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Top 5 Board or Card Games I Play with My Friends

Here are my go-to non-video games for fun and more

By Inspiring YouTuber and GamerPublished about a year ago 8 min read
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Photo by Maria Lin Kim on Unsplash

As I have mentioned in a recent post titled My Top 5 Favorite Local Multiplayer Games I Play with My Friends, whenever I have my friends over, we usually play one of these mentioned games together.

But sometimes, we decide to take a break from video games by playing various board games or card games. These games offer different values.

In this post, I will introduce my favorite tabletop games I play with my friends when we want to take a break from video games.

1 — Monopoly

Monopoly is a popular board game that was first introduced in the early 20th century. The game is designed to simulate the experience of buying and selling real estate and building a real estate empire.

Players take turns rolling dice and moving around the board in the game. When a player lands on a property, they have the option to purchase it, and if they do, they become the owner and can charge other players who land on it rent.

We can also buy and sell properties with one another and can build houses and hotels on their properties to increase the rent they can charge.

The game's ultimate goal is to bankrupt the other players by charging them rent, buying up their properties, or forcing them to pay various fees and fines. The game can be played with two to eight players and typically takes several hours.

Monopoly has become a cultural icon and has been adapted into many different versions, including regional variations, electronic versions, and even a themed version based on the popular television show Game of Thrones. The game has also been used to teach financial literacy and entrepreneurship to children and adults alike.

My friends and I usually only play Monopoly whenever we have a lot of time to spare since our games usually go on for many hours. Monopoly is very fun for us since we enjoy screwing each other over, as harsh as that sounds.

2 — Cards Against Humanity

Cards Against Humanity is a popular card game designed to be offensive, irreverent, and often politically incorrect. The game consists of a deck of black cards that contain prompts, such as questions or sentence fragments, and a deck of white cards that contain potential answers or fill-in-the-blank phrases.

Players take turns being the “card czar” and drawing a black card, which they read aloud. The other players then choose a white card from their hand that best fits the prompt, and the card czar chooses their favorite answer. The player who submitted the chosen white card wins the round and earns a point.

The game is known for its edgy and controversial content, with many white cards containing vulgar or offensive language or themes. The game has become popular among young adults and is often played at parties or social gatherings.

Cards Against Humanity has spawned many spin-offs and variations, including expansions with new cards, digital versions of the game, and even a family-friendly version called “Cards Against Muggles.” Despite its controversial content, the game has become a cultural phenomenon and has helped to popularize the genre of “adult party games.”

My friends and I really enjoy Cards Against Humanity, mainly due to the crude humor we can create. This is defiantly not a game I would recommend playing with kids since the cards have many inappropriate themes.

3 — Scrabble

Scrabble is a classic board game that is played by millions of people around the world. The game consists of a board with a grid of squares and a set of letter tiles. The game's goal is to use the letter tiles to create words on the board and score as many points as possible.

Players place tiles on the board, forming words horizontally or vertically. Each letter has a point value, and the score of a word is determined by adding up the point values of each tile in the word. The game also includes special squares on the board that can double or triple the score of a word or a letter.

Scrabble requires players to use their knowledge of vocabulary, spelling, and strategic thinking skills to create high-scoring words and block their opponents from doing the same. The game can be played by two to four players and typically takes one to two hours to complete.

Scrabble has been popular for over 80 years and has inspired many spin-offs and variations, including digital versions of the game, themed versions with new rules and unique tiles, and even competitive tournaments with cash prizes. The game has also been used as an educational tool to help children and adults improve their language skills and expand their vocabulary.

I’m not sure how, but whenever my friends and I play Scrabble, there is always that one person who can come up with the craziest words that fit into the best places on the board. By the time we get past the first couple of rounds, it’s always clear who’s going to win.

4 — What Do You Meme

“What Do You Meme” is a card game based on internet memes, popular images, or videos shared and remixed across social media platforms. The game consists of a deck of caption cards and a deck of photo cards that feature popular memes, such as “Distracted Boyfriend” and “Arthur Fist.”

Players take turns choosing a photo card and placing it on the table. The other players then choose one of their caption cards that they think best matches the image, and the player who placed the photo card chooses their favorite caption. The player who submitted the chosen caption card earns a point, and the game continues with a new photo card.

The game is designed to be humorous and irreverent, with many of the captions containing pop culture references, slang, or vulgar language. The game has become popular among young adults and is often played at parties or social gatherings.

What Do You Meme has spawned many spin-offs and variations, including expansions with new meme cards, digital versions of the game, and even a family-friendly version called “What Do You Meme? Family Edition.” The game has helped to popularize the genre of “meme-based party games” and has introduced internet culture to a broader audience.

I’ve found that this game usually works a lot better with people who are familiar with at least some of the memes in this card game. But even with people unfamiliar with the memes, it can still be a very funny experience.

5 — Spyfall

Spyfall is a party game that is designed to test players’ deductive reasoning skills and ability to think on their feet. The game is played with a deck of cards, each containing the name of a location, such as a submarine or a space station.

One player is designated as the spy and given a card that simply says “spy” instead of a location. The other players are given cards with the same location name. Players take turns asking each other questions about the location, trying to figure out who the spy is without giving away the location.

The spy’s goal is to identify the location without getting caught, while the other player’s goal is to identify the spy and vote them out of the game. The game can be played with three to eight players and typically takes 10–15 minutes.

Spyfall is a popular game for social gatherings and can be played with players of all ages. The game has inspired many variations and spin-offs, including digital versions of the game and versions with different themes, such as a Harry Potter-themed version called “Spyfall at Hogwarts.” The game is known for its fast-paced gameplay and high replay value, as no two games are the same.

Although there is a physical card game for Spyfall, my friends and I usually just use the free mobile application since it offers additional game modes and scenarios. It is still played like a physical card game, except you use your phone instead of a card.

Final Words

In this post, I shared my favorite tabletop games I enjoy playing with friends.

I highlight the popularity of each game and the variations available. I also provide personal experiences of playing each game and mention my enjoyment of them.

Overall, I suggest that board games and card games are great ways to take a break from video games and enjoy quality time with friends.

How about you? I‘d like to learn about your favorite games.

If you enjoy my posts and would like to stay updated on the latest gaming-related news, technology advancements, design trends, and social media insights, I invite you to follow my profile.

I will continue sharing my thoughts and insights on a wide range of topics in entertainment and technology.

With that being said, thank you for reading my post, and have a good one.

The original version of this story was published on another platform.

About the Author

I write articles in my field covering gaming, filmmaking, media, technology, and design. You can subscribe to my account to get notifications when I post on Medium and Vocal Media. I support Illumination Integrated Publications as an editor and moderate the Slack Workspace, where you can share your Vocal Stories with thousands of members free of charge. I own and manage two publications, one for gaming and one for YouTube. You may join via my referral link if you are new to Medium. You can also join Vocal Media to share your inspiring stories. I look forward to reading your posts on both platforms.

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About the Creator

Inspiring YouTuber and Gamer

I specialise in Media, Design, and Filmmaking. I support Illumination Integrated Publications on Medium as an editor and YouTube coordinator. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9DhuGQYbpI& I also own two publications for Gaming and Podcasts.

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