With the global health crisis, schools shutting down and people “social distancing,” you might be looking for tings to do. Here is out list of top games that take an hour to play and are a great, fun time to spend together.
1) Clue
The classic who-done-it game. Play takes about an hour. With your mind engaged while tracking down clues, the time will fly by and your mind will get a workout too. Got younger kids? Try Clue Jr. You can read our review to find out if it’s right for your family. If you’re a Harry Potter fan, you can try Harry Potter Clue or try Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Mystery at Hogwarts Game. You can read the review here.
2) Ticket to Ride
This game is quickly becoming a classic and for good reason. While trying to connect train lines to complete missions, you learn geography and history and critical thinking. Ever changing strategies can keep you on your toes and encourage creative thinking as well as learning to deal with changing plans. Travel around the world with the different Ticket to Rides: Europe, the Nordic countries, Africa, Germany, London, Japan and so many more. Play time is about an hour.
3) Carcassonne
This game takes just over half an hour to play. Players take turns placing tiles. Trying to figure out where the best place to put your tile to gain you the most points is engaging. You’ll want to play again right away so half an hour can easily lead to an hour or more. There are countless expansions too including, The Tower, The South Seas, and The Gold Rush. Yo can even get the Carcassonne Big Box that has 11 expansions in it. Canadians can get their copies here.
You can read our Carcassonne review here!
4) Pictionary
Another classic game. Trying to guess and draw yourself around the game board takes about an hour. With lots of creativity and laughs, this game will whittle away time in no time. You can get your copy of Pictionary here. Canadians can sharpen their pencils and shop here.
5) The Game of Life
There are lots of variations of this game—classic, Zapped, Minions, even a card one. Will you be a dentist? Rock star? Will you climb a mountain or win a cottage? Lots of fun and playability with this game. One game takes about an hour to play. You can get your Game of Life copy here. Canadians can see what the Game of Life has for them here.
6) Monopoly
Is there a game that takes longer to play than this one? If the world of property owning is up your ally, then Monopoly will for sure put a dent in the hours. Even if you don’t finish the game, it will keep you occupied for a long time. You can see what version if best for your family here. Canadians can get their Monopoly here.
7) Pictopia
This is a trivia game with a twist. Each card has four pictures on it. Depending on where you are on the board, you could have to answer a classic trivia question or one based on the people who are playing the game. This is a great way to spend an hour testing your trivia and knowledge of each other. There’s the Disney Edition and a Harry Potter one. Canadians can shop for Pictopia here. You can read the full review here.
8) The Logo Game
This trivial game tests your knowledge of the brands of our world. It’s amazing how much even young kids know about the marketing world. After an hour, you’ll be paying more attention to the marketing of the world. The can read the full review here. You can get your copy of the Logo Game here and Canadians can get theirs here.
9) Scattergories
Testing your mind to come up with 12 items that start with N for the specified categories—and the debates that follow—will fill an hour with creative thinking and laughter all around. You can read the full review here. Americans can shop here, Canadians here and you can get our free holiday themed (Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and others) in our Fun Library here.
10) Rummy or Rummikub
This tile placing game will keep everyone involved for an hour making runs or groups of a kind. You can read the full review here. American can shop here and Canadians here.
How the Hours Fly By
When you need to fill time, these great games will make the time disappear, leaving good memories behind.
What are some of your favorite games that take an hour to play? Let us know in the comments below.
For other board games to play, check out our reviews. Looking for more fun? Check out our card games and our dice games too. Happy gaming!
