Kensington and Cluedo are my favorites. Also, Frustration is good for playing with a mixture of children and adults, as is Jenga, though that's not a board game. Neither is Yahtzee, which is a brilliant game, despite that. Scruples is also fun, as long as you can defuse the arguments it's bound to cause!
Christmas is the time of year for sitting on the floor and shouting ridiculous words at your family. Yes, it's the dreaded board game. And if you're puzzled by which ones you should be playing this year then help is at hand. Here's a list of the very best:
Bananagrams
Yes, I know what you're thinking. That looks like Scrabble without a board. And I have to say, I think I agree with you. It does look like Scrabble without a board. Except this is Bananagrams and there is no board.
Each player takes a 'bunch' of letters, then races to form as many connecting words as possible. Then you must 'peel', which means taking some more letters from the 'bunch' and then, at some point, shout 'split'.
I guess the loser is 'yellow' and the winner runs around shouting 'nana-nanana' extremely loudly and irritatingly. Ages 7 and upPrice - $15
Bop-It
Bop-It is a colourful and noisy little game. It lights up and shouts out commands such as 'spin' and 'pull' and 'twist'. Players must do exactly what Bop-It orders as quickly as possible. The higher the score the better the Bop-It.
Kids can now download new commands and record their own voice with Bop-It download. Ages 8 and upPrice: $25
If you like your board games varied, then Cranium really is the one for you. The sketching, sculpting, puzzling, acting, humming, quiz-based board game has pretty much everything for pretty much everyone in the family.
The game lasts an hour, it's very colourful and there's plenty of fun for adults and kids alike. It's been a huge hit and is sure to be played in thousands of houses on Christmas Day. Ages 3 and upPrice: $25
Funny Business
Just as the free market is collapsing round our ankles, a game pops up pleading with you to start believing in business all over again. And to laugh. Because business is fun.
What you have to do is create hilarious and convincing names for a mall-full of new enterprises. So if a bakery merges with a barber shop, you have to decide what name will you give it. Win votes from the other players and the business is yours. Ages 12 and up Price: $20
Game of Life Extreme Reality Edition
Life used to be so simple. You were born, went to school, got a job, had two kids, retired and then waved goodbye. But now life is more extreme. There are skydives, TV shows to be on, castles to live in, stunts to perform, sextuplets to give birth to. That's life according to the Game of Life Extreme Reality Edition, anyhow.
There's not much that's genuinely new in the board game world. Questions, answers, points... Oh, and the miming one. Well, this is the miming one. Based on charades, Guesstures sees players act out four words against the clock. Fail and the cards get 'munched'.
Once the game's over, points are tallied to see who wins 'Best Performance'. Trophy included! Ages 8 and upPrice: $20
Pictureka Flipper!
Fancy spending Christmas Day with a penguin? Good, because in Pictureka Flipper! The penguin pretty much rules. I'm not sure if he, she or it has a name, but Penguin flips cards onto the table and players must race to find the fun drawings which correspond with their 'missions'. And all before Penguin quacks. Ages 6 and upPrice: $20
Totally Gross
Kids aren't interested in knowing who discovered penicillin or what the X stands for in X-ray, what they really want to know is what snot is, exactly; who has the smelliest feet, and whether mum or dad does the best impression of throwing up.
Totally Gross is a science-based board game which will teach kids a bit about chemistry and biology whilst making them laugh until they're sick. Eureka! Ages 8 and upPrice: $20
Trivial Pursuit Team
The world is getting stupider. It's a fact. And as a result of this, the brainy team at Trivial Pursuit have found a way of offering their extremely-challenging quiz to an audience of complete dummies. Instead of the old strict rules: One question, one answer, right or wrong, now Trivial Pursuit Team offers you multiple choice options, points for nearly-correct answers, closest answers and presumably lots of pats on the back. It's still fun, but it won't make you feel clever. Ages 18 and upPrice: $30
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