After making a list of 10 Classic Board Games, we thought we’d try our hand at rounding up some modern classics for gift giving, family fun, game night, and party games.
Here is our list of 10 Modern Classic Board Games. Each of these will be a treasured and well-played gift.
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1. Cranium
Cranium is a great game for a small party or family night. Teams work together to race around the board by completing a mix of 14 hilarious activities, including trivia, sculpting, acting, and sketching.
2. Apples to Apples
Apples to Apples is “the game of hilarious comparisons.” The name of the game is a play on the phrase “apples to oranges,” and the game is about making comparisons between different things.
General game play is as follows: players are dealt red cards which have a noun printed on them, and the judge (a different player in each turn) draws a green card on which an adjective is printed and places it for all players to see. Each player then chooses a red card they are holding that they think best describes the green card. The judge then decides which adjective she likes best.
Related: Classic Board Game Favorites
3. Ticket to Ride
Ticket to Ride is an easy to learn strategy game involving a cross-country train adventure.
Players collect train cards that enable them to claim railway routes connecting cities throughout North America. The longer the routes, the more points they earn. Additional points come to those who can fulfill their Destination Tickets by connecting two distant cities, and to the player who builds the longest continuous railway.
4. Settlers of Catan
Settlers of Catan is the first and most popular of the new wave of strategy games originating in Germany.
Settlers of Catan is an award-winning strategy game where players collect resources and use them to build roads, settlements and cities on their way to victory. The board itself is variable, making each game a little different from the next.
Each round of The Settlers of Catan is intended to keep three or four players ages 10 and above engaged for up to 90 minutes.
5. Carcassonne
Carcassonne is a tile laying game of similar style to Settlers of Catan, but simpler and easier to learn. This is our family’s favorite.
Each player develops the area around Carcassonne while deploying their followers on the roads, in the cities, in the cloisters, and in the fields. The skill of the players to develop the area will determine who is victorious. The game is for ages 8 and up and 2 to 5 players.
6. Dominion
Dominion is another popular strategy game in the style of Settlers of Catan. You are a monarch, like your parents before you, a ruler of a small pleasant kingdom of rivers and evergreens. Unlike your parents, however, you have hopes and dreams. You want a bigger and more pleasant kingdom, with more rivers and a wider variety of trees. You want a Dominion.
In all directions lie fiefs, freeholds, and feodums. All are small bits of land, controlled by petty lords and verging on anarchy. You will bring civilization to these people, uniting them under your banner. But wait. It must be something in the air, several other monarchs have had the exact same idea. You must race to get as much of the unclaimed land as possible, fending them off along the way. To do this you will hire minions, construct buildings, spruce up your castle, and fill the coffers of your treasury.
7. Qwirkle
Qwirkle is an addictive strategy game in the tradition of Sequence, Scrabble, and Othello. Mix, match, and score to win – but the strategy is based on colors and shapes rather than numbers or letters. A fun game for the whole family (ages 6 and up).
8. Bananagrams
Bananagrams a simple and speedy word game that needs no pencil, paper, or board.Players race against each other to build crossword grids and use all their letter tiles first. Perfect as a stocking stuffer this holiday season!
9. Telestrations
Telestrations is the visual equivalent of the classic school-yard game “telephone.” It’s a fun-filled sketching game in which everyone’s attempts at “art” can turn hilarious.
The game starts with a secret word that is passed from player to player. As the word is sketched, interpreted, and then sketched again, it undergoes a visual transformation that will surprise and delight everyone. Designed for players ages 13 and up, Telestrations is sure to be a hit at parties.
Related: Best Party Games for All Ages
10. Morphology
Morphology is a fun, creative and challenging party board game combining simple shapes, your imagination and creativity.
Using wooden sticks, glass beads and colored cubes how would you create a “butterfly” or “airplane”. Now try doing it with your eyes closed or using only the string. Morphology takes unique twists and turns, and has everyone laughing out loud.
Now, what are some of your favorite modern games?
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