Spending quality time with their kids is something most parents strive to do as often as they can. As if work and other obligations weren’t enough of a hurdle, kids these days are spending every waking moment on their phones or tablets.
We’ve put together a list of eight games you can play with your kids that will get them disengaged from the online world and immersed in good old fun.
Battleship
What makes Battleship such a fun game is the fact that you can play it anywhere. There is a table game with the same name that comes complete with player kits and cool layouts. However, you can play Battleship using nothing more than two pens and two pieces of paper.
Despite its simplicity, the fun factor that Battleship brings to the table is immense. These impromptu naval battles can last for hours if you use a board big enough. Your kids are bound to be immersed in the world of naval gunnery as they try to sink your ships and save their own. As far as fun, simple games go, there’s hardly anything that beats Battleship!
Scrabble
If your kids are a bit older, you can introduce them to the awesome world of Scrabble. This incredible word game was first introduced in the late 1930s and has since become one of the most popular games of its type, not just in the United States but all over the world. Many English teaching centers all over the globe use Scrabble as a teaching aid.
Playing Scrabble with your kids will help them learn new words, develop critical thinking skills and engage their brains in ways that very few other games can. All the educational benefits aside, Scrabble is also incredibly fun! If you’re looking to reduce your kids’ screen time, Scrabble is the way to go.
Dungeons and Dragons
Long before computers took away our imagination and replaced it with awesome graphics, people went on massive adventures that would last for days, months, and sometimes years. These adventures were full of legendary battles, mythical creatures, heroes as well as anti-heroes who went on to complete various quests.
Dungeons and Dragons, or DnD, is a world-building table game where people come together and use their imagination to bring all kinds of scenarios to life. DnD enthusiasts from https://thegmsays.com/ note that this game has the potential to wake up your kid’s imagination in ways they have experienced before. It all depends on how willing they are to play along and how good you are at building epic worlds.
Monopoly
Playing Monopoly with your kids would be regarded as cruel by some. However, Monopoly is arguably the best game you can play with your kids if your goal is to teach them about the unfairness of life. It’s a game of capitalism that boils down the core concepts of our current societies in a way that even a child can understand.
Of course, you can flip this hard lesson around and use Monopoly as a means of stoking your child’s entrepreneurial spirit. It’s a perfect sandbox for kids to learn how businesses are made, how they bring in revenue, and how businesses grow when they reach a certain threshold. Can Monopoly be fun? Absolutely! However, it’s the type of game that usually ends up with tears.
Risk
What if your kid’s ambitions go way beyond developing a business? What if you’re raising a future leader who will at one point become hell-bent on world domination? If so, you can cultivate their fun and totally harmless interests by playing Risk with them. This old game has always been the ultimate battlefield among friends.
Players are given individual armies, they draw starting territories, and once everyone’s been taken care of, the race for world domination begins. It’s a fun board game that helps develop kids’ ability to strategize, think several steps ahead, and make impromptu plans on the spot.
Chess
Chess is one of the oldest games in the world. To some, it’s a boring game that is only played by old folks or Russians with names that are hard to pronounce. Yet, chess has been the ultimate thinking man’s game for centuries. The goal is simple — defeat your enemy’s army and outmaneuver them on the battlefield. Even so, there are so many ways to get there.
By playing chess with your kids, you’ll be forcing them to think and think hard. It’s a game that punishes impulsive decisions and forces one to be extremely careful with their moves. It’s the perfect game for those who love to strategize.
Cluedo
It’s the 1940s, and you’ve just witnessed a murder while at a party in an old mansion. Can you find out who the killer is? Cluedo is one of the oldest detective table games in existence.
It comes complete with different characters, various clues, murder weapons, and a floor plan of a mansion. If your kids love mysteries, they will absolutely adore this game. Just keep in mind that Cluedo is best played with a bunch of people.
Spades
The objective of Spades is for players or teams to accurately predict the number of tricks they will win in each round, and then successfully win that number of tricks through strategic card play. It's a great game for kids as it encourages critical thinking, basic math skills, and teamwork, while also being fun and engaging.
For those times when a physical deck of cards isn't available, you can play Spades online, offering an interactive and visually appealing experience that helps in understanding the game's rules and strategies.
Ludo
Last but not least, we have Ludo — a truly ancient game that traces its roots to 6th century India. It’s a simple game where players roll dice to advanced around the board.
The player who takes all of their figures around the board wins. Despite being one of the oldest games on this list, Ludo is still fun in 2021. It’s an easy, no-stress, fun game for the entire family.
Scratching the Surface
The games we’ve listed above are just some of the most popular classics that your kids will absolutely fall in love with. The cool thing about the table and board games is the fact that new ones are being released every month.
On top of that, you can choose between a multitude of genres, levels of difficulty, and more. Try some of the games from our list and see what fits your’s, as well as your kids’, tastes.
