Cool Board Games that Teenagers are Playing in 2024

Cool Board Games that Teenagers are Playing in 2024

Every generation of teenager assumes they were the first to journey across the angst-ridden bridge between childhood and adulthood, forging their own identity, “discovering” music, and pushing boundaries.

In fairness, it can be a difficult time for teens especially today with the pressures of social media invading their space in a way that wasn’t an issue for previous generations.

Board games for teens offer a great way to spend quality time with your teenager, engaged in some shared fun.

Top Tips for Playing Board Games with Teenagers:

Keep them fed:

Teenage boys are particularly notorious for their appetites and while healthy is a wonderful target, it’s often the salty or sweet snacks that go down the best. Make an exception for game time and have some bowls of crisps or popcorn close by.

Focus on them:

Whatever a parent’s preference might be, these are the years when a teen’s individual taste is likely to be emerging. There’s plenty of time for you to instil your love of Scrabble, in the interests of strengthening that bond opt for something they will particularly enjoy.

Make it social:

Invite a couple of their friends, maybe even a couple of your own. Again, this puts the focus on fun and if it’s a table of adults then it’s a great opportunity for them to interact in a light-hearted way, and if it’s a table full of their peers, enjoy the focus away from social networking websites.

Board Games for Teens Based Childhood Trends

Horrible Histories:

Horrible Histories is a genius interpretation of historical events that engages children brilliantly in learning about the past. Not always pleasant – there is an epic focus on gore – the books and television programmes have fascinated young learners and entertained parents for years.

While teens may no longer turn to this series for educational purposes, those who were fans are likely to remain so and this board game is a great way for them to use their knowledge of history competitively!

The objective of the game is to race through different historical periods on a board that has been divided into four different-coloured quadrants.

Starting at the centre, players journey through the Savage Stone Age to the Rotten Romans section, then move on to the Smashing Saxon and the Measly Middle Ages.

Then it is time to negotiate the Terrifying Tudors and Gorgeous Georgians and finally onto the Vile Victorians and Terrible 20th Century!

Answer questions, roll the dice and have great fun discussing the fact we now live in the 21st Century!

Read More: The Best Board Games for Teens

The World of Harry Potter:

The books about the marvellous boy wizard have spawned everything from theme parks to films, and now the board game market is awash with different ways to play along.

This Harry Potter-themed version of Trivial Pursuit is a world-class way for any Harry Potter fan to demonstrate their knowledge of the books.

There are 1,800 questions and as with the original version of Trivial Pursuit, players need to roll a dice and answer according to the category they land on.

The Harry Potter Diagon Alley Dash board game is definitely one for “Potter Heads”! The objective is to move around the alley of shops attempting to fill a wizard’s trunk with everything on a list. The game comes with some great props.

The list of classic board games that feature the world’s favourite wizard is extensive,  it includes Harry Potter Scrabble, Harry Potter Pictionary, and even Harry Potter Cluedo!

Risk The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Edition:

The Lord of the Rings has been brilliantly re-imagined in this edition of the classic board game Risk which is great fun for fans of the books and films.

Based on a detailed game board that features a complete map of Middle-Earth including Gondor, Mordor, and Haradwaith Territories; there are also more than 100 cards that include Territory cards, Adventure cards, and Battalions. Also included

Enjoy complete immersion in this fantasy word and why not put on one of the movies afterwards?

Board Games for Teens Based on TV Gameshows

For all their cool, it’s likely that teens will play along with some of the brilliant TV gameshows broadcast at teatime. These are fun to watch while waiting for dinner to arrive on the table and an easy way to decompress after a day with the books.

Why not pick up a board game version of their television favourite?

If you have an 18-year-old heading to university, one of these would be great for them to take as a way to break the ice and make new friends.

The Chase:

Hosted by the comedian, Bradley Walsh, The Chase has become popular among all generations. The combination of humour; the diversity of questions asked, and the high stakes involved make this highly entertaining.

A board game version of The Chase does a great job of replicating the television show, players even decide which Chaser they wish to face choosing from: The Beast, The Destroyer, The Governess, The Sinnerman, and The Vixen.

Using an electronic timer, they start with the Cash Builder round, answering as many questions as possible.

Next is the Head-to-Head round with the chasers and this is where the game’s board comes into play as a replica of the illuminated board from the show.

Great fun and for teenage fans of the show, a familiar experience that is super-easy to grasp.

Tipping Point:

Who doesn’t love playing the Penny Falls games at seaside arcades? So easy to play, the game has been turned into a compelling TV show hosted by Ben Shephard and now a board game called Tipping Point.

The game features a very clever electronic replica of the Tipping Point machine used on the show.

This is a straightforward game to play: answer questions correctly in order to win tokens that can be dropped into one of the machine’s four drop zones.

The machine then slides back and forth but will it create a “cashcade”?

A great way to investigate whether cunning and skill are the secrets to winning this game or if it’s all down to pure luck!

The Wall:

Who doesn’t love legendary Cockney, Danny Dyer, host of this brilliant show which is now a board game, The Wall?

The game’s manufacturers have cleverly recreated a tabletop version “The Wall” so that it can be played as closely to the programme itself as possible.

There are more than 500 questions to answer correctly in order to build up a prize fund before releasing balls into “drop zones” on the wall.

Make this a Saturday night event with a takeaway!

Escape Room Games for Teens

Escape Room Game:

The Escape Room Game builds on the extremely popular activity that gives players 60 minutes to release themselves from a “secure room” by solving puzzles and riddles in order to gain secret codes.

There are three different scenarios to play with varying levels of difficulty: prison break, virus, and nuclear countdown.

Included are sixteen different keys to use to test whether a code has been cracked and a player is on their way to freedom.

A great game for working together and solving problems.

Scrawl:

In this interpretation of the famous Pictionary, Scrawl Terrible Drawings, Ridiculous Guesses players are invited to doodle their answer to an obscure question.

There are eight clipboards and 240 cards. If light-hearted fun is the order of the day, then this game will fit the bill perfectly!

Super Skills Game:

Get moving with Super Skills Action Game for Competitive People. Lots of different props are included in the box which asks players to complete ten different challenges in order to win the game.

Tasks include: stacking the cups into a pyramid while blindfolded; bouncing a ball from a wall situated behind your back and catching it, or balancing 3 dice on a chopstick.

There are 120 challenge cards, ten cups, five balls, four dice, two chopsticks, a blindfold, a sand timer, rope, a scoreboard and a dry-erase mark – all the tools needed to create a “skills Olympics!”

Final Thoughts

The teenage years are uniquely challenging and for many can feel quite overwhelming; whether that’s pressure through social media or indeed to big decisions they need to make at school.

Taking a moment for some fun and sharing an activity together such as a board game is a wholesome way to alleviate the pressure even just for an hour.

Enjoy spending time together and make some lasting memories.