Giddings Public Library and Cultural Center
Whether playing with family, friends, or colleagues, board games encourage connection, strengthen bonds, and inspire learning.
Whether playing with family, friends, or colleagues, board games encourage connection, strengthen bonds, and inspire learning.
"Board games, as proven by their long history and broad reach across cultures are forms of entertainment that engage children and adults alike in a large variety of settings ... board games present opportunities for developing skills in a wide variety of domains of learning in young children. More broadly, they can promote learning how to learn."
"Board games, as proven by their long history and broad reach across cultures are forms of entertainment that engage children and adults alike in a large variety of settings ... board games present opportunities for developing skills in a wide variety of domains of learning in young children. More broadly, they can promote learning how to learn."
Visit the library today and check out our collection of vintage, classic, and contemporary board games. You'll find board games in the juvenile fiction study area. Check out up to 5 board games at a time. Below are five that we love.
Visit the library today and check out our collection of vintage, classic, and contemporary board games. You'll find board games in the juvenile fiction study area. Check out up to 5 board games at a time. Below are five that we love.
Players: 2-8
Age: 10+
Players: 2-8
Age: 10+
Description: Two rival spymasters know the secret identities of 25 agents. Their teammates know the agents only by their CODENAMES. The teams compete to see who can make contact with all of their agents first. Spymasters give one-word clues that can point to multiple words on the board. Their teammates try to guess their words while avoiding words that belong to the opposing team. Win or lose, it's fun to figure out the clues.
Description: Two rival spymasters know the secret identities of 25 agents. Their teammates know the agents only by their CODENAMES. The teams compete to see who can make contact with all of their agents first. Spymasters give one-word clues that can point to multiple words on the board. Their teammates try to guess their words while avoiding words that belong to the opposing team. Win or lose, it's fun to figure out the clues.
Why we love it: You'll very quickly find out how the people around you think in this word-association game of extreme strategy. Sometimes staying quiet is the hardest part! (Codenames won Best Family Game, Fan Favorite Family Game, and Game of the Year.)
Why we love it: You'll very quickly find out how the people around you think in this word-association game of extreme strategy. Sometimes staying quiet is the hardest part! (Codenames won Best Family Game, Fan Favorite Family Game, and Game of the Year.)
Players: 2-6
Age: 12+
Players: 2-6
Age: 12+
Description: Think fast! Team up in this fun, fast-paced game and rack your brain for items that fit the category. Can you think of articles of clothing, things you fold, or things at the beach that start with "S"? You score points when you come up with things that no one else does. But you've only got seconds to come up with them! The more creative your answers, the more points you score! Scattergories challenges you to come up with items fast.
Description: Think fast! Team up in this fun, fast-paced game and rack your brain for items that fit the category. Can you think of articles of clothing, things you fold, or things at the beach that start with "S"? You score points when you come up with things that no one else does. But you've only got seconds to come up with them! The more creative your answers, the more points you score! Scattergories challenges you to come up with items fast.
Why we love it: How fast can you think up words in a specific category that begin with a specific letter? And while you're at it, try to make sure that your words are different than everyone else's. It's fun to discover how your friend's and family's perspective differs from yours as you race to come up with 10 answers in only 3 minutes!
Why we love it: How fast can you think up words in a specific category that begin with a specific letter? And while you're at it, try to make sure that your words are different than everyone else's. It's fun to discover how your friend's and family's perspective differs from yours as you race to come up with 10 answers in only 3 minutes!
Players: 2-4
Age: 6+
Players: 2-4
Age: 6+
Description: Qwirkle is as simple as matching colors and shapes, but it also requires tactical maneuvers and well-planned strategy. The game consists of 108 wooden tiles with six shapes in six colors. Players score points by building lines of tiles that share a common attribute--either color or shape.
Description: Qwirkle is as simple as matching colors and shapes, but it also requires tactical maneuvers and well-planned strategy. The game consists of 108 wooden tiles with six shapes in six colors. Players score points by building lines of tiles that share a common attribute--either color or shape.
Why we love it: Young players have a chance to showcase their skill in this game that allows them to truly compete against older players. You'll never need to "let" your children win Qwirkle, but you might be surprised when their strategy is better than yours. (Qwirkle won the Parent's Choice Gold Award and the Mensa Select Award.)
Why we love it: Young players have a chance to showcase their skill in this game that allows them to truly compete against older players. You'll never need to "let" your children win Qwirkle, but you might be surprised when their strategy is better than yours. (Qwirkle won the Parent's Choice Gold Award and the Mensa Select Award.)
Players: 2+
Age: 8+
Players: 2+
Age: 8+
Description: Roll the dice and see what combinations you can get to score big! DON'T FARKLE—If you can't set aside any dice, that's a Farkle! You lose your turn, and play moves on without you! Strategize to keep your dice or risk throwing again, and see where the dice land! Will you save what you have or go all in on the chance to earn more points?
Description: Roll the dice and see what combinations you can get to score big! DON'T FARKLE—If you can't set aside any dice, that's a Farkle! You lose your turn, and play moves on without you! Strategize to keep your dice or risk throwing again, and see where the dice land! Will you save what you have or go all in on the chance to earn more points?
Why we love it: All ages can play together in this high-stakes, risk-taking fun game of dice rolling. The best part about this game is that there's no predicting who will win. Even the extreme underdog with zero points has a chance to become the winner.
Why we love it: All ages can play together in this high-stakes, risk-taking fun game of dice rolling. The best part about this game is that there's no predicting who will win. Even the extreme underdog with zero points has a chance to become the winner.
Players: 4+
Age: 12+
Players: 4+
Age: 12+
Description: Time is against you. You know what you'd like to say if you could only find the words. But some things in life are strictly ... TABOO. Example: How do you get your team to say the word BIRTHDAY ... if you can't say the words HAPPY, ANNIVERSARY, CANDLES, PRESENTS, or CAKE?
Description: Time is against you. You know what you'd like to say if you could only find the words. But some things in life are strictly ... TABOO. Example: How do you get your team to say the word BIRTHDAY ... if you can't say the words HAPPY, ANNIVERSARY, CANDLES, PRESENTS, or CAKE?
Why we love it: This game promotes the perpetual feeling of having a word on the tip of your tongue. How hard could it be to get your teammates to guess a single word? Turns out, it's amazingly difficult when your team is staring at you and time is running out. Taboo is a perfect party game that can be played in large groups with multiple teams.
Why we love it: This game promotes the perpetual feeling of having a word on the tip of your tongue. How hard could it be to get your teammates to guess a single word? Turns out, it's amazingly difficult when your team is staring at you and time is running out. Taboo is a perfect party game that can be played in large groups with multiple teams.