20 Board Games for Adults for an Evening of Fun with Family and Friends
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Whether you’re inviting some friends around or hosting a big celebration, these board games for adults are perfect for adding plenty of fun and healthy competition to your evening or all-day event.
Board Games for Adults
Fun
1. Trivial Pursuit
Number of players: 2-6 players
Check Price on AmazonWhat may seem like useless knowledge, may come in handy in this intense game of trivia.
Trivial Pursuit is a game of putting your random knowledge to the test. A player’s chance of winning is solely based on their own ability to answer trivia questions on six different topics of trivia.
The first person to collect all six category wedges and make their way back to the center is the winner.
If you want an interesting twist on Trivial Pursuit, you can try some of the special editions such as Trivial Pursuit: Wizarding World Harry Potter, Trivial Pursuit: Friends The TV Series, or Trivial Pursuit: Decades 2010-2020.
2. Wit’s End
Number of players: 2-6 players
Check Price on AmazonWits End is a challenging but entertaining game of trivia. Players will test their knowledge on four categories of questions: Teaser, Odd-1-Out, Sequence, or Wild Card questions.
Each question you answer correctly moves you closer to the pinnacle of the board but be careful of a wrong answer, or you may be bumped back a few spaces.
3. Aggravation
Number of players: 2-6 players
Check Price on AmazonAggravation is exactly what you’ll be feeling when you play this game. A true game of chance, the objective of Aggravation is to move all your pawns out of your home base and around the board back to your home.
While this may seem easy enough, if an opponent lands on your pawn, they bump it back to your home, forcing you to start over.
Classic
4. Monopoly
Number of players: 2-8 players
Check Price on AmazonA true classic, Monopoly is all about buying and selling properties to become the wealthiest player in the game.
Players will roll the dice to move spaces either buying, selling, or renting the spaces they land on.
Players can end up drawing Chance or Community Chest cards, these cards give the player a chance to either earn more money or lose more money. The player with the most properties in the end wins.
If you want an interesting twist on Monopoly, you can try some of the special editions such as Monopoly: Stranger Things, Monopoly: Game of Thrones, or Monopoly: Rick and Morty.
5. Scrabble
Number of players: 2-4 players
Check Price on AmazonFor all word game lovers, Scrabble may be the ultimate word game of all.
A true classic, Scrabble is a competition of who can build the best word. Players draw letter tiles out of the bag and hope to build the best or longest word on the board.
Extra points are achieved by building your word on “double word point” or “double letter point” spaces. Players with the most points at the end win.
6. Sorry
Number of players: 2-4 players
Check Price on AmazonSorry is a game of chance and true competition. Players will draw cards to move their pawns across the board.
The objective is to move all three of your pawns from your starting space to your home space all the way around the board. Players can slide into you, sadly bumping your pawns back to your starting place.
7. Trouble
Number of players: 2-4 players
Check Price on AmazonA classic race to the finish line, the objective of Trouble is to get all your pawns out of your home base and into your finish line spaces.
Popping the Pop-O-Matic in the center of the board allows you to roll the dice and move around the board.
Opponents can land on top of your pawns and bump you back to your home base. Tensions will rise when your pawns are in trouble.
8. Clue
Number of players: 2-6 players
Check Price on AmazonA game of murder and mystery, Clue has become a classic in the board game world.
The objective of Clue is to be the first person to correctly identify the murderer, the weapon, and the room where the murder took place.
Players will roll the dice and move the spaces until they are able to enter a room. Once they enter the room, they can make guesses on who they think the suspect is.
Players then take turns moving through the rooms while accusing the other players until someone has correctly identified the murderer, weapon, and location. The first player to guess all three wins the game.
For Small Groups
9. Checkers
Number of players: 2 players
Check Price on AmazonProbably the most well-known board game of all time, Checkers is a classic that anyone can play.
The two players will take turns moving their checkers across the board one space at a time, capturing their opponents’ checkers when they jump them.
If a player makes it all the way to their opponent’s side of the board, they will be “kinged” with one of their checkers that had been captured by their opponent. Being “kinged” allows a player to move forward and backward on the board. The goal of the game is to capture all your opponent’s checkers to win.
10. Partners
Number of players: 4 players
Check Price on AmazonCompetition and teamwork are key in this fun board game. In Partners, you and a partner will team up to beat the opposing team.
The first team to strategize and get all their pawns around the board and back into their home spaces wins.
There will be twists and turns you will never expect, maybe even from your own partner.
For Large Groups
11. Sequence
Number of players: 2-12 players
Check Price on AmazonSequence is a game of strategy and luck. Players will draw a card from their hand and place one of their chips on the corresponding space on the board.
Players having five chips in a row, horizontally, vertically, or diagonally have created a sequence.
Players need to watch out for Jacks, as they are considered a wild card.
Once the required number of sequences has been created, that player or team wins.
12. Dixit
Number of players: 3-8 players
Check Price on AmazonFor a light-hearted evening of imaginative storytelling, and a little detective work, Dixit could be right up everyone’s alley.
The game is played in rounds, where one player pulls a card and comes up with a clue based on the card. All other players then need to choose a card they think matches the clue.
The cards are then shuffled and revealed to the group, and everyone votes on which card they think best matches the clue, with points going to the player whose chosen card wins the vote.
Easy to play, beautifully illustrated, and creative throughout, Dixit can provide hours of fun for everyone involved.
Unique or Unusual
13. Ticket to Ride
Number of players: 2-5 players
Check Price on AmazonThe objective of Ticket to Ride is to see who can build the longest train route. The longer your route is, the more points you will earn.
Players will collect and play their matching train cards all while building routes through cities in North America.
Players can gain additional points by connecting two distant cities, fulfilling their Destination Tickets. The player with the longest route at the end wins.
14. Spy Alley
Number of players: 2-6 players
Check Price on AmazonWho hasn’t always wanted to be a secret spy? In this game, each player will start the game with an identification card. This lets each player know which country they are a spy for.
Players will move through the game trying to trick the other players into thinking they are someone else by purchasing disguises, passwords, codes, and keys. The goal is to make it to the end without your identity being uncovered.
More Board Games
15. Catan
Number of players: 3-4 players
Check Price on AmazonThe object of the game is to be the first player with ten victory points. Players earn victory points by building cities and settlements, having the largest army, or the longest roads.
Players can build and make trades of resources to further themselves in the game, and this helps them to earn more points, resulting in winning the game.
16. Pandemic
Number of players: 2-4 players
Check Price on AmazonA game that hits close to home, Pandemic is a game of skill and teamwork.
Instead of players battling against each other, all players in this game are playing cooperatively.
Players will move across the board, going from city to city, hoping to eradicate the diseases from each city.
The object of the game is to find a cure for each of the four diseases.
17. Risk
Number of players: 2-5 players
Check Price on AmazonRisk is a game of strategy and conquest. The player’s goal is to create an army to help them battle and conquer territories.
A player’s fate will be dependent on the roll of the dice. Either they will defeat their opponent, or they will be defeated.
The first player to complete their mission and reveal their Secret Mission card is the winner.
18. Jumanji
Number of players: 2-4 players
Check Price on AmazonAdventure is at your fingertips with Jumanji. Jumanji brings danger and surprises right into your home.
The game objective is to be the first player to reach Jumanji in the center of the board and call out its name. Players will take turns rolling the dice and moving along the path, using the green dome to decode the riddle on the cards.
With so many creatures in the jungle, watch out for the rhino who may be blocking your path!
19. The Logo Game
Number of players: 2-6 players
Check Price on AmazonYou know them, you love them, Logos. They are everywhere, and you probably know more of them than you think.
Put your knowledge to the test in this exciting trivia game. Players will take turns going around the board, answering the logo-related questions on the cards that are drawn.
The first player to answer correct questions and move their pawn around the board to the center wins the game.
20. Plunder
Number of players: 2-6 players
Check Price on AmazonHere is your chance to become a real pirate. With the opportunity to build your ships and prepare them for battle, you’ll be defeating your opponents in no time.
Players will take turns moving across the board and conquering islands. If a player comes across an island already conquered by an opponent, they can choose to battle them.
Players can better prepare their ships for battle by adding masts and cannons to their ships. Once you conquer your island, you’ll want to proudly plant your flag.
This game can either be played individually or in teams. Either way, you better hope the dice roll is in your favor!
Get ready to ramp up the fun factor when you pull some of these fun and classic board games out for everyone to play, no matter what the occasion.
Board games are a great way to help everyone bond, have plenty of laughs, and engage in some healthy competition throughout the evening.
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Eager to bring some of these board games for adults to your next gathering? Keep this rundown for safekeeping by saving it to one of your Pinterest boards.