There is no denying that people are serious about Exploding Kittens, which is recommended for children 8 and older, but the concept is simple enough that younger kids will also be able to easily grasp it. Some content may be deemed inappropriate for young players Number of Players: 4-8 | Age range: 12 and up | Duration: 30 minutes Younger children can play if they have a parent or sibling to help them with reading. The original Apples to Apples is recommended for kids ages 12 and up, but Mattel also makes an Apples to Apples Junior Edition for children ages 9 and older. Players are also allowed to lobby for their choices, which can lead to lively banter. Note that it's OK if the cards don't fit perfectly together, since the point is to impress the judge, and that might mean creating a funny or outrageous combination. To win the game, you must earn the most amount of green cards. The judge chooses the best suggestion, and that player earns a green card and gets to judge next. To play, the judge flips over the top green card, and the other players must put down a red card that best fits with the green one in play. The deck is divided into red cards (which list people, places, things, and events) and green ones (which have adjectives). Winning is subjective to the judge's preferences

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This game takes about 20 minutes to play and is suitable for up to seven players, so it’s especially great for large families or families who love to entertain guests. A right answer scores your team one point, while a wrong answer docks two points, with the ultimate goal being to get as many points out of 13 as possible.

Which sounds easy enough, but, as Matthews warns: “Watch out, duplicate words cancel each other out,” so you need to be creative. The main objective, as the title suggests, is for players to help their teammates guess a word by suggesting “just one” word as a hint.

Joseph Comings, founder of the Art of Boardgaming, adds that the game can be “learned in a matter of minutes.” The game won the prestigious 2019 Spiel des Jahres, or German Game of the Year, which evaluates board games based on their game concept, rule structure, layout, and design. “It’s simple to play, a breeze to teach, and utterly addictive.” Word-association games are a great choice to play with friends in larger groups because they are “full of inside joke possibilities and they let you make new memories by reliving old ones,” explains Meeple Mountain founder Andy Matthews. “Hands down, Just One is our favorite new party game,” says Demers.

In our roundup of the best board games to break out during parties, five of our experts praised Just One.

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