A Sunday Tradition: Game Night with Grandma (+ our kids favorite games to play!)

Ever since I was a kid, we have played card games every Sunday with my Grandma.

Now that I have kids of my own, the tradition lives on! Because I’m the oldest grandchild, my kids have all been fortunate enough to know their great-grandparents their entire lives. My grandma loves to play games with our kids on Sunday nights, just like she did when I was growing up. As you can imagine, we’ve played a lot of games over the years!

Here’s our list of tried-and-true favorites that our family always comes back to (grandma and kid approved!):

Card Games

Slapzi

This is a simple, speedy game reminiscent of slap jack. It’s great for early readers and young kids who want to join in, but have a harder time with more complicated games. My youngest loves Slapzi and begs us to play every week!

Uno Flip

Uno flip takes classic Uno and adds a twist (or… a flip…) by adding double sided cards. When the ‘flip’ card is played, everyone must turn their hands over to the reverse side of the deck and play an entirely different set of cards. Fast paced, great for all ages, and a staple at our Sunday game nights.

Elfer Raus

A German game translated to “Eleven Out,” Elfer Raus is fairly straightforward (and great to play with kids learning their numbers). Players lay down cards in numbered color rows, starting from the 11s, trying to be the first to empty their hand. It's easy to learn, quick to play, and has a nice mix of luck and strategy.

Bohnanza

Or as we call it, The Bean Game. I’m not great at strategy games, but my family loves this one. It’s a lively card-trading game about planting and harvesting beans, where you can't rearrange your hand and must negotiate with other players to swap cards. It can get kinda fiesty depending on who you’re playing with, so look out!

Apples to Apples

A classic. Apples to apples was my favorite game as a kid, mostly because I just love to laugh. Each round, one player picks an adjective card, and everyone else submits a noun card they think best fits, hoping the judge chooses theirs. Get the right group together, and this is one of the funniest games you will ever play!

Quiddler

Quiddler is my grandma’s favorite, by far. This is a word-building card game where players use letter cards to form words from their hand to earn points. Kind of like someone combined a bunch of Scrabble tiles with a Phase 10 deck. It's a great pick for word lovers and gets trickier as the hand size grows.

Five Crowns

Five Crowns is a rummy-style game played over eleven rounds with five suits, where the number of cards dealt increases each hand and the wild card changes every round. My in-laws introduced us to this one, it’s one of their favorites! It's easy and engaging enough for kids and adults to play together. Win!

Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza

This is a silly one, for sure. Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza is a quick, giggly slapping game where players race to say the five words in order as they flip cards, then slap the pile whenever a card matches the word being spoken. It's simple, hilarious, and perfect for younger kids and big family game nights.

The Totally Insane Card Game

If you know, you know. This game is exactly what is says: insane. Made in 1993, it’s like the “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, World” version of Uno. My grandma’s copy has been through a few generations of craziness now, but it’s still going strong. You can find the full rules (if you can even call them that) on their site.

Board Games

Bob Ross, Art of Chill

This game is exactly what it seems to be, and so much more. Paint along with Bob Ross and Peapod the pocket squirrel as move along the board to master techniques. The first time we played this, my sister and I lost, and our husbands dominated. That tracks, as they are probably the most chill people we know (opposites attract)!

A Game of Cat and Mouth

Speaking of opposites, this vibe of this game is the exact inverse to the Bob Ross game, A Game of Cat and Mouth can result in much more chaos than chill- but it’s so fun to play with littles! It’s pretty much two mini magnetic cat paw flickers (cat-apults?) players use to launch balls at each other, trying to get all the balls of one color onto their opponent's side. Kids love this game, guaranteed!

Dice + Domino Games

Tenzi

Tenzi is a speedy dice game where each player races to roll all ten of their dice to the same number as quickly as possible, making it a fun, energetic pick for a quick round any time. It’s simple, but competitive, and kiddos can play right alongside adults. It’s actually a really great for younger kids who are learning number recognition!

Domino Train

Domino Train (Mexican Train) is a classic domino game where players build their own "train" of matching dominoes off a central hub, trying to be the first to play all their tiles. My mom’s favorite! We played this countless times with her siblings when I was growing up, it’s great for groups of all ages.

Rummikub

An oldie, but a goodie! Rummikub is a tile-based rummy game where players form runs and groups of tiles on the table, hoping to be the first to get rid of all their pieces. As the game goes on, tiles can be rearranged, which is the ticket to winning in the end. I’ve never seen anyone rearrange a rummikub game like my sister, it’s absolutely unreal.

Vintage Games

It is always such a treat to find vintage games! My grandma still owns the ones pictured above, and I am totally in love with them, purely for the aesthetic alone. Old puzzles and wooden peg board games like these can be hard to find nowadays, but sometimes I have seen the real vintage ones for sale on Mercari or Etsy! They make the cutest stocking stuffers, so if you find some, grab them while you can.

Happy Game Night!