[karlb]

The BoardGameGeek Gift Guide opened up a whole new world for me: http://boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/Board_Game_Gift_Guide_201...

I now own about half of the games on it.

I discovered early on to buy only games that are either suitable for my two young kids (like Carcassonne, King of Tokyo, Blokus and Labyrinth) or are suitable for two players (my wife and me; Dominion, Pandemic and Ticket to Ride Europe).

We seldom get to play the games that require four or more adults.

Incidentally, my favorite board games on iOS are Dominion, Blokus, Neuroshima Hex, Hive and Chess.com's app. However, I'd recommend against getting games on your phone that you also play with your family, because you'll either become too good at them or you'll get bored of them before your family does.

[molsongolden]

Have you tried Love Letter?

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/129622/love-letter

It's dirt cheap and many people create their own custom themed version. I have a super mario love letter clone deck that was printed via an online service and it's great. Your young kids should be able to pick it up and it's playable with 2 but good with 4.

[karlb]

I bought Love Letter based on your recommendation, and both kids—and both adults—love it. We have played it twice a day since we got it. My five-year-old daughter doesn't really understand it, but she enjoys being on a team with someone else.

I found the user guide painfully confusing, especially considering how simple the game is. The mechanics of the game are shoehorned into a game theme that barely makes sense. In the end, all four of us watched the following video, stopping once we had got the idea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX-Du4P_FME

One advantage of Carcassonne is that my five-year-old can play on her own, because the game is "open"—it doesn't depend on players hiding their cards from other players. So whenever it's her turn, we can help her to decide where to place her piece.

Please let me know if you have any other recommendations for family games.

[craigching]

> I discovered early on to buy only games that are either suitable for my two young kids (like Carcassonne, King of Tokyo, Blokus and Labyrinth)

How old are your kids? I would love to add more board games, but my kids are pretty young.

I have a five year old daughter with whom I started playing Forbidden Island about a year ago. She loves the game, though she has her own way of playing, she just loves collecting the "treasures", I usually have to feed her cards so she can do this ;) Adds a bit of a challenge for me to get her the cards before the island sinks!

My son is three, we haven't really added him into the fun yet.

[rubinelli]

With a five year old, you can try playing Carcassonne without farmers, or pick up Catan Junior. Cockroach Poker is a fun and simple bluffing game -- and kids love bluffing. Other card games, like Coloretto, may also work. Takenoko is more complex, but it's colorful, and comes with a lovely panda.

[craigching]

Excellent! Thanks for that list! I have Carcassonne and have been thinking about seeing if she'd be into it. You're right, take farmers out, I'm not even good a farmer strategy myself :p

[karlb]

My daughter is five and Labyrinth is her favorite. She can play Blokus too, and she enjoys Carcassonne, even though we have to guide her.

[craigching]

Yes, Labyrinth is one I've been wanting to check out. Thanks for sharing!

[thomaslangston]

Meetup.com has been the primary way I've got a chance to play 3-6 player games that are too complex for children.