Circulating Board Game Collection

Playing board games has been proven to offer a number of educational and therapeutic benefits, including building cognitive skills in children and reducing the risk of cognitive decline in adults.  It's a stress reliever and a wonderful opportunity for families to spend time together and de-stress.  Plus -- they're fun!

East Rutherford Memorial Library has started a collection of board games that East Rutherford patrons can borrow for free.  (Click here for full borrowing policy.)  The following games can be borrowed for seven days and are renewable one time as long as there are no Reserves on the item:
RISK

The inimitable game of “global domination” by using brute force, strategic diplomacy, and logical maneuvering, 2-5 players fight to take over the world. Played on a large map of the seven continents, each player assumes an army with the intention of capturing territories, which consequentially leads to more armies. Allies are made, and enemies eliminated, but there can only be one winner in the game of world domination.

Ages 10+
Average Game Time:  1-5 hours.
CONNECT FOUR

Two players separately choose opposing colors and alternately place colored disks into a 7x6 suspended grid. Players continue placing pieces until four are connected horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.

Ages 6+

Average game time:  5-10 minutes.
Chutes and Ladders

Fun without Words! ‘Chutes and Ladders’ is simple and easy to play, with no reading required. Be first to land on the 100 spot and win the game. The process is sped up by climbing ladders up the board. But beware: landing on chutes will have you sliding back down and losing your position.

Ages 4+

Average game time:  15-30 minutes.
Trouble

Simple and fun board game where 2-4 players move pegs using a “Pop-O-Matic” die roller, and race each other to move their four colored pegs around the board first.

Ages 5+

Average game time:  15-30 minutes.
Taboo

An exciting vocabulary game where the objective is for players to have their partners guess the word on the player's card without using the word itself. To make it tougher, the five most common associated words are not allowed to be used as hints. Four or more players.  Great for parties and large groups.

Ages 13+

Average game time:  20 minutes.
Apples to Apples

A popular vocabulary game for four to eight players. Each round, a noun is selected, and players use their separate hands of adjective cards to ascribe which adjective “best” describes the noun. However, a rotating judge subjectively selects the “best” adjective each round, making the game highly fun, debatable, and downright hysterical.

Ages 12+

Average game time:  10+ minutes.
Blokus

A perfect strategy game for the whole family. 2-4 players take turns placing their 21 pieces on a grid board: each piece must touch another of the same color, but only at the corners. Stake your claim and protect your territory by fitting as many of your pieces on the board as possible while strategically blocking your opponents. Fun, competitive, and a great opportunity to practice spatial reasoning.

Ages 7+

Average game time:  30 minutes.
Uno

The classic card game in which 2-10 players race to get rid of all of their cards. Players are distributed an initial hand of seven cards, which individually contain a number and color. Alternating players can either place down a card of the same color or the same number as the card already down but need to pick up more cards if they are unable to do so. Added excitement comes in as special cards add unique abilities to change up the gameplay.

Ages 7+

Average game time:  10 minutes.
Scrabble

Scrabble is the ultimate crossword game in which every letter counts. Grab your friends and take turns forming words on the board (2-4 players). After playing your turn, count the value of all the letters in every new word that you formed.  Don't forget the bonus points for placing letters on premium squares. Double letter! Triple word! It's all about playing words on the high-scoring hotspots to get ahead.  At the end of the game, the player with the highest score wins.

Ages 8+

Average game time: 50 Minutes
Jenga

This block-balancing game requires a steady hand.  Who will make the tower fall?  Pull out a block without crashing the stack to win.  Players take turns removing one block at a time from a tower constructed of 54 blocks.  Each block removed is then placed on top of the tower, creating a progressively taller (and shakier!) structure.

Ages 6+

Average game time: 5 - 15 minutes
Hungry, Hungry Hippos

A tabletop game made for 2-4 players.  The object of the game is for each player to collect as many marbles as possible by trapping them in their hippo's "mouth."

Ages 4+

Average game time: 10 minutes
Candy Land

It's the classic beginner game.  This sweet version of the beloved board game features a race to the castle.  2 - 4 players will encounter all kinds of delicious surprises as they draw cards and move their pieces around the colorful board.

Ages 3 - 6

Average game time: 15 - 20 minutes
Very Hungry Caterpillar ABC Game

The exciting game of letter finding fun!  Based on the classic children's book, the game features Eric Carle's timeless characters and vibrant artwork.  Player spin the spinner and seek out the card that matches the letter on the space they land on.  The game introduces children to the alphabet and teaches the difference between big and little letters.  For 2 - 4 players.

Ages 3+

Average game time: 15 minutes
Wits & Wages Family Edition

A trivia game where kids can beat their parents!  This edition features simpler rules and all new family-friendly questions.  It's a great game for parents to play with their kids or for kids to paly with each other.  Each player writes down their answer to a fun questions, and then players score points by "wagering" on which answer is closer to the correct one. For 3 to 10 players or teams.

Ages 6 to adult

Average game time:  30 minutes
Chess/Checkers

Two classic games that make learning strategy fun! 
2 Players.

Ages 5+

Average game time: 20 minutes