Top Modern Family Board Games
Even though we love classic family games like Clue, Life, or Risk, we want them to sit alongside modern family board games on people's shelves! Fun, innovative modern games are published every year, but most people are not aware of them.
The market is tricky, though - many of these new games claim to be family-friendly but are actually too complex for most families. We hope to guide families to the best, most accessible games, which are fun and relatively easy to learn.
Here we share our recommendations for top modern family board games that are fun, clever, and quirky, flavored with fascinating themes!
Camel Up (or Camel Cup.....)
Camel Up is as charming as it is dramatic! Adorable stackable camels race around the track while you bet on the winner. It's dynamic with unpredictable exciting changes in leads. It will capture your heart!
Abandon All Artichokes
The most adorable garden you’ve ever seen! Abandon All Artichokes charmed the world with its fun game mechanic and hilariously cute art. We find it very addictive!
Forbidden Island + Series
Forbidden Island, Forbidden Desert, or Forbidden Sky! Which one is your favorite?
With boards sinking or moving in the wind or building circuits that literally make a rocket ship blast off, it's hard not to love this series of innovative cooperative family games. Plus, they are designed by the master, Matt Leacock! (Pandemic) What's not to love?
Downfall of Pompeii
Ever want to toss someone into a volcano? You can when you play Downfall of Pompeii!
It's the perfect combination of strategy, puzzle, and quirky fun. The history theme is wonderful as well. We highly recommend!
Space Escape
(Mole Rats in Space)
Quite possibly the ideal children's game, we cannot overstate how much we admire this game! Designed by the creator of Pandemic, it perfectly combines cooperative strategy with adorableness. Not only that, but it's a challenge to win, even for adults! Immensely enjoyable for the whole family.
Machi Koro
The action is never dull in Machi Koro. With each roll of the dice, anyone can gain coins that can be used to create landmarks in their beautiful little city. Its art is enchanting. With many different versions of Machi Koro, our favorite is one with the harbor so that you can activate the party tuna boat! The Moon Tower landmark is a close second.
Guillotine
Fans of the French Revolution, this game is for you! Cheeky humor complements historical details as you line up characters in front of the guillotine. This game captures the spirit of Catlilli by doubling as both a fun mainstream and educational game.
Organ Attack
Our gold standard for gameschooling, Organ Attack is crazy fun. And (....shhh) it's educational. Crazy educational! Every adorable organ and disease is chock full of biomedical terminology. We're gotten so many middle and high schoolers addicted to this game that we should take commission. We adore it!
