20 Engaging And Fun Family Games To Play At Home

Family get-togethers are amazing. And to make them more memorable, you can add the spice of some interesting family games to them. These games can increase excitement and fun in such meetings quite effortlessly. All your cousins, aunts, and uncles won’t forget this memorable party for years to come. So, save your family gathering from turning pale by introducing an activity or two to the schedule. To help you plan them better, we have listed 20 exciting games that most people enjoy. So, what are you waiting for? Pick one and make memories of a lifetime.

20 Fun Games To Play With Family At Home

1. Word Squares

Word games never go out of trend. Show your creativity and word-making skills with this game. It is fun to play and will help you enhance your vocabulary. This game can also help your kids with their spelling and reading.

How To Play

Draw as many grids as possible and conceal them from the opponent players.
Take turns in naming a letter.
As a letter is called, write it immediately on one of the grid cells.
When the grid is complete, the players count up the number of words they have made – reading across, down, or diagonally. The one with the highest score wins.

2. Charades

Are you feeling bored and cranky? Charades will help uplift your mood. This is an all-time classic, prop-free game, and all you need to do is play with your imagination. Your team members have to guess the clues before time runs out.

How To Play

Divide yourselves into two teams.
Prepare a set of chits with phrases written on them.
One team member has to enact the term to their respective team. And they have to make the right guess.
Set a timer and make sure there are no words or lip movements.
Use a pen and paper to keep track of the scores.

Stylecraze Says

Charades is a perfect game to play with your family when everyone is bored. It is so fun and hilarious when you try to act out your charade.

3. Pictionary

Pictionary is another fun family game that is sure to evoke lots of laughter. Split your family into teams and let them guess what their teammate is trying to draw on the board. This game aims to think about what the “picturist” is trying to communicate through the drawn pictures.

How To Play

Set up a Pictionary board and keep a marker or chalk handy.
Make a set of cards/chits to write what is to be drawn and shuffle them.
Designate one person from each team to be the first picturist.
Let them choose a card. Give them five seconds to analyze what they have to draw.
Set a timer of a minute.
As they draw, keep guessing, and the team that makes the fastest, correct guess wins.

4. Movie Quotes Game

Guessing games are always fun. Do some advanced planning and take help from the internet to create your own “Guess The Movie” game. Want to make it more exciting? Set a fixed movie genre like comedies, action, or famous Disney movies.

How To Play

Write down a bunch of famous movie quotes on notecards.
Make sure you write one quote per card.
Divide yourselves into two groups.
Pick one card and guess the movie from the famous quotes.

5. Hang Man

Many of you must have already played this classic family game that never gets old. You can make this game even more interesting by adding rules like, if you guess a wrong letter, you have to perform a silly task or challenge.

How To Play

Think of a word or phrase.
The player draws dashes equivalent to the number of letters in the word on a board or paper.
The others will start guessing one letter at a time.
If they guess the wrong letter, the player draws one element of a hangman’s gallows.
A segment of the gallows and a victim is added for every wrong letter.
Completing the gallows allows a minimum of six wrong answers until the game ends.

6. Spoons

Spoons is a fast-paced card game that is quite popular among kids and adults. Try this exciting game with your family over some evening snacks, and they will surely love it.

How To Play

You need a standard deck of 52 cards.
Place spoons in the middle of the table, one lesser than the number of participants.
Deal four cards to each player, and the object is to get four of a kind.
The first person draws a card and passes one of their cards to the person on their left.
The play continues until someone gets four of a kind.
The person then picks up a spoon, and it’s a race for everyone else to pick one up as well.
The person stuck without a spoon gets a letter. If a player spells “S-P-O-O-N”, they are out!

The last player standing wins.

7. The Flour Game

This hilarious game requires something already present in your kitchen. It might be a bit messy, but it’s worth all the fun. Itis easy to set up, and the rules are simple and easy to understand. A face full of flour is universally funny, isn’t it?

How To Play

Place a cup full of flour upside down on a plate.
Carefully place a candy over the plate of flour.
Cut some of the flour structure using a butter knife. Do not knock off the candy.
The person who knocks off the candy has to retrieve it with their mouth without using their hands.

8. Would You Rather?

Looking for an ice-breaker game to play with your family members? All you need is a creative mind to frame interesting questions and scenarios. Learn how to play this game below and enjoy some fun moments with your family!

How To Play

Set up the gaming scene with unique questions.
Begin with “would you rather..” and then give the person two options to choose from.
Make it difficult to choose by offering equally appealing options. This will make the game happening and debatable.

9. Scavenger Hunt

If you want to keep your kids engaged, plan a scavenger hunt in your house or backyard. Toddlers prefer picture-based hunts with familiar objects, such as soft toys or cars, while teens enjoy a challenging scavenger hunt with riddle-like clues. This game will also keep you entertained.

How To Play

Assign a facilitator who will lead the scavenger hunt.
The facilitator will make a list of the things you will search for.
The first player to bring the item to the facilitator wins the game.
Repeat the steps 5-7 times until you have searched for all the items.
The facilitator will sum up each player’s or team’s points. The player or team with the highest score wins the game.

10. Pong

This game can be played with your family on a relaxed drinking night. You need some skills and luck to win this game.

How To Play

You can play one-on-one or even in a team of more players.
Set up the beer pong table with at least 20 cups.
Fill those cups halfway with beer.
Arrange the plastic cups into a 6/10 cup triangle at each end of the table
Take turns while you throw the ball on the opposing team’s cups.
Drink according to where the ball lands.
Restack the cups and keep playing until one team is left with no cups.

11. Hot Potato

This game can convert even the most reluctant member of your family into an enthu cutlet. It is all about hand and eye coordination and teamwork. Sounds fun, isn’t it?

How To Play

Gather three or more people and stand or sit in a circle.
Play some music and pass the potato around.
Stop the music and see who got eliminated.
Repeat until only one person is left with the potato.

12. 20 Questions

Looking for the perfect ice-breaking session with your family? Enjoy this game after finishing dinner. This super fun and easy-to-play game requires nothing but a bit of brainpower.

How To Play

Gather in a small to medium-sized group to play this game.
Let one person choose a person, place, or thing. Make sure you choose something that all the group members are aware of.
The others start by asking general questions like – “Is it a person?”, “Is it a place?”, or “Is it an object?”
They keep asking more specific questions as you go along.
Play until the group has asked 20 questions, and one of them comes up with the right answers.

13. Hallway Laser Maze

Do you have a roll of painter’s tape in the garage or streamers? Try making a hallway laser maze. It will be fun to see how your family members make their way through the maze without tearing it. It is also a unique way to keep the kids busy and entertained.

How To Play

Create a zig-zag pattern using the painter’s tape or streamers at different heights in the hall.
Secure your maze with tape, and each time a streamer touches the wall, tape it again.
Encourage your kids to go through the maze without touching the streamers.
The one who finds their way securely wins the game.

Stylecraze Says

The kids will have a blast with this fun-filled game, and then it helps them challenge themselves to make it through the maze.

14. What’s In The Bag?

“What’s In The Bag” is very entertaining and appropriate for any age group. It is a pretty simple game, and all you need are a few non-transparent bags and a lot of household items. Make sure there’s no peeking, and this game can also be a great object lesson.

How To Play

You will need a few non-transparent bags and tape/pins to seal them.
Fill these bags with some household items.
Now let the guessing game begin!
The one who makes the maximum number of correct guesses wins.

15. Don’t Eat Pete!

The whole point of this excellent game is to delay finding Pete, so you get to eat more candy. This game is loads of fun for people of all ages on family nights.

How To Play

Put one piece of candy in each square.
Send one person out of the room.
Pick a piece of candy from the grid to be “Pete.”
Call the person back in the room but don’t tell where “Pete” is.
The person picks one candy piece at a time. If the candy is not “Pete,” the person can eat it. If the candy is “Pete,” everyone yells, “DON’T EAT PETE!” and that person’s turn is over.

Apart from these fascinating indoor games, the board games mentioned below will make your entire crew adhere to their seats for long hours. Read on to find what they are.

Famous Board Games To Play With Family At Home

1. Monopoly

Monopoly is an intense game where one can learn about financial basics, property ownership, taxation, negotiation skills, and a lot more. This game of buying property has created real estate titans since 1935.

How To Play

You need funds to buy the available properties.
Players buy and trade properties and try not to be thrown in jail.
You can make income during the game by charging rent from other players if they land on your own space.
To win the game, you have to ensure your opponents go bankrupt.

2. Scrabble

Playing Scrabble is not only fun but also educational. It is a beloved and popular word game with endless possibilities. It enhances creativity and is an excellent game for both kids and adults.

How To Play

Players are given a set number of wooden letter tiles to begin with, and each letter is assigned a point value.
Analyze your letter tiles to see what possible words can be created to score the most points.
You can also use a dictionary when the word’s validity gets challenged.
Once a player uses up all the tiles, the game ends, and points are tallied.
Whoever ends up with the most points is the real winner.

3. The Game Of Life

Do you remember playing The Game Of Life as kids? If yes, why not enjoy this game with your family once again? Dreaming about all the possibilities and responsibilities of a grown-up will keep you hooked to this game.

How To Play

Each player receives a plastic car to maneuver around the game board – moving through multiple stages of life, from studying in a college to sweet retirement.
Go through life making intelligent decisions and be the player who retires first with the most money.

4. Chess

This is probably one of the most ancient and classic games. If you are a chess lover, this game is worth playing every time in a family gathering.

How To Play

It is a two-player game where you and your opponent have the same 16 pieces to move across a 64-square board.
The ultimate goal is to checkmate your opponent’s king piece.
Game pieces consist of pawns, rooks, bishops, knights, a queen, and a king. There are different rules about how each piece can move.

Note: It will be helpful to keep a cheat sheet handy.

5. Ludo

Spending time with family and making it entertaining will be effortless with Ludo, an all-time favorite board game. Be it during lazy afternoons or breezy evenings, your only motto will be to move to your game home securely. Family members sitting in a circle over teacups and snacks while enjoying this game seems like a perfect scenario.

How To Play

This game can be played by 2-4 players. They start the game by keeping the respective pieces on their bases.
Each player rolls the dice to determine their move.
A player has to roll a six to make the first move.
The game continues until all the players have moved to their respective homes securely.

Spending weekend nights playing fun family games with your folks is a great way to spend quality time. It builds trust and partnership and helps you bond with each other in surprising ways. Making game nights a thing will be a wonderful addition to your pre-existing family traditions. We have compiled a mix of some of the best, innovative, and classic games to enjoy with your family. Some of these games might even help the children in your family develop some essential life hacks and skills. So, pick a game that sounds the best to you and introduce it to your family the next time you sit down together to unwind.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the benefits of playing games with family?

A family gets closer when the members play games together. It helps you understand each other better, including each other’s strengths and weaknesses. It improves the communication and interaction between family members and helps create lasting memories.

How do family play activities influence children’s development?

A child develops many skills playing with family members. It helps them learn cooperation, think for themselves, interact with adults, and improve their strategies and tactics.

Key Takeaways

Playing fun games is always a good way to make family gatherings memorable and exciting.
Pictionary, hangman, movie quote games, or scavenger hunts are interesting games to play on such occasions.
Fun indoor games can also boost your kids’ reasoning and help them improve their life skills.

Was this article helpful?

Author

author author

Harini Natarajan

, Head Of Content Operations

As Head Of Content Operations, Harini sets the tone and editorial direction for StyleCraze to deliver engaging, interesting, and authentic content revolving around women’s health, wellness, and beauty. She is a Certified Emotional Intelligence Practitioner from The Priority Academy and has over 17 years of experience in content writing and editing for online media. She has also done a certificate… more