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Article from: My Family UK

Board games are fun for all the family and a perfect way to spend a television-free afternoon. Plus, the kids will be ecstatic if they triumph over Mum and Dad, so encourage some competitive spirit with one of our top ten.

1) Snakes and Ladders



2 or more players; ages 3+

In the original Indian version of the game, the snakes and ladders had moral overtones representing vices and virtues that would bring you down or lead you to success. Nowadays, they are entertaining ways to race to the end of the board.

2) Mouse Trap



2-4 players; ages 3+

This game has been popular with kids since the first version came out in 1963. To win, players must build an elaborate mousetrap to trap their opponents’ mice.

3) Ludo



2-4 players; ges 4+

The winner is the first to get all their counters round the board, and back ‘home’. Based on the more complex Indian game Pachisi, Ludo means “I play” in Latin.

4) Hungry Hippos



2-4 players; ages 4+

Players use hippos around the edge of a board to ‘eat’ as many marbles as they can. Whoever eats the most, when all are gone, is the winner. Hungry Hippos appear to have become less hungry over time – from eating all those marbles, presumably – as the game was originally called Hungry Hungry Hippos when it was introduced in 1978.

5) Monopoly



2-8 players; ages 8+

Players compete to become the richest property magnates in the game, buying and selling property, building houses, avoiding jail and collecting chance and community chest cards. Monopoly is the best-selling board game in the world and is available in 103 countries.

6) Pictionary



4 or more players; ages 8+

Leading to much hilarity – and often much cheating – players need to guess the word their teammate is attempting to draw within a time limit. They can then throw the die and try to reach the end of the board first.

7) Cluedo



2 or 3-6 players; ages 8+

For the budding Poirots and Miss Marples among us. Players collect clues and try to work out which of the characters is the murderer.

Scrabble



2-4 players; ages 8+

Over 100 million sets of Scrabble have been sold in 29 different languages, making this, the most popular word game around. Players score points by using letter tiles to make words on the board.

9) Risk



2-6 players; ages 10+

The original version of Risk was invented by the French film director, Albert Lamorisse, in 1957. Since then, millions have competed to defeat their opponents’ armies on the board, and take over the world.

10) Cranium



4 or more players; ages 12+

Combining elements of other well-known games, teams compete to get round the board first, completing a variety of tasks involving language, trivia, artistic and performance skills. After it was released in 1997, Cranium became the fastest-selling independent board game in history.

Further Information

For further information, and for more great ways to have fun with your family, log on to www.myfamilyuk.com. With a huge collection of articles covering everything from child safety to rainy day activities, you’ll find all the help, guidance and entertainment you need to be a great parent. Go now!



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