Honest BOARD.fun Review for Families with Teenagers

I purchased Board with my own money. The company didn't send me one, didn't ask me to write this review, and hasn't seen it before publication. Everything below is my honest, completely unsponsored opinion after using it with my family. 

For months, my Instagram Reels were full of BOARD.fun ads. Every time one popped up, I was intrigued. 

Since it's a pretty big purchase, I didn't want to buy it on impulse. Before ordering, I searched everywhere for a Board review for teenagers, but most reviews featured younger kids. I couldn't find a single one saying it was worth it for a household of older kids! 

For reference, my boys are 17, 15, and 13.

Why Board? 

Our family loves board games, and we play them often. We do play some video games (mostly Nintendo Switch), but we're definitely more of a board game family. Board sits somewhere in the middle, it has video game elements, but to us it feels much more like a modern board game.

One thing to keep in mind is that if your teenagers primarily love fast-paced video games, they may not find Board as fun as we have. I bought it because I wanted something that would get us gathered around a table and playing together, not because I was looking for another video game. In that respect, Board has absolutely delivered.

This isn't going to be another review explaining what Board is, listing every game, or walking through the technical specs. There are already plenty of reviews that cover all of that, and you can find those details on the BOARD.fun website.

This review is for the parents asking the same question I was:

Is Board actually worth buying if you have teenagers?


Overall First Impression

Overall...I'm really glad we bought it. We've had our Board for a few months now, and it gets played almost every day. That's probably the biggest compliment I can give it, it's not something we were excited about for a week and then forgot about. 

Setup was incredibly easy. From opening the box to playing our first game only took a few minutes. The board itself also feels really well made and high quality. The packaging was also spot on. 

One tip if you're thinking about buying one: sign up for the BOARD.fun email list. That's what I did, and after a little while they sent out a promotion saying Board was $100 off that weekend. That sale was what finally convinced me to buy it.

Playability

One thing Board gets right is that it feels different from both traditional board games and regular video games. The pieces for the games make it unique and fun! 

Everyone gathers around the board, you're interacting face-to-face, and it still has the excitement and animations of a video game. It scratches both itches at the same time.

The pieces have worked great for us and feel very intuitive to use with the board.

All About the Games

One of the things I like about Board is that new games will continue to be added over time. The one thing to know is that additional games are not automatically included, you do have to purchase them separately as they are released.

When I bought Board, I also purchased the Signature Game Collection, and I am so glad I did. Those games have easily been our most-played games by far. Honestly, I don't think we would have used BOARD.fun nearly as much without them.

The arcade-style games that come preloaded on Board are fine, but my boys only played those a few times. They didn't hold their interest nearly as much as the Signature Collection games did. I can see younger kids really enjoying the preloaded games more, but since this review is focused on teenagers, these are the games that have been the biggest hits for us:

Omakase — This is a sushi-themed strategy game, and it has been our number one favorite. We have played this one constantly. It has enough strategy to keep my teenagers interested, but it is still easy enough to jump into without a long learning curve.

Chop Chop — This one is fast-paced and cooperative, which I love because everyone is working together instead of getting overly competitive. When friends come over, this is the game that gets played the most.

Strata + Daily Build — Daily Build is a great individual puzzle because you can choose the level of difficulty. Strata is my husband and son's favorite, and it has been one of the best options for anyone who likes a more puzzle/strategy-style game.

For younger kids, Save the Bloogs and Mushka were the biggest hits with some younger kids I watched, so those may be better options if your family has a wider age range.

I'm not going to go into detail about every single game because the BOARD.fun website already does a great job of explaining them. We have played all of them, though, and the games above are the ones that have kept my teenagers coming back.

I'm also excited to see what new games are released in the future. More games will make Board even more worth it for us.

The Biggest Negative 

Board has to stay plugged in while you're playing...

That may not sound like a huge deal, but for us it actually changes how we use it.

Our dining table, the place we'd naturally play board games, doesn't have a convenient outlet nearby. Instead of gathering comfortably around the table, we have to play wherever we can reach a plug.

That takes away a little bit of the classic board game feeling, and honestly, I wish the photos on the website showed this more clearly. It's not a deal-breaker, but have been my biggest frustration. 

Pros

  • Teenagers actually keep coming back
  • Easy setup
  • High-quality hardware
  • Great strategy games
  • Encourages family time

Cons

  • Must stay plugged in
  • Best games require additional purchase
  • Expensive without a sale

Would I Recommend It?

If your kids are around the same ages as mine (13–17) and your family already enjoys board games, I do recommend it.

It isn't perfect, and there are things I'd love to see improved, but the amount of family time and laughter we've gotten out of it has made it worth the purchase.

If I were deciding today with everything I know now, I'd still buy it again. If your teenagers already enjoy sitting around the table to play games together, I think Board is one of the few tech products that actually encourages more family interaction instead of less. It's expensive, especially if you add the Signature Collection, but after months of almost daily use, I don't regret buying it!

Hope that helps -Em