Game Night All-Stars (for Kids)

Each month, my wife and I host a game night at the Ronald McDonald House of Fort Worth. We play games with kids and parents, eat dinner, and try to provide a few hours entertainment for families going through tough times. We've been doing this since August 2012, and enjoy it every bit as much now as we did when we started.

We've developed a short list of games that we bring each month. To make that list, games have to be simple to teach and play, quick enough to finish in the time it takes to eat a meal, and thematically appropriate for kids. 

For those of you used to my reviews of deep hobby games, you might be surprised by some of the games we get to the table. At the end of the day, the most important thing is to create a great experience for the people playing the game, and sometimes the simplest games make the best memories. Here's six games that have been hits during our game nights, for kids and adults alike.

Cosmic Encounter, by Bill Eberle, Jack Kittredge, Bill Norton, and Peter Olotka

Play It Again, Sam

In this golden age of gaming we're enjoying, new releases hit our local game stores like a heavy rain pounding on so many windshields. With each blockbuster, those classics we grew up with are pushed back farther into the recesses of our shelves, left to gather dust and retain fond memories as we buy new Star Wars minis and wield our new-found authority as Sheriffs.

I've been told that Cosmic Encounter is "a game that should have meant even more than it did." I'm not sure exactly how to interpret that, but I assume it means that if CE were released today, in our surge of attention for games, that it would be an instant classic.

But wait... it's already an instant classic! From all the way back in 1977, Cosmic Encounter continues to be a fantastic game. Read on, intrepid gamer!

DC Comics Deck-Building Game, by Matt Hyra

Who's your favorite? 

This is a guest post by Raoul Mowatt, proud Chicagoan and owner of many, many games! Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap other games in a single bound! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s the DC Comics Deck-Building Game! I’d heartily recommend "DC Deckbuilder" to just about anyone. 

I’ve probably played it over a hundred times, and it still remains one of my favorites, which should tell you something about its replayability (or my easy-to-please nature, or both). It is a quick game that’s easy to pick up and play.