The 15 Best Family Board Games In The UK

In this article we will look into fun and laughter that board games bring to the family. What are the popular ones out there for the whole family to enjoy.

During the recent lockdowns everywhere in the world, many families were stuck inside their homes, mostly spending their time in the virtual world. The gaming companies were one of the big winners of this lockdown. Including the much familiar board games.

Everybody needs to be entertained while the world waits to go back to normalcy. There are loads of new and reinvented games that showed up and made itself popular for the kids and family to enjoy. The under-appreciated board games have become the number one entertainment go-to by most families.

Let’s have a look at the classic ones and the new ones in store for the whole family to enjoy.

Best family board games:

Qwirkle

One of the most popular and hailed best board games in the UK for 2021 is the Qwirkle. Everybody simply loves Qwirkle. This tile matching game is being enjoyed by families from age 6 onwards.

In the box you will find 108 wooden tiles with six different shapes in various colours. Players of 2 to 4 people will build lines of matching color and shapes. Strategize your way on getting higher points by beating everyone else. Works well with families of various ages.

Spontuneous The Song Game

Spontuneous requires players to spontaneously break into a song. Each player writes a “hit list” of trigger words, and when it’s their turn, they announce a word and flip the timer. To win this game, other players compete to be the first to sign the first five words of a song that includes a trigger.

The first person to do this gets to advance to even more challenges in the G-clef shaped board. The game is best enjoyed for kids ages 8 and up and each round takes about 30 minutes. You can even add more teams to the group so the more the merrier.

Drone Home

This is a fast moving action race game that includes an actual drone. That’s already a big hit to kids age 6 and up. Even adults enjoy this kind of game. The goal of this game is to get the aliens down the ramp and into the drone, which will then lift them up into the air, or the ceiling for that matter.

But watch out for other players as they may knock your alien out of the drone and win. This kind of game is hilarious and can be played by 2 to 4 players.

Monopoly Voice Banking

This kind is a modern twist on the classic family board game that comes with an interactive Mr Monopoly banking unit. It has a game master which is voice activated, which can be tricky when there are different accents in the group, who handles all the game’s transactions.

He’s in charge of all the players money and properties so there’s no paper trail to think about. It’s a lot of fun but takes a while getting used to if you are more comfortable with the classic version.

Herd Mentality

The latest game from Big Potato Games is the new hit with families looking for something good. There are 160 questions cards wherein you’ll write the most obvious answer. If you are with the majority you win, but if you’re not, then you’ll get stuck with the squeezy pink cow. And if you’re saddled with the cow, you’re destined to lose.

The game box includes 62 tokens, a pop-up paddock and a tactile pink cow which is good for the display shelf.

Bananagrams

This is a great travel game that comes in a banana shaped compact pouch. It is much like the Scrabble but faster and no need for the board to play this one. This can be played by ages 7 and above, and everyone will surely enjoy making up their own spelt words in an ever changing invisible grid.

It has 144 letter tiles, and is available in the junior version for kids who are trying to read, and the classic version for ages seven and over. Families are going bananas with this budget wise game that is easy and enjoyable to play.

Trapped – Escape Rooms Game packs

The famous board game comes now with three games in one. Each played with 2-6 players with three different levels of thought provoking scenarios, which turns your house into an escape room.

You’ll solve tricky puzzles with “Carnival”, steal high end paintings and flee in “Art Heist” and crack the clues and solve the mysteries to open a vault in “Bank Job”. Take the big room in your house and turn it to your imaginary exciting escape room.

Beat That

Stretch your muscles and be prepared to bounce, shake, roll, flip, and catapult your way as the family winner. This game is full of excitement and not for the faint of heart. With 160 challenges you’ll put those well toned limbs to action.

Player wins by points on completing the body-bending tasks and skills and probably a good enough cheer.

Can be played by the whole family of all ages.

Pacman Monopoly

It is Pacman’s 40th anniversary this year, and as a treat many products have been launched to celebrate this milestone. And one of the most favorite is this Pacman monopoly. This set comes with a small arcade game that serves as the central gaming focal for playing the game.

This game does not use money, but instead it’s all about earning points while you race around, leveling up while avoiding the ghosts. Everytime you pass and land on the GO, you get to play the arcade machine to add more points. It also keeps in memory the points each player earns, so definitely a no cheating game.

Articulate Fame

This game is hailed as the best group game for parties. This is a new version of the classic fast-talking description game Articulate. Ideal for celeb-obsessed teens and adults.

It has three rounds, the first one is the Articulate or describe as many celebrities as possible in 30 seconds. Round two is to describe the celebrities in two words, and the third one is to describe the same celebrities using only one word.

This is best played with a minimum of 4 players, but it can accommodate more than 20 players (which obviously is not allowed anymore). Great for ages 12 and above.

Ticket to Ride London

Ticket to Ride London is hailed as the best family board game as all ages in the family can certainly enjoy this game. The original 2004 game version featured a steam train across North America, and had eventually branched out to different locations.

The London version has players jumping aboard a double-decker bus to race each other past famous London locations, like the Buckingham palace, and the Big Ben. The winner is the person whose journey is the longest.

It includes a map of European train routes, 225 coloured train cars, 158 illustrated cards, 15 stations, 4 wooden scoring markers, and a rules booklet.

Trivial Pursuit Family edition

Introducing the classic game Trivial Pursuit to kids but aren’t sure if they are old enough to understand the game, this junior version is best to start with. This features child friendly game rules and topics. It is most suitable for kids ages 8 and above.

Scotland Yard

This is a game of cops and robbers. Players need to work together to catch a villain on the streets of London. The main player takes the lead Mr X while the rest are part of Scotland Yard’s finest.

This is a game of cooperation among family members to solve the problems. Even younger kids can enjoy this type of game. There is also a junior version of the game for the younger kids.

HABA My First Orchard

Best game for young kids of one to four players. The simple game lets your preschoolers work with each other by harvesting fruits before the raven gets to the end of the path. This game introduces social skills concepts by playing together and following the specified rules.

This is also great practice for color recognition and counting by ones. When the kids are done with the game, the fruit basket and its fruits like pears, apples, and plum can be used as a toy or imaginative play.

The best part of this game is that the whole group win as one, or lose as one. Saving you from the tantrums of one too many kids around.

Pandemic

Yes, you’ve read it right. Pandemic is actually a board game too. Totally appropriate or inappropriate during this time when the real thing is here.

The game is very realistic, wherein the world battles four deadly diseases that are spreading around the world. It’s up to the players to contain the epidemic while looking for a cure.

This game needs cooperation from all its players by joining forces to save the world. The whole family needs to work out a solution to win the game. Best for ages 8 and above. This is also the priciest board game in this list approximately 31.95.

Conclusion:

We’ve listed down in this article the best board games available in the UK. Most of these are enjoyed by the whole family of all ages. With the pandemic and lockdowns happening around the world, the best pastimes for families to take their minds off are definitely board games.

The rise of the demand for board games for families made way to the new release of innovative games.

FAQ on the “15 Best Family board games in the UK”:

What are the best family board games?

Best Overall family board game is the MindWare Qwirkle Board game, the Spontuneous The Song Game andZ-Man Games Pandemic

What is the most popular board game ever?

The most popular board games ever are the Trivial Pursuit, Monopoly, Scrabble, Backgammon, and Chess.

What is the most boring board game?

The most boring board games are Candyland, Chutes and Ladder, Yahtzee to name a few.

What games can you play as a family?

Making crafts as a family. Set up an area where everyone can join in the fun of creating crafts or diy. You can also play the banana game, water balloon toss, egg race and family talent show.

What is the best party board game?

The best party board game is the Articulate Fame, where groups of 4 to 20 can actually play the game, when the parties are still permitted before the pandemic.