our favorite games for covid season
I have two previous gift guides (here and here), but I thought I would do a recap because 1) games are a weakness of mine, so I’m always buying new ones 2) our kids are a bit older than my last post, so we’re playing different games, and 3) #covidwinter is upon us, and games are one of the ways I plan to get through it more joyfully.
My plan is to try to limit this list to our current top ten favorites – all of which can be played with just our family so no games that are only fun for big groups:
Rummikub. We started a family Rummikub game at the beginning of quarantine, when we thought it would be a fun week or two (in hindsight, what were we thinking and why weren’t our leaders better communicating with us?!). This is our go-to game. As much as I try to introduce fun new games, we always come back to Rummikub.
Grant and I always have a year-long game going (we just keep our score sheets in the box). The new round starts on New Years Eve every year.
Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza. We keep one of these in my purse and one at home. It’s the perfect kill-ten-minutes game. We used to play it a ton while we waited at restaurants, but we don’t do much of that these days. It is easy to learn, fast-paced, and just simple fun.
Sleeping Queens. I keep thinking the kids will grow out of this one, but they still love it. It too is easy to learn and a great way to fill up 10-15 minutes. It’s nice to have quicker games on hand for those times just before practice or dinner when you don’t have time for a longer game.
Think N’Sync. This is a fun larger group game (although we sometimes play it just the four of us too). You rotate through partners, and the person who is most “n-sync” with their various partners, wins. It’s hilarious, easy to learn, and fast paced enough to keep everyone’s attention.
Blokus. My parents taught the kids this one last year, and it’s become a family favorite, even if Grant wins 87 percent of the time. There are many different variations too, so it keeps everybody’s interest just be switching up the strategy. I always feel a little bit smarter after playing, as a side bonus. Plus, you can play with just two players for date night.
Uno Flip. We don’t play much regular Uno, but the kids looove this version. There are cards where you can make everyone flip their cards over, completely messing up your opponent’s strategy. The kids especially love the surprise/revenge factor.
Code Names Duet. This is one of Grant’s and my go-to games. It’s like Code Names, but for just two players – and you work together to beat the game instead of against each other. I really like regular Code Names, but I love this version even better.
Kingdomino. This one is a bit over Maeve’s head (she is eight for reference), but Grant and I play just the two of us or we form teams so the four of us can play. Grant doesn’t love strategy games, but this one is like a beginner strategy game so it isn’t too much detail for him to get bored with.
Super Big Boggle. This is another date night game. We actually haven’t asked the kids to play with us yet. It’s basically just a bigger version of Boggle, so there are more options of word combinations. It’s fun, even if I’m fairly sure that I’ve never beaten Grant even after a decade of trying.
Apples to Apples and Throw Throw Burrito. Both of these games are games that the kids looove that Grant and/or I don’t. But we play them sometimes because parents sometimes do stuff that they don’t want to do for the sake of their kids. I did enjoy both games at first, but after 74 times, I was bored. Regardless, both of these games are almost guaranteed crowd pleasers, especially with mixed ages.
I already have some new games wrapped up under the Christmas tree, so I’ll report back if any of those rise to the top of our #covidwinter list. Leave your suggestions in the comments!
