Great Games for Groups

Criteria for a Good Group Game 

• It has to appeal to different skill and knowledge levels. Games like Trivia Pursuit are only fun if you're good at trivia. Otherwise, you fall behind and get to play fewer rounds. Unless your friends are all trivia buffs, skip the games that require a lot of specific knowledge.
• It should allow for simultaneous play. Waiting for one or two other people to take their turns might seem slow, but how about waiting through 4 or 5?. Booorrring. Look for games that are played in teams, or allow everyone to participate at once. It's just more fun.
• Avoid complicated rules. We've got a game that has 30-40 pages of instructions and rules. Once you've played a couple of times, you don't need the book, but until then it's slow going. If you get together with the same people every week, this might work, Otherwise, stick with the games that are easy to learn in just one or two rounds.
• Be aware of cultural biases. The games in my list ignore this rule because it generally isn't a problem. That said, we do have some friends from other countries and some of the games have a lot of culturally specific references. Don't know what I mean? One game has references to a "rave" and to the "Staypuff Marshmallow Man." Even my mom gets confused by those.