10 Great Games to Give Your Teen

Teens can be some of the most challenging people to buy for. Typically, their desires exceed most budgets, and it's hard to find something that will please them. I've been polling the teens in my life and gathering some simple gift ideas for the teens in your life. I'm working my way up to 100 creative gift ideas for teens and tweens, and today's ideas center around games teens will love.

As your kids get older, there are so many more amazing games out there that they can now play. Finding ways to keep engaged in their lives is an important part of parenting teens. Here are ten great options that make great gifts:

{1} Ticket to Ride Rails and Sails - The Ticket to Ride games have been one of our family favorites for many years. This latest edition to the game is remarkable for the added edition of boating paths which deepens the strategy and fun for teens. $76

{2} Big Picture Apples to Apples - They've probably already fallen in love with the classic Apples to Apples game. This version of the game allows them to assign pictures to the words the judges call out. The best part about this game is that the whole family can play—even your non-readers. $13

{3} Monopoly Deal Card Game - If you have uber competitive teens and have had love lost over the classic Monopoly game, this quick card game could be a way to enter back into the world of Monopoly without the hours of battle. My teens play this game for hours! $5

{4} Dutch Blitz - This card game is like playing speed solitaire with multiple people. It's a great game for teens because it moves really quickly and you can play as many or few rounds as you like. All you really need to include additional players is another deck of cards. This is one of our family favorites. $9

{5} Pandemic - This is a great cooperative game that teens will love. Since you have to work together to defeat the virus, this game offers great opportunities for teaming up with your teen and not fighting against them. There are also several expansion opportunities for this game if your teen already knows and loves the game. $25

{6} Bring Your Own Book - This game appeals to Apples to Apples lovers that enjoy books above all. Each player brings their favorite book to the game. When the judge gives them a prompt, they choose a line from their personal book to submit. With thousands of books in our house, this game could be played over and over countless times! $10

{7} Catan Expansions The original Catan game is one that my son and husband love to play. I love getting them expansion sets to their favorite games as gifts because it gives the family a renewed love of a game we enjoy together. Catan is all about managing resources and building strategy. It's a great game. $38

{8} Clue - When thinking of great games for teens, don't skip over classics. Clue is one that my kids have loved for a long time. Sometimes the old classics need to be gifted again because the last time you owned the game, all the kids were little, and there are pieces missing, cards mangled, and boards torn up. It's always great to have a new game to play. $14

{9} Sequence - If your teens haven't played the adult version of this game, they will love it. We recently played it at a friend's house with nine players, and it was such a fun game for a crowd. Young and old alike enjoy this one. It's not updated because it doesn't need any updating! It's a great classic game. $10

{10} Machi Koro - This is a new favorite game for my family. It's similar to Catan in the way it's played, but there is no game board. You collect cards, manage resources, and work to build your city. This one gets pulled out frequently for a quick family game. $17

So there are the first 10 ideas for teens. When I make it to 100, I'll celebrate with a giveaway. Make sure to keep checking back for the next installment of ideas. Next, I'll be sharing 10 Bullet Journal Tools that will wow your teen.

What are some of your teen's favorite games?