Family game days are my favorites.

I love the planned ones  that we all look forward to for days and I love the impromptu ones on a random Tuesday night after dinner.

We play lots of different games–and we’ve amassed a pretty good collection to choose from.

It can be a challenge to find games that work for both a 4-year old and a 10-year old, but we’ve managed to figure out some options that do work for everyone.  When a game is too complicated for Q, he plays on a team with someone else, and when a game is too simple/easy for the older kids, we add in challenges to make it more interesting (i.e. if you roll a certain number on the dice, you have to complete a task before you can take your turn).

There are some games we always seem to fall back on that we know everyone loves:

• Apples to Apples Jr
• Pictionary
• Family Trivia (we use these cards in different age ranges for the questions)
• Blackjack (complete with poker chips and advice on when/how to bet)

And there are some games we don’t play as often, but have really enjoyed (and I think we should break out again soon):

• Doodle Dice
• Quirkle
• Bunko
• Sorry
• Monopoly

With a few snow days looming in our future this week, I’m opening up the game cabinet, getting some snacks ready, and preparing for a few hours of board games.

What are your family favorites?