8 Best Games For College Students That You Should Know Update 04/2024

Great Western Trail Board Game

When you think of board games, Monopoly, Life, or Candyland might be the first ones that come to mind.

Even though these games are fun, by the time you’re a young adult, they can get a little old. Also, there are so many other tabletop games that it’s hard to keep track of them all.

College is a time to try new things, like board games, and learn about yourself.

Here are the best board games for college students to get you started.

Try one, try them all, find a new favourite hobby, or give the gift of a lifelong obsession!

Catan

Catan Board Game

Catan, also called Settlers of Catan, is the perfect board game for college students. Many people played this game for the first time in school and haven’t been able to stop since.

It’s an addicting strategy game where you collect and trade resources to take over an island. Catan can be played with 3–4 people (or more if you buy the expansion) and keeps everyone’s attention, even if they don’t usually like board games.

THIS is the board game I’d play for the rest of my life if I could only play one.

Secret Hitler

Secret Hitler is a game that starts strong right away. I mean, just the name makes me want to know more!

What is it then?

Secret Hitler is a game about making up lies, and it gets people very excited. Everyone will yell at some point. But in a good way, since by the end of the game everyone is laughing and having a good time.

Even though each round only takes 20–30 minutes, college students often get lost in the game for hours. This board game is a great way to have fun with a group of friends while also getting better at putting on a poker face and lying.

Great Western Trail Board Game

Great Western Trail Board Game

Great Western Trail has a lot of depth for a tabletop game where the main goal is to move cattle from Texas to Kansas City.

The game is tough and fun, and the board changes every time you play to keep things interesting. Rules that are hard to understand take time to learn, but once you do, you’ll want to play again and again.

Great Western Trail will be a lot of fun for college students who like to play board games.

CLUE: Harry Potter Edition

Harry Potter is still very popular even though the last book in the series came out more than 10 years ago.

It seems like every college student grew up reading the books or watching the movies. Because of this, everything about Harry Potter brings back a lot of memories.

CLUE: Harry Potter Edition is a board game that every true fan needs to have. This new take on the classic mystery game is a lot of fun!

Puzzle 

Puzzle 

This creative group game gives college students a chance to work together and think about abstract ideas in a new way.

You can turn your plan of work into puzzles that more than one student will have to solve.

Details of the game: First, divide the class into groups. Then, give each group a puzzle to put together.

Or, you can make 5–10 puzzles, and each puzzle can have 10 clues. Put all the clue pieces in a bowl and let the students pick one at random. Then, students can start matching clues with other students to find all the clues that are related to theirs.

So, students will have to work and look for each other to form their own groups. After that, each group will figure out how to solve the puzzle by putting together what each clue means.

This activity is like a treasure hunt and a mystery, and it gets all of the students working together in groups.

Quiz Challenges

Quiz is a fun and interesting game that can be used as a team-building activity in the classroom to test any college student’s knowledge in any subject.

Details about the game: Once you’ve made or found a quiz, you can give it to your students and they can do it on any device. If it’s a quiz game that they can play online, they can play it. Apps like Quizalize tell students right away how they did, so they can keep track of their score as they play.

Classroom Charades

Classroom Charades

This is a simple game that most college students have played before. It’s a great way to get your students up from their desks and involved in the lesson.

Details of the Game: You can choose a student to stand in front of the class and act out a word from your topic. Now it’s up to the rest of the class to figure out what the student is trying to show.

Split your students into two groups is another way to do this. Each person from one group steps forward one at a time.

The other team says a word or phrase that has to do with what you are teaching.

Then, the student in front has to act out a phrase or word without saying it, and his or her teammates have to guess what it is.

What’s Your Problem?

“What’s your problem?” is a fun game for college students to play with a group. Students like to complain, especially about teachers, moderators, and their strict rules.

You can use this open game as a group activity for students to talk about their problems and what they think about them.

Details about the game: You can split the class into two groups. Then, ask a student from the first group, “What’s your problem with…”

Then, a student from the other team has to come up with a way to solve the first problem.

Once that problem is solved, the team that gave the answer will say what their problem is and the other team will say what their answer is.

It keeps going around until all of the questions have been asked.

This activity is very interesting because it helps people think critically, solve problems, and understand other people’s points of view.