Game Night Games & Unique Puzzles Gift Guide
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There’s always a stage of life, right? And family game night games for us have changed over the years. We’ve long moved past the cutesy preschool games and find ourselves leaning more into deeply involved strategy games and nostalgic games.
Both of my boys are into everything retro from our childhood which makes it a lot of fun for my husband and I. Below is a fantastic new selection of games for families and kids 10+. Higher level thinking games, strategy games, and yes, some good old reminiscent games.
Some of these game night games listed below were sent to us for our gift guide but this is not a paid post – we actually love and recommend all of these games!
Throwback Nostalgic Games:
JAWS –
If you ask either of my boys their favorite retro throwback movie they will both answer JAWS. JAWS swept the nation like none other and to this day it still affects people swimming out in open waters! This deep strategic game takes place in two acts – Amity Island and the Orca (boat). YES – one player gets to play the shark! Either JAWS will win or the people will win!
Ages: 12+
Player Count: 2-4
Play Time: 45-60 minutes
Brand: Ravensburger
READ OUR REVIEW & LEARN HOW TO PLAY HERE!
Horrified: Universal Monsters –
It’s no secret that my family LOVES Universal Studios and this Horrified: Universal Monsters game was absolutely perfect to engage our love for classic film monsters with our kids. Not only does it include seven high quality sculpted miniatures (Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Wolf Man) but this is a cooperative game where everyone actually works together against the monsters! Each monster comes with different strategies and tactics needed in order to be defeated.
Ages: 10+
Player Count: 1-5
Play Time: 45-60 minutes
Brand: Ravensburger
READ OUR REVIEW & LEARN HOW TO PLAY HERE!
Escape Strategy Games:
EXIT: The Game Series –
The EXIT game series is like a mini escape room in a box. With captivating storylines that will catch you before you even open the box, these games will have you working as a team together pulling from all of your best resources to beat the mystery. NO app required! Because you need to use the tools in each box to solve the puzzle it is a one time use game and priced accordingly for a family night in.
There are different games in this series (see below) and each game has a slightly different play time and age recommendation. An AWESOME choice for families and groups of tweens to adults!
Ages: 12+
Player Count: 1-4
Play Time: 1-2 hours
Brand: KOSMOS
Games in the Series: The Secret Lab, The Catacombs of Horror, The Abandoned Cabin, The Sinister Mansion, The Mysterious Museum, Dead Man on the Orient Express, The Sunken Treasure, Polar Station, Forbidden Castle, Forgotten Island, Haunted Roller Coaster, The House of Riddles, Pharoah’s Tomb
READ OUR REVIEW & LEARN HOW TO PLAY HERE!
Adventure Games –
Adventure Games are like bringing PC adventure games to life! Explore new spaces, find new clues, and determine how your adventure ends. Combine the escape room feel of The EXIT game series with a PC adventure game and choose your own adventure stories and you’ve got Adventure Games! This is also a one play game choice.
Ages: 12+
Player Count: 2-4 players
Play Time: Several hours
Brand: KOSMOS
Games in the Series: The Dungeon, Monochrome, Inc.
READ OUR REVIEW & LEARN HOW TO PLAY IT HERE!
Escape Puzzle –
My son and I discovered our love for puzzles on big road trip while camping across the country, but Escape Puzzle is something you’ve never seen before! Imagine a real life escape room but in a puzzle format! An interactive puzzle like I’ve never seen before, you need to throw away what you know about puzzles and focus on solving the mystery instead.
Ages: 12+
Player Count: 1-2
Play Time: Player dependent – several hours
Puzzle Size: 759 pieces
Brand: Ravensburger
Puzzles in the Series: Witch’s Lair, Space Observatory, Vampire’s Castle, Submarine
READ OUR REVIEW & LEARN HOW TO PLAY HERE!
Strategy & Math Games:
Invasion of the Cow Snatchers –
Abduct the cows, take the bull last, don’t knock over the fences. Seems simple enough right? This single player game is an EPIC strategy adventure of alien abduction taking cows. To solve each of the 60 challenges you must maneuver your spaceship over cows in a particular order without knocking down barns, fences, hay bales, or crop rows. There’s even an extended addition using crop circles if you’ve made it to the Genius levels! This is seriously fun for even those who don’t believe in aliens!
Ages: 6+
Player Count: 1
Play Time: 10+ minutes
Brand: ThinkFun
READ OUR REVIEW AND LEARN HOW TO PLAY HERE!
Tribes –
Cover 30,000 years of civilization in under an hour and grown your tribe. A strategy game with the progression of life at its core, you’ll maneuver your way discovering new lands and resources in this stunningly beautiful game. The game flows quickly making it a great game choice for any style of player.
Ages: 10+
Player Count: 2-4
Play Time: 45 minutes
Brand: KOSMOS
READ OUR REVIEW & LEARN HOW TO PLAY HERE!
Ubongo Extreme –
With spatial recognition and competition driving this game, this version is perfect for portable game play and vacations! It’s the age old game of turning geometric shapes in various ways to fit the puzzle. Although it’s always fun with more people, you can also do single play!
Ages: 7+
Player Count: 1-4
Play Time: 15 minutes+
Brand: KOSMOS
READ OUR REVIEW AND LEARN HOW TO PLAY HERE!
