7 Board Games That Are Actually Fun ...

Pop-up board games are awesome! In this one, you are all assigned roles as the rich master of the house turns up dead, and your goal is to stay out of the house long enough to meet the detective outside and claim the inheritance. Trap cards allow you to betray even your closest comrade in the quest to get paid. Happy killing!

Of the many board games that are actually fun, this one is probably the most well known. This game takes forever, but it’s a good kind of forever if you do it right. We like the tweak the rules a bit, and add in a cop. The way it works is if you land on Free Parking you can pay to become the cop for two rounds. This allows you to set up two stop signs to force other players to land on your property. Also, as the cop, if you land on the same square as another player you can pull them over and write them a ticket. Play this way once, and you’ll never go back.

This is the first that technically isn’t a board game, but for me, it’s close enough. You use a DVD here to cycle through pictures and clips, which you are responsible for confidentially writing dialogue and tag lines for. They are collected and read aloud by one player while another guesses who wrote which ridiculous quip. This is perfect for those of your friends who get way too competitive because there’s no winner. You just play until you’re done laughing at the craziness that comes out of your friends' brains. Best part -- going back and reading the notes from previous games.

Many of the board games that are actually fun are also ridiculous! This is one simple, but it can get heated quickly. One person draws according to the card, and the others try to guess the term. The best part is that one person who always yells the same thing, over and over again. Are you that person?

Want the perfect game to bring the overly competitive jerk-side out of you and everyone around you? Well, here it is! Seriously though, this game is ADDICTIVE. To make it the most fun, secretly text a friend who could help you during the game, start a secret alliance, and then stab them in the back at the last minute to win. Never fails to start fights, but I do it every time. Game tip -- spring for Australia.

This is another of those board games that are actually fun, but simple too. This one is all about knowing your opponent and especially what makes them laugh. In this game, each person always holds seven cards with random things assigned to them. Each round one person draws a category card and then the other players use one of their seven to best describe the category to the person. Some of the things that get thrown down can get pretty ridiculous. Here’s a tip -- Hitler and Helen Keller will win EVERY time. Count on it.

I love Catch Phrase so much, and it’s easily the simplest on here. All you do is gather everyone in a circle, select a category, and then press start on the game device. It generates a topic and your job, if you’re holding it, is to get your teammates to guess it without saying the word. It’s also timed and as soon as your team guesses you pass it, and the team not holding it when it buzzes wins. This game get intense fast since you’re always trying to pass the device as quickly as possible. Just wait until the first time someone in the circle drops the device…take it easy on them.

See, board games can be for grown-ups. Those are always the board games that are actually fun. If you play them in the right spirit, and with the right group of people, you can surprise yourself with how much fun you'll have! Which one of these fun **board games **will you wind up wasting the most time with?

Top Photo Credit: Birgit F