As a lover of tabletop games, having game nights are an essential way to spread my enjoyment and have a fun night with friends or family. But it takes more than just a stack of board games to make an awesome game night.
To Theme or Not To Theme
It can get really boring playing the same game over and over again with no other reason but because you can. Why not give a theme to what your night will play like? By giving the night a theme, it can help you choose new and different games to play. For example, a zombie night where all of the games are related to zombies and the apocalypse (Dead of Winter and Zombie Dice are some options).
Pick Your Style
Think about what kind of games are you going to play. Will it be card games, board games, or tile-laying games? Will it be co-operative play or not? Will they be mini games that take little time to play, or a marathon of a game? It all kind of depends on your players, but I would suggest a good mix of different types, and both mini games and longer ones, so you can warm up with the minis or take a break between the longer ones.
Pay Attention To Your Guests
Obviously, if your guests are not enjoying a game, you should probably stop playing it. And if players are getting confused over the game, make sure you can easily explain or help them out so they can have fun. The whole game night will go south if your guests are not enjoying themselves, so try your best to help them have fun.
Keep It Going
What I love about game nights is that you can have them often, like a weekly tradition. Make it a routine to have game nights every so often, maybe changing locations on rotation and playing different games every time. Plus why have a bunch of tabletop games with no one to play with? Keep it going and keep on playing.
What are your favorite games to play with friends? Let me know in the comments!
How fun! I haven’t had a game night in a while but now I want to!
*five not face 🙁
The new Star Wars risk is a face on this house. We love game nights and I like to pair it with a nacho bar or buffalo chicken dip!
Playing (more) boardgames is definitely something I want to do, but it’s a little hard if you have no friends. And my family isn’t really interested in them.
The only game I have right now is Star Trek monopoly, but I would love to get some board game recommendations.
I have a lot of two-player games cause I usually only play with my brother. I just got Code Names which is really fun. I also like Sushi Go and Love Letter. You can check my mystery board games box in my sidebar too for a random game recommendation too.
I was looking to plan my first game night next month. Only games I have are Monopoly and Sorry. What do you recommend?
You can always play those two. I’m planning for tonight to play Superfight, which is kind of like Cards Against Humanity, and Code Names. I also told my guests if they wanted to bring games they could. You can also click on the sidebar the mystery board game square, which is a game I recommend. Or read my past reviews on other names like Love Letter and Sushi Go. I hope this helps!
Awesome thanks!