7 Fun, Easy Board Games With No Tricky Rules
Love board games but can’t bear teaching your friends and family the rules? I hear you - getting everyone to sit down and listen can be a real pain, especially if you have little ones.
Here are 7 quick and easy board games to play. Each of them can be explained in just 60 seconds (trust me, I tested this myself!) and are easy to pick up – whether you’re playing with your youngest or Grandpa. These games also have a bit of depth to them too, to keep adults interested.
Bananagrams
Bananagrams is the word game with no board and super simple rules. Each player has to make connecting words using all of their letter tiles. They then shout ‘peel’ making everyone collect another tile and starting the race all over again. The winner is the person that uses all of their tiles up (including the ones in the middle) first. Simple to play, tricky to master!
Game of Phones
If your friends and family are obsessed with their smartphones then Game of Phones might be the perfect addition to family game night.
It’s a card game with loads of challenges all based around your phone. From ‘create a slow mo video that isn’t actually slow mo’ to find the ‘funniest Google search autocomplete’ - this game is all about the most entertaining things you can create or dig up on your device. Playing couldn’t be any easier - just do what the cards tell you to!
Cobra Paw
Cobra Paw is a simple game requiring the mental and physical agility of a ninja! It’s a great game to play if you struggle to get your little ones to stay sat and focused. Cobra Paw is all about spotting matching symbols before your opponents – but that’s not enough to win. You’ll also have to dive in and grab them before your opponent too! Games last 5-10 minutes and the tiles are travel-size.
Sorry
Everyone knows Sorry, but it’s still worth a mention because I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t love it. The rules can be learned in seconds – roll a dice, move your counter. However, the real fun comes in sabotaging your opponents and sending them back to the start. If you’re looking for a classic tried and tested game, this might be it.
Dobble
Dobble is so simple that it shouldn’t really work as a game at all, yet somehow it does. It’s a race to spot which symbols (like trees, fire, ice, cats) are repeated on two cards. The tricky part is that the symbols are often different sizes on each card, which slows your brain down to snail’s pace. Whoever shouts out the matching symbol first wins those cards, and the overall winner is the person with the most cards at the end.
Scattergories
You’ll struggle to find a family game that’s easier to learn and play than Scattergories. Each round has a category – like a type of food, animal or country – and a letter, and it’s a race to fill up your sheet with things in that category that start with that letter. You’ll notice that some people know lots about some categories but really struggle with others.
Dixit
Dixit is a beautifully illustrated card game that anyone into story-telling will love. Each player gets a picture card and the ‘active player’ describes it with as much or little detail as they like. Other players then pick a card that resembles the description and they’re all shuffled and revealed. Then players vote on who they think the active player was. It can be as sneaky and strategic as you like!