Last Friday, my 14-year-old told me Monopoly was “the most boring game ever invented.” Then he spent 45 minutes trying to negotiate a trade for Marvin Gardens. The hypocrisy is not lost on me. But he’s not wrong. Traditional family game night is dying. And I’m here to resurrect it.
I tried everything. The classics. The nostalgic stuff. The games my parents loved. My teens? They’d rather clean their bathrooms. And that’s saying something.
So I did what any desperate parent does: I bought new games. Modern games. Games that aren’t from 1995. And you know what? It worked. It actually worked.
But first, the disasters.
The Classics That Flopped
Monopoly: Takes too long. Too much math. Too many arguments about who landed on whose property. My teens call it “the game that ruins friendships.”
Scrabble: They can’t spell. I can’t spell. We spend the whole time looking up words. It’s not fun. It’s a vocabulary test.
Sorry: The sliding pieces are fun for five minutes. Then it’s just chasing each other around a board. Boring.
Clue: The rules are too complicated. We spend half the time figuring out who did what. Then we forget.
These games are nostalgic for us. Not for them. So let them go.
The Modern Games That Work
Here’s what actually gets my teens off their phones and to the table.
Codenames: This is our go-to. It’s a word game. But it’s not like Scrabble. You give one-word clues. Your team guesses the words. It’s strategic. It’s funny. It’s fast. A game takes 15 minutes. Perfect for weeknights.
Wingspan: This one looks like a bird game. And yeah, it is. But it’s beautiful. It’s strategic. It’s competitive. My teens love the point salad. They love trying to get the most points. It’s like a video game on a table.
7 Wonders: This is a card game. It’s civilization-building. It’s fast. It’s for seven players, but you can play with three. My teens like that it’s not childish. It’s complex. It feels grown-up.
Ticket to Ride: This is a train game. You build routes. You collect cards. It’s simple enough for kids, but strategic enough for teens. We play the Europe version. It’s beautiful. It’s fun.
Catan: The settler game. Everyone knows it. But here’s the thing: my teens like the trading. They like negotiating. They like building their settlements. It’s social. It’s interactive. That’s what they need.
Sushi Go!: This is a quick card game. You collect sushi sets. It’s silly. It’s fast. It’s perfect for when you don’t have a lot of time. A game takes ten minutes. It’s a palate cleanser.
Azul: This is a tile-laying game. It’s beautiful. It’s meditative. It’s competitive. My teens like the satisfaction of filling their board. It’s like a puzzle. They get it.
The Resistance: This is a social deduction game. It’s like Among Us on a table. You figure out who’s the spy. It’s bluffing. It’s accusing. It’s exactly what teens love.
Dixit: This is a storytelling game. You use cards with weird images. You give clues. You guess. It’s creative. It’s weird. My teens love the weirdness.
Splendor: This is a gem-collecting game. It’s engine-building. It’s strategic. It’s not too long. It’s perfect for the teen who likes video games. It feels like a resource management game.
Onitama: This is a chess-like game. It’s fast. It’s tactical. It’s for two players. My teens play it when they want something competitive but not long.
Love Letter: This is a deduction game. It’s for two players. It’s quick. It’s got romance but not in a cheesy way. My daughter loves it. She plays it with her boyfriend. (I don’t spy on them. Much.)
Sushi Go Party!: The bigger version of Sushi Go. More cards. More variety. More fun. It’s our party game.
Codenames: Duet: The two-player version of Codenames. Perfect for when you have a couple over. Or when one teen wants to play and the other doesn’t.
The Mind: This is a weird game. You try to put cards in order without talking. It’s telepathy. It’s frustrating. It’s hilarious. My teens love the challenge.
Skull: This is a bluffing game. You bid on skulls. You try not to get caught. It’s fast. It’s mean. It’s perfect for siblings.
Spyfall: Another social deduction game. You figure out who’s the spy. It’s fast. It’s frantic. It’s fun.
Forbidden Island: This is a cooperative game. You work together to escape the island. It’s not competitive. It’s teamwork. My teens like it when they’re in a good mood.
Pandemic: Also cooperative. You save the world. It’s more complex than Forbidden Island. It’s more strategic. It’s for when they want a challenge.
One Night Ultimate Werewolf: This is the best social deduction game. You play one round. You figure out who’s the werewolf. It’s fast. It’s intense. It’s perfect for teens.
How We Make It Work
The key is choice. I don’t pick the game. They do. I set out three options. They choose. That way, there’s no complaining.
I also set a timer. We play for one hour. That’s it. No marathon sessions. No fatigue. No arguments.
We have snacks. Always. Popcorn, chips, whatever. It’s part of the ritual.
We also have a “no phones” rule. Phones go in a basket. If you touch yours, you do the dishes. That keeps them focused.
The Setup
I have a game shelf. It’s in the living room. It’s accessible. I rotate the games. I put the ones we haven’t played in front. I hide the ones we’re tired of.
I also have a game organizer. It’s a box with compartments. It holds all the pieces. No more digging through the box. No more missing cards. It’s worth the $20.
The Budget
I don’t buy a new game every week. That’s not sustainable. I buy one game a month. Sometimes two if there’s a sale. I look for sales at Target, Walmart, Amazon. I also check the library. They have games now. Free games.
I also sell games we don’t play. On Facebook Marketplace. I get half my money back. Then I use that to buy new games. It’s a cycle.
The Final Word
Family game night doesn’t have to be a thing of the past. It just has to evolve. You have to meet your teens where they are. You have to give them games that feel grown-up. That feel strategic. That feel like video games on a table.
That’s what worked for me. That’s what got my teens off their phones. That’s what made Friday night fun again.
If you need more screen-free ideas, I wrote about screen time rules that actually work. Same principle: meet them where they are, give them something better to do.
I’m going to go set up Codenames. My teens are home from school. They’ll be down in ten minutes. And they’ll actually want to play.
That’s the win.
