5 Awesome Board Games to Bring Your Magical Florida Vacation Home
As much as we might want to, we can’t spend every day at the Happiest Place on Earth. (Trust us, we wish we could, too.) But that doesn’t mean you can bring a piece of your vacation back home with you. One easy – and fun – way to do that is by picking up a new board game that brings a small piece of your favorite vacation places (and favorite characters!) right into your home.
That’s right! We’re have created a magical guide to some great games that your whole family is sure to love! Each of the games on our list is guaranteed to please everyone at your next family game night. Even better, most of them are fantastic to play with an older crowd as well. Whatever your plans, we’re sure you’ll find your new favorite board game.
1 – Funkoverse The Nightmare Before Christmas Strategy Game
Ever since it hit theaters in 1993, The Nightmare Before Christmas has become a well-loved Disney holiday classic. So really, it’s no surprise that Disney teamed up with the ever-popular Funko brand to develop this awesome strategy board game!
In this Funkoverse board game, you play as one of four characters from the film (Jack Skellington, Oogie Boogie, Dr. Finkelstein, and Sally), and you duke it out in one of four included scenarios based on The Nightmare Before Christmas. You move around the board, challenge other players, and race to achieve your objectives before your opponents do!
The board game is recommended for 2-4 players ages 10 and up. The gameplay is fast-paced, and rounds last between 30-60 minutes per game. It’s a great strategy board game that doesn’t require much set-up or complicated rules, making it perfect for a casual Disney-themed game night. As a bonus, you also get four adorable mini-Funko figures! One of the most appealing aspects of the Funkoverse is that you can mix & match the characters from other boxes to create more unique battles and challenges!
2 – Horrified: Universal Monsters Strategy Board Game
Do you love the classic Universal Monsters? What about Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios? If so, this is absolutely the game for you! After all, who doesn’t want to take down Dracula and save the world?
in this fun-themed board game.
(Photo: Rain075 via Flickr)
Horrified is a cooperative board game where you work with the other players to stop the rampaging monsters from taking over a small town. Go up against the Mummy, Wolfman, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Frankenstein’s creations, and Dracula as they roam free. You’ll play as one of the pre-designed characters, moving across the board, investigating the spooky events, and figuring out how to stop these magnificent monsters before they stop you.
The game plays a little like the classic Pandemic or Zombies, but it’s unique on its own, blending a little bit of spooky with a lot of fun, making sure it won’t scare your younger gamers! The simplified gameplay means you’ll have a much quicker playtime, too. With 1-5 players, the game takes around an hour to complete, though depending on your play style (and how many monsters you choose to play again).
3- Disney Villainous
This one is a personal favorite and one of the most unique board games on the list. In Villainous, your favorite Big Bads of Disney films take center stage in this competitive card game. You play as one of six classic Disney villains – Ursula the Sea Witch, Captain Hook, Maleficent, The Queen of Hearts, Prince John, or Jafar – with a specific set of objectives unique to the character. Defeat the hero. Win your objective. And achieve total domination. You scheme, sabotage, and backstab your fellow villains in pursuit of your goals. The first one to complete their dastardly plans win!
This is the perfect choice for a Disney fan, especially one that loves the old-school villains. This game is designed for 2-6 players, though you may want to start with 3-4 as a beginner. As each character has their own objectives, choosing your character determines your strategy and play style. Since the game’s release, there have been several expansions that introduce new characters and objectives, making each game unique and full of surprises!
4 – Escape the Puzzle: Curse of the Wolves
If you’ve ever wanted to experience the challenge of an escape room (one of our favorite non-theme park things to do in Orlando!) from the comfort of your home, one of the Ravensburger Escape Puzzles might just be the thing for you. They combine the more fun aspects of a jigsaw puzzle with the bonus of another metagame solved using clues from the finished puzzle.
In Curse of the Wolves, you are lost in the woods and encircled by a pack of cursed wolves. Can you solve the puzzle and break the spell before you become their next meal? This is one of six scenarios available in their Escape Puzzle line and one of the more challenging ones.
The puzzle has 759 pieces but also includes many other smaller puzzles within the frame of the image. Combining the larger image with these small hints and clues presented in the context, you work out a final solution (which you can check against the official solution included in a sealed envelope). While these can be completed on your own, we definitely recommend putting them together with friends. After all, that’s the best part of a traditional Escape Room!
5 – Disney Villains Clue Game
family friendly board game. (Photo: Unsplash)
Combining the classic board game with classic Disney World characters, Disney Villains Clue adds a fun new twist to an old favorite. You play as one of six main Disney villains whose lairs have been magically connected for a mysterious purpose. Each of them is hunting for a mysterious, magical artifact that one of them has secreted away. By exploring the lairs and interacting with your fellow players, you must identify the artifact, locate where it’s hidden, and find out who hid it. That’s right, it’s Clue but with a little more mystery and a little less murder.
And a whole lot more of your favorite villains! In this one, you can play as Maleficent, Jafar, Dr. Facilier, Ursula, Hades, or the Evil Queen. Sounds like fun, right? Perfect for ages 8 and up, this is bound to please the entire family.
What do you think? Did you find the next board game for your next tabletop adventure?
Looking for more ways to bring home the magic? Check out the second part of our series on family game night faves from theme parks!
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