If there was one thing I wasn’t planning at all when I started homeschooling, it’s that we’d become a family of gamers. Well, we may not be gamers according to everyone’s definition, but we do play a lot of games. My boys love their digital games, but they also love board games, and this past year, especially, we have played more times than I care to count. The boys keep getting more and more games for gifts too. (Anything that keeps them busy for long stretches of time is actually a great gift!)

I play games with my eight-year-old every. single. day. Well, almost. Once in a while, something might interrupt this schedule, but we really do play pretty much everyday. He is becoming adept at strategizing, counting change, and planning ahead. I think he’s learned so much from these games, which is why I don’t mind playing with him.

We play in the evenings during the eleven-year-old’s second piano practice session. This can take over an hour, so we’ve got a lot of time. During his breaks, my eleven-year-old will come over to watch us, and sometimes he’ll try to help me play a game better, but his brother doesn’t appreciate that very much. lol Sometimes he helps his brother too.

On the weekends and sometimes during the week, if they aren’t playing outside, the boys will play board games together. It’s a lot of fun for me to watch them play together. They’ll play games that I don’t know how to play, and in fact, my eleven-year-old has spent some considerable time reading the hefty instruction booklets of a couple of his dad’s old war games this year. (I think that’s one of the biggest perks of having a boy who can read — I don’t have to read the instructions anymore!)

I can’t possibly list all of our games, but here are a few that were played frequently this year. Don’t tell the boys, but we also have a few other games packed away in the closet, waiting for birthdays and holidays and such! 😉

Some vintage games we own:

Monopoly
The Game of Life
Yahtzee
Air Assault on Crete

Great games for younger kids:

Trouble
Lattice
Sum Swamp

Newer games that the boys love:

Star Wars Monopoly
Star Wars Risk
Munchkin
Dungeon!
What’s It?
Evolution

Please tell me about your family’s favorite board games.