Board Games for Teenagers

From time-tested classics, to brand new titles, there are more awesome board games for teenagers available than ever before.

You may think that since your kids are older, they’re past the point of playing games. But they’re probably not. In fact, the majority of tweens and teens love to play table games, especially if they’re fun, interesting, and challenging.

If you’re like most families, you probably have a stack of board games sitting on a shelf or in a closet that don’t get a lot of use. It’s time to dust off your pile of games (or invest in some new ones) and play with your teens.

On this page, you’ll find a bunch of games we have tested in our home and come with a tween/teen seal of approval.

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What Makes a Good Board Game for Teenagers

When choosing a game for tweens and teens, it’s important that you focus on your kids and what they’re looking for in a game. Personally, I’ve learned that the more variety you have available, the better.

When looking at a game, keep these general things in mind.

• What is the age recommendation of the board game?
  • While these numbers aren’t hard and fast rules, you don’t want to end up with a game that’s way too simple or complex. It will just lead to boredom and frustration.
• What’s the required number of players?
  • There are some games that are impossible to play with just two players but are wonderful with four or more. Make sure you think about how many people your teen will regularly have available to play.
• How complex is the game?
  • Consider why your teen will be playing the game. If she wants to play a quick game that’s silly, don’t choose a role-playing game that takes over an hour to finish. On the other hand, if she’s all about strategy and competition, choose something that will satisfy those needs.
• What scenario will the game be played in?
  • If your tween wants to play a game with their friends, he’ll probably want to choose a fast, funny game that allows all players to be equally involved. If you and your tweens want to spend Saturday night playing a game together, you can pick a more complex, strategic game that could take most of the evening to finish.
• What type of game is your teen looking for?
  • There are a bunch of different styles of games out there, each with their own benefits.
    • strategy games
    • games that require collaboration
    • party games that help to break the ice
    • hilarious games
    • games that are educational
    • competitive games
    • mystery-solving games

How to Have an Awesome Family Game Night With Teens

If you feel like you never see your teens anymore or have lost that close connection you had when they were younger, it’s time to plan a family game night. It’s a wonderful way to spend time with older kids.

There are a few things to consider when planning a family game night with teens.

1. What game will you play?
   • Personally, we take turns choosing the game, with our teens making the first choice. This way, everyone has a chance to pick something, and gives us a variety of game styles throughout the night.
2. Food is a must.
   • You’re hanging out with teens, so of course, food should be involved. Order pizza. Make their favorite snacks. We often fill bowls with popcorn, chips, and candy that we all eat while we’re playing. These aren’t staples in our house, so it’s a nice treat.
3. How long will you play?
   • Everyone has their own game-playing limit. The goal is to find the sweet spot where everyone leaves satisfied and eager to do it again.
4. No technology.
   • When we play together, we all put our phones away. Of course, a picture will be taken for Instagram, but other than that, our phones are down and we’re focused on the game and each other.
5. Have fun.
   • This is not the time for a lecture or to settle arguments. You’re there to connect with your teens. Laugh, joke, and create amazing memories together.

Fun Board Games for Older Kids

There are so many amazing games out there that are perfect for teens. Choose some of these to add to your game closet.

Learn how to play fun board games for tweens such as Blokus, Headbanz Act Up, Labyrinth, Sequence, and Sorry and see why they’ve been some of our favorites for many years.

Double Ditto is a fun, quick-thinking game for tweens, teens, and families. Players write down words that fit categories and try to match each other’s answers. Sounds simple, but can be quite challenging when you’re rushing to think of something before the time runs out.

Choose teen board games – for instance, 5 Second Rule, Anomia, Catan, Mad Gab, Risk, and Telestrations are perfect for when kids are playing with their friends or you’re playing as a family.

If you’re looking for a cooperative strategy game for your next family game night, look no further than Pandemic board game. Families rush to cure diseases before an outbreak infects the world.

Family board games like Apples to Apples Junior, Blurt!, Rummikub, Scattergories, Spontuneous, and Word A Round are the perfect choice for a family game night where teens and adults are playing together.

For a quick game, turn to these card games for teens. They can be played in less than 30 minutes and they’re extremely fast-paced games, so no one will be bored.

Want to play a game that focuses more on decision-making rather than luck? These strategy games are perfect for tweens, teens, and adults.

If laughter is what you’re after, pull out one of these board games. These funny games will have everyone laughing until they’re crying.

Benefits of Using Games in Your Homeschool

Board games are not only a ton of fun, but many are also extremely educational. Teens love playing board games as part of their lessons.

You can use them in your homeschool to help teach specific subjects, to foster more advanced learning, or help teens with skill mastery.

When you’re able to make learning fun, tweens are more open, motivated, and focused. Games grab students’ attention in a unique way. Often, they won’t even realize just how much they’re learning.

There are a ton of educational benefits to game playing.

Through play, older kids learn things like:

• social skills
• critical thinking
• creativity
• teamwork
• empathy (how to be a good sport)

Games help kids understand new concepts and help them build emotional connections to information, helping it stick better.

I often use games as a part of our home school because they’re entertaining as well as highly educational.

How to Make Board Games a Part of Your Tween’s Lesson Plans

There are a number of topics that rely on constant repetition for mastery. Instead of using worksheets for review, play games for meaningful practice of concepts.

For example, Educational games like Sumoku and Scrambled States will definitely help make review time more interesting.

It’s easy to add games to your homeschool.

• As you’re creating your weekly lesson plans, add games into places where you have free time. Or take a lighter day and turn it into a game day.
• You can either play a game that is designed for a particular subject or use your favorite one in a creative way to cover the material you want to work on.
• After working on a lesson, play a game to reinforce what you’ve learned.
• If your kids are struggling to stay focused, put aside the worksheets, textbook, and lecture and pull out a game instead.

Educational Games for Teens

If you’re looking for a way to make your lesson more engaging, play one of these games.

Board Game Ideas for History Class

If you’re not playing games during your history class, you’re missing a great opportunity to make the subject more interesting for older kids.

American History board games like American Trivia and others are a fun way for kids to learn history while having a ton of fun.

Geography Board Games

Help kids master world facts, flag identification, cultures, mapping, and more with the help of some interesting geography games. They’re easy to add to your lesson plans and are extremely effective.

Play The World Game to help your tween learn world geography facts.

Language Arts Games for Middle School

If your tween struggles with creative writing because she can’t come up with content, play this creative writing game with her before she sits down to outline her paper. This simple dice game will give her a ton of unique ideas and will get her thinking creatively.

Improve your tween’s language skills by playing some of these word games. They’re perfect for building up older kids’ vocabulary and spelling skills. It’s easy to add some to your lesson plans or play them as a family.

Math Board Games for Middle School

It’s important for kids to regularly review math facts, even as they get older. Good mental math skills are important in all levels of math. The problem is that it can get extremely boring going over the same facts repeatedly.

Not sure where to start? Here are some of the best math games for middle school listed together all in one spot to make it easy for you.

It includes popular games like Number Rings, Prime Climb, and Sumoku. You’ll also find printable games, computer math games, dice and card games, and much more.

Board Games About Money

Teach teens about money management with these fun board games.

Hopefully, you’ve seen how fun and educational board games can be and why it’s important to continue playing them with your teens. With so many to choose from, it’s easy to find some that your older kids will love.

The Best Board Games for Teenagers You Need to Try

More Game Ideas for Teens

• Online geography games for middle school
• Geography terms BINGO
• 3 games you can make in 5 minutes
• Kid-approved educational video games

What is your teen’s favorite board game? Do you have a favorite one that you play as a family? Share it below!