12 Board Games to Put Your Friendships to the Test
Game night is more than a time to catch up with friends, scarf popcorn and get competitive — it’s also a time to put your true friendships to the test. Whether you’ve gained a new friend over a spirited game of chess or gotten a glimpse at your ex-BFF’s true colors during a heated final round of Monopoly, the age-old idiom still stands: If you’re not willing to lose your friendships over a board game, you’re not playing hard enough. For anyone looking to break free of the classics, we’re sharing 12 recently released party games (even games better than Cards Against Humanity) to add to your game closet.
1. Portal: The Uncooperative Board Game ($100): From the makers of the hit video game Portal and Portal 2, this fast and fun board game takes cake-loving to a new level. Players are positioned in Aperture Laboratories, where they must perform different testing procedures to gain the coveted and game-winning Cake. But be warned, opponents can move your Cake further away from you to help themselves get ahead.
2. The Voting Game ($25): Get to know what your friends really think of you in The Voting Game. Answers to hot topic questions like “Whose Google search history would you like to see the most" and “Who will show up to their high school reunion in a Lamborghini rental" will be revealed, whether you like it or not.
3. Scrabble Twist Game ($11): Gone are the days of a mysteriously bumped Scrabble board ruining your impeding win. Earlier this year, Hasbro released this easily transportable Scrabble game to cut the cheating and take your friendly competition on the go.
4. Pie Face Game ($19): Have you ever felt the need to pie your BFF in the face? Now you have a legitimate reason to do it. Douse the mechanical hand with whipped cream and carefully turn the handle. Clean up may be a mess, but it's totally worth it to see the look on your friend's face when they get pied.
5. Superfight: The Challenge Deck Expansion ($15): This pseudo Cards Against Humanity party game might actually be more fun than its predecessor. Each player plays a combination of cards that they believe create the ultimate fighter, leaving the round leader to choose who would win in a fight. With the Challenge Deck expansion, you get 100 new arena changes, so instead of a simple fight to the death, it’s a fight at a Quidditch match or in The Game of Thrones.
6. Bounce-Off Game ($23): Although the rules to this game are simple (bounce the balls to recreate the pattern on the card), you'll be surprised how competitive you get in this beer pong-like challenge.
7. Accentuate ($30): If you've ever played the accents level on Ellen's Head's Up game, you know how hilarious guessing accents might be. Grab your closest friends and put your accents (and your friendships) to the test in this team-based game.
8. Terra ($50): So you don't know how long the Golden Gate Bridge is or how many sculptures are on Easter Island — in this game, it's all about who can guess the closest. Get ready to secretly Google beneath the table, because this game will definitely leave you wishing you paid more attention in history class.
9. A Game of Thrones: The Board Game Second Edition ($44): Take command of the Great Houses of Westeros in this R.R. Martin-inspired board game. With King Baratheon dead, the Iron Throne is up for grabs and you have to fight your way through your friends to claim it.
10. Cards Against Humanity ($25): Ask your friends a question from the white cards and they throw down their funniest answer via the black cards - guess who answered what to win!
11. Codenames Game ($20): Get creative with this four-player game of wordplay and deception. Players pair up and try to decipher their partner's clues to win the game. It's Pictionary meets Clue, with just as much eye-rolling and ruined friendships.
12. Exploding Kittens: A Card Game about Kittens and Explosions and Sometimes Goats ($20): The most-funded game in Kickstarter history, Exploding Kittens is like Russian Roulette with a kitty twist, and it's exactly as fun as it sounds. Battle your friends in this highly strategic, highly intense game of kittens, explosions and sometimes goats.
Which board game are you loving right now? Tweet us as @BritandCo.
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