For years, board games have taken center stage on the last day and evening of the year. There were times when we hosted retro parties—like playing Hase und Igel—and other times when we introduced less board game-savvy friends to the hobby. But lately, it has become increasingly important that our older daughter, who’s almost 8, can also join in with the chosen games. In fact, this year, that was the top priority: for her to play alongside the adults all the way through, with her stepping up rather than us stepping down.

Here’s the stack of games we played through:

Okay, she was just an observer for Heat—along with her little sister :)—but after that, she played through the rest of the games with us.

We started with a casual round of Harry Potter Dobble. We already like and know the base game, and the Harry Potter theme is a big hit in our house—though the book itself isn’t exactly a favorite, which, to be honest, I find quite refreshing. In any case, it’s especially fun to play Dobble when we can’t precisely name the matches we find.

I love classic games, so they often make an appearance at home. Carcassonne is one of the cornerstones of board gaming culture, and its simple elegance still provides a perfect gaming experience even today.

We even had time for a game test. I’m working on a drafting memory game that has already gone through over 50 test plays, and so far, it’s looking very promising. If I get feedback from a publisher, I’ll be sure to share it here as well. In any case, alongside Dobble, we played several rounds of this game too.

Skull is one of my favorite party games. I love games that rely on minimal components and a simple idea yet deliver a complete experience—and this is exactly that kind of game. To be fair, it’s only truly enjoyable with the right group. I’ve played it with kids who just trolled the game by constantly playing skulls—they didn’t want to score points, just mess with others. Those weren’t exactly high-quality sessions. But this time, all the positives of the game really came through.

To wrap things up, we took on Through the Desert. In hindsight, it wasn’t the best decision to play it at the end of the evening—everyone would’ve done better if we were fresher. But I was thrilled that we finally learned it and could add it to our shared repertoire.

What did you play? Let us know!