If you have been living with kids during lockdown then the weekends have been a challenge to find things to do that don’t always involve a walk in the local park or field so I have been keeping a track of all the Board Games and Video Games that I have been playing with my kids during lockdown to give you some insight on what games worked best for me and my family.
Here are 10 Games along with a few BONUS games for you to take a look at:
Dobble -
Brilliant card game that anyone can play. It comes with a neat little tin and is very portable too. Basically, there are about 5 variations of the game included within the tin and it comes down to spotting matching symbols between your card and your opponents’ cards. Some games are won by getting rid of your cards and other games are won by getting the most cards. It’s a great game that we always enjoy.
UNO -
Uno is a classic card game that most families have played before. The rules are easy to pick up and it’s super fun to play. It’s always really cheap to pick up at under a fiver and it’s guaranteed to fill an hour of time with a lot of laughs and competitiveness. If you’ve never played UNO then now is the time to give it a go!
Pass The Pigs -
If you’ve never rolled a ‘leaning jowler’ then you’ve never lived. This game was on my wish list forever and then in 2010 whilst in San Francisco of all places I came across a toy shop that sold Pass The Pigs and I just had to get it. Since that day it has become a family favourite! So simple to play and perfect for all ages to grasp the rules.
Scrabble - 
Another legendary board game that is great for kids to broaden their vocabulary and learn new spellings. I always get my kids to use the dictionary during a session of this as it also helps negotiate dictionaries. I managed to pick up an American travel version of the game in a nifty zip case with pieces that lock into the board but I haven’t seen one similar since. Any version of Scrabble is great though and there is a kid’s specific version too.
Battleship -
As a kid, I’d always wanted to get Battleship and it was only this Christmas that my wish came true. Me and the family sat down for countless games of heated battle in the front room and I was really surprised at how quickly the kids picked up the rules. We started by playing in teams to get them used to it and then off they went playing against each other and sometimes ending in calls of “cheat!” But that goes with the territory of a game where you need to hide your board to have the best chance of winning! (N.B - Make sure you pick up the Hasbro version as other versions are a bit flimsy <I did a lot of research on this before Christmas 2020> )
Rory’s Story Cubes -
Story Cubes are a fantastic set of 9 dice that you roll to make up your very own short stories. I first picked up a set of these on an Easy Jet flight home from a stag do where I’d forgotten to get the family a present, so I picked these up instead of the usual chocolate and they went down a storm! I love these dice and https://twitter.com/Bhaal_Spawn even runs a #SundayStoryDice feature every Sunday on Twitter using 3 of these beautiful dice. This game is massively helpful in getting kids to think up imaginative stories just using these 9 dice or even just get them to use 3. Once the dice are rolled and the story is told then we tend to give everyone a mark out of 10 for their efforts. Great fun and a lovely little box to keep them in too.
#SundayStoryDice 🎲 No. 87
https://amzn.to/3qhtvxEMonopoly -
I’ve always been a fan of Monopoly and it’s a game that has stayed with me for most of my life. I know it’s a bit unoriginal but I still think the concept and the way it is played is both simple and complex enough to keep all ages entertained. I picked up a really nice version of Monopoly in a wooden box from Woolworths at around the time when Monopoly was celebrating a centenary and that is now the family Monopoly set which we use for every session. It’s even more fun to create your own house rules like putting all the fines money into the middle to be collected by the next person who lands on FREE PARKING...game changer!
Game Of Life -
Being a child of the ‘90s the Game Of Life advert is ingrained into my mind. The theme music is as clear as it was in 1992. Just watching the ad on YouTube takes me right back but as a child, I never owned the game I only ever plate it at other peoples houses. Fast Forward to 2020 and I picked up a ‘90s version of the game on eBay for a tenner in immaculate condition and the game is as fresh as it was in the days of The Prince Of Bel-Air! It’s easy for everyone to understand the rules as you work your way from one end of the board to the other getting married, having kids and accumulating cash. It’s a junk food board game but I love it and so do the kids!
Chase The Ace (Playing Cards) -
Now, chase the ace used to be played at School for something called ‘raps’. Raps were dealt out to the loser by placing the losers knuckles on the desk and everyone would take it in turns to smash the cards down on the losers knuckles….OUCH! I’m not suggesting that you play that version but you could define that the loser does a forfeit such as make everyone lunch or get drinks for everyone etc. The rules of chase the ace are simple and easy to pick up. You need a normal set of 52 playing cards with 3 Aces removed and all the ‘picture’ cards removed. You then deal the cards out to everyone as equally as possible and the aim of the game is to get rid of your cards by making pairs and to not be the last person holding the ace. Evey family should own a set of playing cards so at the very least you can play SNAP!
Slot Car Racing -
I got a really cool slot car track set for Christmas this year. It’s Mario Kart version from Carrera and it’s loads of fun. The cool thing about these sets is they are modular and you can go on eBay and make your track bigger if you have the room to lay out a nice big track. Pick yourself up one of these and rewind the years to when you thought you could be the next Nigel Mansell! https://amzn.to/3iguPyb
There you go, ten really cool games to play indoors with your kids.
As a bonus here’s a few others that didn’t make the list but are worth an honourable mention:
Good fun dice game which is also educational. Perfect!
A really cool version of Scrabble.
A classic family dice game.
A brilliant game to play in local multiplayer with the kids on the Switch
Anyone with a mobile phone, PC or Switch can play this together as a family, highly recommended family fun!
So many free games to play together if you have a few PCs in the house.
The Wii is still in our front room as we play Wii Sports Bowling and Wii Play all the time. Also, a good idea to pick up yourself a dance mat if you can from eBay.
A quick-fire fun alternative to the Cluedo board game.
Dominoes - 
Do not underestimate the humble domino...
LEGO + FREE LEGO Magazine - 
The LEGO juggernaut continues to rumble on and kids still love playing with this amazing timeless toy. I love playing with it too as I can get involved with the kids' games by helping them build exactly what they want. A great accompaniment to Lego is the totally FREE LEGO magazine from LEGO. They even pay the postage! All you have to do is go to https://www.lego.com/en-gb/life/magazine and sign up and it will come to your letterbox every 3 months with a heap of LEGO building project ideas! NICE
(I've attached our Amazon Affiliate links to all applicable items on the list so that if you purchase any of the items of the list through the affiliate link then Games Freezer gets a small percentage via the affiliate link - Thanks)
Rich
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