Games and

Nights In

Make A Story

Don't Just Talk About One

If you aren't a bit of a nerd, you are in the wrong place. Here, we strongly encourage the use of fantasy and pop-culture references throughout the night. Toss in a little competition, well-timed sabotage, and lucky throws for the win! (We have seen some door-slam exits, but they'll get over it right??). Keep it real, not too intense - and don't forget the treats!!

Now, Roll for Initiative -

Quick Play Games

Skull King is flexible in different settings with 2-8 players. A trick- taking game with fun cards, and just complex enough to be enjoyable by all without overwhelming younger players. Cover your Assets is simpler with fun steals and sneaky plays to cover your matches. 2-6 Players Both of these are Grandpa Beck's Brand Games, check out their other creative games

-Skye, Joy, Amber, Eileen, Paul

Add some other games like Giant Jenga or Twister Ultimate to kick off something interesting.

Even online-based poll games from Jackbox have made it into our family nights. Semi-addicting, the game promts show up on a TV screen with players responding on their phones. Easily accommodates up to 8 players. Mini-games such as Trivia Murder Party, Quiplash, and Tee.K.O shirt designs make for great laughs (Party Pack3, -KBear Favorite)

- Steve, Ben, Casey, Reagan, Yesel, Marti

Party Games such as Code Names, Sushi Go, Monopoly Deal, Skull King, Trash Pandas, and Exploding Kittens, are all fun games with little to no setup.

-Caleb, Rachel, Kailee, Brent & Destany

Get a little more animated in your descriptions with games like Telestrations, Catch Phrase, or Apples to Apples

- Others that may not be appropriate for the younglings, but which are incredibly fun with the right crowds are: Cards Against Humanity (Look for Cards Against Muggles edition), Red Flags and similar games, What Do You Meme

- Caleb, Carl, Kyle, Yesel

More Quick Plays

A Growing Collection

Here are a few more entertaining games to take anywhere. (Mostly made for families, but we dare anyone looking for ridiculous games to try these)

New Style Strategy Games

Clank: A deck-building game, choose your path through dungeon caves to collect artifacts and fight monsters. Movement, attack, and spending points come from cards you add to your deck each turn. Make less noise or risk dragon attacks. And remember treasure seeking is just pre-mature archeology. 2-4p.

Bang: an Italian-made card game featuring American Wild West Gunslingers. Get Cowboy stuff, take shots at the sheriff, and generally cause a ruckus. This lighthearted game has surprises at every turn. We like that each round is fresh with new character abilities and new roles as deputy, sheriff, renegade, or outlaw. 3-8p.

- Al, Shay, Jason, Chris, Bryce

Splendor: Admittedly the most time-friendly title in strategic games, perhaps playable in 20 minutes or less. A turn consists of either gathering "gem" tokens, or spending them to buy cards which become a perpetual resource. Points gather quickly at the end so pay attention to others' strategies and block them if you can. Expansion packs are available which keep gameplay interesting. 2-4p.

7 Wonders: is esthetically pleasing. This game takes several plays to understand how cards build on each other but is then faster. Select carefully between science, resource, military, or civil cards during rounds to compete against other civilizations. You will want everything but who doesn't? Choose a winning theme to build your monument age by age to collect victory points. 3-7p.

- Caleb, Carl, Kyle, Yesel

Settlers of Catan (start with Base Game): the game of collecting and spending resource cards. Victory Points are collected by building cities, roads, and reaching card objectives. Its setup is unique using hexagonal tiles which change placement every game, players are involved even during other players turns. Check out Cities and Knights expansion, Seafarers and Pirates, and others). 3-4p standard. 5-6p with some expansions.

*Youtube summaries about games help present the objectives and turn actions easily. We can't always avoid the interjected explanations about rules from across the table... but with a neutral 3rd party we can certainly try to make it easier to bring our new players up to speed.

*Keep in mind that games may take 3 or more plays to get a sense of actual playtime. Expansions of Strategy games keep things fresh but come with their own learning curves which will take additional time to master*

-All us nerds at KBear Mountain Team HQ

Mansions of Madness (with tablet-guided story/ puzzles supplementing the board pieces): is a mystery-themed, co-op game, with tiles that must be explored before being revealed. It is challenging even with team members working together. 1-5p.

Betrayal at House on the Hill: This game has dozens of different storylines built in, with one used per play. There is always a "haunt" triggered during a game. Where the player who triggered it will play by the "haunt" rulebook and control whatever monsters the board brings to the table. 3-6p.

Other Mystery Games Include: Arkham Horror, Mysterium, Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective,

- Brent & Destany, Rachel & Houston, Ashley & Jeff

The mini-Dungeon and Dragon- themed game of Munchkins balances humor, calculated risks, luck, and surprises- all while being perfectly ridiculous. There are countless expansions, as well as new editions. Some in space and even some with Disney characters. Truly something for every taste, unless of course, you have no taste. Compete with and sabotage your friends to be the top Munchkin for the night! 3-6p.

-Joy, Swen, Jeremy, Chris

Villainous: Ages 10 and up. Contains antagonists from popular Disney Movies, each turn is a balance of making progress in your own "storyline" while blocking other Villians from reaching their marks. 2-6p, more with expansions.

More games coming. Give us suggestions!

- The KBear Mountain Team

Have Good Times

Always More To Explore

If you can't tell, we are huge fans of trying new games. Besides, it makes evenings more memorable to get on teams and turn up some friendly competition. Whether you are looking for fun games with school- age children, or hanging out with adult groups of family/ friends, we hope you love some of the finds we have listed here. Enjoy!

Keep coming back to expand your collection. Click on and browse through a few of our links to see if anything can help your adventure. This is the best way to support us. Amazon tracks which websites bring customers, even if you don't buy any of our suggestions on the order. (Links are active for a number of hours. As an Amazon affiliate site, we do receive commission on some orders. Prices remain the same for you.)

Thanks And Go Conquer Your Mountains!!

Wander In The Right Direction

"Plan as if you are already at your destination. When you know what leads to success- you can move forward with confidence."

-The KBear Mountain Team