Games
Looking for a fun game to play with friends or family? Our librarians share some of their favorites, along with tips and tricks on how to play. We also recommend similar games, called Play Alikes, to keep the fun going! You can also search by game type (deck building, cooperative, etc.) or what 21st Century Skill each game teaches.
Prepare to be masked and use your bluff-busting skills! In this delightfully illustrated game, each player takes a turn dreaming (wearing the mask). Other players give you one-word clues in turn to describe the played card. You decide the correct word. But beware! You don’t know which clues are legit and which are bluffs!
- The Sandman role is the most difficult to understand, especially for younger players, and usually requires a detailed explanation and examples.
- The Dreamer must describe all of their guesses at the end, creating a storytelling dream. This can be tied into memory practices and how memory palaces work.
This classic dice game consists of each player rolling 5 dice up to 3 times to make 1 or 13 categories. Category examples are 3 of a kind, straight, full house, etc. Add up the score to determine the winner.
- Dungeon Roll - game play relies on dice rolls
- Zombie Dice - game play relies on dice rolls
Ready to go crabbing? Develop a secret signal with a partner to use when you have collected 4 cards. If you aren’t caught using your secret signal, then “You’ve Got Crabs!”
- Easy party game for small or large groups.
- Best with 2-3 teams.
- Create multiple fake signals to throw off opponents.
- Expansion Kit comes with a pair of wearable crab claws.
- Shifty-eyed spies - Secretly communicate with a partner without getting caught by other players
- Spoons (card game) - Card play is similar but without the team component
- Exploding Kittens - Created by the same developer
Players are zombies with a hankering for braaaains! Six-sided dice are rolled to collect brains to munch on while avoiding shotgun blasts that end your turn. The first player to devour 13 brains wins.
- Easy to learn and quick to play.
- You could feasibly play with as many people as you want, it would just increase game time.
- Since players shake and roll several dice at a time, you may want to play this game in a space where you won’t disturb other library patrons.
- Yahtzee - another classic dice shaking game
- King of Tokyo - has a similar re-rolling mechanism