All About Family: Fun Games for everyone!
Why we can’t seem to slow down
What games can we play at home with family? In this unique day and unprecedented age, finding time to sit back, relax, and enjoy quality time with the family can be challenging. The world has become fast-paced, and the demands of work, school, and social life take over. Technology also has a role to play in increasing the amount of information we receive daily in business and in our social networks. It’s easy to allow our online presence to override our in person presence. We can forget how important it is to connect with real-life people around us.
Within the family, parents tend to bury themselves with work demands. What eats up most of their time are the engagements they have with workmates and colleagues. Equally enough, kids—specifically those in their adolescence—tend to spend more time with peers and friends. Kids go through different phases where connections with friends matter more than spending quality time with their own family. At the end of it all, everyone in the family has his or her own schedule, and they don’t always meet! Their plans are all about accomplishing work and school requirements that never seem to end.
Before the quarantine, family members barely found time to sit together in a dinner table and engage in small talks. Nor did they have time to bond and re-establish the things that they used to do together. With the turn of events lately, however, we see the world slow down. The quarantine restrictions wiped off all of our scheduled plans for the coming months. Most of us have been forced to stay home, refocus, adjust and avoid going out as much as possible. Now more than ever, we need the integral aspect of strengthening family relations. The constant buzz, deadlines, responsibilities, and everything else surrounding us can become overwhelming. We all need the support our family can provide during times of frustrations, confusion, and more.
Time to bring back family game time!
Since we see the world slow us down and change our perspective, it is high time that we bring back the bond and fun in the family and make room for more experiences to grow together as a unit. A strong foundation would help each and every one of us become more self-aware. Additionally you may get to know not only yourself better, but also the other members of your family. You might try having conversations over meals or establish game nights or game sessions with the family. You might even be thankful that you have a couple of ideas up your sleeves to help ease the boredom during your stay at home.
If you don’t want yet another task of having to search out the right game for your family to play, we’ve compiled a list of suggestions to make it easier. These games are classic, simple, and very entertaining. They are perfect to sit down and dive right in; you don’t have to worry about reading a bunch of rules or complicated strategies. You might just find yourself having so much fun that you’ll continue this tradition long after the quarantine is over!
Online or offline: Games a family could play
Let’s dig in some virtual and face-to-face games fit for the family. Whether it’s just a casual game at home, or a game intended to let all members of the family who live far away join in, fun should be the focus. What’s interesting is that there is budding popularity with video conference applications. Everything could be done digitally. How exciting is that? All one needs to worry about is scheduling the games and coming up with good ideas for game nights—or day! Zoom is the most preferred platform these days because of its easy interface and user-friendly vibe. Most of these video conference applications could be downloaded both through phone or computer. Imagine how accessible game time has become! But of course, you could be creative and use other platforms as well or, better yet, stick to the old face-to-face games.
The following are games that could be done with the help of technology, or entirely virtually. They might seem familiar as they were creative tweaks of the classic games that we have come to know during our childhood. Here are some of the potential family games for family game nights!
Classic games for game nights!
What games can we play at home with family?
Uno
This is a classic! It’s simple to play and many decks are loaded with tweaks to add a little twist, such as customizable wild cards. Once you get the hang of it, you can switch things up and add a timer, or create a few of your own rules to increase the challenge.
Taboo
Another classic is the word guessing game Taboo. This game was believed to be established by the Parker Brothers in 1989. Over the many years, tweaks and alterations have been done to the game, but the classic Taboo is played by having partners guess the word without actually using the same word written on the player’s card. There are also other words listed in the card which the player could not utter or use for descriptions. This might be a game that’s enjoyed by people with wide vocabularies, but this sure is a good way to enrich family members’ word bank.
Millionaire’s Game
This board game is described as a “friendly way to learn about capitalism.” This is best done face-to-face. If your goal is to teach business strategies to your children or family members, then this is the perfect game for you. The main goal in the family game is to employ good decision-making to reach success and eventually become a millionaire. You could even do side lectures on doing business and talking about how these economic giants managed to succeed. Imagine how you could inspire your kids to be “business-minded” towards the end of the game.
Zoom on classic games that could be done online
Charades
No purchase necessary, this classic parlor/word guessing game could be played both face-to-face or virtual. The game is perfect for honing family members’ knowledge about some things that may be unfamiliar for them. This is played by dividing the family members into two teams. Through generating words/ideas by writing them down, or by using an online generator, a pool of words and phrases could be created for each team to choose from. The chosen player then needs to act out or mime the words, and the first person to guess the word correctly gets the point. It will also help if categories for the topics are also established.
Scattergories
Zoom calls with the family do not have to be dreaded. This is the perfect game to lighten up the atmosphere at your next virtual meeting with the fam. This could be done by rolling dice with letters on each side. A lot of scattergories list generators are available online, and like every other game, the tweaks done depend on the creativity of the players. The players need to answer with words bearing the first letter of the designated letter chosen as the dice was rolled. If two family members answer with the same word, neither of them gets the point. Doing this online needs for the screen to be shared with the other players. This is another way to let those creative juices flowing and engage in fun arguments as to whether or not your answer deserves a point.
Perfect Game for Smart Singles
If you are stuck at home by yourself, there is nothing better than a virtual game of chess with a friend or work colleague. Chess will definitely let you pass time and keep you mentally sharp while doing so.
How about some games we used to enjoy as kids?
Scrabble
This word game is not only a fun way to bond with the family, but it is also educational. This may be done face-to-face or virtually via phone and computer applications. Everyone likes this game but unfortunately, not everyone knows how to properly play it. Though goofing around and cheating with the fam is all fun and games, it is but worthy to know how this game is really played. This is perfect for the family as two or more people could play this. All you have to do is to connect words created by the other players. The goal is to get the most points with the words. A dictionary might come in handy in cases of unfamiliar words used by the players. Properly counting the scores is a must!
Snake and Ladders
This is yet another classic game that children back in the days used to play a lot. It would be super nice to bring this back as not only is this challenging, this is also ultra fun! This board game has tiles or squares or filled with traps and rewards. The players roll a dice and play their way to the end. Prepare to be demoted or promoted int his game based on luck!
Two Truths and a Lie
This is another example of a game fit for face-to-face or virtual sessions. Each player must state two true statements and one untrue statement about themselves. The other players must guess which ones are the truth and which one is the lie. Prepare to discover a different side to your family members! This could be a “who would have thought?” moment for everyone!
Last-minute game ideas
Who Am I
If you are wanting a more relaxed and laid back, last-minute game, then this is the perfect game for you! Everyone has probably heard or played this game before. This is also applicable for virtual game sessions of the family and the rule is simple. Each person is questioned to identify who that person is or what his/her name is. You may choose cartoon characters or famous movie characters so it becomes easier for the kids to get!
How Do You Doo
This is a game fit for personal or virtual game time. Players take turns and try to guess as many song titles as they can in a given time. The twist here is that the players can only use “doo” for lyrics or for singing the songs. This will work with children or people who are musically inclined or interested in music. This is a great way to engage the family to discover the preferences of each other when it comes to music as this will definitely show with the answers they get correctly.
Good to remember!
Scheduling game time for the family does not need to be tedious and complicated. Even without tools or board games, one could easily devise ideas for game nights. Let us not forget games available online, or downloaded to smartphones. These could also help a family bond. There are consoles who do just the same as these traditional games. The family could interact in an online world and work their way through discovering each other and forging stronger relationships in real life. Also, games are not only restricted to online or board types. Kids could also be encouraged to play using just their body parts. Kids could be stimulated with the simple “bring me,” “who am I?,” or other physical activities that could be done in the living room or the yard. Some parents even consider doing simple science experiments with their kids as play. It’s really all about being creative! The most important thing is the lesson and discipline each game brings to the family.
Game Time is Guaranteed Fun
Playing games with the family is guaranteed fun and it packs several benefits for everyone. These games allow members to connect with each other, teach teamwork skills, and allow everyone to be heard. It also helps in the communication aspect as a time for laughing things out and talk about what’s on their mind too. Small prices could also be prepared for that extra excitement! Parents should not just become their children’s guides as they learn about life. They should also be their children’s friends and this could be achieved by playing and spending more time with them. In quarantine or not, taking time to bond over simple conversations and games should be normalized. This could be done by a conscious decision to commit to family game time every once in a while.
How do you make family game night exceptional?
Family game night at home can be a great way to build memories and enjoy your family during times like winter and challenging times. There are many great family games you can play and specifically family games that involve and engage everyone in your entire family. Family game night is a fantastic opportunity to spend quality time with children. Choosing games that young kids can play with their parents is the goal. Games that can engage both the parent and child.
If it’s hard to keep your children and yourself focused on family game time, use these simple tips:
- Turn Off TV/Television and Tune In Each Other: This should be the first objective: Turn off the television, technology, and cell phones so that every family member, especially adults — can focus on each other. “Give your children focused, caring interaction during family game time. Emails, work, and social media can wait. I am speaking to myself. Set the example
- Make Everything a Game: Try to try to make every interaction a game with the family. Kids love games and especially like to play competitive games with a parent. One of the many great ways to play with family is to add an award to the game, such as scoops of ice cream. Children love this as they can immediately see positive action produce rewards. Ice cream!
- Take Action: Keep family game night from becoming the “snoring boring avoiding game night.” Play games that children like and require engagement action and give all family members ages a chance of winning without intelligence being the main factor. A great family game that includes exercise is Twister, the fun body moving game to play with family and friends.
- Family Game Outdoors: Enjoy a challenging family game of soccer in your backyard. Let your children team up with a parent to see the benefit of teaming up with a parent. Choose one person to be the scorer while the other is the goalie.
- Special Family Rules: You as, a family, can create your own rules based on age, personality, weakness, strengths, and other traits. Your character, don’t have to stick to the standard regulations that players typically use within the game. Enhance the game with new rules, make up your own. Or encourage your children to come up with special rules that are fair for everyone. Rules that encourage positive attitude behaviors are great ways to change up the game. Encourage kids to make up their own special changes to the game to build new talents and gifts.
- Change the Game: Try mixing it up with different games and activities. Playing different games every week will give everyone a nice no matter great or how much fun it is, switch it up. Changing it up will keep everyone engaged and wanting to participate in Family Game Night. Let your kids take turns choosing the game out of a bowl. Also, switch it up by creating your own unique family game. Give your children a chance to choose, plan, and create the rules for a game; this will certainly up the engagement and foster creativity.
Essential Family Game Action
The essential action during the family game night is together and quality family time. We always do movie night on Friday. Now that we are on the road, everything is a game and family time. My hope is when my kids look back on their childhood as adults, they will remember the good times and quality time spent together. It can be hard balancing being a parent that stresses education, discipline, and accountability while also finding time to bond hearts. The reality is we can all try a little harder and remember that any time spent in laughter is time well spent.
Use this unprecedented time to refocus priorities, adjust and spend valuable time with family and close friends. Family games can be used as an invaluable family bonding time. The important message is staying connected to each other and showing each each that we can still find enjoyment in the midst of tremendous obstacles.
Our hope and expectation is that you find time to relax, recover and renew during these times. One of the best actions you can take is giving and receiving love from those you care about. Start with a family game night. You can add friends virtually, create your own rules to make it fun and lastly use this time to get away from all the noise.
How do I entertain my child at home?
Eight ideas for keeping kids entertained at home
1. Be The Star in your Reality TV show
2. Make some inspiring music
3. Have a family spa day
4. Hold a family gift hunt
5. Create your superhero character
6. Put together a gift box to give to other families
7. Have a zoom dance party with other families
8. Play family hide and seek
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What games can we play at home with family?
So many games to choose from: Who am I Two Truths and a Lie Snake and Ladder Scrabble Team Chess Cards against humanity Scattergories Charades