What’s your favorite family board game or card game that takes strategy and a bit of forethought?

If you all like words and letters, then Scrabble is a great family game. We have our Monday family game nights and just use the dictionary for word checks. We keep words short so its a fairly equitable game for the different ages around the table.

I'm not sure that I can choose just one game! There are so many classic and new board games that are great for kids and families. If you're looking for a traditional board game, both Checkers and Chess are great strategy games. My son and I have played chess together since he was in first grade and it has been great to watch him improve his skills. Chess can increase in complexity and improves concentration and focus. Other fun games like Connect 4 and Battleships are fun and also teach skills like process of elimination.

If you are looking for a fun multi-player game, then you will enjoy Catan (or Catan Junior). Players take turns to throw the die and collect resources that allow them to build settlements. While you accumulate points as you play, good strategy will see you planning ahead to prevent other players from accessing resources. The game also allows kids the opportunity to negotiate for resources that they cannot access themselves.

Doomlings!! This is a new game that my husband found and supported when it was just a Kickstarter, and we cannot get enough of it! It is for ages 10+ and it is strategic, hilarious, challenging, and allows for multiple game plays -- no two games are ever alike. The cards are fun and cute, comical and unnerving. The point system is easy, there is even an app to tally up the scores which your son could use and learn some math skills. It involves catastrophes, different ages of the world, and little scientific characters which are absolutely endearing. The strategy of the game play is easy enough for a young one to understand, and they would enjoy working towards a different goal with each new game. With just a few nights off, we have played this game every night after dinner since we received it! I think a 9-12 year old would love it!

We bought our kids the children's version of monopoly and it has been such a great learning experience for them! We all get involved to make it fair and make our kids count all the money and we also make sure that we don't spare their feelings too much. Just because it's a game doesn't mean it should always be easy! It's a great way to set them up for the real world and start their money management skills.