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Smart Family and Party Games

These games are great for a family game night, or a big party with lots of guests playing, alone or in teams.  Don't miss any of them - my family can't pick a favorite!

Offering many terrific toys our kids love, Toys at Amazon.com,  MindWareOnline, Discovery Store, Zome! and many more - all the links on Shop Hoagies! - are all Hoagies' Gifted Education Page associates.  For each purchase from Hoagies' Page links, these stores give a small percentage of your purchase price to Hoagies' Gifted Education Page, at no cost to you -- Thanks!

Aunt Millie's Millions, the Frenzied Game of Family Fortune (3-6 players, ages 10-15)

Play the role of one of the colorful characters out to get Aunt Millie's fortune. Use speed, strategy and persuasion to collect the most coveted valuables. Will you get her vintage jukebox or get stuck with a rusty toilet? Claim the same item as another player and you must give the best sob story to convince the judge that you deserve it more! Heir-splitting fun!
 

Apples to Apples, Party Box Edition or Apple Crate Edition (ages 12+)

This game receives rave reviews from our gifted community, for family or group fun!
Also check out...  (And for a full list of the words in each set, visit Munching Apples fan site)

Apples to Apples Kids (ages 7-12) As soon as they can read! A bit heavy on cartoons and kid-culture references...

Apples to Apples Jr. 9+ (ages 9-14) an intermediate level, tons of fun! (or from Amazon)

Apples to Apples the basic set

Apples to Apples Customizable Cards create your own green and red apple cards (for inkjet printers)

Party Box Expansion #1 and Party Box Expansion #2 more apples, more fun!

Apples to Apples Bible Edition

Apples to Apples Jewish Edition or Apples to Apples Yiddish Edition
 

Balderdash (ages 12 and up)

Make up phony answers, read them off along with the correct answer, and others vote on which answer is real.  Score points for guessing correctly and for bluffing the other players...
 

Bananagrams (or from Amazon) (2 or more players, ages 7 and up, younger for language / spelling gifted kids)

Grab more tiles, and reorganize existing tiles into new words - the banana bag stores the game and rules when they're not in use.  Great for vocabulary building or spelling practice, too!  And try Spanish Bananagrams!  And Jumbo Bananagrams with twice the tiles, for an extra large crowd!
 

Blurt! (3-12 players, ages 10+) The uproarious word race game!

Blurt!, off the market for several years, is back and better than ever. Think fast! What word means "a partially dried grape"? Be the first to say "raisin," and you're on your way to winning this riotous game of rapid word recall. Players take turns reading clues aloud, competing to blurt out the correct answer first and move ahead on the board. The first person or team to circle the board wins. Sounds simple, but as the race for the right word heats up, and the blurting gets boisterous, it's easy to get tongue-tied! Great vocabulary builder for kids, hilarious addition to adult parties and family game night...
 

Boggle (2-6 players, ages 8 and up) The original 3-minute word search game!

Shake up the lettered cubes, drop them into the grid and start the timer.  Then race to see who can list the most words with the highest point value among the random letter assortment in the grid!  Or try Boggle Jr. or Boggle To Go
 

Bubble Brain (10 to adult)

Make up funny captions for silly photos, then try to guess which player wrote which caption... it's tons of imaginative fun!
 

Cogno: Deep Worlds and Cogno: Alien Adventure (2-8 players, age 7 to adult)

Win fuel cells by answering thought-provoking questions, while you avoid the "parallel universe" (a second board!).  Plan your strategy, to bear your opponents back to your the surface (or your home planet).  Don't miss the science novels featuring the same characters Cogno: The Alien Legends, Synapse and Cogno: The Legends Book Two - Mindshifters in Hot Topics Reading List: Science
 

Contrario (13 to adult, 2 or more players or teams)

Here's the contrario: A Shampoo Symphony. Need a clue? TV. Need another? Series. If you say A Soap Opera without needing to ask for a clue, you score 3 points; 2 if you got it after the first clue, and 1 if you got it after hearing both clues. Features more than 1200 contrarios.  Play by time limit, by predetermined number of cards to play, or by first player or team a target score. It's even fun to play without keeping score at all - we've been playing at dinner, in waiting rooms, and in the car! Challenge your creative and lateral thinking abilities...
 

Cranium Tin Edition (12 to adult) or Cranium Cadoo (7 and up)

Spell a word backwards, hum a tune, answer a multiple-choice question, draw with your eyes closed, and more when you play Cranium, with 14 talent-tapping activities designed to bring out the best in you and your friends...  Cadoo is the funky fusion of tic-tac-toe, general knowledge, sculpting skill, and scavenger hunt designed for kids

Cranium Wow (12 to adult)  Uncover a player’s talents--or lack thereof. Wow’s objective is to move around the board until you’ve reached Cranium Central, where your team completes its final activities to claim victory.  Collect the new personalized markers, too!Cranium Booster Box 1 and Cranium Booster Box 2 or Cranium Cadoo Booster Box 1

Also... Cranium Turbo (12 to adult) Adds 6 new activities to the original 10, for even more Cranium fun!

Cranium Family Edition (8 to adult)  players compete by building, flipping, sketching, sculpting, and guessing

Cranium Hoopla (12 to adult) Players act, draw, and craft hilariously clever clues to get the other players to guess the answers on their cards

Cranium Pop 5 (13 to adult)  How much pop culture do you and your team know??

Cranium Whoonu (8 to adult)  have unforgettable fun as you reveal your favorite things, share hilarious stories, and bond over surprising connections. You'll be amazed at what you'll learn about your friends and family -- especially those you think you know best!

Cranium Conga (7 and up) Fast-paced "guess what I'm thinking" game will get your whole family acting, sculpting, guesstimating, and picking hilarious words

Balloon Lagoon (5 and up) While the merry-go-round music plays, compete thinking, matching, flipping and fishing as you collect balloons

Cranium Hullabaloo (4 and up) Twister meets Simon Says... Listen closely and think fast as you bounce, twist, spin, high-five, and dance to the music, sounds, and friendly voice of Hullabaloo. Rewards quick thinking, cooperation, and creative problem-solving
 

Faces a game of first impressions (3-8 players, ages 10+)

match your first impression of zany man, woman, and pet faces with your opponents to win.  The "impression" cards are as funny as the faces... "The neat freak," "The one who's socks don't match," "The one who's reading an eye chart" A very visual game
 

Farkel (ages 6 and up)

Exciting dice game for the whole family, two or more players. Two minutes to learn; luck, guts and strategy to win... Farkel comes in Green, Blue, Purple, Red (purchase score pads separately), as well as Pocket versions, 2" high and complete, in Purple, Blue, Green, Red (roll-up score pad included) and even Spicy Farkel!
 

Golo golf dice game

A game of golf in a game of dice!  Golfers and non-golfers alike will find this game easy to learn and impossible to put down. The 9 dice represent 9 holes and feature birdies , bogeys, pars, and the dreaded "others".  With the same rules as real golf, this game has become popular with golfing organizations across the country.  Also available in Go500 racing dice game (see the YouTube video) and Go Long football dice game
 

Hexago Continuo by U.S. Games Systems

There's only one rule: match color, number or both.  Simple for all ages, but with strategic possibilities that make it tons of fun for all...
 

Heximania (2-4 players, ages 6 and up, mixed abilities)

Spinning the board as you go, take turns placing letter tiles and earning points for each word you build. As long as letters are adjacent and in the proper sequence, words may be read in any direction - up, down, backwards, forwards, or in a sweeping swirl! Can be played at all skill levels; perfect for the entire family...
 

Hit or Miss 3-8 players, ages 10 and up (gifted kids even younger!)

Draw a category card and in 45 seconds, list as many related words that come to mind. When the timer runs out, roll the die - if it lands on HIT, pick a word that you think everyone wrote; if it lands on MISS, pick one that only you wrote. Choose wisely and score big points...
 

iMAgiNiff the funniest game you can imagine (3-8 players, ages 12+)

Just imagine what the other players are most like. Keep choosing the most popular answers to win the game...
 

In A Pickle (10 and up)

Creative thinking and outrageous scenarios. Try to win a set of cards by fitting smaller things into bigger things -- a baby goes in a bathtub, which is in a house, in Hollywood. Play the fourth word card to claim the set, unless one of your opponents can trump with a larger word...
 

Jurassic Jumble from the makers of SET

Fun family game of switching and swiping dinosaur cards and bones, for up to 9 friends or family members of all ages!

Keesdrow by Pywacket LLC (2 to 6 players or more in teams, also a great solitaire game)

The ultimate word seek game!  Real wooden tiles contain 4 letters each, double-sided for more combinations, and then distributed in an 8x8 board - it's a new challenge with each game.  Find words in adjacent letters, use letters your opponent already used for double or triple points, but watch out for "red" letters...

 

Last Word The uproarious race to have the final say! (2-8 players, ages 8+)

Subject: “Vegetables”…Letter: “C". Players race opponents and the random-interval timer to yell them out…Carrots! Cucumbers! Corn! Cauliflower! ‘tick-tick’… The player with the Last Word in before the timer sounds advances…Oh! Celery! BZZZT!
 

Once Upon a Time: The Storytelling Card Game (all ages)

Players create a story together, using cards that show typical elements from fairy tales. One player is the Storyteller, and creates a story using the ingredients on her cards. She tries to guide the plot towards her own ending. The other players try to use cards to interrupt her and become the new Storyteller. The winner is the first player to play out all her cards and end with her Happy Ever After card...
 

Pirates of the Caribbean Pirate's Dice Game (8+, younger for gifted kids)

To stay alive in Pirate's Dice, you must bluff — or be bluffed. To beat your opponents, you must fiendishly double-cross your way to victory. Barnacle-encrusted dice cups and dice allow players to experience the exact game played in the action-packed Pirates of Caribbean movie Dead Man's Chest. May the most deceitful pirate win!
 

Pixel (ages 8+) (or from Amazon)

Slide, point, align, and win! Pixel is the perfect strategy game for the whole family. Move a slider and place your piece in the intersection. The catch: only one slider may be moved on each turn. You don’t have to block your opponent, but be careful where you leave those sliders...
 

Scattergories The classic fast-thinking categories game (2-6 players, ages 12+)

Right off the top of your head name a restaurant, fruit, toy, Halloween costume, and weapon--and make sure your answers all begin with the same initial letter. There's 144 different categories to challenge your mind...
 

Scotland Yard (3-6 players, ages 10+)

Hunting Mr X! Where is that elusive fugitive? Scotland Yard detectives stake out the player named Mr X! Action-packed, requiring strategy & accurate communication among players. Close observation, clever tactics & luck required. Heed the clues & try to catch Mr X before he escapes!
 

Sentence Says

A think-fast game of sentence creation. Form a sentence with words starting with the letters on the letter cards you draw on your turn-but be quick, before time runs out! A roll of the die determines if you have 30, 45, or 60 seconds to make your sentence. Draw G, R, Q, B, L, and I, and create... Queen Isabella likes big red grapes; or maybe: Growing irritated, Robert quits lottery betting.  Bonus points for following your action card...
 

Snorta

The party game where everyone is an animal... or at least sounds like one!  Fun for all ages...
 

Table Topics Conversation Cards

At the dinner table, at bedtime, in the car... these great conversation starters will get the conversation going.  Various editions, including Original, Family, Teen, Book Club, Couples, Girls Night Out, and Spirit.  Also try Travel Topics to Go including Wine Topics, Golf Topics and Election Topics, and Journal Topics including my Life, My Wedding and My Pregnancy...
 

Twister the game that ties you up in knots!

Spin the dial and move a hand or foot to the colored circle on the floor mat. Can you get there? Don't touch the mat with anything but a hand or foot! Lots of laughs!  Just as much fun silliness as when we were kids!
 

VisualEyes The 'What You See is What You Get' Game! (Visit Buffalo Games and click on the left margin for an interactive version of Visual Eyes...)

Appealing to the visual learners, and everyone else.  Find words or phrases among the pictures
 

Wits & Wagers (3-7 players, ages 10+) (or from Amazon)

A trivia game where knowing the answer is only half the strategy.  Bet on whichever player you think is more likely to get the answer correct, the game of guts and "guesstimates"...
 

You've Been Sentenced (3-10 players, ages 8+)

Using a unique word deck of pentagon shaped cards containing conjugations of funny words, famous names from throughout history, familiar places, and wild cards, players have to make grammatically correct and justifiable sentences. The real fun begins when players have to read their sentences out loud and explain what they mean to the rest of players. They form the jury and vote thumbs up or down on whether the sentence and justification stand and the points are scored...
 

Last updated January 20, 2010