As the air turns crisp and cool and the days get shorter, we find ourselves spending more time inside. If you don’t already have a regular family game night, now is the perfect time to start one.
Playing board games is a wonderful way to spend a fall evening together. The social interactions are one of my favorite parts of playing games. Plus, the kids will be having so much fun they won’t even realize they are learning at the same time.
With the changing season, I thought I’d share a few fall-themed board games. So, grab a mug of apple cider and sit down to play one of these games.
Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel
Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel is a board game, from Educational Insights, that is perfect for preschool-aged kids. In the fall, squirrels are busy gathering and hiding acorns in preparation for winter, which makes this game a must for this list.
In Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel, players spin the spinner and use their “squirrel squeezer” to collect the matching-color acorn. Sometimes, players will also spin to steal or lose an acorn. The first player to collect five acorns in their log wins.
Lanterns: The Harvest Festival
Lanterns: The Harvest Festival, from Renegade Game Studios, is a beautiful tile-placement game. In this game, you are an artisan trying to earn honor points by creating a display of floating lanterns in the palace lake for the upcoming festival. The theme is based on China’s Mid-Autumn Festival.
The game is easy to teach, and it’s a really fun set-collection game for both kids and adults. You can play the game in about 20 to 40 minutes. Players receive lantern cards as matching tiles are played. Players turn in the sets of lantern cards for different honor points. The player with the highest score at the end wins.
The recommended age is 8 and up. However, our 6-year-old also enjoys playing. You can watch us play this with our daughter in our Lanterns: The Harvest Festival board game playthrough.
Harvest Dice
Harvest Dice, from Grey Fox Games, is a cute, vegetable-garden-themed, roll-and-write game. Players take turns drafting dice (red for tomatoes, green for lettuce, and orange for carrots) and planting them in their garden. We think it’s fun to draw the little veggies, but you could write T, L, or C in their respective squares instead.
The number on the dice determines the column it can be planted in. Once you plant one of each vegetable, the next one of that kind must be planted adjacent to the same type. You’ll need to be careful where you plant and which dice you pick! Harvest Dice is fairly quick to play, and we have fun playing it with other adults as well as with our kids.
Bosk
Bosk, from Floodgate Games, is “a game of majestic trees and falling leaves,” which made it perfect for my list of fall-themed board games. I think the game components are absolutely beautiful! Bosk is an area-control game that is played over four phases, one for each season of the year.
Players start in spring by growing their trees in a national park. In the summer, players score points as hikers enjoy hiking the trails. Then, in the fall, the leaves cover the ground; with the help of the wind, your leaves may spread out and cover another player’s leaves. Finally, points are given during winter for covering the largest area of each region of the park.
Indian Summer
Indian Summer is designed by Uwe Rosenberg and published by Stronghold Games. It is for one to four players, and the goal is to be the first player to cover your board completely with autumn leaves.
This game is part of a series of abstract strategy games and is recommended for players ages 10 and up, as it offers a bit of a challenge. Throughout the game, players are hiking on a warm fall day, collecting treasures, observing forest animals, and placing Tetris-style puzzle pieces on the board.
Looking for more board game suggestions? Don’t miss these games that teach kids about the U.S. or these cooperative games for kids.
