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I’m declaring it now: 2026 is the year of girl game nights. Maybe it’s my recent obsession with Mahjong and Rummy that’s creating the desire to create a routine game night with friends, but girls’ game night has truly become one of the things I look forward to during the week. It’s been such a fun way to get together, catch up, and have wholesome fun.
Whether you’re interested in starting a Mahjong club, Bunco group, or hosting a monthly game night with your besties, I’ve rounded up the best games to play. Choose one or two to rotate between, make some yummy snacks, and start playing. It may be the change your monthly (or weekly) girl night needs!
1. Mahjong
Mahjong is the game to play this year. It takes some time to learn, but once it clicks, you’ll be hooked. It’s a game where the combination of strategy, number patterns, tile play, and pure luck helps you get far and possibly win (or “mahjong”). It’s truly so fun!
Plus, once you get into a routine of playing with friends, you can start to switch things up with new tile collections, racks, and game mat patterns.
Curious about how to start playing? Here are 7 things you should know before you start playing.
The Minimal Line Mahjong Tiles
The Americana Line Mahjong Tiles
2. Rummy
I played Rummy for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and absolutely loved it. It’s similar to Mahjong in some ways, but it’s equally its own game with different rules and different strategies to the gameplay. Rummy is a 4-person game, so if your friend group is bigger, then you’ll need a couple of tables to set a game for each group.
Rummy Tile Set: Plum
Original Rummikub Game Set
3. Backgammon
Backgammon is making a comeback this year. The game involves checker-style tiles, the luck of a dice, and some strategy from the players. While it is a two-person game, you could set up a few people at a table and rotate through players, allowing you to play with multiple people.
Blue Backgammon Set
Raffia Backgammon Set
4. Bunco
Bunco is possibly one of my favorite girls’ night games to play. I grew up playing it with friends, and my mom hosted Bunco nights at our house every month. It’s such a great way to gather friends, laugh, and have high-energy gameplay.
Two teams are competing at each table. You move around to different tables, keep score of your points, and have the possibility of winning prizes in the end. You never truly know how the game is going to go, because it all depends on the luck of the dice number combinations you roll.
Bunco Game Kit
Bunco Score Sheets
5. Basic Card Games
In my opinion, there’s truly nothing better than a classic card game. Whether it’s Cheat (BS), Spoons, or Crazy Eights, you can’t go wrong with your decision. For a girls’ game night, I think it would be fun to set up a couple of different tables with different card games to rotate through.
Double Playing Cards
Poker Cards
6. The Traitors
If you love the Peacock series, Traitors, then you’re going to love the board game. Like the show, players are secretly designated Traitors or Faithfuls, where they partner with players to build the prize pot and “murder” people throughout the game. It’s essentially a branded version of the classic card game, Mafia.
The Traitors Game
7. Farkle
Farkle is another fun dice game to play with friends. When it’s your turn, you roll a set of six dice, choosing to set aside some dice that could be potential scoring combinations. You can choose to roll the remaining dice to see if you can score further or risk rolling again, before moving on to the next player. If you roll no scoring dice combinations on your turn, that’s a “Farkle,” giving you zero points.
This is a great game option if you’re looking for something slightly risky, intriguing, but casual too.
Farkle Dice Game
8. Phase 10
Lastly, but certainly not least on the list of girls’ night game options is Phase 10. This is essentially the card game version of Rummy. It’s a 2-6 person game where you individually compete to create specific “phases”. The different “phases” could be runs, sets, or colors. This game can get competitive and take a while to get through a session, making it super entertaining at times.
