Great Family Board Games To Make You Laugh Until You Cry

We have put together the best list of great family board games you can play during the holidays!

As a kid, some of my best holiday memories were the times when we gathered around as a family and played board games.

This time meant more than the presents, Christmas decorations, and even my grandma’s cookies, although I loved all of that. It was the face-to-face time spent together laughing that meant so much.

It doesn’t matter if your teen doesn’t want to talk to you as much or if your extended family is dysfunctional, there’s nothing like laughter to end the awkward small talk and bring a family together.

With the holidays fast approaching, I went to the experts, our Moms of Tweens and Teens community, and asked them to please share the games that their families enjoy playing the most.

I whittled down the awesome list (they named about 30 games) to the 10 games that got the “laugh until you cry” awards.

I got SO excited reading all the reviews on these 10 games that my Amazon cart is now full!

Here Are The Winners:

SAY ANYTHING!

Ages: 8+

Number of Players: 3 – 6

Playing Time: 30 minutes.

This is finally your kid’s opportunity to Say Anything without fear of getting in trouble!

Say Anything was designed to get a party started as quickly as possible by prompting people to talk about interesting things and to make ridiculous statements. If you’re looking for great social interaction and lots of laughs with your immediate family or aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins, this is it!

What parents are saying,

“Have the tissues ready because you’ll be laughing until you’re crying. You’ll also love the expression on your teen’s face as they realize just how FUN your family is!”

Hedbanz New Updated!

Age: 12+ (but there is a younger version)

Number of Players: 2-6

Playing Time: 30 minutes

An award-winning, goofy guessing game of “What am I?” that leaves everyone guessing. Ask questions to figure out if the card on your head is a person, place, or object. Are you a famous person in history? Maybe an object was found in the kitchen? Everybody knows the answer but you!

In my family, once we start playing, we can’t stop. I’ve been known to walk around the house long after the game is over with my word still plastered on my forehead, asking questions until I finally figure it out!

Still, to this day, we laugh about the time my son couldn’t guess “basketball court” to save his life, and he got so frustrated. We all laughed until we cried.

Wits & Wagers

Age: 6+

Number of Players: 3-unlimited

Playing Time: 25 minutes (it can be taught in less than 2 minutes)

Wits & Wagers has won over 39 awards as the best party game.

It’s a trivia game with a catch that lets you bet on everyone’s answers. A fun question is asked…”How many times does a person blink each day?” The catch is no one knows the answer, and you don’t need to! That’s the fun. You can play individually or in teams, Family Feud style.

What parents say,

“Both of my boys LOVE this game!! It’s very age-appropriate for all ages! They are 10 and 13! We play with my in-laws all the time! It’s also educational!”

“Great game… we played with our older kids (21, 23, and 24), and everyone had a great time. It’s a game that generates good discussion, but you don’t have to be the smartest person in the room to win. We laughed a lot and learned a few things.”

Not Parent Approved: Card Game

This is one of our favorite games to play. Bonus: They might actually learn while they’re playing!

Apples to Apples

Age: 12+

Number of Players: 4-10+

Playing Time: 30 minutes

Apples to Apples is the quintessential party game – you deal the cards, and it’s fast-paced and simple. It’s a guessing game of who can pick the best answer to fit the person that’s the judge. The answers have you rolling on the floor. They can be so silly.

What parents say,

“This might be the ultimate party game. Apples to Apples is hilarious, “family-friendly”, and so easy that basically, anyone can learn to play in just a couple of minutes. You can pretty much play with as few or as many people as you want to and for as long as you want to.”

Exploding Kittens

Age: 7+

Number of Players: 2-5 players

Playing Time: 15 minutes

Exploding Kittens is not your typical card game. Another way to explain this game is that it’s Russian Roulette with Kittens or as CNN explained, “Uno… (with) kittens that can kill you.”

What parents are saying,

“Exploding Kittens is uniquely awesome and quite easily one of the most hilarious games I have played. The images are hilarious, and I love the strategy and “luck of the draw” concept. The game gets more and more intense with each card you draw because fewer cards left in the deck means a greater chance of drawing the kitten and exploding in a fiery ball of feline hyperbole. Buy it already!”

Telestrations

Age: 12+

Number of Players: 4-8

Playing Time: 30 minutes

The object of the game? To laugh a lot.

Telestrations is the visual version of the classic “telephone game” where you draw what you see and then guess what you saw for hilarious and unpredictable outcomes. It’s miscommunication at its best! No drawing skills are required!

What parents are saying,

“If you want bonding and laughter, this is it! It’s a great family and party game! Everyone had tears running down their faces from laughing. We’ve got a cabinet full of games, but between this and Catan, we’re set for the holidays after dinner.”

The Game of Things

Age: All ages

Number of Players: 4-9

Playing time: 45 minutes

Hailed as the game that “will make you laugh until you cry”.

It’s the “Who-said-what” game with the attitude that presents players with provocative topics like “THINGS you wouldn’t do for a million dollars,” “THINGS you wish grew on trees,” or “THINGS your parents forgot to tell you.” Everyone writes down whatever comes to mind, reads them out loud, and guesses who said what.

You won’t believe what you hear!

What parents say,

“This is by far the best game in the world! Every time we play, it spawns uncontrollable laughter!”

“It’s the best family bonding game I’ve ever played! I had 3 generations rolling in laughter! ”

Spontuneous

Age: 8+

Number of Players: 4-10

You hear a word, a song pops into your head, and you spontaneously burst into a tune! For example, can you think of a song with the word “cowboy” in it? How ’bout “heart”? Blurt it out then! ” A word is given, and it’s a race to blurt out any song containing that word. No singing skill is necessary, and play crosses generations! The cards say things like, “You have 15 seconds to sing at least 5 words from any country song. If you can’t, go back 6 spaces.”

Don’t worry about your voice. Let it rip!

What parents say,

“When we first played it, there was roaring laughter, and everyone was engaged from age 13 to age 53! It’s super fun to play with a lot of people. We also like the rules are easy, and the game is quick. So many of our favorite games take hours to play. This one only takes about 1/2 hour. Sometimes less. If you like music of any kind, you like to play board games, and you don’t mind a loud, excited crowd, then this is the game for you! (I’m about to buy another one for a friend!).”

Settlers of Catan

Age: 10+

Number of Players: 3-4

Playing Time: 45-90 minutes

This game may not have you rolling in laughter, but I had to include it on the list because of all the positive reviews from our moms about how much fun this game is and how much their kids love it.

What parents are saying,

“Dangerous! Don’t play this unless you plan on getting addicted. Your life will forever be altered. You’ll find yourself begging strangers to come over to play. Watching YouTube videos to improve your game and bribing your children. Side effects include less TV watching, more under-the-table kicking, spontaneous maniacal laughter, and snacking while plotting the demise of your friends and family. Best fun you’ve had in hours!”

I’m super excited! Next week, The Game of Things and Telestrations will be arriving. I can guarantee I won’t be waiting for the holidays to start playing!

I’d love to hear what games you and your kids love to play!

Didn’t quite find what you were looking for? No problem, we’ve got you covered! We now have our very own Amazon store with more ideas for teacher gifts, plus gift ideas for everyone on your list! Let us take a bit of holiday stress off your plate. Click HERE!