Remember when you were a kid and you would rush down the hallway to that one closet that was practically exploding with board games? You would search and search and finally pick out the perfect game to play with your friends?

No? Just me?

With an absolute abundance of available board games today, it’s no wonder that we have put some of our past favorites back into that closet and closed the door for good. There is no shortage of family, RPG, party, strategy, and co-op games out there. With so many to choose from, where do you start?

My suggestion…start at the beginning!

Go back in time to remember why you fell in love with board games in the first place. Take a break from trying to destroy your friends in online combat, and start trying to make your family cry in Monopoly! Stop mindlessly binging the latest detective show on Hulu, and start narrowing down suspects in Clue or Guess Who. Have a cheat day from your diet and step into Candy Land!

Some games have been left on those shelves because they have been played out. If some of your classic games seem like you’ve played them too much or they’re just too boring now, here’s a list of updated rules to draw the excitement back in.

1. Jenga

There’s nothing like the thrill of waiting anxiously in silence as the Jenga tower teeters to one side…then to the other…then BANG! Down it falls to the cheers, whoops, and devastated screams of players.

Jenga is such a simple game to play, but brings with it unbelievable excitement. If you are unsure that the simple rules will suit your game needs, try one of the many variations available. Some are just changes in rules, such as a single block stack on the top instead of three block groups, and some are more complicated like Jenga: Tetris.

A simple addition would be to add truth or dare actions on each of the blocks. When someone pulls a block, they have to do that action!

2. Battleship

As a two-player game, what better game to play for date night! Pull out Battleship, place your ships, and start firing away!

To enhance the experience with Battleship, you can play with multiple levels or even themed games like Star Wars Battleship. Get into character and talk like pirates or sea-hardened captains!

3. Hungry Hungry Hippo

A classic among many, Hungry Hungry Hippo is a game of speed and chaos. Feed your hippo as quickly as you can while distracting the other players away from the hippo food! Great game to play with kids or make it a drinking game for 21 and over! To add a little variety, add a different colored marble that is a prize or punishment. In the turmoil, it’s sometimes impossible to avoid munching that marble!

4. Clue

If you’ve played this game as much as I have, you can get pretty bored of the normal, “Miss Scarlet in the library with a wrench,” thing. My favorite idea with clue is to have family and friends create their own character, item, and place cards! This brings a bit of realism to the game and gets everyone involved.

“Billy with his broken laptop in the Ether!”

5. Candy Land

This game is much more fun when there is actual candy involved! Get a few different kinds of candy and make each space color or territory worth some amount of candy. If you have to go back or something bad happens, give up your candy. Whoever has the most candy at the end, wins!

This can be translated into a drinking game as well!

6. Perfection

This classic speed game was one of my favorites as a kid. A variation of this game is to have at least 2 people and each takes turns placing a shape. Before they place the shape, they have to do their best dance move, with no repeats among the group. They then place the shape to finish their turn. If the time springs during their move, they lose! You can determine what their punishment is!

7. Operation

The easiest update to this game is to lose a body part each time you buzz! If you use your right hand and the buzzer goes off, you can’t use your right hand anymore. Switch to your left hand at your next turn. If the buzzer goes off again, you’re down both hands. How good are you at using your teeth?

If you run out of appendages, take a punishment, such as a shot for adults or a lap around the living room for kids, and start over.

Hopefully, this list gives you a few ideas of how you can bring some variety into your next game night. Dust off those old, classic games and give them another try!