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When I picture a cozy night at home, there are usually two things that come to mind. We’re either settling in together to watch a family movie with something yummy to eat, or we’re gathered around the table for a family game night, probably with a plate of homemade cookies somewhere within reach.
And honestly, I think I love the game nights even more.
Our family has gotten much smaller over the last ten years, so those times when everyone is together feel especially precious to me now. Holidays, vacations, Sunday afternoons, or those random evenings when everyone happens to be home are some of my favorite times because there’s a pretty good chance someone is going to pull out a game.
And when that happens, things can get loud around here.
My boys are pretty darn competitive.
I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve had to say, “It’s just a game!”
Sometimes I think that should be printed on a sign and hung next to our game cupboard. LOL.
But underneath all the competition, teasing, and occasional arguing over the rules, there is so much laughter.
And that’s the part I love.
Family Game Night Has Always Felt Like Home to Me
Games have been part of my life for as long as I can remember.
When I was little, I loved playing Checkers with my siblings. And I have to admit, I was pretty good at it!
But one of the games I remember most was something called Uncle Albert’s Game.
My mom’s uncle created it, and somehow over the years it disappeared. I wish so much that I could find a copy today. I don’t even know if one exists anymore.
Isn’t it funny how something as simple as an old family game can become part of your memories of home?
I don’t remember what furniture we were sitting on or what the room looked like. I remember the people.
I remember playing.
That’s what family game night does. It gives everyone a reason to sit down in the same place for a little while.
No television in the background.
No one has to come up with something profound to talk about.
You just shuffle the cards, pass out the pieces, put something good on the table to eat, and start playing.
Somewhere along the way, conversations happen and memories are made.
My Husband’s Family Taught Me a Few Things About Games
When I married my husband, I married into another family that loved games.
And they played some random ones!
One I remember especially well was called Bank.
I don’t know how many times we played it, but what I remember most was my father-in-law. He absolutely refused to call “Bank.”
Sometimes his strategy worked beautifully.
Most of the time it did not.
But he was committed to it!
We would laugh and tease him, and then the next time we played, he would do exactly the same thing.
Those are the things I miss.
It wasn’t really the game of Bank that made those evenings special. It was sitting around the table with people we loved and knowing exactly what someone was going to do before they did it.
Years later, you forget who won.
You remember the person who absolutely would not call Bank.
Another game that has always been fun to pull out is Dominoes.
There’s something I love about games like Dominoes because they’re so simple to keep around. You don’t need a complicated setup, and once everyone sits down at the table, you’re playing before you know it.
And, of course, when you have competitive people in the family, even a friendly game of Dominoes can become a little more serious than you expected!
That’s part of what makes family game night so much fun at our house. It doesn’t always have to be the newest game or something with a hundred pieces and a giant rule book. Sometimes the old familiar games are the ones that bring back the most memories.
Dominoes is one of those games that just feels like gathering around the table to me. You can talk while you play, tease each other a little, snack on cookies, and enjoy being together.
And really, that’s what I’m looking for when I pull out a game in the first place.
Some of My Favorite Family Game Night Memories
There was another time we were playing UNO Dare with my in-laws and we laughed so hard we were crying.
The dares were absolutely ridiculous.
I can still remember that feeling of everyone laughing until it hurt.
Those are the nights I wish I could bottle up and keep.
I also think about quieter Sunday afternoons at our house. We’d finish dinner, open the curtains so we could watch the sunset, bring out some cookies, and start playing games.
Nothing fancy.
But goodness, I loved those afternoons.
Even one of our sons who doesn’t really like most games would join us every now and then.
Those ordinary moments have become some of my favorite memories of home.
And maybe that’s why I’m always looking for another good game to add to our collection.
2 Games I Love for Family Game Night
Right now, there are two games I find myself recommending again and again.
Both are from Grandpa Beck’s Games, and both took me a little while to warm up to.
I have a hard time with change.
Give me a game I already know how to play, and I’m happy. Give me a new game with unfamiliar rules, and my first thought is usually, “Why can’t we just play the other one?”
Please tell me I’m not the only person who does this.
The funny thing is that neither of these games actually took very long to learn. After playing a few times, everything started making sense.
And now?
They’re two of my all-time favorites.
Family Game Night Favorite #1: Skull King
Skull King is probably the one that intimidated me the most at first.
There are different cards to understand, you’re trying to predict how many tricks you’re going to take, and then there’s the scoring.
At first I wasn’t convinced this was going to be my game.
But after a few rounds, it clicked.
And once it clicked, I loved it.
Now I understand why everyone gets so into it.
You have to think about what you have in your hand, what everyone else might do, and how you’re going to make your bid.
Of course, when you’re playing with competitive people, that also means there’s plenty of celebrating when things go right and plenty of groaning when somebody ruins your plan.
Remember what I said?
“It’s just a game!”
I say it a lot.
We also use a scorekeeping app on our phone when we play Skull King, which makes keeping track of everything much easier for us.
If your family likes games that involve a little strategy, a little luck, and plenty of opportunities to give each other a hard time, this is a fun one to try.
Family Game Night Favorite #2: Cover Your Assets
The other game that has earned a permanent spot in our collection is Cover Your Assets.
Again, I wasn’t immediately sure about this one.
Then I figured it out.
Oh boy.
This one can bring out the competitive side of people very quickly!
The basic idea involves collecting sets of assets while trying to protect what you’ve collected because other players may be able to take them.
And that’s where things get interesting.
You can be sitting there feeling pretty good about yourself one minute and watching someone else go after your assets the next.
This is not necessarily a peaceful game.
But it is hilarious.
For our family, that’s part of the fun.
There’s teasing, laughing, strategy, and the occasional person acting personally offended that someone would dare take their cards.
Again…
It’s just a game!
You Don’t Need a Pinterest-Worthy Family Game Night
I think sometimes we make the idea of creating family memories harder than it needs to be.
You don’t need a beautifully styled game table.
You don’t need matching snack bowls.
You don’t need decorations.
You certainly don’t need a special occasion.
Our best family game night setup is usually pretty simple.
I bake a batch of everyone’s favorite cookies.
We pull out a game.
We sit down.
That’s about it.
Sometimes there are other snacks around. Sometimes we’re playing on vacation. Sometimes it’s a holiday and the house is full. Sometimes it’s just a regular Sunday afternoon after dinner.
The important part isn’t what is on the table.
It’s who is sitting around it.
Why Family Game Night Feels So Cozy to Me
When I started Wendy’s Cozy Home, I knew I wanted to share things that make a home feel warmer, easier, happier, and more comfortable.
But the more I think about what makes a home cozy, the more I realize that most of my favorite things aren’t really about decorating at all.
They’re about people.
A cozy home can have pretty blankets and warm lamps and candles and all of those things I love.
But a truly cozy home is one where people want to gather.
It’s hearing your kids laugh in the next room.
It’s someone accusing someone else of cheating when everyone knows they aren’t.
It’s opening the curtains and watching the sunset while you’re sitting around the table.
It’s passing a plate of cookies.
It’s telling your grown boys for the hundredth time, “It’s just a game.”
And it’s looking around the table and realizing these are the moments you’re going to miss someday.
A Family Game Night Doesn’t Have to Last Forever to Matter
One thing I love about pulling out a game is that it gives us something to do together without requiring a huge plan.
You don’t have to spend all day preparing for family game night.
You don’t have to leave the house.
And you don’t have to spend a lot of money every time you want to have fun together.
Once you have a few games your family loves, they’re always there.
Pull one off the shelf.
Make some popcorn.
Bake cookies if you’re feeling ambitious.
Order pizza if you’re not.
Then sit down together.
Sometimes the simplest traditions are the ones that stick around the longest.
Games Have Been Part of Every Cozy Home I’ve Had
I’ve lived in different houses and different places throughout my life.
The people around my table have changed too.
Kids grow up.
Families get smaller.
People we love aren’t always there anymore.
But games have somehow followed me through all of it.
From playing Checkers with my siblings and wishing I still had Uncle Albert’s Game, to laughing with my father-in-law because he refused to call Bank, to crying with laughter over UNO Dare, to playing Skull King and Cover Your Assets with my own family today.
It’s all connected.
And maybe that’s why a family game night means so much to me.
It reminds me that home isn’t really the house.
Home is the people inside it.
It’s the laughter.
It’s the teasing.
It’s the stories that get told over and over.
It’s the cookies disappearing from the plate while nobody is paying attention.
It’s the game everyone claims they don’t care about winning, even though they very obviously care about winning.
And it’s having a reason to sit around the same table for just a little bit longer.
If you’re looking for something simple to make your own home feel a little cozier, maybe don’t buy another pillow or blanket this time.
Buy a game.
Then call everyone to the table, put out something yummy to eat, and see what happens.
You might just be creating one of those ordinary little evenings that somebody will remember years from now.
Because sometimes making a house feel like home is as simple as giving the people you love a reason to gather around the table.
Keeping life cozy, one find at a time.
