Nov. 19, 2023
By Lily Anderson
Copy Editor
This article is part of an in-depth reporting project about board and card games.
With the temperature dropping and the holiday season approaching, it is the perfect time to sit by the fire or crowd around a coffee table for a game night.
Check out these board and card games to bring joy and laughter to any gathering or celebration.
Candy Land
This lively and bright game transports players into the Kingdom of Sweet with the goal of reaching the Candy Castle. Candy Land is a popular choice among families, as it keeps children entertained with its vibrant colors.
Chess
No list can be complete without this time-honored board game. In this game, two players endeavor to capture their opponent’s team without losing their own. Chess challenges players to strategize and stay one step ahead of their opponent.
Clue
In this whodunnit deduction game, players take on roles as suspects to guess the who, what and where of a murder. Try to be the first to find out the truth of the crime, but be warned, if you guess wrong, you are out of the game.
The Game of Life
What better way to escape reality than with a game that imitates it? In this board game, each player takes on a fake identity with funny and absurd instances occurring at every turn. Each card leads to more silly moments, ensuring fun for the whole group.
Go Fish
This is a great game for young children and beginners. Go Fish can be played with multiple players and is pretty self-explanatory: make as many books of four cards as you can before the game ends. Whoever has the most books wins.
Monopoly
With so many adaptations of this game, Monopoly speaks to multiple generations. The objective of this game is to bankrupt other players while trying to control the most valuable properties. This high-stakes board game provides hours of entertainment.
Scrabble
In this crossword game, players use their lettered tiles to earn points for constructing words on a board. The words players create must intersect, and the location where players place their words can have a big impact on their scores. As a general rule, longer and more complex words earn more points. Use all seven of your letters and score a 50-point bonus.
Solitaire
If you’ve got a pack of cards, but you don’t like multiplayer games, try Solitaire. In this single-player game, cards are arranged in columns where the player must put down a card that has a value less than the previous card while being the opposite color. The objective of the game is to build the whole deck of cards into the four piles.
Taboo
Are you great at finding synonyms? If so, this game is for you. Form pairs or teams and face off by trying to explain a word to your partner or teammates. But there’s a twist. There are words you cannot say. The game can end whenever you decide, so it can provide a quick distraction or hours of entertainment.
Uno
Match the color or number of the card in the center to play it, and remember to say “uno” when you have one card remaining. To win, get rid of all the cards in your hand. This fast-paced game can accommodate up to 10 players. However, you might be turning on each other sooner than you think because there are always some wild cards waiting to get played.
