Playing board games can be a lot of fun for the whole family. While they might not be as exciting as video games, do not dismiss board game night as something less than fun. Planning for game night will ensure it is a success and will make everyone excited for the big night to roll around.

Choose a night that is the best for everyone. During the weekday, it is hard to have a game night since work and school can interfere. There's homework to do and prep work that must be done. Usually the best nights are either a Friday or Saturday night.

Keep the family meal simple. There is no need for Mom to have to cook something complicated for family game night. Make it a pizza night or taco night. Either order out or prepare something ahead of time. Game night is suppose to be a fun night for everyone. Once the meal is done, have everyone chip in to clean up so that the game playing can begin that much faster.

Let everyone choose one game to play. This way everyone will have a game to look forward to playing. Some games take longer to play than others, so it might be best to limit which games can be played on game night so that everyone gets a chance to play a game they want to play.

Establish house rules for longer board games. By agreeing to house rules of certain games can make the games shorter. Suppose half the family loves Monopoly and wants to play it for game night. Knowing that a game can take longer than an hour, you might want to consider amending the rules for winning the game like when someone accumulates a certain amount of cash or when they have five hotels in play.

Be flexible. The most important aspect of family game night is family. If a game begins to drag or it becomes not such a fun option, then wrap it up as fast as possible and move on.

A little planning and having game options for the entire family will help to make your first game night a success. It's always fun to spend time with the family and kids will have a blast having the family's undivided attention. So, dig into the back of the closet and pull out the board games. A fun night awaits for everyone.