Kids' Game Night

My son wanted to have his friends over for a game night. All games, all night (afternoon!).

We sorted through a ton of board games and came up with a short list. Half of those were best for 2-3 players and went into the before-dinner pile. After dinner, we planned to play the "big" games involving more players.
My daughter schooling the "big" boys on how to play Rush Hour:



Full-action Jenga:



We had kids in every corner of our little house, all having a ball.

After Operation, War, Pick Up Sticks, and Battleship, we were ready for dinner. And what do real gamers eat for dinner: pizza, of course!





The gentlemen let the ladies eat on the floor. All's fair in battle!

After dinner, the kids were ready to play the most requested game:



TWISTER! If you haven't played this since you were the age of the kids in this picture, you need to give it a try. It is SO funny, but boy, is it a workout. You heard it here first: Twister is the new yoga.

If you have a game night of your own, here are a few ideas that worked for us:

• Narrow your games down to a chosen few. It keeps the kids focused on playing games instead of rummaging through your closets. Less games also means less clean-up!
• Change the pace from smaller to bigger-number-of-player games. It helps keep the kids interested in what's coming up next.
• Feed your gamers. Who doesn't like a yummy treat during a fun night out?
• Start early and end early. Allow enough time for playing the games, but don't start late also. Our kids and their friends were all played out with plenty of time left to get home and into their jammies for their regular bedtimes.
• Have a grand finale. Twister worked well for us.
• Rotate the fun. The parents of our little friends were so happy to have a night out, they decided to rotate houses each month and have the kids get together so the other parents could go out.

Have fun time hosting your own kids' game night!