50 Fun Games to Play With Friends and Family: The Ultimate List of Board and Video Games
Whether you’re looking to keep your family entertained at home, play games with friends virtually, or planning for your first gathering post-quarantine, why not try a social activity that can transport you to another world? Games!
It can be overwhelming to select fun games to play with friends or family with hundreds to choose from. Made by gamers, this Ultimate List of Board and Video Games guarantees a fun time, no matter the age group.
1. Exploding Kittens
5 Players | 7+
If you love games like UNO, you’re going to love this kitty-powered Russian roulette-style game. The game is highly strategic and involves exploding kittens, laser beams, enchiladas, and sometimes you’ll even encounter goats! This game has won numerous awards over the years and is a great board game to play with friends or your family. It’s rated as a fun game for board game beginners, and each round only takes around fifteen minutes.
2. Retro Clue
2-6 Players | 8+
Who could say no to bringing home the retro fun of the Hasbro classic Clue? This retro series looks exactly like the original 1986 game board and brings all the suspense and thrills originally held for fans of the game. If you’ve been wanting to introduce your family to Colonel Mustard, meet him in the lounge where Miss Scarlett is wielding a revolver!
3. Root
2-6 Players | 10+
Root is a time-consuming and addicting adventure board game. Seriously, it can take upwards of 90 minutes to play through the game, and it’s worth every minute. Root also boasts several expansion packs with new characters, stories, and quests to keep the game fresh every time you pull it out. This is a great game if you love roleplaying games and you’re looking to introduce your family to your passion.
4. Catan
4 Players | 10+
Catan is a classic and one you won’t want to miss out on if you’ve never played it before. Most games take about an hour to play through, and each round includes strategic plays as each player controls their civilizations and spread across the board in pursuit of victory. This game has been around for a long time and remains a family favorite and a fun board game to play with your friends.
5. Star Wars: Risk
2-4 Players | 10+
If you’re a fan of Risk, update your gaming collection with Star Wars: Risk today. It deviates slightly from the original game, but it’s still just as fun (if not more). The Star Wars edition allows you to play through the Battle of Endor’s events as you work to take down the Death Star. It’s a lot of fun and a great game to play while rewatching the Star Wars movies.
6. DC Funkoverse Strategy Game
2-4 Players | 10+
Funko Pops are a highly popular collector’s item in most fandoms, but did you know there was a DC Funkoverse Strategy Game too? In fact, there are Funkoverse strategy games for several different popular fandoms. You can also add expansion packs for the game to increase the number of players that can play. And if you ever get bored with this board game, you’ll have cute Minifigures to adorn your bookshelves.
7. Wits & Wagers Board Game
3-20 Players | 10+
Wits & Wagers is an award-winning and fast-paced guessing game that combines the most addictive parts of trivia games and gambling in a family-friendly fashion. You make educated guesses or make decisions on gut instincts as you bet everything for the chance to win more chips and wow your friends with your trivia knowledge.
8. Werewolf
7-35 Players | 12+
If you’re getting together with a large group of friends, Werewolf is going to be the game you want to pick up today. You can have up to thirty-five players, all working to deceive each other as the game unfolds. The game is a bit like “Murder in the Dark,” but a lot more fun. Essentially, someone’s a werewolf trying to destroy your village and frame you and your friends, and you have to work to identify them or accidentally accuse the wrong person!
9. Nosedive
3-6 Players | 12+
Fans of Black Mirror will recognize this game as an episode title from the series. This game does require everyone to have a smartphone with the app, which allows you to access over 1,000 in-game prompts to help you create the picture-perfect life that can crack from the slightest misstep. It’s a great game to explore your strategic gameplay skills while interacting with the other players.
10. Taboo Party Board Game
4+ Players | 13+
Taboo is a classic board game that has provided entertainment at parties for decades. It’s fast-paced, fun, and loud. Payers race against time (and each other) to avoid saying the “Forbidden Word” and losing their turn. This edition of the game features 450 game cards, an electronic buzzer, and a timer.
11. The Voting Game
5-10 Players | 13+
The Voting Game is a very serious game that also happens to have an NSFW version of the game if you want to cut loose with all of your friends. But if you’re keeping it clean, check out the original version of the game. It’s right on the box that this game isn’t recommended for accountants or anyone without a personality. Savage. The game is simple, fun, and can go with you anywhere or stay right at home.
12. Hedbanz
3-6 Players | 14+
Hedbanz Adulting is a fun millennial-geared party game that features fast-paced questions, 90 seconds on the timer, and charades categories featuring your favorite pop-culture references. This is a hilarious party game that will keep you and your guests laughing and shouting all night.
13. Codenames
2-8 Players | 14+
Codenames is a challenging word game that features rival spymasters trying to keep their secret identities secret. Play head-to-head or with teammates, facing off against each other as you try to avoid assassins, give one-word clues, and take down the opposition. Interestingly, the game promises that it’s even more fun when you’re losing.
14. Betrayal at House on the Hill
3-6 Players | 14+
Players must work together to escape the horror of the house on the hill in this thrilling game. You build your own haunted mansion, bring new terrors to life, and fight to escape all of it alive in 50 blood-curling scenarios that promise to introduce new gameplay every time you play it. This might be a fun game to introduce at your next Halloween party or horror film night.
15. Blockbuster: The Game
4-12 Players | 14+
While not everyone can visit Bend, Oregon to see the last Blockbuster in America, this game is perfect for Millennials and Gen-Xers who miss visiting their local Blockbuster and want to hold onto the VHS-nostalgia a bit longer. This buzzer battle brings you and your friends head-to-head in a showdown to reenact hilarious scenes from Blockbuster movies. If you don’t remember the movie, make something up and see if anyone can guess it!
16. Medium Mind-Reading Party Game
2-8 Players | 14+
This funky board game allows you to harness your extra-sensory powers as you become a psychic medium and read your opponent’s thoughts. Together in pairs, you compete to say the same words at the same time. This is a challenging game, and it such a fun game to play with friends!
17. Cinephile: A Card Game
2+ Players | 16+
The perfect game for movie lovers everywhere just thirsting for something that feels like Film Twitter in real life. This 150-card game is a mix of pop culture, film, and party fun. You can also play casual movie-goer or a bonafide cine-nerd. This is a great way to impress your friends with all of that film knowledge you rarely get to show off.
18. The Awkward Storyteller
4-11 Players | 16+
The Storyteller chooses a card and reads the caption, starting the first line of a story that’s just waiting to be created. This is a bit like Round Robin if you have ever played that game. Each player asks the Storyteller questions from their own deck of cards, and it helps create a unique story that will never be created twice. This one can definitely be fun for the whole family.
19. Drawing Without Dignity
4-12 Players | 17+
If you’re looking to party without kids, pick-up Drawing Without Dignity because it’s NSFW and not family-friendly. In essence, it’s an uncensored Pictionary game that will cause you and your friends to draw the most inappropriate images, playing with naughty innuendos and having the time of your life during this evening of fun!
20. SDR – The Ultimate Adult Party Card Game
3-10 Players | 17+
This game can get super NSFW, so much so that the title isn’t even the full title! But you and your rowdy friends will be laughing all night with this raunchy card game. Depending on the cards you pull, you have to name words that start with the first letter of one of the letters of the game’s name. It’s very much in the same vein as our next fun game to play with friends.
21. Cards Against Humanity
4-20 Players | 17+
Oh, Cards Against Humanity. This game has countless hyperspecific expansion packs and is known for being the highlight of any party. If you already own the original box, look into exploring some of the most recent expansion packs to add a little spice into your game night.
22. What Do You Meme?
4-8 Players | 17+
What Do You Meme is a hilarious adult party game that’s created around the funniest memes you’ve seen on the internet. It’s basically Cards Against Humanity, but with memes and slightly less adult humor. Instead of matching phrases, you’re matching quippy meme titles with new images to create your very own memes!
23. Joking Hazard
4 Players | 17+
Do you like sharing the hilarious Cyanide & Happiness webcomics with friends? Well, did you know that the geniuses behind the webcomic made a not-for-kids party game that’s just as cynical and hilarious? Joking Hazard is a 360-panel card game that helps you form millions of awful situations just waiting to burn down society with violence, friendship, and everything else you would recognize from the webcomics.
24. Game of Thrones Monopoly
3-6 Players | 17+
While the internet may be done talking about Game of Thrones, you don’t have to be. If you didn’t think regular Monopoly led to enough family warfare, reenact the Red Wedding at your next Thanksgiving with a Game of Thrones-themed Monopoly board. Actually, please don’t do that… But please do play this super fun recreation of the classic Monopoly game that has torn families and friends apart for years.
25. Drink-a-Palooza
2-12 Players | 21+
Relive your beer pong college days with Drink-a-Palooza and spin the bottle to see who will start the game and compete to fill their six-pack with mini beer bottles. This boozy game is probably best played with a drink in hand, but you can also have juice or sparkling water instead. Essentially you’ll move around the board, competing in mini-games and working hard to defeat your arch-nemesis or college roommate. This one is a super fun game to play with friends as soon as you can!
26. Fortnite
ESRB Rating T for Teens
Let’s kick things off with one of the most popular games for kids ever: Fortnite. What’s great about this game is that it offers a ton of variety and fun, and it’s absolutely free. Leveling up your battle pass and exploring the huge, ever-changing map rarely gets old, so this is a great one to try if you’re strapped for cash and want to play with friends.
27. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
ESRB Rating E For Everyone 10+
As one of the most ambitious fighting games ever, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate pays homage to classic Nintendo franchises, with dozens and dozens of characters to choose from. You can play this one how you like — either competitively or casually, making it ideal for players of all skill levels.
28. Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
ESRB Rating E for Everyone
If you’re chaotic fun with wacky physics, Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is for you. It’s a battle royale, but unlike something like Fortnite or Warzone, this game focuses on platforming and obstacle courses, with tons of costumes and cosmetics to unlock. It’s even more fun with friends.
29. Tetris Effect: Connected
ESRB Rating E for Everyone
However you play Tetris: Effect, it’s one of the most therapeutic and relaxing experiences of the past decade or so, and it’s made even better with the Connected expansion. Tetris Effect: Connected takes the fan-favorite gameplay from the base game and adds a multiplayer twist, allowing you to play with a group instead of solo.
30. Minecraft
ESRB Rating E for Everyone 10+
What more can be said about Minecraft? It ranks among the most influential games of all time, reaching hundreds of millions of copies sold since it was released. You can play by yourself, but this is a game that works even better with friends, whether you’re playing in creative mode or survival. There’s a reason Minecraft is still so popular, especially with a younger audience.
31. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
ESRB Rating E for Everyone
Much like Minecraft, Animal Crossing: New Horizons has taken the video game industry by storm. Its gameplay loop makes it hard to put down, and thanks to its online capabilities, you can play with your friends. Something about sharing your island with friends is so satisfying, whether it’s to show off your cool items or to simply hang out.
32. Overcooked!
ESRB Rating E for Everyone
For some players, action isn’t necessarily their thing, and that’s okay. For that reason, we recommend Overcooked!, a game about cooking and serving as many dishes as possible before the time limit expires. You can work with your friends to be much more efficient, but be careful not to have too many cooks in the kitchen. If you do, it could get way more chaotic.
33. Roblox
ESRB Rating E for Everyone 10+
Roblox is an interesting game because it’s home to pretty much anything you can imagine. It’s essentially a hub, featuring thousands of creations from the community — some of which are really impressive. You’ll find shooters, platformers, and games inspired by others, plus a slew of options that can be played with your friends.
34. Rocket League
ESRB Rating E for Everyone
As with many games on this list, Rocket League is yet another title that exploded in popularity when it launched. The premise? Soccer, but with cars, and it’s a ton of fun, particularly with your buddies. It can get pretty competitive, but even if you aren’t good at it, you’ll probably still have a blast.
35. Snipperclips
ESRB Rating E for Everyone
Puzzle games are still immensely popular, but finding one you can play with friends can be a chore. If that’s what you’re in the mood for, look no further than Snipperclips, a smart, quirky puzzle game with a ton of heart. It gets pretty challenging at times, but getting through it with your friends is a satisfying endeavor to overcome.
36. Among Us
ESRB Rating E for Everyone 10+ for Fantasy, Violence, Mild Blood
Playing Among Us with friends is a hilariously wild time due to the nature of trying to determine who the Imposter(s) are. Or if you are the Imposter, it can get extremely nerve-wracking trying to remain undetected. Because of this, it’s not only a fun game to play, but it’s entertaining to watch, as well.
37. Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
ESRB Rating E for Everyone
While you can play Super Mario 3D World by yourself, it’s much more exciting with friends. Thanks to the recent Nintendo Switch release, you can play locally or online with up to three additional friends — and we highly recommend it!
Thanks to the catchy music, colorful visuals, and smart level design, it’s a joy to play.
38. Call of Duty: Warzone
ESRB Rating M for Mature Audiences 17+
If you’re looking for a more mature Battle Royale game, Call of Duty: Warzone will likely be up your alley. It’s best played with friends, as it features tactical gameplay designed with cooperative play in mind. The nuance in the weapons and their attachments gives this game a ton of depth, as well.
39. Halo: The Master Chief Collection
ESRB Rating M for Mature Audiences 17+
Halo is an absolute classic, and what better way to experience the bulk of the series than with The Master Chief Collection? This compilation features Halo 1 – 4, along with ODST, Reach, and an enhanced version of Halo 2 — all of which can be played cooperatively or competitively online. These are classic FPS games that you shouldn’t skip.
40. Sea of Thieves
ESRB Rating T for Teens
Ever want to become a pirate with your friends? In Sea of Thieves, you can do just that, allowing you to explore various islands for treasure while keeping up with your ship and crew. It’s a live service game, meaning there’s always new content to look forward to with this one.
41. Destiny 2
ESRB Rating T for Teens
Destiny 2 has come a long way since its release in 2017. The game has gotten numerous expansions, updates, and improvements, making it more fun to play with or against friends online. You’ll want to grind out those raids in this game and complete various events to continue getting gear and loot.
42. Overwatch
ESRB Rating T for Teens
While Overwatch wasn’t the first hero shooter, it’s absolutely one of the most popular. It features tons of memorable characters, each with its own special abilities. It’s oh so satisfying to coordinate with your team to ensure you come out on top in this competitive FPS.
43. Monster Hunter: World
ESRB Rating T for Teens
The Monster Hunter<span style=”font-weight: 400;”> series has made a name for itself by allowing you to take on giant creatures alongside your friends, and World is no different. Though, in this entry, you’ll have a much easier time getting into the swing of things, thanks to the quality of life improvements and enhancements.
44. Demon’s Souls
ESRB Rating M for Mature Audiences 17+
Serving as a remake of the 2009 game of the same name, Demon’s Souls for PS5 is an in-depth action RPG, and it can be played online with your buddies. Either summon another player to help you take down a boss or invade them to attempt to take them out. However you choose to play, it’s an absolute blast online.
45. Grand Theft Auto Online
ESRB Rating M for Mature Audiences 17+
Living your best life in the city of Los Santos is not easy. In GTA Online, you have to partake in casino heists and other dangerous jobs to earn boatloads of cash. You’ll definitely want to work together with your team to make the most out of each death-defying mission. GTA Online comes with every copy of Grand Theft Auto V .
46. Resident Evil 5
ESRB Rating M for Mature Audiences 17+
While this isn’t the best Resident Evil game, it’s certainly one of the most entertaining cooperative shooters out there. Watch each other’s backs as you make your way through each of the game’s horrifying stages while playing online or locally. You can level up your weapons, collect gear, and above all else — survive against the hordes of zombies.
47. Gears 5
ESRB Rating M for Mature Audiences 17+
The Gears series has gone through many changes since it first launched, and Gears 5 is an excellent showcase for what the franchise can do. The entirety of its campaign can be played cooperatively, and when you’re finished, why not jump into competitive multiplayer or endless horde modes? It’s a ton of fun, as long as you don’t have a weak stomach since it can get pretty brutal.
48. Rainbow Six Siege
ESRB Rating M for Mature Audiences 17+
One of the best competitive tactical shooters of the past generation is Rainbow Six Siege, yet another game has come a long way. It’s got a steep learning curve, but once you figure it out and learn to coordinate with your team, this game is one of the most satisfying to play — especially if you come out on top.
49. No Man’s Sky
ESRB Rating T for Teens
No Man’s Sky is a game that is absolutely impressive due to the sheer amount you can do in it. The game features a universe of 18 quintillion planets, lots of creatures to discover, a base building system, an in-game economy, and more. It’s less lonely and safer when you play with friends, too.
50. Apex Legends
ESRB Rating T for Teens
Apex Legends blends hero shooters with the Battle Royale formula, and it’s a refreshing take — giving you plenty of reasons to try out many of the game’s characters. Its vibrant, colorful world is beautiful, the movement and combat are fluid, and experiencing it with your friends is a wild ride.
Fun games to play with friends or family are also great activities for a no-spend weekend. Whether you’re looking for free things to do or want to test-drive games before buying, visit your local library. Most offer a wide variety of items to check out, including video games and tabletop board games.
This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
