Games for the whole family (young kids included)

We are a game-playing family.
   I can remember having family get-togethers when I was younger, where we would all stay up late playing games and having fun together as a family.  Now that I have my own family I want to instill in my own kids a love of games, a time that we can turn the TV off and spend the evening at the kitchen table with a board game in front of us, enjoying each others company.

Since our kids range from 3-8 it can be hard at times to find a game we can all play together as a family.  Most games are just right for the older ones, but too difficult for the younger ones, and vice versa.  But, I have happy news for you...
For those of you in the same situation, wanting a couple of games the whole family can enjoy, I'll tell you two games that our family plays all the time.

The first is Handy Manny Picture Find Game.  This is a little like a memory game, but the point is to get around the board and back to your space before anyone else.  Along the way you have to find the correct match from the middle of the board.  My whole family can play this game, adults included!  My 3 year old loves this game and actually beats me most of the time.  My husband and I can play with the kids and have fun ourselves, and my older kids don't think of this as a "baby game".  I definitely suggest this game for the whole family.

The other game that is a big hit at our house is Toy Story Yahtzee.  Basically it's pretty similar to regular Yahtzee but with pictures on the dice instead of numbers.  On your turn you get 3 rolls to get as close to 5 of the same picture as possible.  But watch out for Lotso, if you roll him it makes that dice "dead" for the rest of your turn.  Again, this is super easy for all ages, but there's competition involved so the older ones have fun playing too.

So, if you are wanting to have a family game night, a time away from the TV, where you are connecting with your kids and having fun with ALL of them at the same time, then you ought to look into these two games I've suggested.

  Have fun playing games with those kiddos!