November is International Games Month, and it goes without saying, a lot of us are experts at games after the pandemic! Many of us have (somewhat fond?) memories of bunkering down at home when we were all told to stay home, and found solace in board games. 

The pandemic may be mostly over, but that doesn’t mean that we have to stop playing board games. Board games are a great way to communicate and collaborate, often times with those who are closest to us, and to build strong connections. For kids they can especially be a way to learn new skills or practice old ones. It can also be a wonderful way to let loose, be silly, and of course, have fun! 

You can check out board games just like books and DVDs! They are housed at the Main Library but can be put on hold at any of the branches. 

We have a large collection, but here are some of our favourites. 

Games for adults: 

Anomia is all about harnessing all that random knowledge that our brains are teeming with. It’s a super simple, but fun and wild game to play with friends or family! Everyone picks up a card and places it face down in front of them; once you get a match with the symbol, you are in battle and have to answer the other person’s card before they answer yours! Great for parties or large groups. 

A quiet game that requires concentration, Codenames is all about how well you know your partner and if you can link certain words together in a way that will make sense in your partner’s mind. There are two teams, two spymasters and a board full of clues. The spymasters give their clues to their respective partners; whoever clears their clues first wins! 

Apples to apples is a silly game that is all about comparisons. The judge picks a card puts it face down, and then each person picks a card from their hand that they think will match the best. The judge picks, and then the judge changes. There will be some wacky comparisons by the end of the game! 

Sequence is a game that’s all about strategy. Learn how to block other people’s attempts as you try to get 5 in a row to win. 

Scattergories is another game that’s fun to play with more people! Pick a card then write down the words that fit the category, but make sure they match the letter rolled on the die! It can get wild and silly as each team scores points and tries to win. 

Games for kids: 

Fun and more than a little silly, Happy Salmon is great for kids who can’t quite read yet as the actions are shown in pictures on the card. Each player keeps flipping a card until two players have a match; they perform the action and then the game continues. The first player to get rid of all their cards wins! 

Clue Harry Potter is classic Clue, but with a Harry Potter twist! With a moving gameboard of Hogwarts castle, you play as Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, or Neville as you try to discover the case of the missing student. As you move around Hogwarts, you have to figure WHO it was, WHAT spell was used, and WHERE it happened. Perfect for Harry Potter fans! 

Anomia: kids is similar to the adult one in that you are in battle once your card and your opponent’s card has a matching symbol. But instead of reading the category, you have to come up with a word that starts with the same sound as the word on your opponent’s card. If your opponent has a tree, then you have to think of a word that starts with the T sound. It’s super fun to play with kids, and is a great way to get them to think about letter sounds.  

Bananagrams looks like Scrabble but without the complicated board, pencil, or paper to keep score! Each player has to quickly make their own personal crossword with the letters given to them, until the bunch of tiles are all done. Fun for kids as they learn to spell.