My family and I have been playing games for the longest time, as many other families out there. Games provide ways to socialize, to get away from electronics, to enjoy time together and to laugh your heads off. I love board games, card games, hand-held games like Wheel of Fortune and Tetris, and party games. My family loves throwing game nights. We'll have games nights with cousins, aunts and uncles, parents, friends and a lot more people. Game nights are awesome, and you should throw one! Even game nights with one person counts because two person games are really fun too. Here are some of my all-time favorite games to play. You should try them!

1. Catch Phrase

This game is officially my favorite party game ever! It is sort of like Taboo, but it is easier to play. You play in somewhat of a circle, and you have a team. In the same way as in Hot Potato, you have to pass the device quickly, after your team guesses the word you are trying to make them guess with the descriptions you use. Whoever ends up with the device once it buzzes, their team loses that round. The other team gets the point. It is more fun in bigger groups, and you won't stop laughing. There might be fun screaming involved also.

2. Boggle

This game is great for your mind. You have to find words in the midst of the scrambled dice. My mom and I used to play this when I was younger, and now, I play with my husband. It is a perfect two player game, but it can be played with way more.

3. Memory

This may seem like a game for just kids, but I completely disagree. My husband has the best memory ever, and his parents always say how good he was at this game when he was a kid. I got him this game for Christmas, and they weren't lying. He beats me every time. It is a game where tiles with pictures on them are flipped over to where you can't see the picture. There are only two like tiles. Whoever has the most matches at the end wins! It is a very fun game for all ages.

4. Telestrations

I was introduced to this game recently, and I had to go buy it for myself because it was so much fun. It is also a party game, so you need at least four people. You pass these mini whiteboards around that are like a spiral notebook. Everyone has a card with numbers on it and words. The dice is rolled, and you have to draw what your card says for that number. You pass the board to your left, that person has to guess what you drew, writing it down on the whiteboard notebook. They pass it off, and the next person that has your whiteboard has to draw what the person to your left thought your drawing was. It is a more involved version of Telephone. Your word gets changed to crazy different things.

5. Hand and Foot

This is an awesome card game! You can play with two people or multiple people. However, the more people you have the longer it takes. It is great when you have an even amount of people because you can play doubles. With doubles, you have a partner. With singles, you are just playing on your own against everyone else. Many decks of cards are needed for this game, and there are many different ways to play. It is a game of strategy and luck, and it's not too hard to pick up. Leaving out the specific details, you have 11 cards in your hand. You match the alike cards. You have to have three cards of the same number or face card to lay them down. The cards have a point value, and the higher the round, the higher the points you need to even lay down. Once you have enough points to lay down, you put them down and get to keep adding to your matches. Eventually, you will get to your foot. Once you have a closed out book of seven cards, you are close to being able to end the round. To end the round you have to have two black books (includes wilds), two red books (does not have wilds), and a discard. It has a lot more details, but that is the gist.

6. Scattergories

This is so much fun! You have a pad in front of you with different categories, and the dice is rolled. The dice decides the letter that you have to use to find words to fit the categories. It is hard when you get an impossible letter, but it is fun to see what people come up with. The more words you list, the higher chance you have of winning. If someone listed the same word, you mark that off your list. Whoever listed the most words wins.

During your next trip to the store, take a slow walk through the game aisle. You just might find one of these games. When I walk through the aisle and see all of the games just ready for me to take home, I feel like a kid again.