Rainy day fun? A rainy day in Central Florida leaves us to stay inside the camper. While it’s tempting to just turn on Netflix and binge all day, we try stimulating the kids’ minds at least a little each day, no matter the weather. Board games it is. We decided to share with our readers the games we love to play on days like these, and not the normal games you’ve probably heard about and have been playing for years. But perhaps the other games that you haven’t heard of, or maybe just seen on a store shelf but never actually tried. Here are our favorite picks for rainy-day games.
We have two drawers under our daughter’s bed full of games. We have traditional games like Monopoly, Uno, and Cribbage (and yes we play these all the time). Since becoming full-time RVers, we have much more free time together to play games, but get bored with the same games all the time. Ever played a game of Monopoly two days in a row? Enough is enough. We needed to switch it up.
For Christmas this year we got a few new games (and one of these is from the year prior). It’s been great to throw some new ones into our rotation. Maybe you’ve heard of these, maybe you haven’t. I would recommend giving them all a try. Our family likes playing them and I’m sure yours will too.
Tapple
The first new game on our list is called Tapple. (You can purchase it on Amazon by clicking here.) Remember playing Scattegories where you had to write down all the clue answers using one specific letter each round. Tapple reminds me of that.
Tapple comes with a circular plastic game board with letters of the alphabet around it. Note: some letters are missing, like Q & V. There are category cards with two options on each side of the card (some easier than others). There is also a built-in timer that is activated once you push the gray hand in the middle which lasts about 10 seconds.
To start a round, you draw a category card. If you were using the card in the picture above, the category might be “At the Circus.” Someone then hits the grey hand timer in the middle of the board. The first player then has to come up with a word that has to do with the topic. If I chose the word “Clown” I would say it out loud and push down on the letter that it begins with, so “C.” Then I hit the timer button again, resetting it.
The player to my left then has to come up with a word on topic that begins with a letter that hasn’t been pushed down yet. For example, they could say “Magician” and push down on the M. Play continues as such. However, if you don’t come up with an answer in the 10 seconds before the timer runs out, you are out for that round. It’s more stressful than it sounds, especially when there are only a few letters left to choose from.
The other ways to get out are if you either say an answer that’s already been said, or if you say an answer and someone disagrees with you. Say you shout our dog. Your opponents could disagree with you and say that has nothing to do with “At the Circus.” If the majority rules, you would be out. If there is good reasoning that comes out, they could decide to agree with you though, and play would continue.
Trust me, when the timer music is playing and there is just an I and E left to describe pizza toppings, it gets stressful! However, it’s fun! All of us play at the same time and it leaves us laughing and using our imaginations. This game has quickly been a game to pull out at any time and play a few rounds. You can get this game on Amazon by clicking here. Super fun and you won’t be disappointed.
Word Snap
The next game we’ve started playing is a word game. We use it for homeschooling as well as a rainy day game. It’s called Word Snap. (Grab your copy of it here. We bought it at a store and paid much more for it than it is at Amazon.) The kids complain when we get out Scrabble or Upwords, but this they like.
This game is for one to four players, although I don’t see why more can’t play. Unlike Scrabble or Upwords, there is no game board. All the letter tiles are interlocking and you just create words on a flat surface, hooking them together.
From looking at the tiles above, you can see that there are interlocking pieces on all sides, so you can go side to side, up/down, and even diagonal. However, every part that connects must make a word. If you go diagonal, whatever part those letters touch must also make a word.
The very first time we played it was very overwhelming to have the diagonal element. But it has gotten much funnier for us once our brains adjusted!
Play continues around the table just as a normal word game does. You start with 7 letters and once you play your turn, you replenish your letters to seven tiles. As you can see, it can get pretty spread out on your table. You need some room!
Again, it’s hard to get the kids to agree to a game of Scrabble, but this they will play. It doesn’t take that long to play. You can be creative and they discover some new words along the way. Give this game a try if you like word games! Order yours from Amazon here.
Uno No Mercy
Anyone sick of playing Uno since you were like 2 years old? It’s simple. It teaches kids colors. It’s boring after 10 minutes. Yes, we’ve had Cars Uno and Disney Princesses Uno, blah, blah, blah. Same thing just a different picture on the front. I think the Uno brand knew this as they have since made many different versions of the game. A few years ago we got Dos, and didn’t quite understand it and have since donated it. Last year we got Uno Flip, which we play quite often. That one has a card that when played makes you flip your hand and the deck over to a whole new set of cards. (You can grab that version here.)
This year at a friend’s house we were introduced to a new, new version: Uno No Mercy. The words on the box say “Brutal. Ruthless. Unapologetic.” That it is.
While this game involves no actual flipping, instead it has more special cards and involves stacking draw cards. If you play a Draw 2 on me, I can then play another Draw 2 (or Draw 4, 6, 10) on top of that. So instead of me drawing those two cards, the next player will then have to draw 4, unless they have another Draw something to play on top of it. In today’s game, I had to pick up 20 cards at one time. It can get brutal really quickly!
Between making your opponents draw countless cards, suddenly swapping hands with someone, or being able to get rid of all your cards of one color – there is never-ending excitement to this game. Luckily, we found the rule in the directions that you are out once you get to 25 cards. We weren’t playing that way at first, and the games were getting very long with players having 75 cards! If you end up crossing the 25-card line – you are out and the other players continue. Such a creative new way to play that has made saying “Uno!” fun again! Grab this game for yourself here.
What’s proven helpful for games with cards like these are these helpful cardholders from Amazon. When my son was younger, he had one that held maybe 5 cards (good for Go Fish and that’s about it). These holders have a few different tiers so you can hold many cards at once. Helpful when you are going to end up with countless cards, like in Uno No Mercy.
Jokers (or Marbles)
The last game you may have never heard of on our list is a game called Jokers (or some refer to it as Marbles). This one is heavy-duty and not for the faint of heart! Nor is it cheap. We were shown this game by my parents a little over a year ago. After playing it one day, we immediately went to Etsy and bought our own. It was rather expensive for a game, but totally worth it and will probably last us our whole lives.
The board is cut from a thick wood with holes drilled into it with colored marbles for each person (or team). The version we bought is double-sided. The top is made for four people or teams, and the reverse is enough for 6. Definitely get the bigger version if you think you’ll ever have more than four people around!
This game is similar to Sorry and Parcheesi You have a home spot where your marbles sit until you can get out with a one or a face card. Once out, you have to go all the way around the board and return to your home area. Once you get all of your marbles into the home area, you are done. Whoever does that first wins. Easy right?
Except that 8’s move you backwards. 7’s you can split between two marbles. Jokers are used to swap your ball with another person’s marble. Just some minor details! Did I mention you play with 3 full decks of cards?
It may sound confusing, but it’s very easy once you’ve played a time or two. Definitely check this game out if you want to try something new and like strategy games.
Check out a tutorial on how to play:
We bought this game on Etsy and their suppliers vary all the time. Search for “Jokers” on Etsy and look for the one that looks like the board shown here. There are many versions, but many are cheesy. The price was worth it 100%
The only thing we didn’t like was the bag that the marbles came in. It very quickly split on the seams. Grab a better bag to store them in as they are big, heavy-duty marbles and you want to keep all of them. These from Amazon would be perfect. Or sew some if you are crafty!
I hope that we introduced you to some new games that you will give a try when you are looking to refresh your game selections. We certainly love to play games and are excited to have these in our collection now. Enjoy!
Are you following us on all the socials? Click each of the links below to follow:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561917326237
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/loveatfirstsiteblog/
Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/@LoveAtFirstSiteBlog
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/theloveatfirstsiteblog/