Board Games for Winter Break With Kids Home All Week

Winter break means the kids are home for a week or two, the days are short, and screens are always one tap away. The best board games for winter break match the kind of day you are having: quick fillers for busy days, one long cooperative game to finish together over the break, puzzles kids can play alone, and one family tournament night to end on.

This is a plan, not just a list. Pick one game for each type of day, and you have the whole break covered with four or five boxes.

The quick answer: Sushi Go! or Qwixx for quick filler days, The Crew: Family Adventure or Zombie Kidz Evolution as the long co-op you work through all break, Rush Hour or Gravity Maze for kids who want to play alone, and a mancala or Kingdomino bracket for family tournament night.

Prices below are list or publisher store prices at the time of writing. Holiday sales move them a lot, so read them as “about.”

What kinds of days does winter break have?

Most breaks have four kinds of days, and each wants a different game.

• Busy days. Errands, visitors, travel. You have fifteen minutes here and there.
• Slow days. Nobody has to be anywhere. Pajamas until noon. This is when a longer game fits.
• Grown-up work days. A parent has to work or rest, and kids need something to do on their own.
• One big night. A night to make a fuss, near the end of the break, before school starts again.

Planning for all four keeps one box from wearing out its welcome by day three.

The winter break plan at a glance

What are good quick games for busy winter break days?

Busy days need games that set up in a minute and end before someone gets called away.

Sushi Go!

Sushi Go! from Gamewright is a card drafting game in a small tin. Everyone keeps one card from their hand and passes the rest, building sets of sushi for points. Two to five players, about fifteen minutes, ages 8 and up. About $17 at the publisher’s store. Our free Sushi Go! course teaches it to kids in a few minutes.

Qwixx

Qwixx is a dice game on a score sheet. Every roll is usable by everyone, so nobody waits for a turn. Two to five players, about fifteen minutes, ages 8 and up. About $15 at the publisher’s store. It is a strong pick when grandparents are visiting, since anyone who has played Yahtzee already knows half of it.

Flip 7

Flip 7 from The Op is a push-your-luck card game. Flip cards one at a time and add them up, but a repeat number busts you. Three or more players, about twenty minutes, ages 8 and up. About $8 at Target at the time of writing. It is the one to grab when cousins arrive and the table suddenly seats nine. Our free Flip 7 course covers the action cards.

What is a good long game to play over winter break?

Slow days are the gift of winter break. Use them for one game you return to again and again, with a story or campaign that moves forward each time you play. Kids love having a reason to ask, “Can we play the next one?”

The Crew: Family Adventure: Marooned in Paradise

The Crew: Family Adventure is a family version of the award-winning cooperative card game. A group of kids is stranded on an island, and the team plays through 35 story missions to get home. Each mission takes about fifteen minutes, and talking about your cards is limited, so kids learn to read each other’s plays.

Three to five players, ages 8 and up. About $15 at Thames and Kosmos. Thirty-five missions is about right for a two-week break: two or three a day, and you reach the end before school starts. Older kids who finish it can move on to The Crew: Mission Deep Sea (ages 10 and up, also about $15) and our free course on The Crew.

Zombie Kidz Evolution

Zombie Kidz Evolution is a cooperative game where kids defend their school from zombies. It is a “legacy” game, which means it changes as you play: you open sealed envelopes, earn stickers, and add new rules over many games. Two to four players, about fifteen minutes, ages 7 and up. List price is about $27, though the publisher’s own store showed it sold out at the time of writing, so check big-box stores and your local game store.

It is the best pick for a family with kids aged 7 to 9, and the legacy twist gives the whole break a sense of progress. If legacy games are new to you, our guide to legacy board games explains how they work.

For younger or older kids

• Ages 5 to 7: Outfoxed! is a cooperative whodunit. Players roll to search for clues and rule out suspects before the fox escapes. Two to four players, about twenty minutes, about $26 at Gamewright’s store.
• Ages 10 and up: Forbidden Island asks the team to grab four treasures and escape before the island sinks. Two to four players, about thirty minutes, about $26 at Gamewright’s store. It has difficulty levels, so you can make it harder each time you win.

Siblings who fight? Co-ops put them on the same team. Our guide to cooperative games for kids has ten more picks and tips for keeping one kid from bossing the rest.

If this is useful, the newsletter sends more like it.

What games can kids play alone over winter break?

Some days a grown-up needs an hour. Solo logic games are our favorite screen-free answer: a stack of challenges that get harder as you go, with the answers included.

Rush Hour

Rush Hour from ThinkFun is a sliding block puzzle. Cars and trucks jam a small grid, and you slide them to free the red car. It comes with 40 challenge cards, from beginner to expert, with solutions on the back. One player, ages 8 and up. About $20 list at the time of writing.

Gravity Maze

Gravity Maze from ThinkFun has kids build a tower path for a marble to fall from start to target. Each of the 60 challenge cards shows a few pieces in place, and the player works out where the rest go. One player, ages 8 and up. About $30 at the time of writing, often less on sale. It is a natural fit for kids who like building toys.

For a houseful of all ages stuck inside on a storm day, see our snow day games, which mixes these with games for a crowd.

How do you run a family tournament night at home?

End the break with a tournament night. It turns a regular evening into an event, and it gives the week something to build toward.

Pick the game

Choose a two-player game that plays fast, so you can run a bracket. Two good options:

• Mancala. Ancient, cheap, and played with stones and pits. A game takes about ten minutes, and kids as young as six can learn it. Our guide to how to play mancala covers the rules.
• Kingdomino. Players draft domino tiles and build a small kingdom. Two to four players, about fifteen to twenty minutes, ages 8 and up, about $20 at big-box stores at the time of writing. It won the Spiel des Jahres, Germany’s game of the year award, in 2017. Our free Kingdomino course teaches it.

Not sure what to play? Let the family vote. Game Night Madness is a free bracket app where everyone votes from their phones, round by round, until one game is left.

Set up the bracket

1. Write a bracket on a big sheet of paper. Tape it to the fridge the morning of, so the anticipation builds all day.
2. Seed it fairly. Pair the youngest against a grown-up in round one, and give the younger player a head start, such as an extra stone or an extra tile.
3. Best of one for early rounds, best of three for the final. That keeps the night under two hours.
4. Give everyone a job. Players who are knocked out become the scorekeeper, the snack runner, or the announcer.
5. Make the prize small and silly. The winner picks tomorrow’s breakfast, or keeps a paper crown until next break.

Celebrate good moves out loud, whoever made them, and shake hands after every game. If someone melts down, our guide on teaching kids to lose at games has a few calm ways through it.

How many games do you need for winter break?

Four or five, as long as each one fits a different kind of day: one quick filler, one long co-op, one solo puzzle, and one tournament game. A short list makes the choice easier on a tired afternoon. If you are buying, buy before the holidays, so the long co-op is ready on day one.

Winter break is short. The days at the table are the ones kids tend to remember. The game is the reason. The people are the point.

FAQ

What is the best board game for winter break with kids?

For a family with kids 8 and up, The Crew: Family Adventure is our pick, because its 35 short missions give you a story to finish together over the break. For kids 7 to 9, Zombie Kidz Evolution does the same as a legacy game.

What board games can kids play by themselves?

Single-player logic games like Rush Hour and Gravity Maze are built for it. They come with challenge cards that get harder as you go, with the answers included.

What age is good for cooperative board games?

Simple co-ops like Outfoxed! work from about age 5. By 8 or so, most kids can handle co-ops with hidden information, like The Crew: Family Adventure.

How do you plan a family game tournament at home?

Pick a quick two-player game, draw a bracket, give younger players a head start, and make the prize small. Keep early rounds to one game and the final to best of three.

More ideas for the break

The Ludarium newsletter sends short, practical guides on family games and game nights, including fresh ideas for school breaks. It is free. Subscribe before the break starts, and you will have a plan for the days the snow keeps everyone in.