Why you need to start a family board game night

We all know how great board games are for adults - the belly ache after a night you've spent laughing with friends, the chance to show off the most random niche areas of knowledge you had hiding away for the perfect reveal, the opportunities to collaborate and work together with others (or to gleefully destroy them in ways that wouldn't be appropriate otherwise).

All of this translates to why we should be doing board games with our kids too. The social skills they learn are invaluable - including practicing patience and taking turns, communicating and collaborating with others, and managing their emotions when they win and, inevitably, when they lose. 

Now, to clarify, we can't expect kids to be good at this to start. My four year old had a rather explosive meltdown after I won the third round of a game (after losing the first two to her only partially on purpose). She's still learning what it's like to not come first every time, and I get the chance to model for her each time I win and lose what it looks like to manage those ups and downs of board games. Being able to do this together as a family is such an awesome way to set our tamariki up for success when they are at school and playing board games or competitive sports with other people. 

Aside from the incredible social skills kids learn through board games, there's also the other learning that happens through every part of game play like counting dice spots and recognizing numbers, colours, letters and more. Some games are specifically great for this for younger kids (e.g. the whole Orchard Toys range), but pretty much every board game ticks this box too. Win! My girl recently broke her leg so board games have been a bit of a life saver, and our current favourite in the Orchard Toys range is Unicorn Fun, a great value collection of three different unicorn themed games that we've been loving playing before storytime at night.

Oh, you thought I was done with the why? Not even close. Here's a few more reasons to convince you to start family game night STAT!

1. Quality time together! So often we are busy logisticing (not a word) our way through life with kids, and board games provide a chance to remember why we are so lucky to have this family unit of people we love and adore and want to enjoy spending time with.
2. Increases their self-esteem! Partly due to the above - it's so nice for kids to feel like their adults want to spend time with them, this is good for the soul. But also, the self-esteem that comes from chances to be resilient, to bounce back from failure, to grow and improve. Absolutely invaluable. 
3. Time off screens. We're all exhausted of the small, medium, and big screens in our life. Make it a screen free zone and enjoy going analog for a while, it will be great for the whole family. 
4. Wet weather? No worries. We love an activity that can be done outside on a sunny day (watch the cards don't fly away with the wind) but can be done just as easily when you're stuck indoors on a Winter's day. 
5. Memory making. I'll never forget playing games of monopoly with my Grandma that would never end because we were too nice to bankrupt each other. Similarly I will never forget how brutal my dad was and how quickly he would force me into mortgaging all my properties without a second's hesitation (my brother's inherited his aggressive game play while I continue to prefer cooperative games for obvious reasons). Board games are a chance to spend time together creating memories and rituals and inside jokes and all those things that can't be forced but mean so much. 

To highlight some board games that I'm obsessed with that I think I would love just as much as my 4 year old, here are some options to get you started.

I love that a lot of games have some kind of fun physical element like Creature Crash where you are trying to balance capybaras on a wobbly balance board without being the one that makes them all crash. Stressful and delightful aka ideal. Similarly, Cat Condo Cornhole looks like one I need, immediately. There's a colourful cat tower with various platforms to try and toss cats onto. Simple but often those ones can be the most fun, and the challenge cards add a fun element as well.

There are two racing games that look SO perfect for family game night. Snail's Pace Race is a delightfully fun and fast-paced game where players choose their winner and loser, and then dice are rolled to help the race progress. It's a great option for introducing competition, and then for the older kids level it up with Hot Streak, a betting and bluffing game where hilarious mascot figures compete to cross the finish line first.

I'm a huge fan of Exit games and have played them with my husband - they are like an Escape Room in board game form and always a great time with fun theming and challenging riddles that feel SO satisfying when you work together to crack them. There are a couple of awesome Kid friendly versions like Riddles in Monsterville and The Great Bee-scape, perfect for introducing kids to the concept and working together as a family to get to the end. There's a lot of visual elements to reduce the reading requirement which is awesome for all ages to get involved, and these ones can also be played more than once which is awesome.

I've gathered together not 5, not 10, but 25 boardgames that are great for family game night. Some are perfect for ages 3/4+, the rest are great for kids who are over 7, and all of them are heaps of fun for the adults in the family too. Check out the full list below to find the new family favourite!

Some final quick tips for you to get started and have fun!

1. To start, it can be really useful to pair kids up with adults and play on teams. This is a nice way to scaffold children into the gameplay, support them through experiencing both losing and winning, and is also great when you are playing a game that might be just slightly beyond their ability. 
2. Take games on vacation! There are so many awesome little games that would be perfect when you're away together on holiday and are perfect for if you're stuck waiting for a flight or experiencing rainy weather that keeps you stuck inside. You can check out some of the more portable travel games here, perfect for taking away with you.
3. Make it part of a routine, put it on the calendar. We all know that we have to make an effort to do the things we love and not let them crowded out or forgotten about. Maybe you could make every Saturday afternoon family game time, or every second Friday night is takeaway and game night. I love a family ritual and love how much easier it makes life because you don't need to make the decision, it's already booked in.
4. Create some whānau rules. Back when I was a teacher we had a classroom charter, a set of things we could refer to to remind ourselves of what we expected from each other. For the family this could look like agreeing to some basic reminders like "We take turns, We stay kind, We practice Integrity" and so on. Make these suit you and your family, and use them if things start to go off track.
5. Speaking of going off track, finish while you're ahead! Had a couple of great rounds? Rather than push for a third and let everything turn to custard, stop while you're ahead and the kids will be desperate for another game night soon. Let them get a bit hungry and tired and prepare for emotional chaos.