5 Fun Board Games to Play With Grandparents
National Grandparents Day has been recognized as a holiday in America since 1978. Celebrated on the first Sunday after Labor Day each September, Grandparents Day was created “to honor grandparents, to give grandparents an opportunity to show love for their children's children, and to help children become aware of the strength, information, and guidance older people can offer.”
People choose to celebrate Grandparents Day in a variety of ways, including cooking family dinners together, making arts and crafts projects, and performing family talent shows. But a tried-and-true favorite way to spend time together as an intergenerational family is by playing board games.
With so many board games on the market these days, however, it can be hard to choose one that the whole family is guaranteed to enjoy. Here are five different board game options to play together this Grandparents Day, which is coming up on September 10:
Game: Scrabble
Who Should Play: Families Who Love to Read
“Scrabble” is a classic for anyone who loves to play with words, making it an ideal board game for book lovers. Younger generations, who may not have been exposed to the original board game, might be familiar with it in its online iteration, “Words With Friends.” Families who tend to get competitive might want to keep a dictionary on hand while playing this game, as some players have been known to make up words in an attempt at more points.
Game: Pictionary
Who Should Play: Creative Families
For families who jump at the chance of expressing themselves through art, “Pictionary” is the perfect game. The game is played by different players trying to identify a word or phrase based on what their teammate is drawing. Each team moves their way up the board, drawing various things within different categories, until one team makes it to the top. Modern versions of this game now come with markers and erasable white boards.
Game: Candyland
Who Should Play: Families With Children Under Age 6
Toddlers are notorious for their short attention spans, but they are loath to miss out on any of the fun that the rest of the family is having! In order to include your little ones in the Grandparents Day celebration, consider choosing a game like “Candyland,” which is colorful, fun and has instructions easy enough for children under the age of 6.
Game: Yahtzee
Who Should Play: Strategic Thinkers
“Yahtzee” is a dice game in which players try to roll high scores by rolling five different dice at the same time. There are 13 different rounds to this game, and each player gets to roll the dice three times in each round, trying to roll a different combination of numbers to try to get the highest score. While it’s impossible to control the outcome of what happens when you roll the dice, you can choose to forfeit rolls in each round, which may or may not help you get a leg up on the competition.
Game: Catch Phrase
Who Should Play: Families Who Love Teamwork
Although not technically a board game, “Catch Phrase” is a small, battery-operated device that displays a word or phrase, and a player uses verbal and nonverbal cues to get their teammates to guess the word or phrase, but the player cannot use any form of the word itself, nor a word that rhymes. When the team guesses correctly, the other team takes its turn and play continues until a timer runs out. The team not holding the device when time runs out scores a point. It’s sort of like a timed, more technologically advanced version of charades.
Share With Us
We’d love to hear how you and your family are celebrating Grandparents Day this year, especially if you are going to try any of the above suggestions.