You’ll never be bored again, here is our ultimate 10 must-have family board games in 2021.
Tried and thoroughly tested, these winners have kept us laughing, competing and (rarely) cheating. These are all excellent choices for a family gift, a birthday present or just to keep everyone entertained over the half-term holidays.
Here we’ll tell you the general aim of each game, and why we think they’re so amazing to play for tweens, teens and their parents.
10 must-have family board games 2021
1. Takenako
On constant rotation in our house, Takenako has been well-loved by our family!
The game’s premise is that you are in charge of tending the Emperor’s beloved bamboo garden. But watch out, there’s also a giant hungry panda on the loose!
The Takenako games pieces are so pretty to look at. The octagonal patches of bamboo fields are light pink, yellow and green and there’s a 3-dimensional panda and gardener to move around. Plus chunky little pieces of bamboo to stack up.
Gameplay starts with a dice roll to determine a series of actions you can take. Then, you must match various bamboo scenarios to the cards you’ve drawn. Sometimes the bamboo needs to be tall, so you will concentrate on irrigation or fertilization. And sometimes the bamboo is too tall and needs to be eaten by the panda.
What we like about this game is that there’s a good amount of random luck, which prevents one person from winning every time (our teenager is notoriously good at games!). At the same, there’s also a decent amount of skill and forward planning which makes it good fun for all of us. Definitely add this to your family board game collection in 2021!
Players: 2-4
Age: 8+ (younger kids could play if teaming up with an older player)
2. Exploding Kittens
If you like your games with lots of cheeky humour, this one’s for you.
Exploding Kittens is a card game where you want to be the last player not to explode.
‘Bombs’ are hidden randomly in the deck and the deck is placed in the middle. On your turn, the cards you pick up can either defuse the bombs, attack other players, reverse play, shuffle, or allow you to take a sneak peek at the top cards in the deck.
The art on the cards is hilarious, with characters like Rainbow-Ralphing Cat (who vomits rainbows) and Streaking Kitten (distracts an exploding kitten with your magnificent bod).
We like this game because it moves quickly, so there’s not too much waiting around for your turn. It gets the heart pumping, especially when the bomb cards turn up and you haven’t got a defuse card – kaboom!
It’s good silly fun that’s also easy to travel with. We tie a rubber band around our deck and take it to restaurant meals and family gatherings.
Another advantage of Exploding Kittens is its replayability. Once you’ve done it a few times, you can buy expansion packs and add even more fun card options.
Players: 2-5
Age: 7+
3. Celestia
In a word, Celestia is elegant. Players will journey on a fantastical steampunk airship to retrieve exotic treasure from floating islands.
The artistry on this game is gorgeous. And although it takes a couple of plays to completely understand the rules, it’s quite simple once you get the hang of it. Celestia is semi-cooperative, meaning players will mainly work together to keep the airship afloat. But it is every person for themselves when the captain can’t counter an obstacle and the ship goes down!
What we love about Celestia is the try-your-luck aspect. A lot of the play involves chance, and strategy is of the risk variety. Do you take a bigger gamble and keep going on the ship to earn a richer reward? Or do you get off now and collect a more secure (but less valuable) treasure? You may end up with nothing or you may collect the lion’s share!
Another advantage for family play is that it’s difficult to see who’s winning until the end. The loot you collect has points awarded, which only you can see. This makes it less aggressively competitive, especially when you have children of different abilities.
Bonus: Celestia also offers an expansion pack, bringing even more choice to the game.
Players: 2-6
Age: 8+
4. Disney Colour Brain
If you’ve seen a few Disney films and like a game that’s super easy to pick up and play, this one’s for you.
To start, the players are given several coloured cards. A deck of cards in the middle reveals the name of a Disney character and something specific about them.
For example, the card might say, ‘The bow on Eeyore’s tail.’ Player then guess what colour the clue refers to, choosing it from the coloured cards in their hand.
There’s a small variation where you can use a special card to keep another player from seeing their cards but that’s pretty much it.
It’s more challenging than you think to remember the colours, making it easily a game that anyone can win, and it’s a great one for quick fun before dinner or bedtime.
Players: 2-4 (or up to 20 if playing in teams)
Age: 6+
5. Tokaido – *the star entry for family board games 2021!
Tokaido is my favourite game on this list and our go-to for a pleasurable Sunday afternoon. The Japanese watercoloured artwork is aesthetically pleasing and the game is not overly competitive.
In this game, you take a 4-day picturesque stroll along one of Japan’s oldest roads. You may choose to collect pieces of panorama, donate to a temple, shop for souvenirs, collect more funds from the farm, or sample a delicious meal. The combination of your choices will earn you points at the end of the game.
We love the pace of Tokaido. There are no dice; instead whoever is the last person on the road is the next person to play. You can anticipate what other players might do to get ahead, but there are always surprises and it’s not easy to see who will win until the end. That said, you will have to make some tough choices and strategically occupy spaces to frustrate your opponent. It’s not all zen my friend!
We highly recommend this delightfully meandering game, which has been particularly enjoyable for us in 2020 as we haven’t been able to travel.
Players: 2-5
Age: 8+
6. Sussed All Sorts
So it’s Friday night, you’ve ordered a takeaway for the family and you’re not ready to slouch on the couch just yet. Sussed is the game for you.
We love to spread the table with pizza, wedges, bottles of soda and wine and play this fabulously chatty game. We even invited the grandparents to play on their last visit, to hilarious effect.
The concept is easy. Everyone has a card with 4 multiple-choice questions on it, plus a small sheet to write your guesses and keep score.
The questions might be something like, Where would I want to sit on the plane? A) the front B) the middle C) the back. Or, What type of car am I? A) off-roader B) convertible C) hatchback. Some of the questions are much more bizarre which makes the play always unpredictable!
The other players then guess what you will say and write down A, B, or C, earning points for being correct.
It’s a great game for socialising and the fact that you are allowed to convince a player to change their mind about their answer, makes for good-spirited persuasion!
Players: 2-8 (or more in teams)
Age: 6-99
7. The Game of Life – Fame
Another recommendation for a low-intensity but popular game is Game of Life – Fame edition. Its play is similar in concept to the classic Life game, but it’s even more sparkly and appealing to tweens and teens.
Choose to be a star athlete, a supermodel, singer or actress and zip around in a stretch limo. The game board is a cool pentagon shape made of 5 different pieces, that sometimes flip over to reveal different routes.
Your goal is to make yourself even more starry. You’ll need to build an entourage and hustle for a higher salary to elevate your star status.
We enjoy Game of Life – Fame edition when we’re in the mood for a lively but non-threatening game. Sometimes you’ll need to invent a silly nickname or dream up something embarrassing for a news headline, so there’s room for lots of laughs along the way. A bonus is that the gold star spinner is way more fun than traditional dice.
Players: 2-4
Age: 8+
8. Throw Throw Burrito
Cross a card game with dodgeball, soak it in whacky humour and you get Throw Throw Burrito!
This is a high-intensity game which our boys LOVE. Play revolves around you matching up sets of cards, then dashing for that burrito before anyone else, and lobbing it at the correct person.
If you’re good at scratching your head and rubbing your tummy, you’ll be great!
Don’t worry, the burritos are soft and squishy and ducking and swerving is definitely encouraged.
On occasion, you will need to engage in a serious burrito duel, which, to be honest, is the kids’ favourite bit. (We like to do this while singing Hamilton’s 10 Duel Commandments – if you know, you know!)
Recommended for a high-energy, keep-you-guessing family activity, but put away any drinks or breakables first!
Players: 2-6
Age: 7+
9. Monopoly The Nightmare Before Christmas
Unpopular opinion, but I confess, I usually hate Monopoly! It takes too long, fights break out, and the occasional cruelty of a certain player who shall remain nameless becomes unbearable. (At least in my childhood it was like that…)
However, I thoroughly enjoy the Nightmare Before Christmas Monopoly version. I’m not too sure why it’s so different for us. Perhaps it’s because we’re huge fans of the Tim Burton movie.
The gameboard action is the same as normal Monopoly, but, as you would expect, it’s re-themed to places in the film like Oogie Boogie’s Casino and Jack’s Town. Utilities are now Santa’s House and Santa’s Toy Factory, and the money is adorable with Jack Skellington’s face printed on it.
We enjoy the community chest cards (now Halloween and Christmas presents) as they do all kinds of marvellous things.
The character pieces are sweet and perhaps the theme itself is what lends to more chilled, kinder playing session in our house. Though it’s impossible not to get a little cut-throat when you have 3 buildings on the valuable Sally’s Alley! Monopoly Nightmare Before Christmas is a sweet little addition for your family board games 2021 list.
Players: 2-6
Age: 8+
10. Dobble Harry Potter
Are your kids even kids if they don’t know Harry Potter? The genius of Dobble is that every single card has a matching icon to every other single card. It baffles us all the time!
If you’ve played Dobble before, then you know how this one works. Essentially you’re racing the other players to shout out a match between cards, the winner collecting the pair. We love playing through each of the 5 game versions (instructions included), which makes Dobble interesting on repeat play.
My husband isn’t that great at knowing all the Harry Potter icons (for shame). But that’s ok because you can always substitute words like stick for wand, or blonde boy for Draco etc. In fact it makes for funnier gameplay!
This is a great game for families but I find it perfect game for one-on-one play with my child too; I often get it out to play a few rounds while we’re waiting on dinner. It’s great for keeping the mind sharp, it’s pacey and it doesn’t last too long (around 15 minutes works for us). And it’s an absolute must if your children are fans of Harry Potter.
Players: 2-8
Age: 6+ (although my 5-year-old could have easily played it as he recognised all the pictures)
And there you have it, our 10 unmissable family board games 2021. If you have any tween board games you think we should add, leave a comment below. We’d love to know what you’re playing, too.
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