Your favorite family board games

[Gumbo4x4]

We like:

Apples to Apples (Disney version)
Minion Monopoly
Farkle (dice game)

 

[PollyannaMom]

I love Trivial Pursuit, but most of my family doesn't.

I do second Scattegories, and would add Jenga and Mexican Train Dominoes.

Maybe Boggle if they like word games?

 

[Kogo Shuko]

King of Tokyo is a big favourite in our home, both with and without children.
Ghost Blitz is also another favourite that can be played by any age.

 

[nanienamou]

Around here, we like these:
Machi Koro
Pandemic
Bohnanza
Carcassonne
Dixit (the expression "dixit" comes from latin, and is used in French meaning "he says". It is pronounced like Dik's It)
Scattegories

 

[DiannaVM]

My DH's cousins are 15 and 11, and every time they come to visit they love to play board games with us (I'll admit it gives me a good excuse to play lol). Some of the games they seem to enjoy you already mentioned, but some others they like are Phase 10, Cranium, Sequence (a fun card game that alot of adults in my family enjoy playing too!), Scattergories. I just seem to notice now that they are more inclined to want to play games that require a little more thinking.

BTW, just as a side note, I think its absolutely WONDERFUL to see so many of you actually purchase board games and play as a family. Some of my fondest memories as a child are of my family playing Disney board games on a Saturday night. Its something I plan on doing with my future kids as well

 

[alicat8]

Wits and Wagers is a lot of fun if you're into numbers and trivia (and gambling, I guess )

 

[mjkacmom]

Ticket to Ride and Telestrations (which is hilarious).

 

[ariel71]

I buy a new game every year or so to play with my siblings, sister-in-law, and now my nieces (exact same ages as your girls) when we're all together at Christmas and other times during the year. I was looking at a lot of reviews last week and settled on Anomia. I think a lot of your decision will hinge on your younger daughter's abilities.

If you want to try more of a light Eurogame vs the traditional family/party game, the 11-year-old absolutely loves Ticket to Ride and Pandemic and is actually pretty good at them. She wants/tries to play Settlers of Catan with us but it isn't a great fit just yet; she understands the rules and can play with some logic but isn't quite there yet in terms of strategy.

I'm in my mid-forties and we still play Can't Stop. That and Survive (also recommended) are the only two games that have "survived" 30 years of my mother's purgings. I think Survive is back in print (or was a few years ago) so it might be easier to find. We also play a lot of Heads Up, which is a phone app, and Scattergories, although for that I just printed out a bunch of lists I found online vs buying the actual game.

There have been several game threads like this over the years if you need more ideas. The Dice Tower channel on youtube has a ton of different reviews covering different genres.
http://www.dicetower.com/game-video/12-games-christmas-2015-family-games

 

[tzolkin]

We have lots of games, but it seems like we most often wind up playing Apples to Apples (We have the Disney version, but I think any would be fun).

My kids really enjoy selecting cards that are funny and will appeal to the "chooser" for each round. There's also a lot of fun banter in trying to convince them why your card is the best choice. Oldest is a HS Senior, one in middle school, one in elementary. It has been the family favorite for many years.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

We like Telestrations in a big group - it's hilarious.

As a family, we just picked up Wits & Wagers Family and it's been a big hit with all of us. It is fairly short (you only play to 15 points) and everyone has a decent shot at making an educated guess as to the answer. I was looking at a different version online to give to my nephew for Christmas and it seems that the family version that we got is simpler than the regular version - no betting, really. It also doesn't last a really long time, which is nice.

Another family game we like is Disney Beat the Parents. We wind up pretty evenly matched, but I think the kids have beaten us probably 2/3 of the time.

The kids love Disney Apples to Apples, but it seems more fun with more than 4 people. We don't have the regular version because there are too many pop culture references that our kids don't understand. We also like the Disney versions of Uno and Clue, for a fun twist on the old favorites.

 

[Blackadder337]

We have a few games we play:

Lords of Waterdeep (probably not great for kids)
Kingsburg (similar to waterdeep but easier. our 11 year old daughter loves it)
Munchkin (11 year old enjoys it too)
Settlers of Catan


We also watch a lot of Wil Wheaton's Youtube show "Table Top" He plays lots of board games with his celeb friends. A blast to watch, and a great way to see what games might be fun.

 

[Planogirl]

Stratego - best game ever. (IMO)

 

[MickeySP]

Pictionary
Operation

Not a on board but Hearts & shots when the kids fade

 

[Cantw8]

Cards Against Humanity....OMG, I pee my pants

 

[cijay]

Things!!

Balderdash

Flow (though I don't know if that's still available)