I am always in awe at how quickly time passes, but still I am amazed that here we are at the end of 2025. This summer we took a departure from tabletop games, which made me quite sad. I actually got really lonely and was begging my kids (and grandkids) to play with me. Thankfully, as we got into the rhythm of Autumn we found our love for games again, AND I found my love of blogging again, so WIN/WIN!
**We use BG Stats to keep track of our collection and our plays. You can find this amazing app in your app store.**
With the year coming to a close, I thought I’d share some of our family’s favorite games that we played this year. All of these games have been played and enjoyed by everyone in the Stubborn House. No duds! I will do my best to give you a description and a link to where you can easily find it to purchase. If there is an internal link, that means it’s a game I’ve featured on Gameschool Friday.
#10 – Castle Combo – Now the singular reason this is at #10 is because we only just got it for Christmas. Since we opened and learned this award-winner on the 27th we have already played it 5 times, so I can imagine it will be a top play for 2026. This fun point-multiplying card game is a quick play and very easy to teach. It would also be excellent for non-readers or English language learners because the cards’ values are indicated by SYMBOLS and not words. 2-5 players, but plays best with 2 or 3 in my opinion.
Check out buying options here.
#9 – District Noir – Math, logic, and simple rules make District Noir an addictive small box game to bring along on a date night or put on the table for a quick play after dinner. 2 players
Check out buying options here.
#8 – Jaipur – A fun head to head that plays in three rounds. Camels and spices. Not too intense, but definitely not boring. 2 players
Check out buying option here.
#7 – Dice Miner – One of TuiMama’s favorite games of all time. “Mine” dice out of a mountain to get the best combo of points. Share a pint with an opponent to snag dice you want. Didn’t get the dice you wanted? Use magic to re-roll. If you can find it, splurge on the plastic mountain to save you the heartbreak of your mountain wearing out. 1-4 players (Hubby loves the solo mode.)
You can pick up a copy here.
#6 – Crokinole – Is it pricey? Yeah, definitely. Is it worth it? If you like an heirloom quality game that has excellent playability for people of all ages, yes. Shuffleboard meets curling on a gorgeous wooden board. Tracy Boards are the standard of craftsmanship. We opted for the standard board and the board with negative spaces to make things a little more challenging. 2 or 4 players
#5 – Can’t Stop – A delightfully exciting press-your-luck dice game that tempts you to keep climbing up the columns to claim them before your opponents. 2-4 players
There are many different editions out there, so check out ebay before you get the pricey version from Amazon.
#4 – Tsuro – Place a tile to move your dragon token and hopefully stay on the board longer than your opponent. Sabotage if you wish. The gorgeous collector’s edition is wonderful, but the common paper version is just as fun to play. 2-4 players
You can read the original Gameschool post here.
#3 – Lost Cities – Hubby and my favorite late night brain burner. It’s fast and finite, but just when you think you have a plan your opponent plays the card you’ve been waiting for. ARGH!!! 2 players
Check out buying options here.
#2 – Tag Team – Choose a combo of legendary characters to battle head to head until someone loses all of their health and is knocked out. It’s fast and has great replayability because once you know the mechanics there are character combos to last you for a long time, and rumor has it there will be new characters available soon. 2 players
Details and buying options here.
#1 – Sea, Salt, & Paper – Mr. D looooooves Sea, Salt, and Paper, so much so that we spent over 21 hours playing it this year, and honestly probably more since Mr. D rarely records his plays with his siblings. He will play it any time with anyone willing to get their butt beat, although he does loose occasionally. This fun trick-taking card game has enough strategy to keep brains engaged, but is easily taught for a quick play. This would be another game that would be good to teach people with limited English or non-readers because all the cards’ abilities are indicated by symbols, so as long as they can understand the explanations of the mechanics, it would be easily played. There are currently two expansions and they are worth getting once you know you enjoy this little gem.
Buying details can be found here.
When people ask about our game hobby our conversation ultimately boils down to the fact that we enjoy playing together, which builds a positive family culture. The collection is a fun hobby and the games are fun to play, but we do it because playing together is how we connect.
Here’s to a great start to gaming in 2026!
