We’ve all got those board games that have been in the family for years, we’ve played them to death and now they’re stuffed into the back of a cupboard, sitting under the stairs, or collecting dust in the attic. Well I’m here to give you some tips on how to give these old games new life, to make them exciting and interesting again so that you can continue to enjoy those games you love.

So Let’s Start With Guess Who?

Guess Who? is a board game everyone has played and/or owns some version of, but how do you make it fun again? Well, my suggestion is, instead of trying to guess your opponents character based on their appearance, try guessing who they are based on what you believe their personalities to be. For example: ‘Do they look like a snob?’, or ‘Do they look like an animal person?’. I have done this with my own Guess Who? game and it was a lot of fun, it is the most fun I’ve had playing the game and I would recommend this approach to anyone who has the means to play the game.

*And some examples to play this version of the game for when it’s just adults: ‘Do they look like a Tory?’, or ‘Do they look like they secretly day drink?’.

Next, Let’s Take a Look at Twister

Twister is a fun for all the family game, but to make it more interesting try adding forfeits or new rules to the game. Like, writing challenges on each of the wheel spins; Right Hand – You also have to move your Left Foot to the opposite circle, or For every Yellow circle you have to do a dare chosen by the next player. It’s a great way to renew the fun of the game, whilst also giving you a chance to get creative with your challenges/dares.

*For an all adults version try turning it into a drinking game (although I would recommend playing on carpet for that).

Let’s talk about Operation

Operation is probably a game that you’ve lost some pieces for, but if you can find some replacement pieces, or if you still have all the original pieces then I have some suggestions for you. For starters, if you make his nose turn red three times you lose, or before you can attempt to ‘operate’ on a certain body part you have to answer a trivia question about the human body (doesn’t matter if you don’t know any trivia about the body, Google is your friend here) and if you answer incorrectly then you miss a turn.

And lastly, Candyland

Candyland is a board game that I loved to play as a kid, and my tip to give this game new life if to add rewards along the way. What I mean by this is to put sweets on the board as rewards or, as punishments, depending on the sweet. This is something my Grandmother used to do with us as kids, she’d put a mix of nice sweets and sweets she knew we didn’t like on the board (often disguised so you couldn’t tell which was which) and if you landed on that tile you got to/had to eat that sweet. It’s a great way to keep kids interested in playing and to encourage them to sit and play.

*For adults only; switch out sweets for shots. Like a more elaborate shot roulette.

I hope you like my suggestions for renewing your old board games, or have given you inspiration to think of some of your own ways to update your games. It really does add a few more years to your old games, instead of them just collecting dust.