Best board games for families with teenagers (the ones we actually play)

The best board games for families with teenagers are the ones everybody already knows how to play, so nobody has to sit through a rulebook. At our house, that's Monopoly, Risk, Battleship, Connect 4, and Chutes and Ladders.

I'll be honest. Our list doesn't look like the trendy ones you'll find online. At our house, we play the classics.

Here's something I wish I'd figured out sooner. A teenager who gives you one-word answers at dinner will happily trash-talk you over a game board.

Game night at our place runs on a rotation where everyone takes a turn picking what we do. When the pick is a board game, these five come off the shelf.

Our board games for teens at a glance

Here's our list, with the player counts and ages printed on each box.

Game	Type	Players	Box age	Length	Best for
Monopoly	Trading	2-6	8+	Long	Teens who love to wheel and deal
Risk	Strategy	2-5	10+	Long	Teens who want to rule the world
Battleship	Guessing	2	7+	Short	One-on-one time with Dad
Connect 4	Strategy	2	6+	Short	Quick rematches
Chutes and Ladders	Luck	2-4	3+	Short	Leveling the playing field

Box ages are a starting point, not a limit. Chutes and Ladders says 3 and up, and it still makes our list.

What makes a board game work for teenagers?

A board game works for teenagers when it's easy to start and gives them a real shot at beating you. It's the test I'd run on any list of family board games for teenagers, this one included:

• No rulebook marathon. If I'm still reading rules out loud at minute 20, I've lost the room. Classics skip that step because everyone already knows them.

• Something to fight over. Trading, territory, and trash talk keep teens at the table.

• A fair shot at winning. Teens love any game where they can outthink a parent.

• A clear finish line. Long games are fine, as long as everyone agrees on when to stop.

A Pew Research Center survey found that 72% of U.S. teens say they often or sometimes feel peaceful when they don't have their smartphone.

Your teen may never admit it, but an hour at the table could be a break they actually want.

Monopoly and Risk: the big games for the whole family

Monopoly and Risk are the games for nights when everyone's home and nobody has anywhere to be.

Monopoly

Monopoly is a trading game disguised as a board game. You buy property, build houses and hotels, and try to bankrupt the people you love most.

Teens make surprisingly tough negotiators, and Monopoly gives them a reason to haggle with you face to face. Every family has its own house rules (money on Free Parking, anyone?), so settle yours before the first roll.

It plays two to six, the most of any game on our list.

Risk

Risk is world domination with dice. You build armies, move troops into your neighbors' territories, and battle to take over the map.

This is the game where a teenager can beat their dad on strategy alone, and they won't let you forget it. The box says two to five players, ages 10 and up.

Risk can run long, so agree on an end time before you start. One house rule that helps: whoever holds the most territory when time's up wins.

Battleship and Connect 4: one-on-one games with your teen

Battleship and Connect 4 are two-player games, which makes them perfect for one-on-one time with a teen. No audience, no siblings, just the two of you.

Some of the best talks with a teenager happen when you're both looking at something else. Short games like these are one of the easiest ways to stay close when your week is packed, and I wrote more about bonding with your kids as a busy dad.

Battleship

In Battleship, each player hides a fleet on a grid, then you take turns calling out shots. The first one to sink all of the other player's ships wins.

It's quiet, quick to set up, and a good test of a poker face. The real skill is calling out "hit" without letting your face give away which ship it was.

Connect 4

Connect 4 takes about a minute to explain. Drop colored discs into the grid, block your opponent, and be the first to get four in a row.

Here's a fun fact for the teen who thinks they've cracked it. Computer analysis solved the game back in 1988, and with perfect play, whoever goes first can always force a win by starting in the middle column.

Good luck playing perfectly on a school night.

Chutes and Ladders: yes, really

Chutes and Ladders makes our list even though the box says ages 3 and up. It's pure luck, so the teen who just crushed everyone at Risk loses to the spinner like everybody else.

It's also older than it looks. Milton Bradley released Chutes and Ladders in 1943, based on Snakes and Ladders, a game that goes back to ancient India.

And it still works when younger kids join in, which keeps the whole family at the same table.

Newer games other families with teens recommend

If your teens want something newer, these games show up on a lot of lists from other families with teenagers. We haven't played them ourselves, so I'm going by what each publisher says:

• Catan: a trading game and a natural next step for Monopoly fans. Three or four players (five or six with an extension), ages 10 and up.

• Ticket to Ride: claim train routes across North America in 30 to 60 minutes. Two to five players, ages 8 and up. It won Germany's Spiel des Jahres (game of the year) in 2004.

• Pandemic: a cooperative game where the whole family works together to cure four diseases. Two to four players, ages 8 and up.

• Codenames: a team word game that plays in about 15 minutes. Four to eight-plus players, ages 10 and up on the current edition.

• Herd Mentality: a party game where you try to give the same answer as everyone else. Four to 20 players, ages 10 and up.

How do you get a teenager to play board games?

You get a teenager to play board games by giving them some control and agreeing on when the game ends. Here's what I'd tell any dad:

• Let them pick. In our house the pick rotates, so everyone gets a turn choosing, teens included.

• Let them set the house rules. Every family plays Monopoly a little differently, so let the teens decide how yours works.

• Phones go in a basket, mine included. The same Pew survey found 46% of teens say their parent is at least sometimes distracted by their phone when they're trying to talk to them. That one stung.

• Agree on an end time. Monopoly and Risk can go all night if you let them.

• Take no for an answer. If it's a no tonight, ask again next week.

For once, the pediatricians are on my side. The American Academy of Pediatrics' family media plan suggests screen-free zones like the dinner table and lists family games as a fun swap for screen time.

Which of the best board games for families with teenagers should you start with?

Start with whatever classic is already in your closet. If you're buying one, Monopoly fits the most players, and Connect 4 is the easiest way to get one teen across the table from you.

If you're shopping for the holidays, a board game is a gift the whole house gets to open. I also keep a list of gift ideas for the dads on your Christmas list.

Questions parents ask about board games and teens

What are the best board games for families with teenagers?

The best board games for families with teenagers are the ones your family will actually play together. Ours are Monopoly, Risk, Battleship, Connect 4, and Chutes and Ladders, and newer games like Catan and Ticket to Ride show up on a lot of other families' lists.

Which board games work with just a parent and one teen?

Battleship and Connect 4 are two-player games, so they're perfect for one parent and one teen. Monopoly and Risk also play with two, though they're more fun with a crowd.

Is Monopoly good for teenagers?

Yes. The box says 8 and up, and teens tend to love the trading and the trash talk. Just agree on an end time before you start, because Monopoly can go for hours.

What's a good board game for a big group of teens?

Monopoly handles up to six players. For a bigger crowd, Herd Mentality plays four to 20, and Codenames works for teams of eight or more.

What I'd tell myself back then

Don't wait for the perfect game. The best board games for families with teenagers are probably already in your closet, and they only work if somebody keeps showing up with the box. That somebody is usually Dad.

The teen years go fast. Go dust off the Monopoly box tonight, and agree on an end time first.