The simple board game is a growing form of entertainment that can bring people together around a table for an hour or two. The holidays are a great time for families and friends to get together.
Games can be very complicated, for which you’ll need to set aside a big chunk of your day to learn the rules and set everything up, or they can be simple card games that you can pick up and play in just a few minutes. Some of them you can even play by yourself.
Even though we like to play Monopoly or Scrabble after a big meal, you probably already have at least one set. If you’re looking for something new to put on your shelves, we’d like to take this chance to tell you about some other board games that we think you should play on Boxing Day.
The classics are always good to have, but if you want a game that’s good for families, big groups, or even an older crowd, we think some of these might keep you busy.
Read the rest of this article to find out what games we’re looking forward to playing during the holiday season.
Pandemic
Few board games are as fun to pick up, play again, and play with friends as Pandemic, which is a strictly cooperative game where everyone works together to get rid of different diseases around the world.
Each player can choose a role that gives them different skills and abilities, and they take turns trying to get rid of diseases in different countries in a certain number of actions. If players don’t get rid of a disease before it reaches a certain number, there is an outbreak, which can spread to other territories.
There’s a good reason why it’s often at the top of lists of the best board games, and our list is no different.
Noggin
Noggin is a word association game made by the same people who made Obama Llama. Players put cards in three piles of letter cards around a table. When an action card is put on one pile, all the players must quickly come up with a word that uses the other two letters. They can use initials, word association/disassociation, or descriptors. Players can also take cards from other players if they see a three-letter word that can be made out of the cards in the pile.
Calico
Lay hexagonal tiles on a small board to make a quilt that will draw the most cats. You can get points by matching a cat’s favourite pattern type or by having three colours next to each other.
It’s easy to set up the game. The tiles are kept in a drawstring bag and then put on the table so that players can choose which ones to add to their quilt. Calico is easy to learn, but it makes you think about space and look for patterns.
Mantis
Mantis is a colourful, competitive card game made by the same people who made Exploding Kittens. Players can either take a card of the same colour from a deck or steal a set of cards from another player.
It’s easy to set up and learn, works well for larger groups, and can lead to some interesting high-risk strategies for stealing cards from other players.
Hint
Hint is a party game for Articulate fans who want to take things to the next level. Two teams race around the board by guessing what their teammates are drawing, miming, humming, or talking about. Each card has one word that can’t be used.
If another teammate says it by accident, the round ends right away, and the other team gets to try to guess what the forbidden word was to earn extra points.
What Next?
This game works a lot like “choose your own adventure” books, where different pages take you down different paths in a branching story. There are three decks of cards, and each one tells a different story with a different level of difficulty. Once the first card is drawn, each new card tells players where to go in the deck until the story is over, but there are a few twists.
At certain points, each card will give the player a “mini-game” to do. For example, they might have to put together puzzle pieces in a certain amount of time, find different-shaped items in a blind bag, or move a puck on a small shuffleboard. Players also have to watch out for “peril pieces,” which are like stackable cairn stones that end the game if they fall.
Because there are different ways to go through the story, each of the three campaigns can be played again and again to try out different options. However, this can only be done so many times before it gets boring. The minigames also test your hand-eye coordination, which adds to the fun of the game. It’s fun to play by yourself, but it also works well as an easy-to-set-up party game for four people.
Disney Villainous
In Villainous, each player takes control of one of the most famous Disney villains, like Captain Hook, Maleficent, or Jafar, and tries to reach goals in their own kingdom. Each character has different goals, but players can stop each other by sending heroes and artefacts to other realms.
Don’t be fooled by the kid-friendly look of Disney Villainous. This is a very complicated game with high-quality pieces and many different ways to play each time. The game can be played on its own or with other add-ons to give you more characters to choose from. It’s a good fit for Disney fans, but it’s also good for people who like board games but want a different kind of challenge.
Catan
Catan is one of the most popular board games of all time. It is a game where players build roads, houses, and cities on an island in the shape of a hexagon.
Catan can be played over and over again because players can arrange the islands in different ways to play different versions of the same island. It’s easy to learn, and if you want to move on from family favourites like Monopoly, this is the next step up.
Wingspan
Wingspan might be one of the best board games ever in terms of its theme. Players have to get birds to come to their aviaries so they can lay eggs and get food tokens.
Birds can be called to one of three preferred places, and as the aviary fills up, different effects happen on the board. If players can combine the skills of different kinds of birds, they can make powerful effects that help them.
Once everything is set up, Wingspan is a great game for the whole family. The pieces are of great quality, and each bird card has its own unique art and fun facts about birds.
Scythe
In an alternate version of the 1920s on the made-up continent Europa, different groups are fighting over resources to rebuild their economies. They use workers and huge robots to do this.
Players win if they have the most money at the end of the game. This can be done in a number of ways, such as by controlling resources or by being liked by the general public. It’s a game with a lot of depth and systems that work together, but it’s much easier to understand than it looks. If you have played other strategy games like Risk, you will find a lot to like here.
Conclusion: The best board games
If you want something that everyone will like and won’t start a fight, Snow Rider 3D is our pick because it’s easy to learn and has different levels of difficulty for both new and experienced players. Hint is an easy game to learn and explain to a table full of people if you’re looking for something to do after your next dinner party. Scythe, on the other hand, will keep you busy for hours if you like strategy games and want something more difficult.
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