Top 5 Competitive Board Games for Adults

Now we all know game nights are no joke, especially with a competitive group of friends or the family. These epic nights bring everyone together and make us test out our skills, whether you are trying to outsmart, outwit, or just out-talk all your family and friends!  

Choosing the right grown up board games can make all the difference between and ordinary night or an epic games night…  

Ready for laughs, rivalries, and possibly plenty of shouting (the fun kind), well, lets explore our best board games for adults.  

In no particular order…  

1. The Traitors  

Inspired by the hit TV show, The Traitors is a mix between deduction and deception. Players are divided into two top secret groups: the Faithful and the Traitors. The Traitors main objective is to ensure each Faithful is eliminated one by one, while the Faithful must figure out whole is betraying the group before it is too late.  

This game is perfect if your friends and family love bluffing and strategy. It’s a chaotic game filled with alliances, betrayals, and a lot of hilarious finger-pointing! 

How to Play: 

• Each round will consist of a different task to add gold to the collective pot. The Traitors will have a mission that works in opposition to the main objective. Players can then win immunity in the armoury round which is typically a one-on-one task.  
• After your tasks are done, players discuss and vote to “banish” a player they suspect to be a Traitor.  
• The game ends when all Traitors have been exposed or the Traitors outnumber the Faithful!  

2. Trivial Pursuit

If you have those members in your family or friends’ group who constantly shout out “I know what that is!” then Trivial Pursuit might just be the board game you need for a night in. This classic quiz game is filled with a mix of knowledge questions and will have you scratching your head trying to remember or guess the answer across its six categories.  

This game gives you’re the opportunity to show off your knowledge or hilariously expose how little you know about geography or science with 2,400 trivia questions to explore. This game is a fantastic way to spark some friendly competition.  

How to Play:  

• First choose from one of the 6 colours to represent your turn, all players start in the middle and roll the dice one-by-one. You can choose to move your coloured piece in any direction to land on a category to answer.  
• There are 6 game categories: Geography, Entertainment, History, Art and Literature, Science and Nature, and Sports and Leisure.  
• Answer questions correctly to earn a coloured wedge and roll again. The first to collect all 6 different coloured wedges wins!  

3. Scrabble

Would you consider yourself a wordsmith? Well Scrabble might be the game for you! This game combines strategy, luck, and vocabulary skills all in one. It’s simple to play and incredibly satisfying to gain points for the words you can come up with.  

This competitive game will have you trying to outsmart your opponents as you try to think of the most obscure or simple words to gain points. Our advice? Keep a dictionary to hand in case someone tries to make up a word… we all do it!  

How to Play:  

• Perfect for 2 to 4 players, take turns forming words on the board, each letter tile will hold a different value the same for the tiles on the board.  
• Use high-value letters like Q and Z strategically for big scores.  
• The game ends when all the tiles are used and the player with the highest score wins.  

4. Articulate 

Articulate is a fun and fast-paced family party game where you need to describe words quickly while your team tries to guess. Like charades, but this game allows you to talk rather than act, of course you have to say anything but the actual word your team needs to guess! 

If you love board games that bring the fun and chaos, then Articulate would be the best fit. Watch as your friends and family frantically try to describe “Mount Everest” without saying “mountain”. This game is perfect for groups that love high energy and fast thinking adult board games.  

How to Play:  

• Players take turns drawing cards with different categories, for example, “people” or “places”.  
• Without saying the word itself, you must describe to your team what the word is as fast as possible.  
• The more words your team guesses correctly in 30 seconds, the more spaces you move on the board.  
• *These rules can be slightly different according to the version of Articulate you have. Check out Articulate Express or Articulate Fame here. 

5. Clipology  

Are you a big blockbuster fan and have a love for movies and TV shows? This is the game for you! Clipology brings you a classic trivia game combining some board game fun with video clips, putting all your tv and movie knowledge to the test.  

With a mix of friendly competition and nostalgia, this game is easy to play and tests to see who remember the most random movie quotes. With video clips that can be played on a screen nearby, your friends and family are sure to be invested.  

How to Play:  

• Players must answer the trivia questions based on the video clips shown. This can involve a popular movie, TV show, and more.  
• The game also includes interactive mini-games and challenges.  
• The first player to make it to the Final Act tiles on the board, wins!  

Whether you enjoy racing against the clock, bluffing your opponents, or testing your knowledge, these games can keep any family or group of friends entertained for hours on end. Games night should be about more than just winning, it’s about all the memories in between, the laughing, bonding, and competitiveness! So be sure to pile on those snacks and get ready for the next epic adult board games night.  

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