As the summer holidays approach, keeping children entertained can be challenging. Board games offer an excellent solution, providing numerous benefits that make them an ideal activity for kids during the break.
Enhance Cognitive Skills
Engaging in board games helps develop logic and reasoning abilities. Research indicates that such games can boost fluid intelligence, verbal working memory, and social performance.
Ideal Indoor Activity
With unpredictable weather, board games serve as a perfect indoor pastime, keeping children engaged and active without relying on screens.
Encourage Digital Detox
In our digital age, it’s vital to reduce screen time. Board games offer interactive, screen-free entertainment, promoting social interaction and mental stimulation.
Prevent Cognitive Decline
Regularly playing board games can help maintain cognitive function and reduce the risk of age-related decline, making it a beneficial habit to start early.
Incorporating popular board games into your family’s routine this summer can provide educational benefits and foster quality time together.
Looking for the perfect games to keep the family entertained this summer? Look no further! We’ve rounded up some popular board games from Big Potato and Exploding Kittens that will have you laughing, strategising, and maybe even throwing a burrito! Plus, we’re giving you the chance to WIN a bundle packed with these summer favourites.
Big Potato Board Games: Fun for All Ages!
Big Potato Games allow families to spend quality time together: bonding, communicating, and laughing through friendly competition and cooperation, free from screens and distractions.
These games help develop children and adults’ critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making skills. Games involving reading, math, or trivia also enhance academic abilities in a fun, engaging way. See our review of their games here!
Playing Big Potato Games provides a break from daily stresses, offering relaxation and stress relief through competition and laughter, boosting happiness and well-being.
The games also improve memory and cognitive function as players recall rules, strategies, and patterns, helping maintain cognitive abilities and reduce the risk of decline, particularly in older adults.
Block Party
RRP:Â $39.95
WHERE TO BUY:Â Big Potato Games
Ages: 8+ | Players: 2-6 | Time: 15-20 mins
Block Party is an action-packed game that combines block building with the fun of guessing, offering a creative twist on the classic party game. Like Pictionary meets Bob the Builder, players craft objects from colourful wooden blocks for others to guess. The challenge is to build recognisable shapes with limited pieces, adding excitement and imagination to each round. It’s a family-friendly game that sparks creativity, keeping everyone engaged as they race to figure out each creation.
Designed for 2-6 players, Block Party is perfect for both small family gatherings and larger game nights. With rounds lasting about 15-20 minutes, the game moves quickly, keeping the energy high and everyone involved. It’s easy to learn but challenging enough to stay fun, as players must think on their feet while guessing fast to earn points.
Herd Mentality
RRP:Â $29.95
WHERE TO BUY: Big Potato Games
Ages: 10+ | Players: 4-10 | Time: 20 mins
Herd Mentality is a party game perfect for families, friends, and cow rustlers. The goal is simple: think like the herd and match your answers with others. If your answer aligns with the majority, you all earn cows. However, if your answer is the odd one out, you get the angry Pink Cow, which makes your herd of cows useless until you can pass it off to someone else. The first player to collect eight cows wins.
What makes this game fun is how easy it is to play—you simply answer questions like, “What’s the best pizza topping?” and try to match the others. It’s a great way to learn quirky things about your friends, like discovering you both love pineapple on pizza. With quick rules and fast rounds, it’s a game that keeps you engaged and wanting to play again.
You Can’t Say Umm
RRP:Â $39.95
WHERE TO BUY: Big Potato Games
Ages: 10+ | Players: 4-12 | Time: 20 mins
Avoid hesitation in this fast-talking party game! You Can’t Say Umm is a lively and engaging party game where teams race to get their pieces to the end of the board by describing unusual objects from cards they draw. The twist? Players must avoid saying “umm” while describing. Every time someone hesitates or uses the forbidden word, the bell rings, adding pressure and raising the stakes for the whole team.
As the game progresses, more sounds become off-limits, making each round more challenging and fun. The added element of the bell creates a frantic, high-energy atmosphere that ensures lots of laughs and intense moments. This game is perfect for tweens and teens, offering a memorable experience that combines creativity, strategy, and fast-paced fun!
Exploding Kittens: Explosive Fun & Fast-Paced Play!
Exploding Kittens is a leading game and entertainment company with a mission to inspire people to connect, laugh, and enjoy fun experiences together. Since the launch of its flagship game, Exploding Kittens 8 years ago, the company has made a name for itself by creating games that bring people together—offering a break from screens and fostering real-world social interaction.
Initially aiming for $10,000 on Kickstarter, the Exploding Kittens campaign skyrocketed to $8.7 million in just 30 days, thanks to 219,000 backers. It remains Kickstarter’s most-backed project and has sold over 11 million games to date.
Their vision is to create more than just games; they design experiences that extend beyond the table and embody the fun, excitement, and joy of play. With a strong commitment to making games that entertain not just the players but everyone around them, Exploding Kittens has quickly become a household name. See our fun review here!
Exploding Kittens
RRP:Â $39.95
WHERE TO BUY:Â Amazon
Ages: 7+ | Players: 2-5 | Time: 15-20 mins
It’s like UNO, but with goats, magical enchiladas, and kittens that can blow you up.
In Exploding Kittens, players take turns drawing cards from the deck, hoping to avoid the dreaded Exploding Kitten card, which will knock them out of the game. The deck is filled with various cards that help you stay in the game—like peeking at the next card, forcing someone else to draw more cards, or even shuffling the deck to mess with everyone’s strategy.
As the game progresses, the tension builds. With fewer cards left in the deck, the chances of drawing an Exploding Kitten increase, and the suspense of each turn grows. You’ll need strategy, a bit of luck, and a sense of humour to make it through without getting blown up by a feline bomb. The game turns into a hilarious, high-stakes battle as everyone tries to avoid the inevitable kitten explosion.
Poetry for Neanderthals
RRP:Â $39.95
WHERE TO BUY:Â Amazon
Ages: 7+ | Players: 2+| Time: 15 mins
Poetry for Neanderthals is a hilarious and competitive word-guessing game that challenges players to think creatively while keeping things simple. Inspired by the classic game of Taboo, the objective is for players to help their teammates guess words or phrases, but with a twist – the “Neanderthal Poets” are only allowed to use one-syllable words. This forces players to think outside the box and get creative with their descriptions. The catch is that if they accidentally use a multi-syllable word, they risk getting hit with a 2-foot inflatable club by the opposing team. It’s a fun mix of strategy and silliness that gets everyone laughing.
The game encourages fast-paced thinking and teamwork as players try to guess words like “hippopotamus” or “chocolate chip cookie” while their teammate struggles to describe them using just one-syllable words. The inflatable club adds an element of humour and suspense, as players nervously watch for any slip-ups. The game is designed for 4 or more players, making it a great choice for family gatherings, parties, or casual game nights. With its simple rules and entertaining premise, Poetry for Neanderthals is sure to provide plenty of laughs and memorable moments.
Throw Throw Burrito
RRP:Â $44.95
WHERE TO BUY: Amazon
Ages: 7+ | Players: 2-6 | Time: 15 mins
Throw Throw Burrito is a high-energy game that combines a card-collecting strategy with the hilarious chaos of dodgeball. The goal? Collect matching sets of cards faster than your opponents while dodging and tossing squishy burritos. Points are scored by completing sets, but if you’re hit by a flying burrito, you’ll lose precious points. It’s a wild mix of brainpower and reflexes, where you’ll need to outsmart your opponents while staying on guard for surprise burrito attacks. Perfect for family gatherings or game nights with friends, it promises endless laughs and action-packed fun.
HOW IT WORKS: Each player secretly draws cards, aiming to collect three-of-a-kind sets as quickly as possible. But the real excitement kicks in when Burrito Cards appear, triggering epic battles or even a Burrito War. Players can steal points by hitting opponents with soft burritos, and a Burrito Duel raises the stakes even higher. In a duel, two players stand back-to-back, take three paces, and then turn and throw burritos at each other. It’s part card game, part dodgeball, and 100% chaotic fun where quick thinking and faster reflexes reign supreme!
WIN 1 of 3 Epic Board Games Bundles!
Thanks to our friends at Big Potato Games and Exploding Kittens, we have 3 awesome game bundles to give away just in time for the Summer holidays and beyond! Each bundle is brimming with all the popular board games from Big Potato Games and Exploding Kittens and is valued at $234.70 each. You’ll find:
- Block Party ($39.95)
- Herd Mentality ($29.95)
- You Can’t Say Umm ($39.95)
- Exploding Kittens ($39.95)
- Poetry for Neanderthals ($39.95)
- Throw Throw Burrito ($44.95)
To enter, simply complete the entry form below, and we could be calling you as our winner!
GOOD LUCK!
This is a sponsored giveaway for Big Potato Games & Exploding Kittens
