Best Family Board Games for a Wide Age Range

Number of players: 2 to 6
Age range: 5 and up

Puppy Trek is a cute game of answering questions, doing activities, and moving around a game board. Each player chooses an adorable puppy character to help trek home through nature. Players make up their own questions for some activities, so this is easy to adapt for kids' ages. The first player to get home wins.

Number of players: 3 to 8
Age range: 6 and up

Happy Salmon is a party game by the same people who created Exploding Kittens (next on our list below). It's in the same family as Uno or Go Fish, but with more activity.

Players get a stack of cards and each one has a specific action to do (like high-five). Everyone yells out their action to find the other player with the same one. Do the action, then discard the cards. Whoever gets rid of all their cards first wins.

Number of players: 2 to 5 for regular; up to 10 for party edition
Age range: 7 and up

Exploding Kittens is a card game that includes cards in 3 categories - good, bad, and helpful. Players are dealt a handful of cards, then play goes around the circle. Each player's actions and choice of card dictate what the next player will put down (eg. if you place the shuffle card, the next player must shuffle the draw pile).

The goal is to avoid getting an exploding kitten from the draw pile. You can use a defuse card if you have it, but otherwise, you're out. The last player alive wins.

Number of players: 2 to 6
Age range: 7 and up

Playing Throw Throw Burrito is a mix of collecting cards and literally throwing a foam burrito at the other players. (Note: The regular version has a 6-inch burrito; the outdoor version has a 3-foot inflatable.)

Players draw cards to get 3 of a kind until someone plays the burrito card. Players grab the burritos and throw them at each other, depending on the details of the burrito card played. Whoever has the most points wins.

Number of players: 2 to 6
Age range: 7 and up

National Park Adventure Game is how we imagine Monopoly with family should be (instead of arguments and tears). Take a calm and educational stroll around the board learning about the plants, animals, and landscapes. Cards and game board squares give different instructions for each turn.

Players collect either one of each keeper card or 4 matching category cards. The winner is the person who makes it to the center of the board first.

Number of players: 2 to 6
Age range: 7 and up

Beagle or Bagel looks simple, but you'll be surprised how hard it is to tell the 2 apart! There are a couple of ways to play. Basically, a player flips over a card and everyone must yell out what is pictured. Whoever is correct first gets the card and the player with the most cards wins.

Number of players: 2 to 5
Age range: 7 and up

Carcassonne is a strategy game in a medieval village. Players take turns building the land with tiles that include fields, roads, buildings, etc. As the map grows, players can add followers to different areas to score points.

You can decide to work together or block another player's plans. Because the tiles can be assembled in so many different ways, you'll never play the exact same game twice.

Number of players: 3 to 8
Age range: 8 and up

Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza sounds a bit like nonsense, but it's a fun and fast-paced card game. The deck has 5 main cards and a handful of others, each with one of those items on it. Players take a hand of cards and go around the circle putting them in the discard pile.

Everyone has to say what's on the card and do whatever action is associated with it (eg. for groundhog you drum on the table before slapping the card). Whoever slaps last has to take the pile. The goal is to get rid of all of your cards.

Number of players: 3 or more
Age range: 8 and up

The family edition of What Do You Meme? is a card game where players match photos with a descriptions to create funny memes. Players get a handful of cards and each person gets a turn as a judge flipping over a photo. Each other player chooses the funniest caption from the cards in their hand and the judge picks a winner of that round. Whoever wins the most rounds is the winner.

While the traditional version of this game has adult humor, this one is more kid-friendly (eg. jokes about school, parents, pets, and farts).

Number of players: 4 to 8
Age range: 9 and up

While the original version is recommended for age 12 and up, Apples to Apples Jr. says age 9 (We would argue that reading is a critical skill and much younger kids might enjoy this too). Players draw a handful of cards and each person takes a turn at being the judge.

The judge plays an adjective card, and then the other players each play a noun that they think fits. It can be funny, realistic, opposite, or whatever the players think the judge will choose as the best card. Players can negotiate with the judge each round to pick their card. The player with the most points wins.