🎉 How to host a family game night
Pick games the youngest player can win, teach each one in two minutes, mix ages in teams, and stop while everyone still wants one more game. That's the recipe for a game night the whole family asks for again.
Choose the games
Start with one quick game everyone knows, then one new one, then a favourite to finish. For mixed ages, choose games with luck in them (dice, cards) so the youngest can win. The ten best card games for kids are ranked by age.
Teach it in two minutes
- Say how you win first: "Get rid of all your cards."
- Say what you do on your turn, in one sentence.
- Play one open round with cards face up, helping everyone.
- Then play for real. Explain the rare rules when they come up.
Make it fair for every age
- Mix ages in teams.
- Give the youngest a head start or a bonus.
- Let a child be the banker or the scorekeeper: it's a job and maths practice.
- Use the dice roller to pick who goes first.
Winning and losing
Shake hands after every game. Praise a clever move, not only the winner. A child who sulks after losing is learning something hard: lose cheerfully yourself, often, and they'll copy you.
Keep it going
Same night each week, a scorebook, a new game each month. Read ten ideas for a better game night for more.