The Best Board Games For Teenagers
Board games are a great way for teens to have some fun without being glued to a screen. Don’t just dust off an old copy of Sorry and think ‘job done’ though - the best board games for teenagers are the ones that mix things up a little. Whether it’s quirky title, UV packaging or a crazy theme - teenagers love something that’ll surprise them a little.
Spiky Dastards - for tweens and young teens
Spiky Dastards is a super fast-paced game of gutsy grabbing. There’s a deck of cards and a few cute, brightly colored, spiky characters who sit in the centre of play area. You turn over cards and try to work out (before the other players) which characters you need to grab. It’s then a race to grab the spiky dude without grabbing too hard!
If your teenagers have a LOT of energy and don’t want to sit around learning rules, this is the game for them.
Truth Bombs - for older teenagers
Truth Bombs is the ultimate game for finding out weird facts about your friends. The game works by having a few categories - like ‘what one thing would they take to a desert island?’ and ‘what would their worst nightmare be?’. Your job is to give the funniest answers (anonymously) and players score points by working out who said what about them.
If your teenagers spend all of their time with their friends then they will love this game.
Exploding Kittens - for everyone!
Exploding Kittens might sound a little morbid, but it’s a super fun card game about sneakily blowing up your opponents. Each card has a cat character on it with an ability, except for the exploding kitten cards which you want to avoid at all costs. The game works by trying to defuse the exploding cards and sneaking them into your opponents’ hands.
Perfect for travelling or for cat-obsessed teenagers.
Game of Phones - for phone addicts
If your valiant attempts to prise smartphones away from your teens has failed, it’s time to play Game of Phones. It’s a card game with tons of challenges all based around your smartphone. The aim of the game is to impress the judge - for example with the ‘weirdest nickname saved in your contacts’ or the ‘funniest Google search autocomplete’ The player with the best answer wins!
A great board game for teenagers who are obsessed with their phone.
Scattergories - for smart cookies
Scattergories is pretty simple - you get a range of categories and have to fill them all in with words that start with a random letter. So, for example, you might have to think of an animal, a country, a food item and a song all starting with the letter ’s’. It’s fun, frantic and hilarious at the same time.
Great for teenagers who want something closer to a regular board game.
Bananagrams - for wordies
Bananagrams is the ultimate board game for teenagers who are into books and word-play. It’s a race to build connecting words out of letter tiles, and the tough part is that every time someone finishes you need to draw another letter and fit that in (until they all run out). It comes in a cute, bright yellow banana pouch and doesn’t require a board, pen or pencils to play.
Red7 - for brainy teens
Imagine Uno but you can change the rules at any time. That’s what Red7 is - a card game where if you’re losing at any point you can change the entire rules of the game. It’s seven separate games in one where each mini game is a new type of card game. So, for instance, in one round you might need to have the highest card and in the next you need to have the most of one color. It’s tough to keep up with and supremely strategic - hence why it’s perfect for brainy teenagers!
Don’t Get Got - for teen pranksters
If your teenagers are always up to mischief, this is the board game to play with them. I say board game, but in Don’t Get Got there’s no board and the game lasts all day. Sounds weird? That’s because it is, in a good way. Each player gets several secret challenges like ‘convince someone that an object is voice activated and get them to talk to it’ or ‘get another player to race you’. The aim is to convince people to do things and then shout ‘you got got’ to complete your missions!
Perfect for teenagers who don’t want to sit around or play a traditional board game.
Buy it here for £20. (currently only availble in the UK)