🏠 10 ideas for a better family game night

1. 1

   Pick a night and keep it

   Same night every week, phones in a basket. A habit beats a perfect evening once a year.

2. 2

   Rotate who chooses the game

   Youngest first, then round the table. Everyone gets their favourite in turn.

3. 3

   Teach one new game a monthOurs

   Twenty games with rules in plain words, from Go Fish to Rummy.

4. 4

   Keep a family scorebook

   A notebook with every winner and the date. Years later it's a treasure.

5. 5

   Make house rules

   Write them down. Little ones get a bonus card; grown-ups play with one hand behind their back.

6. 6

   Play in teams

   A grown-up and a small child on one team means everybody has a chance.

7. 7

   Run a tournamentOurs

   Four games, a bracket on the fridge, a champion at the end of the month.

8. 8

   Have theme nightsOurs

   Holiday games, a trivia night, a pencil-and-paper night with dots and boxes.

9. 9

   A special snack

   Popcorn only on game night makes the night feel like an event.

10. 10

    End before anyone's tired

    Stop while everyone wants one more game. They'll want to come back next week.

Peabody's own list; three link to Peabody pages. Checked 6 November 2026.

More game night lists

• 🃏The 10 best card games for kidsThe ten best card games for kids with one ordinary deck, ranked by age from Snap and Memory to Rummy and Golf, each with easy rules on Peabody.
• 🎲The 10 best dice games for familiesTen dice games for family game night, from Pig and Beetle to Yacht and Shut the Box: what each needs, who it suits and how it plays. Most need only dice.