The 15 best board games to gift this holiday season, from classics to new favorites

The classic Monopoly game is a must for every kid — where else would they learn how to count money and buy real estate?! Updated playing pieces in this version include a rubber ducky, penguin and dinosaur. There's no time limit on how long you play, so the experience can go on for as long — or short — of a time as you want. "I have not played Monopoly since the 90s," shared a five-star fan. "My nieces were visiting so we looked online to see availability and purchased. We played one game for four hours. We laughed and had a lot of fun."

The Game of Life is a definite conversation starter, thanks to its prompts to have players decide on major life milestones like going to college, getting married, growing their family or retiring early. All without the stress of, y'know, actual life. Create a beloved pastime like this happy reviewer: "I played The Game of Life with my parents, then with my own children. I now play The Game of Life with my grandkids. it has become a tradition in my family, providing hours of family fun.

Are you a family that enjoys whodunnits? This classic mystery game has players searching to find out who murdered Mr. Boddy of Tudor Mansion in his own home. You can learn about all the rooms in the mansion, weapons, and different guests (was it Professor Plum with the candlestick in the library?) while trying to figure out who committed the crime, along with what they used and where. "I played this with my parents when I was a child and now I am playing it with my kids," shared a happy customer. "It is just as fun as I remember. There's an additional new character and 'Clue' cards that mix up the game play a bit. My kids and I love it!"

Kids young and old can get into Candy Land, which doesn't require any reading. Players draw pretty cards to help guide their mover along the rainbow path to yummy locations like Peppermint Forest and Lollipop Palace. The first person to reach King Kandy's Castle wins. "Great for little ones. My eight- and three-year-old have a hard time finding games they can both play and enjoy, and this is the first one they both like," said a proud owner. 

With Sorry!, players have no option but to turn on each other to try to win the game. You'll chase your opponents around the board while trying to get your pawns to the finish line. Cards tell you to move forward and back and can even send you back to the start, making for an exciting evening. "My grandson and I were able to 'unplug' and laugh," said a thrilled grandparent. "We also had more family members play with us. Our favorite line is 'Sorry, not sorry.'"

There's Scrabble and then there's Scrabble Deluxe, which is a swanky way to level up your play. This version of the classic game has a wheeled gameboard you can turn, so no one has to try to read the board upside down. (Clever!) A non-slip grid also keeps the tiles in place, while a carrying case makes it easy to tote the game from spot to spot. "It's so much easier to place the pieces because they have borders around each space. The letters don't move around like the flat board does," one shopper shared. "And because the board rotates, each player can see it perfectly!"

Come to this game prepared to laugh — a lot. Players match a photo with the funniest caption they can find to create a "meme." Heads up: There's also an R-rated version, but this one is family-friendly. "Loved playing this game with my 14-, 11-, and eight-year-old grandchildren," said a serious fan. "It was age-appropriate for all the children and all ages had lots of fun. Lots of laughs for everyone!"

Classic Twister get a modern, er, twist with Twister Air. The app-enabled game has players wear wrist and ankle bands, and then clap, swipe and pose to try to follow spots on the screen. "Twister Air is so much fun for both kids and adults," shared a fan. "Our game night group had a blast getting up instead of sitting around at a table. ...It was easy to learn and set up. All the great fun without all the rolling around on the floor reaching for dots."

Tapple is a pressure-cooker game with a short time limit. To play it, you choose a card with a category, press the 10-second timer and shout out words in the category that relate to a certain letter. It's intense but seriously fun. "Our family loves Tapple! We saw it on some TikTok videos and had to have it," said a satisfied player. "The compact and portable design makes it great to bring on trips as well."

This board game requires some strategic thinking as you and other players try to snag train cards to run your trains between iconic American cities. You'll rack up the score with every route you complete, but connecting cities shown on the ticket earns you even more points. One owner called Ticket to Ride "surprisingly addictive." They added, "It is worth every penny. It is a good mix of strategy and luck in a format simple enough to allow the kids a fair chance. The 12-year-old wants to play it as much as his video games and the eight-year-old loves it, too. This will be a family staple for years to come."

Indulge your inner spy with Codenames, which has two rival spymasters contact all of the agents in the field before the other team finds their own agents. Oh, and there's an assassin who can take out your team. "Amazing game, not tough to learn," said a regular player. "We played for five hours with two adult sons who don't usually want to spend that much time hanging out with us! Almost all of it was spent laughing, too."

The trivia game to end all trivia games, Trivial Pursuit challenges your knowledge of a range of things across six categories: Geography, Entertainment, History, Art and Literature, Science and Nature and Sports and Leisure. Answer a question correctly and earn a colored wedge. Once you collect six different wedges and answer the final question correctly, you win. Shared one trivia buff: "Great game, good variety of questions. The questions range from easy to hard and great to play with friends. Nice that it has so many questions so the game challenges us for a long time."

Just One encourages players to work together to try to uncover as many mystery words as possible. One player draws a card without looking at it and chooses a number between one and five. Everyone else writes a clue on their easel and tries to help the player guess the word. "This game is easy to learn and hilarious to play, especially with our crowd that loves to 'bend' the rules a bit," shared a five-star reviewer. "I love that it is not a competition, but a collaborative effort, so there are no sore losers. "

Exit is the closest thing to having an escape room at home — the goal is to solve a mystery. Learn how journalist Ignatius Loyde was murdered soon after publishing an article that framed Sherlock Holmes as an imposter. Holmes disappeared and you need to figure out what happened. A series of riddles helps you to solve the case. Like the game? Try other versions like The Abandoned Cabin and The Sinister Mansion. 

Remember Oregon Trail (yes, the educational computer game popular in the mid-1980s)? Think of Catan as a grownup, offline version of it. You guide settlers through the remote isle of Catan, discovering different areas and using resources to buy development cards to build roads, settlements and cities. One reviewer said it's the "most engaging game I've played." They continued, "Superb strategy game to be played with friends and family. We kind of became addicted to this game once we were well-acquainted with the rules. Great game to play for two to three hours."