Are you looking for some fun and easy games to play with friends and family? Something that you can pull out for a spontaneous game night, that everyone will enjoy? We’ve got you covered at Owls Hollow.

I enjoy a good family game night or a friends night in. However, I find myself struggling to find a game I can have on hand that everyone will enjoy. I’m going to be listing some of my top picks for games that will have you laughing and thinking to yourself “We should do this more often!”

1. Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza

https://www.owlshollow.com/taco-cat-goat-cheese-pizza.html

Ages 8+

2-8 Players

10-30 Min

My first pick is the ever popular Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza. I cannot say enough good things about this game. It’s fun, quick and is a crowd favorite. I have played it with children as young as 8 and as well as with adults and it was enjoyed thoroughly by each of them. It is the kind of game that people ask if they can borrow, of course I just send them to Owls Hollow ;).

The gameplay is simple but exciting. As you go around the circle each person puts down a card in the middle as they recite the saying “Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza”. For example the first person puts down a card and says “Taco”, followed by the second person placing a card on top and saying “Cat”. When someone places a card that matches the word that they are saying you must be the first person to slap your hand on the middle deck, the last person to do so has to pick up the deck and add it to their hand. There are also special cards like “Narwhal” “Groundhog” and “Gorilla” which require you to be the first person to make the action that corresponds with that card or you risk picking up the deck. Buy it, borrow it, just try it! You won’t be disappointed.

Anomia

https://www.owlshollow.com/anomia-game.html 

Ages 10+

3-6 Players 

30 Min

Another favorite of mine is Anomia. This game is fast paced and will keep you on your toes the entire time. This is a great party game and can be played by all ages starting from 10. There are also different versions of the game including a family edition and an x-rated edition for adult parties. 

Each player has a stack of cards in front of them, all cards facing down, the game begins by all players flipping their first card face up. You must look at the symbol on your card and then look at everyone else’s card to determine if someone has the same symbol as you or not. If this occurs, you must race against the person who you are matching with to be the first one to say something that relates to the category written on your opponent's card. If you are the first, you can keep the cards. As the game continues, each person in the circle takes turns flipping over their new top card. You must be looking at everyone’s cards including your own at all times to be able to be the first to shout out your answer before the other person. The winner is determined by whoever obtains the most cards at the end of the game. This game will have you laughing and shouting (most of the time over one another). It is a must try and buy.

3. Telestrations 

https://www.owlshollow.com/telestrations-original-game.html

Ages 12+

4-8 Players

30 Min

Telestrations is a unique twist on the classic game we all played as kids “telephone”. I would call it a mixture between telephone and pictionary. Just like Anomia, Telestrations has different versions you can choose from. In addition to the original version there is also a party version that can have up to 12 players as well as an after dark version for 18+ only. 

Game play for this is quite simple. Everyone starts with their own flip pad and a marker, each person picks a card that contains a word on it. Write your word on the front page and then flip the page over and draw your prompt. Without flipping again pass your pad to the person next to you, everyone does the same. Look at what this person drew and flip the page to write down your guess, then pass it along again. Then you must draw what this person has written down, so on and so forth, going back and forth between drawing and guessing. This goes on until you receive your original pad back to yourself and you can take turns flipping through the pages to show everyone how the guesses went. As you can imagine, the final product is usually comically different from the original prompt. Depending on the drawing skill level each player has it can be a very funny flip through the pages at the end.