The Ultimate Guide to Throwing a Board Game Party For Kids or Adults

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Everyone loves a good board game. Friends and family can gather rain or shine to play a favorite classic or try out something new. Board games can make you laugh, make you think, and they always lead to a great time.

How can you have more fun all at once?

Throw a board game party!

Board game parties are a great way to gather with others and have a flexible and fun event. Customize your board game party in countless ways from food to decorations to the main event, the games. 

And board game parties aren’t just for kids! Adults can have great fun at a board game party, too. 

How to Throw a Board Game Party

Every great board game party focuses on these three things:

1. Food
2. Decorations
3. Games

While some typical BBQ and streamers are nice, a great board game party kicks things up a notch. Think about these things for your party.

What to Eat

Food is endlessly customizable for parties, but you will want to take some things into account when selecting food to go around board games. 

First, ask yourself if the food you’re thinking of serving is game-friendly. Keeping board games clean can be tricky. It’s made easier, though, through the food selection. Make sure the foods you serve are not overly messy, can be held easily, and maybe can even be eaten in one bite. Also make sure that you have plenty of themed plates, napkins, and utensils around. (We will talk about this more later!)

Next, decide on the dietary needs of your crowd. Does anyone have any food allergies or preferences? Do you want healthy options around? A nice variety of foods will pair well with a nice variety of games.

Finally, the fun part: make your food board game themed! You can design your snacks to act or look like games. Cut cheese cubes into Jenga blocks, or design your brownies to look like domino pieces. Rice Krispies can also be cut to make a chess or checkers board. For more ideas, check out our Pinterest board below. 

Decorations

Give how beautiful and colorful board games are these days, they will do a lot for your decoration on your own. You’ll probably still want lots of board game-themed decorations anyway, though. Or, you can use some games specifically as decorations.

Visit your local thrift store to find affordable old games to decorate the space. Place boards under the food for a pop of color. Or, use a Twister mat! Buy mason jars and fill them up with dice for centerpieces. Spell out the names of different food options with repurposed Scrabble tiles. 

You can get a little more crafty with your decoration, too. A few supplies can go a long way. Cut meeples out of construction paper and glue them to toothpicks for cute cupcake toppers, for example. And of course, you’ll want a beautifully-designed invitation to go with your theme.

Games

Selecting the right board games will have a big impact on your board game party. There are a few things to consider overall. Then, we’ll dive into selecting games for a kid’s board game party and for an adult board game party since they will have a radically different selection. Here are some general thoughts.

• How will your guests play games? Do you want to play big group games all together, or will you have seperate stations for individual games?
• What would you like to spend on games? If you have a sizable collection already, this will be less of a concern. You can also invite guests to bring their own game to turn your party into a “board game potluck.”
• When is your party? Hopefully, you have lots of time to plan, which will allow you to research games and order them. If, however, you don’t, you will want to consider what’s at brick and mortar stores. 

Now that you have some important questions in mind, keep reading to learn how to select age-appropriate board games.

Bonus: Location

While the location won’t make or break your board game party, there are some things you might want to think about. You can always throw a great board game party at home. This has the benefits of affordability and flexibility. There are other places you could go, though.

Board game cafes, for example, are popping up all over the world. Many of them will allow you to make reservations or even rent out the space for private events. While this may seem like a pricier option, it is often all-inclusive. Many cafes even have people on staff to teach games to you.

Local parks and community centers also are a great option. They might have more space than your home while remaining an affordable option. Plus, you don’t have to worry about cleaning your house! For adult board game parties, you might also consider bars or restaurants with private event rooms.

Choosing Board Games for Kids

Sure, you could set out Candyland and Don’t Wake Daddy for some easy and obvious board games for kids, but we’re not looking to be obvious. We’re looking to throw the best board game party ever! With that goal in mind, we’ll give you some things to think about when choosing board games for kids. Then we’ll recommend some of our favorites.

What to Think About

Choosing board games for kids can be tough. Kids learn at different paces and have different tastes. Fortunately, new and amazing board games for kids are coming out all the time.

When looking for great board games for kids, the most important thing to think about is the age group. Age recommendations on board games are not a hard and fast rule, but they do provide a good guideline. A seven-year-old, for example, would probably be quite bored with a game intended for toddlers. But if you have a group of five-year-olds, and the game suggests players six and up, you can determine it on a case-by-case basis.

Then, you will want to think about how many kids will play these board games. It is somewhat unusual to find a kid’s game that goes above four players but not impossible. It also gives the opportunity to set out many different games, and the kids can switch games whenever they want. 

Finally, will your party have another theme? You might select kid-friendly board games based on another theme for the party. A Disney party might include Disney games, for example.

Kid-Friendly Board Games

You may already have some game ideas based on the questions from the section above. If you’d just like a list of games to choose from, though, check these out.

For kids ages 3-6, most HABA games will fit the bill. HABA games are, for the most part, designed specifically for young children. They are bright, easy to play, and focus on dexterity. Two of my favorites include Rhino Hero and Animal Upon Animal.

Kids ages 6-9 will want something a little more challenging, but not terribly so. This age group will also still enjoy dexterity games. Try out Ice Cool for a flicking game. Loopin’ Louie will make them slap down at the right time. (For a Star Wars theme, go with Loopin’ Chewie.) Then, Klask! plays just like air hockey, but with magnets.

Preteens, or kids ages 9-12, will have a lot more options. Kids in the older end of this group may even be able to handle adult games. If there’s any question about it, though, there are plenty of junior versions of great adult games. 

Ticket to Ride, First Journey is one of my personal favorites. Some younger kids can enjoy this as well. Ghost Fightin’ Treasure Hunters will have kids working together to collect treasure from a haunted house. And Dinosaur Tea Party plays a lot like Guess Who? but it allows for three to five players. For a big group, try out Apples to Apples.

Throw an Adult Board Game Party

Everyone has a good laugh at Cards Against Humanity, but there are lots of games you can choose from for an adult board game party. There are other mature party games, or play a strategy game that works well for a big group. Some of my favorites include:

Codenames

In this team game, one player on each team will be the “spymaster.” They will give clues to their teammates to get them to guess the correct words on the table, but their clues can only be one word at a time! Taboo fans will love this strategic party game.

Secret Hitler

Just as it sounds, one player in this game is secretly Hitler. Some players will be fascists on Hilter’s team while others are liberals. But you won’t know who is who! If you’re a liberal, you need to enact five liberal policies… or kill Hitler. If you’re a fascist, though, you need to get Hilter elected chancellor to win this game of secret roles. 

Cash ‘n Guns

It’s tough being part of the mafia! You’ve collected all this loot, but no one can decide how to divide it up. So, you make your choice the same way any mafia member would: with guns. Whoever collects the most value in loot by the end of the game and doesn’t die wins. 

Word on the Street

This casual team word game will provide lots of fun without a big learning curve. A team will flip over a category card and have the length of a timer to do two things. First, they need to come up with a word that matches the category. Then, they will need to pull all the letters in that word over to them for a letter tug of war. Once a team gets a letter off the board, they’ve claimed it. The first team to claim eight letters wins. 

Deception: Murder in Hong Kong

One of you is a murderer. One is an accomplice. The rest of you are investigators trying to discover who the murderer is, what they used to kill their victim, and what they left behind at the scene of the crime as their “calling card.” If the investigators figure it out, they win. But if they don’t, the murder and the accomplice get away with it and win. 

Exploding Kittens: The Party Pack

Your goal is pretty simple in Exploding Kittens: don’t explode! In this mashup between Uno and Musical Chairs, players will strategically use their cards to either avoid drawing a card (so they won’t explode) or get cards that will help them “defuse” an exploding kitten. If you can’t defuse a kitten, then you are dead and out of the game! The last surviving player wins. 

You can play all of these games with a group of six or more. Again, though, don’t be afraid to put out some more traditional games for four players and have guests rotate. This works especially well if you have others bring board games as everyone will get to try something new. Don’t forget to check out our list of adult party games, too, if you’re looking for that Cards Against Humanity vibe.

What games would you want to play at a board game party? Share your favorites in the comments!

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