Best Board Games For Teenagers
With social distancing measures, there is a growing focus on staying home.
Finding something to entertain everyone in the family isn’t always easy.
We’ve found that playing board games is one of the best ways to spend time together as a family.
Family game night also teaches reading comprehension, cooperation, strategy, patience, and sportsmanship.
With hundreds of new board games out there, it might take a little while to find just the right game for you and your family.
The best board games for teens and tweens include strategy board games, party board games, word games, and family board games. From old favorites like Scrabble to newer games like Catan, board games are popular because they are fun and easy to play at parties, sleepovers, or family game nights.
To help you choose, we’ve rounded up a few of the best board games for teenagers.
Let’s go get your game on!
Strategy Board Games
Sequence
One of the most popular board games that we love to play is Sequence.
Sequence involves playing both offense and defense in a combination of strategy and luck.
It’s easy enough for younger children, but challenging enough for adults.
Sequence is definitely one of our favorite family games to play at home or on holiday.
You can play with as little as two players or form teams and play up to 12 players (we’ve only played up to 6 players at a time, to be honest).
Our tween loves playing with us, especially in a team. Our teen loves either a quick individual game as well as partnering up.
The aim of this classic board game is to get a Sequence — which is 5 in a row. This can be horizontally, diagonally, or vertically.
Play a card from your hand, and place a chip on a corresponding space on the game board — when you have five in a row, it’s a Sequence!
But remember to block your opponents as well. One-eyed Jacks can remove your opponent’s chips!
Definitely one of our all-time family board games and the best board game for teens.
If you know that you’re going to play with many players, there is also a jumbo version, which might be a better choice.
Pandemic
Next up is the super popular, and scarily well timed, Pandemic.
Pandemic is a board game where you and your team members attempt to stop the spread of a disease before it takes over the world.
Players work together as a team to treat infections around the world while gathering resources for cures.
One of the lessons in this team game is that only through collaboration can global pandemics be kept at bay.
Pandemic’s base game is perfect for 2–4 players, but there are expansion packs you can buy to play with more people.
Four diseases have broken out in the world and it is up to a team of specialists in various fields to find cures for these diseases before mankind is wiped out.
Players must work together playing to their characters’ strengths and planning their strategy of eradication before the diseases overwhelm the world with ever-increasing outbreaks.
For example the operation specialist can build research stations which are needed to find cures for the diseases.
The Scientist needs only 4 cards of a particular disease to cure it instead of the normal 5. But the diseases are out breaking fast and time is running out:
The team must try to stem the tide of infection in diseased areas while also towards cures.
A truly cooperative game where you all win or you all lose.
Pandemic is in our top 10 of the best teenage board games available today.
Ticket to Ride
Ticket to Ride is one of those games that you find yourself playing over and over again no matter how many times you win or lose! Definitely, money well spent.
A fast-paced, award-winning board game where you connect iconic cities and build train routes to earn points. There are different versions of this game, but we play the North American version.
Players must compete to grab the best train cards and routes before their opponents.
Ticket cards challenge you to plan ahead and connect two faraway cities for additional points.
The longer the routes, the more points you earn.
Additional points come to those who can fulfill their Destination Tickets by connecting two distant cities, and to the player who builds the longest continuous railway.
It’s one of the best board games for teens & tweens.
Catan
Another wildly popular game is a classic civilization-building game.
Catan is a game of strategy and challenges players to harvest and trade resources.
Played on a distinctive hexagonal game board, Catan combines the element of chance with skill and strategy.
If you want to play with more than 4 players then you can get expansion packs to accommodate larger groups of 5–6 players.
Although the game might seem a little bit confusing to start, it really is a lot of fun and easy to get addicted.
Definitely a game for people over 10 years old.
This game will even get your online gaming fanatics down to join in the family fun, as they love to prove their strategic gaming and critical thinking skills.
One of our top picks as ‘best board games for teens’ on the market right now.
Dominion
Dominion is a deck-building game with the feel of the collectible Magic: The Gathering cards.
It has a not overly complicated set of rules for 4 players and will be a hit with people who like games like Catan.
Played with multiple decks of cards you use different cards each time, making each new game different.
There are many extra packs available, as well to keep the game exciting.
If your teen is into anything magic or role-playing then Dominion should definitely be on your list of best board games for teens this year.
Mastermind
Mastermind is one of the oldest and one of my favorite childhood games.
I remember playing this with my siblings many years ago and it’s still a firm favorite in our home.
Even though it’s not technically a board game, it’s a great strategy game which is why we thought to include it here.
Players take turns setting and solving secret codes
More than 2,000 possible combinations make the game different every time it’s played
Teaches STEM and STEAM principles like deductive reasoning and logic.
Mastermind is a great game for tweens and teens alike.
Qwirkle
Qwirkle is a perfect game to hone players’ strategic planning, tactical maneuvering, and forward-thinking skills.
Qwirkle is an engaging game with easy-to-follow rules, ideal for younger players.
Play the game by building lines with either matching tiles of the same color or shape, then scoring points for doing so.
The ability to build complex combinations will keep children engaged and mentally challenged.
Qwirkle allows individuals of all ages (even younger children) to develop and hone their spatial recognition, planning, and problem-solving skills.
This game is extremely easy to learn, so people like your extended family or your child’s play dates can start playing right away.
Blokus
Blokus is the perfect strategy game for the whole family!
Easy for anyone to learn and there’s only one rule.
Blokus is the game of spatial reasoning and problem-solving, so everyone’s mind gets a workout within a stimulating block of fun. Awarded by Mensa for promoting healthy brain activity.
Each player’s goal is to dominate the board with their pieces.
Players take turns placing their 21 pieces on the board; each piece must touch one another of the same color, but only the corners.
When no more pieces can be played, whoever has the least pieces remaining wins!
Party Board Games
Pictionary
Pictionary Air is the classic party game we grew up with, but now players “draw” in the air and see it on a screen.
Teens love this modern version. You download the free Pictionary Air app, point the in-app camera at the illustrator and they’ll appear, along with their sketch, on the screen of your smart device.
Take turns drawing clues in the air while your teammates guess the images that appear on the screen.
The team with the most points wins
Pictionary Air is definitely one of our favorite party games to play.
Telestrations
Telelstrations is a great board game for teenagers and tweens when it’s family game night or when friends are over.
Telestrations is a hilarious combination of two classics: Pictionary and Telephone.
There is even a 12-player version which is a favorite when friends or family visit!
Each player gets to draw a secret word, and everyone else gets a turn to guess and write down what they see.
Once everyone has written down what they think your picture is in words, you get to reveal the hilarious answers and miscommunications.
This game gets everyone laughing out loud, every time. Perfect game for teens and tweens as well.
Codenames
Codenames is a game that is simple to explain, easy to play, and draws everyone in.
If you’re looking for a fast-paced, intense game, then this is for you!
The premise of Codenames is that two rival spymasters know the identities of 25 agents.
Only the agents’ code names are known to their teammates.
Each team attempts to contact all their agents first.
One of the great things about Codenames is how simple it is. It can be taught in under five minutes, which makes it perfect for small groups.
Codenames comes in a Disney edition for young children ages 8+.
Word Games
Banana Grams
The award-winning game that needs no pencil, paper, or board.
Players race against each other to build crossword grids and use all their letter tiles first.
This game doesn’t take much space like other board games and brings tons of fun while traveling.
Bananagrams will make a great gift for your friend or family member. It is a great thinking game for both teenage boys and teenage girls.
Catch Phrase
Not your typical “board game,” Catch Phrase offers up hours of laughs for tweens, teens, and college kids.
The aim of the game is to get your teammates to guess the word or phrase.
The Catch Phrase game is an electronic game with 5,000 words and phrases that’s fun and challenging for family and friends to play.
Try to get teammates to guess the word or phrase that appears on the screen by describing it any way possible — but do it fast!
If you get caught holding the unit when the buzzer goes off, the other team will score a point.
There are plenty of categories to choose from including Fun and Games, Entertainment, Everyday Life, Variety, and The World.
The first team to reach 7 points wins.
Includes game unit and instructions (excludes batteries).
Even if you only have a few games on your shelf, be sure this is one of them.
Scrabble
Scrabble is one of the all-time classic games that you’ll probably find in every home.
Put letters together, build words, add up your points and win!
Grab your friends or family and prepare for a wordy battle where every letter counts.
Apples to Apples
This simple game is easy to learn and fun to play
Two types of cards exist Things and Descriptions.
During the game, each player takes turns being the judge and pulling a description card.
Each player picks, from his cards, his Things that best match the judge’s Description.
Collect as many green apple description cards as possible to win.
It’s like a party in a box!
Taboo
A classic that makes our list of best board games for teens!
Players try to get teammates to say the Guess word on the card without using any of the forbidden Taboo words in the clues.
If the describer says a Taboo word listed on the card while giving the clues, they’ll get interrupted with the electronic buzzer and lose a turn.
Getting people to guess words like “selfie” without using the words stick, camera, selfie, photo, phone, or portrait can be pretty funny.
Players keep the cards that were guessed correctly, and the team with the most cards wins the game.
Family Board Games
Incohearant Family Edition
An entertaining party game that’s perfect for a hilarious family game night.
This is the PG version of the best-selling game Incohearant, which is more suited for adult board games and for older teens 17+.
In this card game only the judge can see the answer, while everyone else sees the Incohearent phrase.
Everyone reads the front of the card aloud.
The first person to decode the phrase wins the card.
Once the card is decoded or the translators elect to pass, the judge pulls the next card.
When the timer goes off or 3 cards are decoded, the round ends and the next person becomes the judge.
Trekking The National Parks
Best-Selling & Award-Winning National Parks Game: Winner Of The Mensa And Parent’s Choice Award.
This is one of the top educational board games for families.
A game designed by National Parks Enthusiasts: In partnership with their board-game designer son, parents who had visited every National Park created a game to inspire others and help families share their love of the National Parks in a fun way.
It’s easily understood by older kids, teenagers, families, grandparents, and everyone in between!
Trekking the National Parks is a spirited family board game that lets players experience the U.S. National Parks in a fun and competitive way.
Players compete for points by claiming Park Cards and collecting trail stones as they race across the country experiencing the wonders at each of these magnificent landscapes.
Smart Ass
Play Smart Ass, where it’s OK to shout out the answer, even if it’s not your turn.
Be the first to answer the Who, What, and Where Am I questions, and move one step closer to being the ultimate Smart Ass in your family!
Disney Villainous
This board game is all about your favorite Disney villains.
In this asymmetric board game, you get to choose from 6 iconic Disney Villains
Each character has their own sinister objectives & goals.
Disney Villainous comes with Captain Hook, Maleficent, Jafar, Ursula, Queen of Hearts, and Prince John.
The Fate Decks also feature your favorite protagonists like Aladdin, Peter Pan, Ariel, and more!
The Disney villain must complete their evil objectives before anyone else.
You can set traps and cast curses to ensure success for your character.
It’s a great game for someone who enjoys strategy since each villain has a unique goal.
It’s a good option for any group since it can be played anywhere from 2–6 people.
Relative Insanity
Relative Insanity is a hilarious game about crazy family members and even crazier situations — perfect for game nights with friends or family.
Featured on and played by the Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, Rachael Ray show, and more!
It’s a very funny game that involves crazy relatives, absurd situations and is perfect for family and friend game nights!
A player has to read a setup card aloud, like, “when my brother brought out his new baby to show the family, Granny blurted out…”
Then everyone else chooses a punch line card to finish the phrase, like “you are not the father!” or “somebody took a trip to the land of bad decisions.”
The reader then picks the funniest answer and awards that player a point.
Betrayal at House on the Hill
In this hauntingly fun game, players must work together to survive a nightmare.
Tile by tile, terror by terror, build your own haunted mansion — and then try to escape it alive.
With 50 blood-curdling scenarios, each trip to the house on the hill promises fresh horrors.
Players must work together to survive the nightmare.
Except for 1 player who becomes the traitor.
Spontuneous
Spontuneous is perfect for anyone who’s ever spontaneously broken into song when hearing a particular word.
To start each player writes down several Trigger Words on their ‘HIT list’.
When your turn comes, you announce a word from your list and flip the timer.
The player who sings at least 5 words from any song containing the Trigger Word moves on the board.
Feel shy or awkward about singing? No worries! Sing it or shout it-there’s no vocal talent required to play this game.
Spontuneous is a fantastic way for large or small groups of families and friends, to come together, unplugging and spending quality time together.
Nothing is better than unplugging and laughing with a group of your favorite people over a board.
Conclusion
So there you have it.
Our list of the best board games for teens in 2021.
Hopefully, you have found some awesome games for your teenager, tween, or for the whole family.
Time to get your game on!
We have also shared our Top 33 Party Games For Teens & Tweens.
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Originally published at https://hugateen.com on March 17, 2021.
