Parcheesi may have entertained our grandparents, but board games are enjoying an enormous resurgence, thanks to games such as the simple, but hilarious Apples to Apples and fabulously bizarre Quelf. Here's a list of favorite board games guaranteed to please older teens, college kids and 20somethings, and wow the dorm crowd.
1. Apples to Apples
Courtesy Mattel
Apples to Apples is so beloved by the teen and 20something crowd, many families use it as the gold standard by which they judge all other board games. In this dorm-pleaser, players are dealt seven nouns – places, faces or pop culture icons – and compete to pair them with an adjective card supplied by a highly subjective judge, who awards points based on entertainment value. The result is a hilarious, easy-to-learn game that quickly draws a crowd.
2. Quelf
Courtesy Imagination Entertainment
This incredibly funny, fast-paced game is perfect for playing with friends and loved ones of all ages, teens to grandparents. There’s no learning curve. Just open the box, pick a character – Queen Spatula, perhaps, or Super Ninja Monkey – and prepare for a wild ride. Depending on your cards, you may find yourself wearing an impromptu snorkel while battling bees, singing operatic arias in a made-up language or rapping about tomato soup. Needless to say, the game is wildly popular among teens and college kids.
3. iMagiNiff
Courtesy Buffalo Games
Players vie to describe their friends in somewhat oddball terms in this offbeat, laughter-filled board game. Imagine if - or rather, iMagiNiff - the player to your left was a condiment, a felony or a 1970s sitcom. Which would he be? You'll laugh too much to care who wins.
4. Tiki Topple
Courtesy Gamewright
This fast-paced, tactical game features strategy, betrayal and the undeniable allure of little plastic tiki heads. Maneuver your tikis into a super secret combination, while sabotaging fellow players' efforts to do the same, and you might advance your own totem around the board. Fail and ... you'll just have to play this wildly addictive game again.
5. Loaded Questions
Courtesy All Things Equal
Another board game classic, Loaded Questions is an often-hilarious, occasionally thought-provoking game. Players vie to guess who said which outrageous thing, as they parry such questions as: “If you could rid the earth of three creatures, which three would you dispose of?” or “Who in this room snores the loudest?”
6. Cranium
Courtesy Hasbro
This classic party game is a favorite with creative teens and 20somethings too. Sculpt a creature out of clay, hum a song, spell backwards or do any of the other nine imaginative challenges - determined by the roll of a die - to move your playing piece across the board toward the giant purple brain.
7. Time's Up
Courtesy R&R Games
This crowd of 525 celebrities - historical figures, pop icons and cultural darlings - had 15 minutes or more of fame. You'll have 30 seconds to guess as many as possible, in rounds that grow increasingly difficult. Describe up to 40 of these famous figures in a sentence, a single word or a wordless impersonation to win in this rollicking, 10th anniversary version of a great game for teens, college kids and grown-ups.
8. More Board Games?
Courtesy of Dominik Gwarek, Stock.Xchng Photos
Looking for more board game suggestions? Visit About.com's board game web site too.
