Skip to Content
board games
© Lightfieldstudiosprod | Dreamstime.com
Amazon

Best board games and puzzles to play with friends and family

Board games are fun for the whole family and help pull us away from our screens for bonding time. But the same board games have been around for ages and can feel stale. The same goes for puzzles.

Thankfully we’ve rounded up some new options that are super fun. These unique board games and puzzles can be played solo or with a group. Curb your boredom and create delightful memories with the people you love with these selections.

Stardew Valley: The Board Game

Stardew Valley is a beloved independently published video game on multiple platforms. Now it’s also a board game! This can be played solo or with up to four people, but be warned: there’s a long commitment ahead.

This game takes hours to complete and may need to be played over two days. It’s like Monopoly, except you actually enjoy your time and don’t want to flip the table over. Become a farmer, slay slimes and become a completionist with all the add-on content you can do.

“Harry Potter” mega puzzle

Who doesn’t love “Harry Potter?” Whether you read the books as a kid or introduce your children to the movies for the first time, this puzzle encompasses so much from every part of the universe. With 1,000 pieces, it’s either a solo afternoon or a fun couple of hours with your friends and family.

Evergreen, the strategy board game

Do you want to have fun with your friends and family while supporting a good cause? Evergreen donates proceeds to Trees for the Future from your purchase.

It’s a one to four-player adventure that can be completed in under an hour and features an abstract layer of strategy revolving around growing trees. The entire game is constructed from high-quality materials, has an excellent texture and is great fun without a huge time commitment.

Hues and Cues color guessing board game

In this game, you’re not jumping over candy-themed pieces or connecting four discs: you’re guessing colors. It’s more fun than it sounds. There are 480 color squares to guess. Over time, you begin to remember certain hues and rack up points. There are player pieces, scoring cards, and plenty of ways to win.

Project L strategy game

Increase difficulty over time, scale up strategy and watch everything unfold. This is a game where you create a puzzle and continuously challenge yourself over time, enhancing your skills. This can be a solo experience, but it’s a great deal of fun with up to four people, so you can all enjoy the chaos.

Warp’s Edge

This game is strictly solo, so you can enjoy it without worrying about a competitive experience. Pilot a starfighter with unique attributes, and navigate your way through the board and its challenges. You can restart and choose another starfighter after you finish each round and explore every possibility this game offers.

The Captain is Dead

Go solo or with up to six players and enjoy this cooperative board game that gives you an entirely new way to play. This co-op game puts a spin on how we usually play competitive board games. Team up with friends and try to reach the end in a tense, rich world all on a board.

Wooden bridge 3D puzzle with LEDs

3D puzzles are challenging, but now they’re complex and light up! This wooden bridge 3D puzzle includes 113 pieces and a fair amount of LEDs to light up your bridge whenever you feel like it. This is the perfect number of pieces to introduce children to 3D puzzles without the task being too daunting.

Tiny Towns

This captivating board game includes some of the most profound world-building elements of games and movies, except it’s all laid out in front of you. Tiny Towns is the perfect cozy retreat of a board game if you want something in-depth that doesn’t take hours to complete.

Average matches take around 60 minutes (once you learn the fundamentals of the game). It’s fun for a group or as a solo player on a rainy day. Who can build the best Tiny Town? That’s up to you to decide.

3-pack jigsaw puzzle

When was the last time you sat down and put a jigsaw puzzle together? This pack includes fun themes for adults. It’s a pack of three mini-puzzles that are perfect for traveling.

We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.

Refer friends, earn rewards

Share your source of digital lifestyle news, tips and advice with friends and family, and you'll be on your way to earning awesome rewards!

Get started