Board games are a great way to spend the evening with family or friends. They enable us to actually spend quality time with people and can bring us closer together. Luckily for us board game enthusiasts, we're living in a time where board games abound. There's something for everyone and for every occasion – whether you're looking to play a game with your kids, your grandma, or your friends.

But while new board games and special editions of existing board games keep popping up, it's always fun to go back to the classics. These games have stood the test of time for a reason and today we're listing the ten classic board games everyone should own.

RETRO SERIES SCRABBLE 1949 EDITION GAME

Scrabble

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Spelling over 65 years of fun, Scrabble is a classic American word game that has been played among family and friends for generations. With this Retro Series Edition, you get to dial the time back to 1949. This stunning special edition features 100 vintage wood letter tiles and 4 vintage wooden tile racks, a full-size game board based on the 1949 edition, a velvet tile pouch, and instructions.

Scrabble is a timeless classic, a family favorite, and a must-have for any board game enthusiast. The Retro Series is especially interesting and worthwhile because of the vintage design.

JENGA CLASSIC GAME

Jenga

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Jenga is as much about skill and strategy as it is about sheer luck. In this timeless classic that combines the best board games can provide: fun with friends, skill, suspense, laughter, and luck, you are tasked with pulling out a block without crashing the 54-block stack. If you’re successful, you place your block on top of the structure. As players take turns the structure becomes taller and more unstable.

Whether you take time to study your move or dive right in and pull out a block is all up to you. This Classic Jenga game includes 54 Jenga hardwood blocks, stacking sleeve, and instructions, and it’s a game you should definitely have in your collection.

HASBRO GAMING CANDY LAND KINGDOM OF SWEET ADVENTURES

Candy Land

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You probably remember playing Candy Land as a child. With Candy Land: Kingdom of Sweet Adventures board game, you get to once again travel down the colorful road to sweet surprises. Featuring fun illustrations, cute gingerbread man movers, colorful cards that guide you along the rainbow path to locations such as Peppermint Forest, Lollipop Palace, and Licorice Lagoon, the race to King Kandy’s Castle has never been sweeter.

Since the game requires no reading, it’s ideal for kids ages 3 and up. So, if want to introduce the youngest members of your family to the wonders of board games, Candy Land is the best choice.

CATAN 5TH EDITION BOARD GAME WITH CATAN 5-6 PLAYER EXTENSION BUNDLE

Catan

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The winner of Game of the Century Award, Settlers of Catan or simply Catan, is one of the most popular board games on the market. The standard edition requires 3-4 players, while the extended edition allows for 5-6 players. In this strategic, yet fairly simple, board game the players assume the role of settlers on the island of Catan where they need to establish their colonies.

In order to win, you need to use and combine your resources – grain, wool, ore, brick, and lumber – to buy development cards and build roads, settlements, and cities. This bundle includes the Catan 5th Edition Board Game with the 5-6 player extension, so it’s ideal for a fun night with friends.

MONOPOLY CLASSIC GAME

Monopoly

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Even if you’re not such a huge fan of board games you must have played Monopoly at some point in your life. It’s one of the most commonly played board games and nowadays available in all kinds of special edition and thematic iterations. But the classics are classics for a reason and nothing beats the Classic Monopoly.

Anyone can be a millionaire in Monopoly, but anyone can also go be bled dry just as easily. The thrill of the game is buying, selling, and scheming your way to the top while avoiding getting bankrupt by one of your opponents, and it never gets old.

CLUE LINEN BOOK VINTAGE EDITION BOARD GAME

Clue

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In Clue, you assume the role of one of the six suspects and attempt to deduce the correct answer to the following questions: who murdered the game’s victim, where the crime took place, and which weapon was used. By moving strategically around the gameboard which represents the rooms of a mansion and collecting clues about the murder you get closer to uncovering the truth and revealing the culprit.

This luxurious bookshelf edition was inspired by the vintage graphics of the 1949 game and it’s a classic that crime-solvers will enjoy immensely. The book has integrated storage filled with vintage game board and all the game pieces, plus envelope and pad of detective notes and pencils.

HASBRO TRIVIAL PURSUIT GAME: CLASSIC EDITION

Trivial Pursuit

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One of the best-known and most played board games, Trivial Pursuit puts your general and pop culture knowledge to a test. Over the years, heaps upon heaps of different editions have been released, but the classic still remains one of the player-favorites.

With 2,400 questions from six different categories – geography, entertainment, history, art and literature, science and nature, sports and leisure – this gorgeous, classic Trivial Pursuit Board Game features the classic gameplay, retro-looking gameboard, 400 cards, 1 die, 6 wedge holders, and 36 wedges, and it's the perfect board game for game night with friends or family.

YAHTZEE

Yahtzee

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If you need a fun game that you can easily carry with you and play anywhere then Yahtzee is the right game for you. This dice-rolling battle game only requires a shaker, 5 dice, and scorecards. The Yahtzee Classic game now comes with a sleeker shaker that doubles as a storage case and redesigned casino-cool dice.

But while the look has been updated the objective remains the same: score points by rolling the dice to make combinations. In one turn, you get three chances to roll the dice and you enter the score into the scorecard. Whoever scores the most points, wins the game.

HASBRO RISK GAME

Risk

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Ever wanted to take over the world? Of course, you have! While, in real life that’s a highly unlikely scenario, in Risk, your odds at successfully reigning over the world are pretty good. Risk is a strategy conquest game with a simple goal: conquer enemy territories by building your army, moving the troops and engaging in battle. Roll of the dice decides whether you win or lose, so you’d better be lucky.

Filled with betrayal, alliances, and surprise attacks, Risk is an exciting power struggle that could lead you to global domination. The new and updated version comes with improved figures and mission cards, features twelve secret missions, as well as a stunning boardgame, dice, and five armies.

KANGAROO'S FOLDING WOODEN CHESS SET

Chess board against white background

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If you’re looking for classic board games – well, it doesn’t get more classic than Chess. Dating back to the 6th century, Chess is a strategy board game played on a chessboard with 64 squares arranged in an 8x8 grid. Each player begins with 16 pieces (one king, one queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, and eight pawns) and the objective is to checkmate the opponent’s king by placing it under an inescapable threat of capture.

This game of strategy and tactic that is played by millions of people worldwide and you could be one of them. Kangaroo’s Folding Wooden Chess Set is 15.7” x 15.7”, made of pine, with felt lining and enclosure for all 32 pieces, and magnet closure. The board and the pieces have a classy design and it all comes packed into a nice box.

NEXT: The 10 Best Disney Board Games, Ranked

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