5 Funny Board Games for Family and Friends
Written by: Liza Gresko, Mom and PR Specialist at Moss Tucker Group
When was the last time a game night had you laughing so hard you could barely talk?
Whether you’re looking to entertain your kids on family night, add some spice to date night, or break the ice at a get together, funny board games are a fantastic option.
From quirky characters to ridiculous challenges, a hilarious game can turn any moment into a hysterical one that will make memories to last a lifetime.
At SimplyFun, we believe that learning and bonding should go hand-in-hand, with game options that aim to be funny while you learn and make memories. To help you narrow down your choices, we’ve put together this ultimate guide to funny board games for adults, couples, and families. This list is full of educational and strategic suggestions that are full of surprises, and sure to inspire side-splitting fun.
Let’s dive into some of our favorite funny board games for your next game night!
1. Pickles’ Pig Tales
2-5 players • 30 min • 6 & up
Unleash your storytelling magic! Begin each turn by retelling the story from the beginning, then spice it up by adding a new sentence based on your drawn card. Master your communication skills to earn cards and become the top storyteller! Players move Pickles along the gameboard and draw a card to tell the story. Tell the story correctly and receive the card. The player with the most cards when Pickles reaches the castle wins.
What makes it funny:
-It encourages creative storytelling and vocabulary development.
-See who can keep up with the twists your story takes as cards are added and removed from the plot. There's hilarious creativity in justifying why the bar of soap from the early version of your tale has turned into a surprised crocodile!
-Each player must tell the story correctly, describing the cards in the order they were drawn. If the story is told correctly, the player keeps the face-up card in front of themselves, and the following players must include the card when telling the story.
-Great for ages 6 and up, making it ideal for multigenerational game nights.
2. Letter Slide
2-4 players • 20 min • 7 & up
The fast-paced word game where slipping up is part of the fun! Join the Buddies for a super-fast ride down the water slide. Players must race against the clock to spell as many four-letter words as you can with the letters on your card! Boost your spelling, vocabulary, and knowledge of consonants and vowels while you’re at it. How many words can you make before time runs out?
Cards with partial words are turned over. Players then rush to grab letter tiles and try to spell as many words as they can on the letter spaces before the timer runs out. The first player to cover all the spaces on his slide board wins the game! Every Letter Slide box contains four slide boards, on which Tibbar, Pickles, Bubbles and Beary slide down the water. There’s also a one minute sand timer that players race against to spell the most words.
What makes it funny:
-Watching players try to spell while sliding tiles is pure comedy.
-It leads to accidental (and often very silly) word creations. If a player has made a mistake by misspelling a word or making a word that does not exist, that player must return both letter tiles to the lagoon, and neither can be used to fill a letter space on the slide board.
-It’s a fun way to boost spelling, vocabulary, and reflexes.
3. Corner Center Match
2-6 players • 10 min • 7 & up
Where matching meets mayhem! In the world of funny board games, Corner Center Match stands out as a hilarious way to boost your focus and self-control. To play, you must race to pick a card from your hand whose corner shape matches the target card’s center. Be quick and precise—beat the other players to match all the cards in your hand first.
In the world of funny board games, Corner Center Match stands out for turning a basic matching game into a laughter-filled frenzy. It’s great for Shapes & Color Matching as players use pattern recognition to quickly identify the center shape and review their cards to find a matching corner shape.
Corner Center Match also helps with focus and self-control as players concentrate on the target cards on the table and the shapes in their hand to play their cards efficiently. We like to recommend it for those looking for funny board games for couples, too.
Why it delivers big on board game funny moments:
-The quick-thinking, fast-action nature of the game leads to frantic fun.
-Mistakes happen in the heat of the moment, which totally adds to the funny factor.
-It sharpens visual perception and spatial reasoning while keeping things light-hearted. Who wouldn’t laugh while clumsily racing to match the shapes?
4. Kahootz!
2-6 players • 10 min • 7 & up
The creative combo game that’s seriously silly! This wild game mixes Tongue Tied, Show & Tell, and more because this isn’t your average charades. Players roll the die to pick a category, or let the next team choose. Show off your creativity and teamwork as you perform, guess, and race against the clock! If you miss a guess, other teams get a shot.
This sound making, tongue twisting, second-hand drawing, face making, people directing, gut busting, more-fun-than-you-ever-had-playing-with-your-friends-and-family, HOOT of a charades game will inspire hilarious memories that you’ll laugh about for years to come! Each activity pits one team against another in a quest to guess the correct answer to the selected charade in a race against the sands of time. Well, at least against the hourglass…
What makes it funny:
-The combination of kids and adults playing together will undoubtedly inspire hilarious moments
-Miscommunication and offbeat connections are comedy gold. Did the player make a duck face or was that a fish? Who knows!
-It fosters teamwork, creative thinking, and lots of inside jokes that can be told time and again. Remember when your brother guessed “hula hoop” when it was actually “grandfather clock”?
5. Dance Like a Lemur
2-5 players • 15 min • 4 & up
Looking for funny board games for family that get everyone off the couch? Dance Like a Lemur is here to save the day! In this movement-based game, players draw action cards and take turns leading silly dances like “Flap your arms like a bird” or “Twirl and roar like a dinosaur.” You’ll jump into an exciting adventure where you imitate various animals like elephants, crabs, dogs and cows through sounds, movements, words and stories. You’ll stomp, scuttle, bark and moo your way to finding all the pieces to your puzzle, stopping only for the occasional dance party. It’s a great way for players to practice their memory and gross motor skills in this joyful blend of learning, laughter, and animal antics.
Why it’s laugh-out-loud funny:
-It combines physical activity with ridiculously funny moves. How could you not laugh when you see Dad swinging his arms like a gorilla or Aunt Jane stomping around the living room like an elephant?
-Watching Grandma “wiggle like a worm” would be an instant classic joke to be told for years to come.
-It builds confidence, coordination, and creativity in kids, and brings out that inner child so many adults forget about with the stress of day-to-day life, work and responsibilities.
Why Funny Board Games Are the Best Kind of Games
Board games in general are fantastic ways to learn, challenge yourself and make memories with family and friends. However, funny board games in particular are great for fostering social connections and promoting positive emotions. They encourage laughter, relaxation, and can even help reduce stress. Playing games together can be a bonding experience, creating shared memories and strengthening relationships with friends and family.
We’ve highlighted some specific reasons why you should be adding more funny board games for adults and families as a whole to your game board closet:
1. Funny Adult Board Games do a great job of breaking the ice:
Meeting new people or hanging with distant relatives? A funny board game is the fastest way to get everyone talking, laughing, and feeling comfortable. It takes the pressure off of figuring out ways to entertain or make conversation. The board games pave the way to get to know people or make entertaining less stressful on the host or hostess, especially for those that need their adult board games funny-themed to lessen the awkwardness if they’re not as outgoing.
2. These games can boost emotional intelligence on top of brain power
Board games that include storytelling, empathy, or creativity, like Pickles’ Pig Tales or Kahootz, for example, help kids (and adults!) understand each other better. They can help form a pathway to communication that might otherwise be more challenging.
3. They provide humorous brain boosting endorphins
Laughing while playing board games offers significant benefits for your brain. Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, which have mood-boosting and stress-reducing effects. Board games also engage cognitive functions like critical thinking, problem-solving, and strategic planning, leading to improved mental agility and cognitive flexibility. According to Psychology Today, 65% of US adults enjoy board games and thoroughly enjoy the benefits from a boost in serotonin, the neurotransmitter that improves mood and lessens anxiety. Half felt that board games provided them a social outlet while they enhanced executive functions like decision-making, patience, and critical thinking.
4. They create lasting memories
Those moments when Dad misspells a word in Letter Slide or your toddler invents a new lemur dance? Priceless memories that are told over and over again through the years, not to mention chock full of funny board game names that you can repeat at random moments!
Laugh More, Play More: A Winning Combination whether you win or lose
The best game nights are the ones that leave you smiling long after the final round. With SimplyFun’s collection of funny board games, you’re not just passing the time or filling in a void while entertaining, you’re making memories, sharing laughs, and bonding with those around you in the most joyful way possible. You’re taking a break from screens and focusing on the present while interacting with those around you.
Whether you’re playing with your kids or a group of friends, these funny board games for couples, families, and adults guarantee a hysterical time will be had by all. Add some of them to your collection and get ready for game night fun that inspires endless hilarious memories that can be laughed about for years to come!
More on the Blog:
The Best Matching Card Games for Family Fun!
10 Kids’ Dice Games That Are Fun for the Whole Family!