Favorite Games

I’m assuming most people are watching the Super Bowl tonight. I am… even though I’m not all that interested in the game, ha. I am excited to be with everyone throughout the day though and rumor has it that we’ll be playing a lot of games. Everyone is pretty competitive and I’m currently on a six-month winning streak. (Legit have not lost a game, no matter what they throw at me or team they put me on, in six months.) Hopefully, I maintain the streak today 😉

Now I love playing games. It’s one of my favorite things to do in the world. In my experience, there is always one person in the group who drags their feet about playing… and then they get super into it within ten minutes.

While we were in Stowe in January, the house we rented had a closet completely stocked with games. We were pretty excited about Trivial Pursuit but it ended up being the 1997 Canadian version. It was hilariously hard and, no joke, “Trudeau” was the answer 20% of the time.

As far as fun games to play with a group, I think there are good games to play and bad games to play. Monopoly, while fun and intense, is generally not a good idea. Games are also such a fun way to break the ice if you’re with people who may not all know each other or if you’re trying to get generations within a family to bond or if everyone tends to get glued to their phone instead of being present.

My favorites:

– Yahtzee // Always a good choice because it’s pretty much chance so no one can get hard feelings. My sister and I grew up playing this with our family so it may be part nostalgia. But… with that said, even if someone claims to hate it, they always seem to be having a great time when they roll a Yahtzee!

– Mad Gab // This was the most recent adoption by my family and we think it’s so fun. You basically have to phonetically say a phrase (without knowing the phrase) and try to guess what you’re saying. I love that this game works for people of all ages. My grandma loves it just as much as we do.

– Catch Phrase // We played this all the time in high school. I can’t remember exactly why we started playing, but I think we had to camp outside for tickets to one of our state championship games… or something like that. Someone brought Catch Phrase to pass the time and we played it nonstop from then on. (Obviously, I was in the popular crowd, haha.)

– Head’s Up! App // This is played on a phone so it would break a “no phone” rule. But… it’s SO MUCH FUN. When we were on Nantucket last summer, we must have played this for hours every night. Once the sun went down and dinner was over, popcorn was popped and the game was started! I highly, highly recommend playing. The best part is that there’s a video recording of each play. We sent these around to the group chat and laughed for months. (If my boyfriend ends up agreeing to be shown on the blog, the first thing I’m doing is uploading this video from one of our rounds. It is HILARIOUS and involves Julia’s husband Thomas and our friend Chassity.)

– UNO // Okay this doesn’t seem like it would jump out as being a top pick, but it’s actually a really great option for groups. It’s a game that’s easy to learn and can be played by the entire family. After we gave up on our Canadian Trivial Pursuit, UNO was our game of choice. We all got into it even though everyone was in their thirties.

– Charades // Charades is a classic and works so well at dinner parties or with medium-sized groups. Everyone has a couple of their own “house rules” but I love that you don’t need anything besides a bowl, pen/paper, and a good sense of humor. Last year I learned a fun new variation on it. There are three rounds and you play with the same batch of words/phrases. On the first round, you can do or say anything (except for the answer) to get the person to guess. Second round, you can only act it out. And on the third round, you can only say one word. There’s some strategy and memorization involved, which adds a fun new layer.

– Pictionary // My college friends and I would host games nights every Friday night. We had a few games we’d play a lot, but I remember Pictionary being our number one choice (Scattegories was a close second). We played this over Christmas too, with a giant whiteboard!

– Cards Against Humanity // This is not a game for every group. It’s definitely not PC and I wouldn’t recommend playing it with anyone who gets easily offended. With the right group and a good sense of humor, it’s so much fun. My family is pretty open and we can play with my parents without a problem, but I do know that some parents don’t love it, so… play with caution.

PS I bought Watch Ya Mouth to play this weekend… it’s the game where you use that plastic thing at the dentist to get all your teeth to show?! It looks like so much fun!!