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Summertime is the second best time of year to play games with the whole family. ICYMI, the holidays are the first, and we wrote an awesome blog post about that here with some amazing board game suggestions! Whether it’s card games for a road trip or board games for a rainy day at the beach, there’s plenty of lazy hazy days where you need to fill the time with your kids (or maybe if you’re lucky, maybe they’ll fill it together without you!). So, here are our top current picks for summer games 2025:
Molly:
Mancala: I’ll start with the simplest game first. This is a wonderful game of strategy that can be leveled up or down according to age and skill. My two kids can play each other for an hour straight, no sweat, but I’m also not opposed to getting involved in a little tourney with them because it’s a game I’ve loved since childhood. Great for math, counting, thinking ahead and responding to the opposition. BUY ON AMAZON, $13.99
Story Book Chess: Onto something a bit more complicated! Summer time can mean brain drain, but it doesn’t have to. Kids might have a little more patience and bandwidth to learn a more complicated game like chess during long summer months. Our kids LOVED learning about the different pieces and what each one does using the story book that goes along with this chess set. At 10 and seven, we’ve gotten to the point where they can play each other, with a referee (Dad) who sits nearby to settle disputes about the rules. It’s been a great learning experience and both my kids are now interested in joining the chess club at school as a result!
Mouse Trap: Anyone else play this one as a kid? Well, it turns out MY kids love it too! Sometimes, during the summer, they build forts (which is also fine), and then we have to do a lot of laundry to clean up afterward. This game lets them flex those building muscles WITHOUT requiring the washing machine. Wins all around. My two will play this one by themselves – another win.
Yahtzee: Speaking of classics … I’m so happy that my 10 year old loves this one. We haven’t convinced the seven year old quite yet, but she and I can play many games in a row without quitting. My husband is happy because it means she has some idea of what hands might be in poker (which he’s trying to teach the kids). It does say ages 8+, so perhaps THIS summer, we’ll get Linus into the game. He’ll be 7.5.
Twister: Nothing makes me happier than to report that this has become Ella’s go-to game for sleepovers. She even brought it to her “slumber party” at Great Wolf Lodge two birthdays ago. It’s the perfect summer game to do out on the lawn so that any twisty mishaps don’t lead to heads bumped on a hardwood floor. If you don’t own this one, introduce it to your kids ASAP and volunteer to be the spinner so you can take photos and soak in the hilarity.
Continent Race: If you’re worried about summer brain drain, this game is the perfect way to sneakily add in a little geography to family game night. (The perfect complement on top of those awesome workbooks you bought your kids to do each day over the summer!). This game was created BY a kid, FOR kids, and mine love it. It’s a great way to learn about continents, countries, cultures and geographies. It gets pretty competitive in our house.
Five Crowns Card Game: This is a fun twist on rummy (which Ella already loved anyway) and because it’s “just cards” – it’s the perfect game to bring camping or to the beach for the week. You can have up to 7 players, so it’s perfect for our family + my parents and even though it SAYS ages 8+, Linus still loves it at age seven, so I think you can actually bring that age minimum down a bit. As the kids get older, they’ll become more strategic, but even younger kids can feel like they are part of the fun.
MasterChef Family Cooking Game: Ella has always loved to cook (or maybe we forced her to love it?), but this game lets her turn it into a challenge. She’s even done it with other friends who ALSO love to cook. It does require a bit of advance prep – you have to buy the ingredients they’ll need – but it’s worth it when dinner is finished and on the table for you courtesy of this game. You could also pair a parent WITH a kid if they aren’t quite independent in the kitchen yet, but I love it because it instills/solidifies a love of cooking for a child – something we are huge proponents of in our house.
Sarah:
Shut the Box: I grew up playing this dice mathy game and my kids love it, too. You use a little mathematics and a little luck to totally shut the box and win here. The big bonus? My kids are old enough now where this is a totally independent game for them and you can play it solo.
Grab it at Target on sale for $27.99
Ramen Yahtzee: Much like Molly’s crew, we are a Yahtzee family! We got this ramen set as a gift years ago and it is our favorite version. I brought the travel version on our recent cruise so we could play it as a family during at sea days. It is so much fun and we even have a rule that if you roll a Yahtzee you can only count it if you do the “yahtzee dance.”
Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza: This kooky game has been one of my older kiddo’s favorites since a friend introduced him to it a couple years ago. We got the waterproof version for summer which is perfect for an upcoming road trip to a waterpark and the 455852 pool days we have planned.
Guess in 10: We love a game that keep those brain cells fully charged over the summer break! Guess in 10 comes in a ton of variations and I love the chance to make learning and fact finding fun for my kids.
Get it on Amazon for sale at $14.22
Good ol’ playing cards: One summer essential? A deck of cards (bonus points if the deck is adorable!). I love teaching the boys new games and my oldest has been mastering solitaire as of late. We always make sure to pack a deck of cards for road trips, sleepovers, and long travel baseball days.
Get the deck on the LEGO website for $16.95
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