of the game, each player organizes his vegetable shop, combining fragments of the seller’s card and boxes with prices. Also on each hand are 3 cards of the wholesale base and a flag of the promotion. Customer cards are stacked face down on the table. Tokens of goods are also stored face down at a common wholesale base. And all the coins and banknotes are in the bank.

The goal of each seller-seller is to better organize trading and earn the largest amount of money.

At the beginning of the game, sellers take 5 tokens of goods on a wholesale basis and, without showing other players, choose goods that they want to put up for sale immediately. Each product token is placed next to the selected price of the vegetable shop. The remaining goods are sent to the warehouse. The checkbox of the promotion is placed next to one of the boxes.

The market opens and the game begins. Players take turns drawing from a pile of cards of buyers with the image of the product that the client wants to buy. Of course, the buyer will choose the goods at the best price. The seller from whom the purchase was made takes from the bank the amount of money indicated on the price tag and leaves it with him. The token with the goods sold is sent to the wholesale base, and the satisfied customer’s card is put aside. If the desired product is not on the market, then the client leaves without a purchase.

Also, on his turn, a player can instead of a buyer's card play with a wholesale base card and “go” for a new product, thereby expanding not only his assortment, but also the vegetable shop itself. The rules detail the most varied options and subtleties of the game, which are quite easily acquired by the child and are used in the gameplay.

The game ends when the buyer's cards end. Unsold goods both in the shop and in the warehouse are considered damaged, so there will be no reward for them. Then begins the calculation of all the money earned by each seller (no doubt, children will be happy to take up this matter). The most successful and enterprising player-seller is declared the winner.

For the first time, the game for the child is more familiarizing and educational in nature, and only subsequently, the children are happy to immerse themselves in the fascinating market process and easily begin to manage numerous cards, tokens and banknotes. In fact, this is a variation of the children's favorite role-playing game in the store, only here, in my opinion, more complex elements of strategic thinking are added, which also comes gradually with each new round of the game.

Do you want to play with your child easily and with pleasure?

The developing game “Market” is a good option for the child to learn how to play commodity-money relations. And when the whole family sits down during the game, then the usual purchase and sale of vegetables and fruits turns into an exciting competitive activity. After all, the more players-sellers, the higher the competition in the market, so you need to think a lot and carefully how to sell goods in your shop more competently and profitably.

Board game "Labyrinth. In search of treasures ”(Ravensburger) ( Ozone)

To the game “Labyrinth. In search of treasures ”we come back with the little son again and again. Its advantages are in compactness, a small number of elements and, of course, in a fascinating game plot. Especially for children - fans of passing all sorts of different levels of difficulty, such an intricate game will definitely please. After all, there are not only labyrinths, but also treasure chests, secret doors, multi-colored keys.

The game can take part from 2 to 6 people, the recommended age of 7 years.

The composition of the game includes:

The goal of the game at first glance is quite simple - as soon as possible to walk through the maze with your eyes or finger, at the same time count the number of treasure chests encountered on the way and be the first to name the correct number. The fastest and most attentive player takes this maze card for himself. In total, for victory, each player needs to collect 5 cards.

What are the difficulties and obstacles in the way of the players? Firstly, there are several paths in the labyrinth from the entrance to the dead ends - and you need to have time to mentally walk along all possible paths. The second and most important difficulty is the multi-colored keys, which players gradually receive along with the solved maze cards as a reward. These keys open secret doors in the labyrinths - each key matches a door of the same color. Therefore, for key holders, the task is more complicated - they must mentally open the doors of the corresponding colors, go the longer way during this time and find even more treasure chests. The more keys a player has, the more doors he needs to open and pass more tracks. As you can see, on the way to victory, everything is not so easy and simple.

On the back of cards with labyrinths, solutions for each specific case are indicated - without keys, with one, two or three keys. These decisions are opened by the player who first puts his hand on the card and loudly says the number that is correct in his opinion. If his version is correct, then as a confirmation he shows all the participants the back of the card and takes it for himself. If the answer is incorrect, then he returns the card to the table and no longer participates in this round. The game with this card continues among the remaining players until the correct answer. And so on, until one of the players has 5 maze cards in his hands.

Of course, this board game perfectly develops mindfulness and reaction speed. The more participants, the more dynamic, exciting and exciting the gameplay is. But if adults participate in the game on a par with the child, then you must definitely adapt to the rhythm of the child, take your time and give him the opportunity to be the first to say his own solution. At least, for the first time, and until the child gets comfortable in the maze cards and the fast-paced rhythm of the game.

Logic game "Labyrinth" (Bondibon)

It so happened that this review immediately included two games for the passage of mazes. Of course, this is not a coincidence, but simply a reflection of the interests of my son at this stage. He really likes the mazes in a variety of manifestations - therefore, my choice stopped at these board games. I just try to support the game and developing hobbies of the child.

As for the game "Labyrinth" from Bondibon, logical thinking and spatial perception are well trained here.

The game “Labyrinth” (with an interesting addition to the title “For a smart adventurer!”) Is a small game plastic box of about 15x15 cm, under the transparent cover of which several game elements have compactly “hidden”:

I’ll clarify right away that this is a game for one player from the age of 7 years (as stated by the manufacturer). In my opinion, 7-8 years old is indeed the most suitable age for acquaintance with logical puzzles of such a plan.

The rules of the game are quite simple: select a card with a task, place elements on the playing field on the card, then you can start the game by moving wall details across the field and gradually moving the pawn to the exit. The task is considered completed if the pawn gets out of the maze. But behind the seeming simplicity lies the enormous work of the child’s thoughts (and adults too), thinking over and repeating various moves repeatedly until a correct logical solution is found.

Additional complexity is created by different levels of parts with walls - some of them are low, others are elevated, only stairs can connect them together. A pawn cannot just jump from the lower to the highest level - first you need to correctly dock the elements using the ladder, and then move the pawn further. The player can always check the correctness of his moves by turning to the solution options for each task at the end of the booklet.

At first, we played with the little son together - we placed elements on the field according to the selected cards, then together we looked for possible ways out of the tangled maze. We started, of course, with the simplest tasks for beginners. Now the son is already trying and trying to solve difficult logical problems. Sometimes it turns out, sometimes it calls adults to help again. In any case, such intellectual games are an excellent charge for the development of children's thinking, and such board games must necessarily appear on the playing shelf of a growing child. Bondibon, by the way, has released a whole series of such compact desktop puzzles - you can choose it for your child’s interests.

Another important plus of such game boxes is their compactness, tightly closing case and plastic details, which makes it easy to take them with you on the road and spend time enthusiastically on various trips and long expectations.

Fun board game "Kittens in pajamas" (Tactic)

The big box with the board game “Kittens in Pajamas” turned out to be quite by chance when we met friends who wanted to give my little son a present. Just saw this game, bought it and immediately presented it. At first, I was a little embarrassed by her age recommendations (from 3 to 8 years old), but when we opened this funny box at home, laid out the playing field and elements in front of us and tried to play it, my doubts immediately disappeared. The game turned out to be very interesting, easy and dynamic - just a wonderful gift.

Of course, it is better to start playing it at an earlier age, declared by the manufacturer - from 3 years. Then wonderful developmental moments are added here - color, shape, attention. But older children will also certainly find their attractive and fascinating aspects of the board game “Kittens in Pajamas”.

If we turn to the game itself, then it consists of the following very high-quality, bright and durable elements:

The playing field is laid out in the center between the players (2-4 people can participate in the game), all parts of the pajamas are mixed and distributed to the players (5 blouses and 5 pairs of pants each). Players “dress” their kitten in pajamas, laying on top of each other all parts of their clothes. The figure of a cat is installed on any division of a multi-colored track. The youngest player rolls the die and the game begins.

According to our research, games increase academic performance in school subjects, and develop logic and communication skills. We turned to children's psychologists and suggested that students of the three classes play board games after school. Students of the other three classes immediately went home after school. The study lasted six months, and before it began, the psychologist identified several benchmarks by which he tracked changes in the middle and at the end of the study. The results were compared with a control group - children who did not play board games.

The players in the "Beehive" increased concentration: the guys began to listen more carefully to the teacher and faster to remember new information. The player's task is to surround the queen of the hive, which belongs to the opponent, with insect chips. Each insect has its own abilities, for example, an ant runs along the edge of the hive for any number of steps, and the grasshopper jumps and flies in a straight line through the insects of the enemy.

Playing in "Danetka" the child begins to think outside the box, fantasize, learns to communicate and consistently express his opinion. During the game, the facilitator reads the story, and the players ask questions and gradually unravel what really happened. For example, a man ran out of a tram, followed by a second one shouting: “Take everything, but return the ticket!” What happened? Answer: a pickpocket stole a wallet from a passenger in which there was a winning lottery ticket for a large amount. The passenger noticed the loss in time and chased the thief.

The reviews were prepared using the hobbygamez.biz website, where it is possible throughout Ukraine. A large selection of educational and simply interesting backgrounds for any age.

Board games for all ages

Fans of games from young to great will definitely appreciate games with an affordable price and clear rules. The special favorites of the public in this category are the Drum and Dobble games, which are distinguished by the speed, ferventness and liveliness of the game process.

Dobble

Dobble Card Game has gained popularity not only in our country, but throughout the world. Players in many countries of the world are happy to search for paired images on cards. The principle is very simple: the player needs to find a “pair” of any of the eight pictures on his card as quickly as possible. Complicating the game is that two cards cannot have more than two identical images.

The charm of the game is betrayed by a funny round design and a small box, which is always easy to take with you. Enjoyment of the game is guaranteed to get both adults and children.

Drum

And in the game Lamb, players will have to train their logic and correct the mistakes of the unlucky cast of Lamb, who incorrectly photographed objects. The red chair suddenly turns blue, and the gray mouse turns red! In addition, Lamb has an addition - Lamb. Here you will encounter the same absent-minded sister Barabashki. Can you handle the mistakes of the Baramelka? And if you combine the games into one, it will become much more complicated and confusing.

Wild jungle

The Dobble and Lamb games are great for children, but adults will also be able to enjoy these fun and provocative games. And if you like something more complex, then the Wild Jungle game will be a good choice.

The Wild Jungle is an active game of mindfulness and quick reaction. Players alternately reveal cards with various similar figures. But in the end, the struggle takes place over the totem, which is exposed in the middle of the table. During the game, you will definitely get a lot of emotions. Laughter and fun are guaranteed.

Board games for the whole family: rating and review

Dixit

Dixit is a game that is difficult to get tired of, a game of association. With its help, you can plunge into the world of fairy tales and magic in a new way. Fancy pictures on cards will please even the most fastidious players. In addition, in each new company this elegant game takes on new shapes and readings. You can safely say that Dixit is one of the best board games. In many countries of Europe, including Germany, France, Italy, Dixit is recognized as the game of the year 2010. However, to this day it has not lost its popularity.

Carcassonne

The board game Carcassonne will allow you to plunge into the Middle Ages and feel the mores of that time. Feudal players will be able to build land and receive income from them. The richest feudal lord will be the winner. The lively process of the game and fairly easy rules will surely appeal to children. And adults will be able to deploy more exciting battles thanks to tactics. Game Carcassonne is also the owner of one of the most prestigious awards among board games - Game of the Year 2001 Spiel des Jahres in Germany.

Marrakesh

In the colorful game of Marrakech, players will find themselves in the eastern carpet market, where their customs and rules of trade reign. Bright unique design of the game will not leave anyone indifferent. Soft bright rugs with patterns made of pleasant fabric and comfortable wooden dinars will definitely please fans of originality.

The principle of the game is quite simple: each seller in the market needs to place as many of his carpets as possible and get the most income. The richest carpet trader wins.

Marrakech is a great tactical game that is perfect for a large company or a game with your family. The game Marrakech has won the hearts of many players around the world, as well as acquired the title of the game of the year 2009 in France, Austria and America!

Niagara

And in the Niagara game, players will be at the very epicenter of the river flow. Will players be able to save their canoes, not lose the mined jewelry and return to the camp unscathed? After all, there is a dangerous waterfall ahead! Incredibly beautiful and colorful Niagara game will appeal to anyone. Both children and adults will enjoy playing it. Players will especially appreciate the high-quality design and interactivity of the gameplay. But only those who are lucky will be able to conquer this treacherous Niagara River!