Game night: the best board games to play at home

This is the card game Barack Obama taught his daughters and Malia's boyfriend during the quarantine. Michelle Obama told about it in her podcast at the time: "they’ve got a spades tournament. Barack has taught the girls spades, so now there’s this vicious competition."

The trick-taking card game, which can be played solo or in teams, is not straightforward. Obama says her daughters would never have had the patience to sit down and learn spades from their father without the restrictions of quarantine.

Traditional board games like dominoes are an excellent option to play as a family and thus cope better with quarantine. The instructions are not too complex and yet they stimulate the brain to the maximum.

Monopoly could be considered a classic in the board game world. Almost everybody has, had, or will have it at home. It is fun and educational with regard to money, investments, and returns. For opponents of capitalism, there's the socialist version of Monopoly, where sharing is key and winning is for losers.

Do you like games related to language and words? Scrabble is about forming words with the letters that you draw by chance. The longer the word you compose, the more points you get... and therefore the level depends on the players.

This board game is also a sport with prestige, because it takes a mental exercise to play chess. If you notice you need extra excitement in these days - or you've seen the Netflix series 'The Queen's Gambit' - give chess a chance.

How about a game of UNO? Well, better said, how about a few - because this classic game that aims at getting rid of all your cards before the rest of the players is surely addictive. If you are bored at home, the key to make the time pass faster is, precisely, choosing games you don't want to stop playing.

The game of checkers is closely related to chess, but in a simplified and fast version. Some days you will also appreciate this. Remember: two colors, one board, opposing courses. These are its main elements, and there is the magic.

Jenga is a game of cognitive and physical ability, but also of strategy. The quest, in which a tower has to keep standing as long as possible while the players steal its components, can last for just a moment or hours.

To play Battleship, you have to think faster and better than the 'enemy,' as the players are attacking and defending at the same time. If you advance firmly and safely and you blow up the ships of the opponent while keeping yours afloat, you win.

Trivial Pursuit is that game that helps you to check your knowledge of general culture while also teaching you things you didn't know or reminding you of forgotten little facts (or big ones). The number of players is flexible: you can go from two to infinite.

Rather than a board game, Twister is a floor game. Literally. Do you need a laugh? Do you want to move and exercise your body while having a fun time with your family or flatmates? Do you feel like going back to your childhood or adolescence for a while? If the answer to these questions is yes, we recommend it one hundred percent.

Scattergories is a great success of yesterday, today and always. It's another game that stimulates mind, creativity and language in a collaborative way. The game consists of one initial letter, several categories, and a brainstorming of concepts against the clock.

Choose a color, throw the dice, move your chips and... play! If there's one game that can't be missed in your household, it's Parcheesi. The board game adapts to all ages and doesn't require much concentration, so it's ideal for hanging out in a relaxed way.

As its name suggests, Pictionary is a dictionary of drawings. You must draw the words yourself, though, and if you draw badly, your team will not guess what it is. If you don't have this game as a package, you can make it yourself with blank paper, pencils or pens and, of course, a few more players.

Having a homemade bingo (you can use macaroni or lentils) helps to get through a boring day at home. It is one of those games that you may not use often, but in certain situations it comes in very handy.

Tic-tac-toe can be played with a board and checkers but also by simply writing on a sheet of paper. You can play it among girls and boys, and with adults. You can even play it alone. Tic-tac-toe is simple and a lot of fun.

Clue is a lot more complex than Tic-tac-toe. It involves a mysterious murder case with several suspects. The board game is perfect to reflect and awaken the logical and deductive part of the mind. Who did it: Colonel Mustard in the living room with the candlestick or Miss Scarlett with the rope in the kitchen?

In Risk, as in Battleship and Monopoly, strategy combined with luck is fundamental. This is another classic to share with the people you have close to you.

Guess Who is based on diversity and teaches us that, although not all of us are equal, we all count. It consists of finding out which character your opponent has chosen through questions that can be answered with yes or no only. It's a game for two, but you can also take turns and have championships.

If you have the Party & Co box - with multiple, creative assignments and questions -  fun is guaranteed. We recommend it for the weekend, and to play it with friends. You will end up dancing.