For many families, weekend nights are the one time of the week where everyone can get together. Without the distractions of school sport, meetings, or other responsibilities, it’s the perfect opportunity to enjoy some quality time. This is especially true in winter when the thought of cosying up at home is far more appealing than heading out (even for teenagers!) 

But as nice as it is to snuggle up on the lounge with a movie and pizza, you might want to change things up for your next family gathering. Hosting a family game night is a great way to bond and create memories together. And, let’s be honest — it’s an opportunity for everyone to unleash their competitive side, too!

The good news is, you don’t need lots of fancy and expensive games to get in on the fun. With just a few simple supplies (and snacks!) you can host an unforgettable evening for the family.

1. At-home escape room. Escape rooms have become an extremely popular activity in recent years. But, you don’t necessarily have to head to a virtual reality arcade to play — you can create your own simple escape room at home! First, you’ll want to pick a theme, such as being stuck in a theme park or haunted house. You can pick up some inexpensive decorations from your local dollar shop or department store to bring your theme to life. Then, you’ll need to create a series of riddles and obstacles that your players must work through before they move on to the next room. You can be stationed in the doorway, where they must provide the correct code to advance forward.  If your family is big enough, you can split them into teams. Otherwise, escape rooms work just as well with single players, racing against each other to solve the puzzles. Voila, you’ve got your very own exhilarating escape room that will require everyone to put their problem-solving caps on.
2. Spoons. Card games are always fun to play with the family. But, if you have young kids, some of them may be a little too slow-paced or complicated. Spoons uses interactive elements to make a classic card game a little more fun and exciting. All you’ll need is a deck of card and some spoons. Start by placing all the spoons in the middle of the table (you’ll need one less than the total amount of people participating) Then, at the beginning of each round, deal four cards to each player. Each person will discard one card to their left. Once a player collects four cards of a kind, they can take a spoon — and the other players must then all reach for a spoon, too. The person who misses out on a spoon gets a letter of the word ‘spoon.’ Once they have spelled out an entire word, they are eliminated from the game. The last player standing wins!
3. DIY Bingo. Looking for a family game night idea for kids and adults alike? Bingo, this is it! Traditionally, in bingo, each player is given a sheet with a selection of different numbers on it — which they mark off as they are called out. The first person to mark off all their numbers wins! But, the beauty of bingo is how versatile it is! You can easily make your own bingo set at home, based around different themes. For example, you could make winter-themed bingo cards, with items like ‘hot chocolate’, ‘gloves’ and ‘frost.’ You can use simple materials like paper and crayons to create this, or download and print some simple templates online.  It’s a simple game, but one thing always brings plenty of joy and laughter.
4. Sardines. Here’s a fun family game night idea that requires zero equipment. It’s like hide-and-seek, only in reverse! Instead of multiple people hiding and one person looking for them, one person hides and everyone else looks for them. Whenever a person finds the hidden person, they must hide with them for everyone else to find. Before long, all of the hidden people begin looking like a bunch of sardines! The biggest challenge is for the ‘sardines’ to hold in their giggles while the remaining players look for them.
5. Edible Jenga. Jenga is a game of skill and focus that’s a blast for the entire family. But, even if you don’t have a set of blocks at home, you can still get in on the block-stacking, stack-crashing fun. Edible Jenga puts a delicious spin on this classic game. You can use savory snacks like pretzel sticks or cut-up blocks of cheese, or go healthy with chopped carrots, cucumber, or fruits. Stack the snacks up into a tower, and each player will take turns carefully taking out a block — trying not to let it tumble. The added bonus is, everyone gets a snack each time they successfully retrieve a block. Yes, this is one time when it’s perfectly okay to play with your food!
6. Personalised Guess-Who. Guess-Who is a classic board game that is perfect for smaller families, as you only need two people to play. The game involves asking yes or no questions to identify which character your opponent has selected. Want to make it even more fun and interactive? Personalise the game to feature people your family knows in real life! If you already own Guess Who, you can take out the existing characters from the slots and add in your own. Otherwise, you’ll need a timber board to create the base of your game, and 24 hinges you can glue each of the ‘guess who’ tiles to. You’ll also need to print out 24 small images of friends, family, and other people you know in real life. Or, you can choose to do this with celebrities, instead. The best part is, making your Guess Who boards can be these can be a fun family craft activity in itself. Bonus!

By trying out these indoor game ideas, you can enjoy some good, old-fashioned fun with the family. Before you know it, family game night will become the highlight of the week!