No matter how small or big your family is, whether they live with you or miles away, there are plenty of creative ideas you can try to make your family game nights more fun and unforgettable. And if you have young children, it will help them look back on this crisis with fondness since it became a time for them to spend quality time with their parents. Here are some fun and creative ideas for family game night.
Make the most out of your outdoor space.
If you and your family have been blessed with a front yard or backyard, or if you’re on vacation in a rental with these features, make the most out of the outdoor space you’ve been given. You can set up an outdoor screen and some dreamy fairy lights to set the atmosphere. You can also bring out the plush couches, throws, and blankets so you and your family can cuddle if the weather is on the cooler side. During the summer, you can also incorporate some summer camp games like the following:
- Tug-of-war
- Nature scavenger hunt
- Relay games
- Water balloon dodge ball
- Talent show
- Tie-dying
- Campfires
- Pool games
Leverage your property’s outdoor area to give you and your family a breather from quarantine life. You can also make some upgrades to your yard to turn it into an extension of your home’s indoor area.
Play games that require mind power.
If you and your family are more brains than brawn, and if you all have a penchant for competition, some fun brain games might be more your cup of tea. Some online games on the market offer not only fun and enjoyment but ways to boost your imagination, intelligence, and creativity as well. If any of your family members are still studying, they might benefit greatly from these brain games since they were developed to optimize users’ productivity and performance.
Come up with themed game nights.
One of the best ways to spice up your game nights is by coming up with different themes every night. If you’re tired of the classic games, a different motif every night might get your family members more excited about coming. Here are some off-beat ideas for your upcoming game nights:
- Since the true crime genre rose in popularity the past few years, why not leverage that popularity by coming up with a murder mystery for your game night? There are plenty of murder-mystery games on the market that you can buy, but it will be more special for you and your family if you come up with your own story and mystery yourself. Have your family members dress up in their best costumes as well. You can watch the movie Clue for more ideas!
- If you and your family are pop culture fanatics and consider yourselves a treasure trove of trivia and fun facts on your favorite books, movies, and TV shows, consider centering your game nights around those pieces of pop culture. There are many questions to create from rich worlds such as Middle-earth, Westeros, and the Wizarding World. Another idea is using Disney as a theme. Once again—costumes are a key component to this. Imagine if everyone came out as the princesses.
- Remember the show Minute to Win It? You can re-create that format by coming up with challenges of your own. The best part is that many of those challenges are pretty easy to replicate—you need the right materials and supplies. Just make sure to recycle everything to help protect the planet!
Centering your game nights around a theme will surely make your family more excited about the idea of playing—especially if the theme is something they’re interested in.
Host a virtual game night.
If you and your family are self-isolating and need to get your minds off the stress of the pandemic, a virtual game night can also be a suitable alternative. There are plenty of programs and software developed to allow friends and families to do a game night over Zoom, and you need only to choose the best platform for you and your family’s needs. Even if you use a pre-developed game or software, there are still plenty of ways to make the game night suit you and your family’s hobbies and interests.
Vaccines may be on their way, but as long as we’re still dealing with the virus, staying home with our loved ones might still be the safest way to keep ourselves and those we love safe. Make the most out of the quarantine by spending quality time with the people you love.
