Best Family Board Games for 2012 - Hobbies - Games

We believe that the best family board games for 2012 are the ones that can be set up and played quickly, at the spur of the moment. If your family members are up and ready for an hour or two of fun, then setting up your games and learning the rules shouldn't be a killjoy.

Here are three of the best family board games for 2012 that I recommend playing:

Forbidden Island

Your family becomes a team of adventurers on a perilous mission to discover the secrets behind the mystical Archean empire. There are no enemies here; all of you must work together to uncover the four sacred treasures that the Archean civilization used to control the four elements - fire, water, earth, and wind. This is one of the best family board games for 2012 and a potential classic to boot.

The Forbidden Island is where you will search for the four treasures - the Statue of the Wind, the Crystal of Fire, the Earth Stone, and the Ocean's Chalice. Each player will be dealt an Adventure Card that gives him or her a special set of strengths, and all must learn how to use each other's strengths to finish your quest before the island sinks with you.

The Settlers of Catan

You may think of this as a family-friendly, board game version of Civilization, but no matter how you look at it, the fact remains that "The Settlers of Catan" will be one of the most engaging strategy game that you and your family will ever play, and the reason why I consider it as one of the best family board games for 2012.

The object of the game is to collect resources, and use a combination of those resources to build new roads and settlements. Later on, you will have to upgrade those settlements into full-grown cities. Each settlement is worth 1 point, and if you are able to upgrade those into cities, each of your city will then be worth two points. The first player to reach ten points wins.

Memoir '44

Considering that this is a "war game", you may be surprised to see this included in my list of the best family board games for 2012. However, I suggest that you try it out first before making any judgments. Most people get hooked after finishing even just one round of play. I know I was.

Players use little plastic Army men to face off against each other in each of the 17 historical battle scenarios included. The terrain, objectives, and troop deployment of each army you play with are mimicked to copy that of the historical scenario they represent. Command Cards are then used to allow commanders to assign and use their respective units according to their strengths.

These are just a few of the best family board games for 2012 that I believe can turn a boring evening into a fun-filled activity time for families all year round.

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