I was introduced to board games as a youngster. Nothing complex, just stick some plastic swords into a barrel and wait for a pirate to jump out. Or see how many things you could put on top of a donkey before he kicked everything off. Now, with young children of my own, maybe it's time those classics came back. It probably helped (or didn't help, depending on your viewpoint) that I joined a local board game club and learnt about so many more games. I probably went a bit crazy and started to build up my own collection - games for kids, games for two, games for crowds, simple games, hard games, and even games that people refuse to play anymore!
So, here's all 68 games on my shelf:
Using your cards, build the sequence from "A Partridge In A Pear Tree* all the way up to "Twelve Lords A-Leaping"
5 - 15 minutes
Ages 8 and up
Take some tiles, make a word. Use power ups to guess what your opponent's word is as quickly as possible.
5 - 15 minutes
Ages 10 and up
Bet on the outcome of chips (or crisps) being drawn from a bag. More points, more prizes!
15 - 20 minutes
Ages 8 and up
You know Chess. Right?
30 - 120 minutes
Ages 10 and up
The cat must catch the mice before the mice work together to catch all the cheese
15 minutes
Ages 6 and up
Known in some countries as "Spot It", a quick game where you look for matching icons on a central tile to build up (or reduce down) your hand.
15 minutes
Ages 7 and up
Save your dinosaur from the end of the world and be the first one to survive, or the last dino standing
30 - 60 minutes
Ages 8 and up
Stop the communists inserting their propaganda into films - unless you are a communist, in which case, stop the patriotic messages.
20 - 40 minutes
Ages 14 and up
Survive the onslaught of various creatures of horror as you work together to defeat the villains while rescuing villagers
60 minutes
Ages 10 and up
Build a perfectly balanced tower before it all comes crashing down
20 minutes
Ages 6 and up
A game for 1 to 5 players where you have to tetris your way to make a zoo, while breeding animals to fill up the new tetris pieces.
30 - 60 minutes
Ages 10 and up
Based on the mini-game from Assassin's Creed Valhalla, a dice game to battle with your opponents with help from your selection of Nordic Gods.
10 - 30 minutes
Ages 8 and up
Make words good with not say big words. Team guess word, team get points. Team guess big word, team get big points.
15 - 30 minutes
Ages 7 and up
Classic labyrinth game, but themed around Pokémon.
20 minutes
Ages 8 and up
Italian card game where you need to collect certain cards to score points. More than 3 players, it becomes a team game.
10 - 30 minutes
Ages 8 and up
Guess who is a Red Herring, and who's telling the truth based on a random question prompt
30 minutes
Ages 10 and up
Balance your elephant as others try to get unique treasures so you walk the plank
15 - 20 minutes
Ages 5 and up
Card game from the 90s to simulate a football match. Pass the ball, score the goal, pretend you've won the league!
60 minutes
Ages 10 and up
A card game where you have to predict the next card, with a few comical cards thrown in. Good for kids and drinking - but not together.
10 - 30 minutes
Ages 3 and up
A trumping card game where each round gets you closer to your victory, and your opponent closer to theirs.
15 - 20 minutes
Ages 7 and up
Be the first to say something that matches the random prompt that starts with the random letter. Most "trophies" wins!
5 - 15 minutes
Ages 8 and up
Double sided Uno cards that flip the game on its head. Get close to finishing and then bam! The cards change and you're stuck. Or not?
30 minutes
Ages 7 and up
