Sam Dunaway | News Editor 

Caity Healy | Lifestyle Editor

Game nights are often a cheap and exciting way to spend an evening with good friends. But, if you’re anything like me, you might be looking for new activities to add to your repertoire besides “Cards Against Humanity.” Read on for my personal favorite games and enjoy them at your next game night.

Codenames

This four to eight player game is one of my absolute favorites. A grid of codenames, or random words, are placed in front of the players. The group splits into two teams and elects a spymaster for each team. The spymasters are the only ones who know the secret identities of the cards and must try and get their team to guess the correct codenames to win. This game is a ton of fun and the random placement of the cards means that combinations are endless. And even better, “Codenames: Deep Undercover” is the mature version of the game and usually costs less than $20 at most department stores.

Photo by: Codenamesgame.com

Jackbox Games

Jackbox Games are probably my favorite way to spend a Friday night. With four party packs to choose from, Jackbox Games are easily downloaded from a Playstation, Xbox or Steam and each player connects to their game through their phone. Trivia games like “You Don’t Know Jack” provide you and your friends with the opportunity to battle it out to see who knows the most useless information. “Quiplash” generates ridiculous prompts and allows you to come up with your own responses. “Drawful,” similar to Pictionary, challenges your drawing skills and awards points to the players that guess correctly. For less than $25 a pack, these party games are versatile, convenient and not your average board game.

Photo by: Jackboxgames.com

Heads Up

Board games can be expensive, but this classic app provides hours of entertainment for only 99 cents at the App Store. With different decks such as Act it Out, Animals Gone Wild and Accents and Impressions, this charades-like game involves one player guessing what’s written on the hidden card by using hints from the rest of their team. This inexpensive and simple game can be played anywhere with family, friends, or coworkers.

Photo by: warnerbros.com

Ticket to Ride

This game requires at least an hour or two of invested time, energy and strategy. Players take turns attempting to claim railway routes that connect cities on a map of the United States, and the longer the route, the more points you can earn. But unfriendly players may choose to sabotage your routes in process. I’m the type of person that gets discouraged with intense rules and confusing plotlines but, fortunately, Ticket to Ride is fairly easy to learn and jump right into. This game is a little more expensive, usually $25 to $35 depending on which edition you buy, but it also provides hours of entertainment that makes it worth the price.

Photo by: daysofwonder.com

Dutch Blitz

Prepare to be stuck playing round after round of this addicting card game. Incredibly fast-paced and at times fairly challenging, the objective is to essentially get rid of all of your cards by creating “Dutch Piles.” Prepare to feel the stress of looking for that one card you need in time before someone yells out “Blitz!” which signals that they have beat you to the point. While the game is designed for four, expansion packs can also be purchased if you want to include more people.

Photo by: Dutchblitz.com

The Oregon Trail Card Game

For this game, we’re traveling back to 1848. It’s time to see if you and your party can hitch up your wagons and make it all the way to Oregon. This card game is based on the original computer disk game and will leave you feeling nostalgic with every “Broken Axle” or “You Have Died of Dysentery” card you draw. Pulling cards from the deck that will oftentimes frustrate you, this game can be a lot more difficult than one would assume.

Photo by: pressmantoy.com

Contact the authors at journalnews@wou.edu and chealy16@wou.edu