Funny board games: eight games that get people genuinely laughing

A game can be fun without being funny. There are plenty of games that give you a pleasant evening without anyone laughing out loud. Funny board games do something different: the joke is built into the rules themselves, and that is exactly why they work.

Eight of them below, each with the number of players, the age and the playing time. Looking for a broader list of games for a sociable evening? Then take a look at our fun board games.

Where is the humour in a board game?

Rarely in the pictures. A box full of funny drawings will get a smile at most when you unpack it.

The laughter comes from the moment someone gives themselves away. That might be because they say the wrong word, because they think for too long, or because their hand shakes at exactly the wrong moment. A game that reliably produces that kind of moment is funny. All eight below do.

De Weerwolven van Wakkerdam

8 to 18 players, ages 10+, about 30 minutes.

For many people, this is the game where the word party game begins. The village sleeps, the werewolves pick someone, and during the day the table has to work out who did it. One player is the game master and does not play.

The humour does not come from the game but from the people. Someone defends themselves just a little too fiercely, someone else stays silent for exactly one second too long, and the whole table pounces on the wrong person. Now and then someone is knocked out, which means they watch the rest of the round; with a big group that is rarely a problem. From eight players, and it gets better the more people join in. De Weerwolven van Wakkerdam

A Fake Artist Goes to New York

5 to 10 players, ages 8+, about 15 minutes.

Everyone takes turns adding one line to the same drawing. All but one of the players know what is being drawn. That one player has to join in without giving themselves away, and the others have to show that they do know without letting it slip.

The result is usually an unrecognisable scribble that everyone studies with a straight face. And there is always someone who draws far too much detail and makes themselves look suspicious precisely because of it. Shorter and easier to set up than Weerwolven (published in English as The Werewolves of Miller's Hollow), and you do not need a game master. A Fake Artist Goes to New York

Sheriff of Nottingham

3 to 6 players, ages 14+, about 45 minutes.

You put goods in a pouch, slide it over to the sheriff and tell them what is inside. Usually that is not true. The sheriff may open the pouch, and if they catch you out, it costs you money; if they open it while you were telling the truth, the sheriff pays instead.

What follows is negotiating, offering bribes and looking each other straight in the eye while you lie. That is also the warning: this only works if the group enjoys lying to each other. With some groups it becomes awkward instead of funny. The age limit of fourteen is there for a reason. Sheriff of Nottingham

Camel Up

2 to 8 players, ages 8+, about 30 minutes.

Five camels race around a pyramid and you bet on who will win. The thing is, camels do not run neatly one behind the other: they land on each other's backs and get carried along. The camel that seemed to be in last place is suddenly on top of a stack that is racing in the right direction.

That is where the cheering and groaning come from. You have just put your money on the blue camel, and then the yellow one carries it three spaces the wrong way. Of the eight games on this page, this is the one with a proper game board and the most components, and with eight players it gets pretty noisy at the table. Camel Up

Kakkerlakkensalade

2 to 6 players, ages 6+, about 10 minutes.

Say what you see, except when that is exactly what is forbidden. There is a taboo vegetable on the table, and whoever slips up gets the whole pile. That is all there is to it, and that is all it needs.

Within two rounds, everyone is correcting themselves halfway through a word, which is just about the funniest sound a human can make. BoardGameGeek files this game under humour for good reason. For ages 6 and up, and adults lose just as badly. Kakkerlakkensalade

Happy Salmon

3 to 8 players, ages 6+, about 10 minutes.

Everyone calls out what is on their card at the same time and looks for the person calling out the same thing. When you find them, you do a high five, a handshake or a salmon slap together, and you can get rid of the card. The first to run out wins.

There is no thinking and a great deal of very loud shouting. Of all the games on this page, Happy Salmon delivers the most laughs per minute, and with eight people at once it is pure noise. Ten minutes is just right.

Stomp Stomp Chomp

2 to 5 players, ages 6+, about 10 minutes.

It starts before a single card has been turned over: everyone shouts stomp stomp chomp together. Then you collect mushrooms until the third bear turns up.

That is when all hell breaks loose. Whoever draws the bear has to grab a spoon straight away; meanwhile the rest try to get mushrooms to safety with the dice as fast as they can. There is grabbing, there is shrieking, and someone always knocks their glass over. That makes Stomp Stomp Chomp the game on this page that gets the loudest laughs.

Ham Helsing

1 to 4 players, ages 10+, a good hour.

Pig heroes hunting vampires, in a cooperative adventure in which you build up your deck together. The cards are transparent and you stack them on top of each other, so the combination does something the individual cards cannot.

This is the odd one out on the list, and that is deliberate. Where most of the titles above are done within three quarters of an hour, here you are busy for a good hour. The humour lies in the world and the illustrations, not in what happens between the players. Looking for something short for a quick fit of the giggles? Then choose something else; if you want an evening with a grin on your face, this is the one. We wrote a review of it earlier. Ham Helsing

Which game suits your group?

If there are children joining in, choose Kakkerlakkensalade (published in English as Cockroach Salad), Happy Salmon or Stomp Stomp Chomp. All three are explained within a minute, all three are over within ten minutes, and all three can be played from age six.

With a big group, it depends on how many people there are. From eight upwards, De Weerwolven van Wakkerdam is the best choice, and it keeps working up to eighteen players. Below that, A Fake Artist Goes to New York is the game that hits the table fastest, and its drawings will be doing the rounds in the group chat for days.

For a mixed group of children and adults, Camel Up works best: everyone understands a race and everyone can join in the betting. And if you have a group that knows each other well enough to be allowed to lie, Sheriff of Nottingham is the game you will be talking about longest afterwards. You will find more ideas for an evening like that in our piece on games night.