Great Family Games - My Top 10 List

Card games are great as they are fun, entertaining and portable. We travel, often having short overnight trips, so small, self contained games are quite useful. These are are top three favorites and all award winners:

creative commons photo by KitAy



#3 Set

Cards contain different combination of four criteria: color (red, green or purple), symbol (diamond, squiggle or oval), shading (solid, striped or open), and number (1, 2 or 3). A "set" is any three cards with all features either the same or different. Directions have lots of example so it is quite easy to understand. When we purchased it we were warned that before long the children would be faster at spotting the sets than we are and it has proved to be true. Recommended for age 6+

#4 Rat-a-Tat-Cat

While we initially purchased this game to add with simple addition, the girls maths skills are well beyond the game, and the game is now selected on its own merit. Each player has four cards, of which they can "peek" at only two. The object is to create a hand with the lowest possible score by exchanging cards from those in the deck. The cards are numbered 0-9, and the game aids with early addition and memory. The cute pictures keep kids interested and help with early numbers as the larger cats have lower numbers so you want cats, the larger rats have higher numbers, so you get rid of rats.

Winner of Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Best Toy Award and the 1996 Mensa Best New Mind Game. Recommended for ages 6+

#5 Horse Show

Another great game by Gamewright, this card game is a bit more complicated than Rat-a-tat-cat, and requires basic reading skills. It's a strategic game based on horse shows, again using points and scoring, so some maths is involved. As a bonus, children learn from the cards about authentic tack and actual show events.

Awarded Dr. Toy's Best Children's Vacation Products (1997) and Parenting Magazine's Best Toy of the Year (also 1997). Recommended for ages 8+

I would imagine that most families who play games would have a monopoly game in their cupboard. My classic version was one of the many things lost when we shifted to New Zealand. For mother's day the girls replaced it with the New Zealand version. That's when I first realized that the Monopoly board and pieces have been remade in many themes, while the fun, the rules and the game is the same. I added Jr. Monopoly here, as we played this when the girls were younger. Also quite fun, it can be completed in about 20 minutes.

We are not the only ones who like Monopoly, as it is the most popular, most widely played, and best-selling board game in the world. creative commons photo by evelynishere