We just played Codenames Words and it was a hit. Played it with just the 4 of us, but it would be even more fun with 6 or more. DS will be taking it with him when he heads back to college tomorrow. Thanks for the suggestion.
Tellistrations was a fun one for 8 people ages 4th grade to grandma this Christmas.
We’ve continued with Pandemic Legacy Season 1. This is the best board game I’ve ever played. It’s unbelievably fun. We have reached November. The situation is dire.
I can’t wait to finish up Season 1. We will immediately start Season 2, I imagine.
Loaded Questions
Secret Hitler
Apples to Apples
Cards Against Humanity
Risk (play the computer version- it is faster)
Card games such as Hearts
One Night Ultimate Werewolf. Unbelievably fast and fun. Not to be mistaken with Werewolf which is similar but takes more people and time.
Exploding Kittens.
Secret Hitler
Gloomhaven.
Gloomhaven.
Gloomhaven.
Gloomhaven.
That is all.
There is a reason Gloomhaven has won all the game awards and sits atop the Boardgamegeek standings: because it’s superb and addictive. It’s not for casual players, and not a party game, but if you like board games like Settlers of Catan, you are willing to put up with some complexity, and you don’t want to play any other games for the next year because you have become addicted, get Gloomhaven while you can.
My family bought the game in February. Since then I’ve played it maybe 80 times, first in a family group and now solo. There is still more content to discover.
When I say a lot of content, I mean A LOT. The game box weighs 20 pounds.
Per my daughter (college freshman):
Cards Against Humanity
What do you Meme
Super Fight
Red Flags
Never Have I…But I Will
Caution that all are raunchy card games.
@alexgrin, if you like Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride and Pandemic, you should think about Gloomhaven. It is so so so good.
I haven’t played Settlers though I think I’d like it having observed my kids playing. I hate Pandemic. Actually I dislike most cooperative games because in our house one person tends to take over and tell everyone what to do. So far my favorite is Dominion and all its expansions. I like Carcasson a lot too, though I’m not actually very good at it. For some reason our family has never gotten Ticket to Ride.
Gloomhaven has mechanisms that are supposed to stop one person from taking over and telling everyone else what to do. And although it’s mostly cooperative, individual players have individual goals that might conflict with the group goal.
O’k just got back from our family reunion. Being a stormy day we brought about a dozen game. They were going to play Secret Hitler for the first time but just the name caused quite a stir and the kids put it away and played Dominion. It’s not an Anti-Semitic game, right?
Secret Hitler has fascists and liberals. The fascists are the bad guys. You goal is to find and stop the Secret Hitler. I have to say… I have a child who is a very, very, very good fascist (in this game). 
But I haven’t heard anyone say it anti-Semitic. It is anti fascist. If you look at the game website, it tells you who to complain to if you think fascism is not a good topic for a game (can’t say more without turning the thread political).
@intparent I thought Hitler and co were also the bad guys. Anyway some of our family are Jewish and one didn’t like the name so the kids stopped. I know people have recommended here. Is it a really controversial game. I feel a little bad that they brought it.
I said the fascists were the bad guys in my post… (or are you just agreeing?). Or misreading that my kid is a “good fascist” – she is very good at playing a fascist role is what I mean – she is kind of an all star at this game, although I’m not sure that is something to brag about!
@intparent I was agreeing. I understood you.
Thanks for more details on Gloomhaven. It sounds like something our nephew would enjoy if he doesn’t have it already.
Our kids like many of the games listed above (CAH, Secret Hitler, Settlers, Pandemic, CodeNames), and also one named Monikers. Kind of like a modified charades with updated (and slightly raunchy) subject matter.
Going to get my son Gloomhaven for Christmas, sounds great.
If you want Gloomhaven ( and you should!) I suggest buying it now. I doubt there will be copies available at Christmas.
Gloomhaven has a fanatical fan base. If you, or the relative you’re buying it for, typically likes medium-complicated board games, they will probably love Gloomhaven.
Drawbacks: it’s expensive ($140!), it takes a while to set up, most players need some kind of organizing solution, although the rules are intuitive there are a lot of them.
Advantage: it’s so much fun. The game keeps up interest by unlocking more and more content throughout the many-month duration of game play.