When you were a child, it’s very likely you were introduced to board games from a young age. Depending on your age, these may have been anything from Draughts to Monopoly and even to the Game of Life! It was the best time on a rainy afternoon to play board games, and while our gaming has evolved massively over the years, we do still have board games kicking around in the toy stores and online!

There are some utter classic board games out there that are still doing the family rounds. Some of the boards are years old and often faded and fraying, but that just adds to the authenticity. Original Scrabble board games now sell for a lot of money to vintage games collectors, and there are many out there who still host board game parties. It’s why we’ve got this post together. Sometimes, the digital world requires a break – there is only so much screen time you can manage in a week between your personal life and your work, and you need to consider getting down to a good old fashioned board game or two! Below, we’ve put together some of the utter classics out there that you should consider investing in. Let’s take a look!

Chess

First up, the totally classic game of chess. Chess is a game of complete skill and logic, and you can learn about how to play chess far better when you understand the history of chess first. You have two sides of the board: black pieces vs white. In those groups, you have pawns, knights, rooks/castles, bishops, a queen and a king. You play across the board taking in turns with the aim to capture and “checkmate” the king. It’s an excellent feeling to win, and it’s just as good to play it online with strangers as it is to play it for yourself!

The Resistance

If you haven’t heard of this one, you’re out of luck. The Resistance is a game played in your mind with a group of friends two roles are assigned to the players; you’re either a member of the resistance or you’re a spy trying to bring it all down from within. No one knows who is who, and it’s a game best played in a large group. Players choose teams and you go on missions to play your side without letting anyone know what you are, and you have to intrigue the others who will try to dig out the evil spies in the group!

Cluedo

Another classic game, Cluedo is an easy one to follow. Players are dished out three cards – a character, a weapon, and a room – and your aim is to find out who killed the main character on the box. You use the cards you have to rule out the innocent and move around the board to learn who the killer is. Once you know, you can announce your findings and see if you’re the winner. This is one of those classics you MUST tell the kids about one day!

Dungeons and Dragons 

Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson released this popular board game in the year 1974. It is a tabletop fantasy game that allows players to create their character and team up with other adventurers, including accommodating players. In this game, you will experience a story like no other. Dungeons and dragons are also referred to as DnD, and for most mastering, the game can be quite a difficult task. However, it can be said that it’s not difficult to start playing for many. Board Games like these are an essential anchor on which thousands of friendships have formed and remain intact. It is an excellent time passer and your friends will love it just as much as you. 

Lost Valley Of The Dinosaurs

This is a game of terrifying exploration as you use the dice and card plays to move around the terrain of the board. Dinosaurs are a danger to the players, and you also have to get past an active volcano and a swamp – and each other! You have to get to a hidden temple and take the treasure without being caught by a number of traps on the board. The imagination put into Lost Valley is amazing, and you have to praise the excitement that is conjured during game play. The designers really went into detail on the board, and the volcano itself is a 3D one that has even got molten lava pieces for it!

Trivial Pursuit

Knowledge buffs will love Trivial Pursuit – it’s certainly popular at parties and for a good reason. The aim of the game is to own all of the colourful wedges that declare you the smartest in all the land. The trivia is all segmented into topics and as you win the topic, you get the segment. The best part of this game is that there is a children’s version so you can get your kids up to scratch on general knowledge while declaring yourself the winner!

Articulate

You need to be quick-thinking for this one, and it’s the funniest game you can play with your friends. It certainly has its hilarity factor, as you have to describe the item on the card without saying what it is, rhyming with the word, or any lexical tricks that will tell the person guessing what it is. It’s great fun with a big group of people, and you have to get your message across within 30 seconds before the next team can take a turn! It’s the one game that beats out Charades at parties, and it’s well worth the investment. All you need is pens and paper to hand and the cards from the game.

Battleships

This one is a one-to-one game and a perfect one to teach the kids. There is a grown-up version called Battleshots, but it’s not recommended for those under 18. Battleships involve guessing where your opponent has placed their ships on their board and trying to shoot them out. If you get a hit, they place a red peg in the place you guessed, and if you miss it’s a white peg. You build up a picture of their board with the pegs on your side, and the winner is the one who takes out the whole board first.

Board games have never gone out of fashion, despite the influx of digital and online gaming. You can spend hours building SIMS and their homes, but it’s not the same as kicking someone’s butt in Chess or Scrabble. There is a certain pride that comes with winning the classics, so why not start learning today and see what happens next?