We love games. All types of games. Board games. Party games. Card games. Dice games. Role Playing games, you name it. We love playing games with our family and friends. But it is hard to find, good, trusting game reviews that focus on families and playing with children. We hope to change that. We hope you will enjoy it.

We firmly believe that playing games with your children is one of the best ways to help them grow intellectually, socially, and independently.  All while having fun and spending “quality time” with the ones we love.  And it’s important to help the kids to learn how to win and lose gracefully. Someday, even Dad might learn this too.

The Board Game industry is booming right now. And with this current Gaming Renaissance there are hundreds of new titles released each year, some of them are awesome, and some, not so much. Hopefully we can help you discover which games are perfect for your Family Game Night.

How to Navigate Family Game Night

Our website has several categories focusing on different aspects of gaming.

Game Showcase – Here you will find reviews for new or popular games. Most of these games will be available at the big retailers, like Target, Walmart, and Amazon.

The Game Vault – Reviews of the old school classic games, like Clue & Monopoly, or rare and out-of-print gems that you can only find on eBay or at strift stores and yard sales.

The Indie Circuit – Reviews of the incredible games produced by the indepenent publishers or self-published game designers. Often these games are available at Hobby stores, conventions, Kickstarter, or direct from the publisher.

Designer Workshop – Recently, I was inspired to throw my hat in the ring and develop my own games. I am exhilarated and terrified of this new chapter in my life, and I will try to share these experiences (good & bad) with this blog post. There will also be other topics related to Game Design and interviews with Game Designers.

RPG Initiative – Dungeons & Dragons is having a resurgence, and we’re along for the ride with Campaign Diaries and D&D Debates that offer our thoughts and advice for running the world’s greatest roleplaying game! Of particular note, is our Campaign Resources Page that includes all the maps, handouts and extras that we’ve used to run the official Wizards of the Coast D&D Adventures.

Meeple News – This category has move to the Top Header. Here we will post any articles that dicuss the gaming world. Top Ten lists, Convention coverages, Spiel de Jahres winners (the industry’s top awards) and other news will be posted here.

The Grading System

Our reviews are our individual (and unpaid) opinion of how fun/good the game is with a focus on their suitability for playing as a family.  Obviously, these reviews are written by adults, for adults, but we will always have the opinions of the various age groups as well.

Every review scoring system is completely arbitrary and ridiculous, so here is ours:  Our games will be ranked on a scale of 2-12 because that’s what you get if you roll 2 six-sided dice.  Since dice are in our logo, it seemed appropriate.  Plus, most of these dice rolls have cool names.

Using this system, a score of 2 – 5 would be a Bad game, 6 – 9 is a Good game, and 10 – 12 is a Great game. I wanted to include an Ugly catergory just to put Monopoly in it, but there isn’t a score below 2, so Bad will have to suffice.

The Subcategories

When searching for a particular game genre, score, or age bracket there are number of tags located on the right sidebar to navagate where you want

Game Type

Game – Board > Any game that uses a board to track score or progress. 2-5 players.

Game – Party> A social game for usually 4 or more players.

Game – Card > Usually a smaller game involving a deck of card. Often 2-4 players.

Game – Dice > Similar to a card game but using dice. Think Yathzee.

Age Bracket

Age – Child> We consider this age to be 6+, but your child’s game maturity may vary.

Age – Preteen > Usually between the ages of 10 – 13. Slightly harder rules.

Age – Teen > Obviously 13+. More complex mechanics, teen subject matter.

Age – Adult > 18+. Mature Subject matter or seriously hard rules.

Game Ranking

Score – Great > The best gaming experience. Score 10 – 12.

Score – Good > A fun gaming experience. Worth a look. Score 6 – 9.

Score – Bad> A poor gaming experience. Totally skippable. Score 2 – 5.

The Rest

Game Index – An alphbetical listing of every game we’ve reviewed.

Wordless Wall – A little art project that evolved out of my old Wordless Wednesday posts.

Top Ten – All of our Top Ten lists without the extra nonsense, just Top Ten nonsense.

If you have any ideas for reviews, top ten lists, RPG topics or campaigns, feel free to Contact us directly.

You can follow us on:

Twitter @gamenightblog

Instagram @gamenightblogger

FaceBook @Game Night Blog

As always, stay safe, play more games, and Game On!