Our favourite games for the whole family

Florina Schwander was already hooked on Dobble without children

For Florina Schwander, Head of Online, and her family, the games Dobble, Biberbande and the geography game, also known as Stadt-Land-Fluss, have been the absolute favourites for some time:

«My husband and I got Dobble as a present when we didn't have children yet. It was because we had played it with a family friend and their children - and were totally hooked afterwards. It's still a favourite game of ours today, and we now also play it with our daughter, 8, and twin boys, 6. In addition to the classic version, Dobble is also available in fun special editions that are constantly changing.»

• Dobble - the card game for lightning-fast eagle eyes
  There are different variations of the game. The Schwander family does it like this: each player has a certain number of cards - this can be adjusted according to the age of the players. Then it's all about speed: whoever sees a symbol from the pile in the centre of their card can discard their own card and say the "dobble" picture out loud. The fastest player to run out of cards is the winner.

Beaver or geography game?

• Beaver gang - the fiercest beavers lose
  Each player has four cards, plus a stack of additional cards. Now it's all about using a little courage and risk, swapping and calculating your own four cards to minimise the number of points scored. The cards reflect the score: the grimmer and blacker the beaver, the higher the score.
• City, country, river - the fast-paced geography quiz game from great-great-grandmother's time
  All you need for the game is a sheet of paper and a pen. One player says the alphabet in their head, a second player says "Stop" at some point. The game is played with the corresponding letter; words from the respective categories with the chosen initial letter must be written down within a certain time. The categories can be chosen freely: Boys' names, girls' names, animals, car brands, sportsmen, mountains, etc. There are also fun variants with ready-made categories for young and old players, for example a template for Tatort fans (adults) or others especially for children.

Maria Ryser not only plays evil in the in-house Trumpfjass «Der Böse»

Online editor Maria Ryser knows no mercy when it comes to games: «If evil means focussed and you don't just let children win because they are children - yes, then I play evil. That's the appeal of the game: we immerse ourselves in a manageable world with clear rules. At that moment, all that matters is this game, this round, nothing else, we are completely centred and anchored in the now - like an arrow on a taut bow, ready to fire.»

Here are three favourite games, including a Trumpfjass called «the bad one». This one ended up in the family at some point and nobody knows where it came from.

A Jass with stubborn rules

• Der Böse - a prancing trump card game with special rules
  The game starts with 15 points. The first player to reach zero points wins. Here's how it works: Each of the four players receives five cards at the start (first three, then two). Whoever deals the cards reveals the last card, which is then the trump card for this round. The players now have two options: 1) Join in or sit out a round (can only be done twice in succession) 2) Play normal or "bad" Jass. Normal Jass means that anyone who wants to may exchange a maximum of 4 cards. Each trick counts as one point per round with the non-traditional Jass rules. If you don't take a trick, you "travel" up 5 points. Evil jass means: No cards may be exchanged before a round. If you announce badly, you start the round and must take at least 3 tricks, which then count double. So, for example, 6 points down for 3 tricks or 8 points for 4 tricks or a "full evil", which is 10 points down for 5 tricks. If the person who announces "bad" fails to take the 3 tricks, they move up 10 points. The game can therefore be over in 30 minutes or drag on for an hour, depending on how often you travel.

Catan and Tichu

• Catan - a playful quantum leap for family life
  Have you been playing ladder games, memory, Uno or Elfer raus with your children for what seems like forever? As your offspring approach their tenth birthday, you can rub your hands with excitement, because now it's time to really get going, now it's time for "The Settlers of Catan" aka "Catan - The Game" as it's now called.

  What fascinates us to this day about the second most successful board game after Monopoly? It's the immersion in a world of its own, where strategic thinking, expansion and the luck of the dice go hand in hand. A world in which raw materials are traded and haggled over, in which roads, villages and towns are built and knights are sent out to defend against robbers. A world that takes its time until the first player reaches 10 victory points and wins the game.

• Tichu - a classic with addictive potential
  In my daughter's student flat, this cool mix of Jassen and Yatzi has been played all night long for some time now. In several rounds, two teams try to outdo each other with complex card combinations. The aim is to get rid of the cards as quickly as possible and score as many points as possible in each round. The team that reaches 1000 points first is the winner.

  Special cards such as the dragon (highest single card) or phoenix (joker) and the many card combinations make the game particularly appealing. Because the score can change rapidly in Tichu, a full game can easily last 90 minutes.

Nik Niethammer has to take Leo to the hairdresser

The family council of editor-in-chief Nik Niethammer, the family's undefeated champion in the ladder game, has chosen four favourites, including two classics.

• Uno extreme - the next level of the traditional Uno card game
  A small machine randomly spits out cards and creates additional excitement with this unpredictable gameplay.
• Four wins - the thrilling strategy game for on the go
  The first player to place four tiles in a line (horizontally, vertically or diagonally) is the winner. Our pro tip: Pieces in the centre are worth more than those on the edge, as there are more opportunities to join a line of four.

• Leo has to go to the hairdresser - a joint competition against Leo's growing mane
  A co-operative game, suitable for children who are not so good at losing. Because the game is not played against each other, but with each other. The aim is to reach the hairdressing salon before sunset together with the dawdling Leo, who has to go to the hairdresser because of his mane. Hairy fun for the whole family.
• Sagaland - a fairytale mixture of memory and Ludo
  In this dice game, each player secretly sets off in search of fairytale motifs in the forest. The aim is always to rush to the castle as quickly as possible in order to answer the king's questions about the hiding place correctly. The winner is the first player to correctly name three locations.

Who did it? - Evelin Hartmann likes it mysterious

Deputy Editor-in-Chief Evelin Hartmann enjoys chasing robbers through the castle with her daughters.

«Two years ago, we gave our daughter the electronic parlour game' Who did it? She was seven years old at the time and was blown away. "There's a treasure chest with a ring!» and this treasure chest even talks to you, gives hints and tips and helps the young and old players through the co-operative game.

Because that's what it's all about: A thief has stolen the magic ring from the castle and the children (the players) have to find the thief and the ring. They don't have forever to do this. When the church clock strikes midnight, the game is over. A race against time in which the children receive valuable clues from the talking animals that live in the castle.

The game with different levels of difficulty is a perennial favourite with us and is often borrowed from neighbours.

Virginia Nolan loves to hunt murderers

Editor Virginia Nolan and her family also love the classics: «Since our daughter played Cluedo for the first time last autumn, it has been our number one favourite family game, which friends also like to join in with.» Hotel, Rummikub, Kuhhandel and Gemsch have also made it into their top five selection.

• Cluedo - a murderous evergreen among detective games
  At least once a week, my husband, eight-year-old daughter and I find ourselves in an English country house trying to convict each other of atrocities. Which character committed the murder with which weapon in which room? The aim is to collect clues and elicit as much information as possible from your fellow players. The first player to unravel the contents of the secret case file - murderer, murder weapon and crime scene - is the winner.
• Hotel - the cooler Monopoly
  The capitalist aim of this classic game is nothing less than to build up a hotel empire, forcing competitors off the market and driving them to ruin with horrendous accommodation fees. If you go bankrupt, you lose. The game is also suitable for younger children. With her "all-in" strategy, childish recklessness and complete ignorance of bookkeeping, our daughter had already driven us to ruin with "Hotel" at the age of seven.

Do you still remember «Gemsch»?

• Rummikub - almost like rummy, but with number tiles
  The idea of using tiles was born out of necessity because playing cards were banned in Romania in the 1930s, where a resourceful person invented Rummikub. The aim of the game is to get rid of all 14 number tiles as quickly as possible. However, as with rummy, the tiles can only be discarded in certain combinations of numbers - so brainpower is required. Rummikub can also be played by younger children, precisely because the number sequences only go up to 13. Friends gave it to us when our daughter was seven, and she and her mates quickly proved to be pretty good at discovering number combinations that we hadn't even had on our radar.
• Cow trading - bidding, bluffing and winning
  This entertaining card game has been with us since drunken nights in a shared flat and also makes a good trap as a family game. Here you can auction for all you're worth: Who bids the most? And who can really pull the wool over the eyes of their fellow players? The aim is to secure as many valuable animal quartets as possible. Even if the first-grader can't count to 1000 yet, she will get round the associated bottlenecks with childlike bravado.
• Gemsch - a Swiss Jass classic with speed and secret symbols
  Whether it's at school, ski or riding camp, Gemsch is as much a part of the game as chatting in bed every night. The game is played with Jass cards and in teams of two. Each member of a duo has the same mission: to collect four identical cards as quickly as possible. As soon as one player has collected them, she tells her team partner using a secret sign that has been agreed in advance. Team partners must therefore keep a close eye on each other, but it's also important to keep an eye on rivals and spot possible quartets and their secret signs. Even nursery school children can keep up with Gemsch; the rules are simple and the originality of the little ones' secret signs is unrivalled.