Excite your mind, try out a new hobby, learn a new skill, or just have fun with our new Take and Tinker collection! A collection of tools, games, and other items that you wouldn't expect to find in a library! Take and Tinker is generously funded by Friends of the Whitefish Bay Public Library! Help them out by becoming a Friend!

Browse our collection of board games and reserve an item with your library card! Items have a 7-day checkout (with a 3-day grace) and can be renewed up to 2 times if no one is waiting. Late fees are $.50 per day. Items can only be picked up at Whitefish Bay Public Library. Also browse our board games when you are at the library! Board games are located right near the Adult Services Desk.

Check out our Board Games as well as our Board Games for Families and Younger Children. Place a hold on items through CountyCat:
 

Board Games

Apples to Apples- Player selects the card from his hand that seems best described by a card played by the judge. If the judge picks his card, he wins that round. Everyone gets a chance to be the judge. Each round is filled with surprising comparisons from a wide range of people, places, things and events.
4 to 8 players, Ages 12 and up

Apples to Apples, Junior Edition- 
Select the card from your hand that you think is best described by a card played by the judge. If the judge picks your card, you win that round. Everyone gets a chance to be the judge. Each round is filled with ... comparisons from a wide range of people, places, things and events.
4 to 10 players, Ages 9 and up

Azul- Players compete as artisans decorating the walls of the royal Palace of Dvora. By carefully drafting the correct Quantity and style of tiles, the most clever of artisans plan ahead to maximize the beauty of their work (not to mention their scores!) while ensuring they wasted no supplies in the process
2 to 4 players, 30-45 minutes of play, Ages 8 and up

Buildzi- BUILDZI is fun because it's fast and easy to learn. Flip over your Tower Card or Block Card and be the first to build your block tower. For more of a challenging tower game try using the yellow/black side of the Tower Card, these towers are a bit trickier to build and don't have colors to help identify the blocks.
2 to 4 Players,  Ages 6 and up

Cards Against Humanity: Family Edition- It’s not just the regular game with all the adult stuff taken out. We rewrote the whole thing and playtested it with thousands of families. Includes 600 cards packed with groundbreaking toilet humor, such as “Filling my butt with spaghetti” and “A cloud that rains diarrhea.” 
3 to 8 players, Ages 8 and up

Catan: Trade, Build, Settle- Your adventurous settlers seek to tame the remote but rich isle of Catan. Start by revealing Catan's many harbors and regions: pastures, fields, mountains, hills, forests, and desert. The random mix creates a different board virtually every game. No two games are the same! Embark on a quest to settle the isle of Catan. 
3 to 4 players, 1 hour of play, Ages 10 and up

Dixit- Dixit is an exciting game of storytelling through imagination and clues. The 84 artistically designed cards tell a different story for every individual and put creativity to the test!
3 to 6 players, 30 minutes of play, Ages 8 and up

Dominion- Players compete with each other to assemble larger domains. The player with the most victory points at game end wins.
2 to 4 players, 30 minutes of play, Ages 14 and up

Downfall of Pompeii-
Can you escape the inferno? It's the year of the Consulship of Augustus and Vespasianus. The rich, beautiful Roman city of Pompeii sits at the foot of majestic Mount Vesuvius. Renowned for exotic, easy and ample luxury, the wealthy town attracts the best of Rome's proud citizens. But a terrible secret lies deep beneath the slopes of the mighty mountain. A primeval secret is about to unleash unspeakable horrors on this fateful afternoon. The mountain, so very long asleep, is finally reawakening. 
2 to 4 players, 45 minutes of play, Ages 10 and up 

Dungeons and Dragons Essential Kit- Set off on your first Dungeons & Dragons adventure with one box full of everything you need to start playing D&D with your friends. Dungeons & Dragons is a cooperative storytelling game that harnesses your imagination and invites you to explore a fantastic world of adventure, where heroes battle monsters, find treasures, and overcome epic quests. This box contains the essentials you need to run a D&D game with a Dungeon Master and one to five adventurers.
1-6 players, Ages 12 and up

Dungeons and Dragons Starter Set- Get started playing Dungeons & Dragons with the Starter Set! Containing everything you need to leap into a D&D adventure, this boxed set is designed for five to six players, with one of you taking on the role of the game’s lead storyteller, the Dungeon Master.
4-6 players, Ages 12 and up

Exploding Kittens- Players draw cards until someone draws an exploding kitten, at which point they explode, they are dead, and they are out of the game -- unless that players has a defuse card, which can defuse the kitten using things like laser pointers, belly rubs, and catnip sandwiches. All of the other cards in the deck are used to move, mitigate, or avoid the exploding kittens.
2 to 5 players, 15 minutes of play, Ages 7 and up

Fluxx Doctor Who- Doctor Who Fluxx takes Fluxx through Time And Relative Dimension In Space. It all begins with one basic rule: Draw one card, play one card. You start with a hand of three cards, add the card you drew to your hand, and then choose one card to play, following the directions written on your chosen card. As cards are drawn and played from the deck, the rules of the game change from how many cards are drawn and played to how many cards you can hold at the end of your turn.
2 to 6 players, 5-30 minutes of play, Ages 8 and up

Fluxx Marvel- Any fan of the world of Marvel will have a blast playing this unique card game. Flux games are all about change. The game begins with just a couple of simple rules, then becomes more complex little by little as additional rule cards are played. At first there will be no way to win—that's what goal cards are for. Each goal card has a different victory Condition, but they all require you to collect special cards called Keepers. As soon as someone's collection of Keepers matches the current goal card, they win!
2 to 6 players, 5-30 minutes of play, Ages 8 and up

Forbidden Island- Forbidden Island : secluded retreat of the ancient empire of the Archeans, and hiding place of the Archeans' four treasures. Your team of adventurers must work together to keep Forbidden Island from sinking in order to have time to capture those treasures.
2 to 4 players, 30 minutes of play, Ages 10 and up

Game of Life- Pick an SUV, hop in and take a spin! You better buckle up, it may be a bumpy ride. Do you want to go to college or jum right in and start a career? Will you get a great jobwith a gigantic salary? Will you hae a house full of kids? The object is to retire in style- so life to the fullest and have fun!
2-6 players, Ages 9 and up

Gloom: the Game of Inauspicious Incidents & Grave Consequences- Players assume control of the fate of an eccentric family of misfits and misanthropes. The goal of the game is for players' characters to suffer the greatest tragedies possible before dying. Game ends when an entire family is eliminated. Players total Pathos points on each character's Character cards, adding to get total Family Value ; player with lowest total Family Value wins.
2 to 4 players, 60 minutes of play, Ages 13 and up

HIMIKU Blocks- Inspired by the Japanese Minimalist design, the Himiku™ Blocks are thoughtfully crafted to stimulate Creative Thinking and Open-Ended Play. A Different Take On Play, Education and Décor? Our classy and aesthetic blocks captivate the minds of both adults and children alike. 
Ages 3 and up

Karnickel- Everybunny knows that rabbits love the countryside — and carrots, of course! The best carrots of all grow between the train tracks, but you have to keep an eye out for trains! Roll the dice and hop your rabbit to the best carrot patch; as long as you don't need to flee out of the path of the train, you can happily nibble away. Chomp, chomp, chomp...
2 to 4 players, 15 minutes of play, Ages 6 and up

Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot- A fast paced, action filled card game, in which you must try to keep as many bunnies alive as possible while eliminating your opponents' bunnies.
2 to 8 players, 45 minutes of play, Ages 13 and up

King of Tokyo-Play a GigaMonster on a rampage, destroying everything in his way! Roll the dice to get the best combinations to heal yourself, to attack, to buy special cards, or to gain Victory Points. It's up to you to choose the best tactic so you can become King of Tokyo just in time to get rid of all your opponents in one devastating attack.
2 to 6 players, 30 minutes of play, Ages 8 and up

Mille Bornes-A cross-country race through France sets the stage as you earn mileage points, overcome traffic hazards, and sabotage your opponents. The first player to lay down 1,000 miles of cards wins the game!
2, 3, 4 or 6 players, 25-45 minutes of play, Ages 8 and up

Mysterium- In this asymmetric cooperative game, one player adopts the role of the ghost and the others play as psychics. All players share the same goal of shedding light on the strange circumstances surrounding the ghost's death and laying his spirit to rest at last. Unable to speak, the ghost attempts to communicate by sending visions to the gathered psychics, who will be ble to reconstruct the events of the fateful evening by correctly interpreting these ethereal messages. Cooperation and inspired guesswork will facilitate their task of unmasking the culprit.
2 to 7 players, 45 minutes of play, Ages 10 and up

Munchkin: Kill the Monsters, Steal the Treasure, Stab Your Buddy- Munchkin is a simple, card-based game chock full o' silliness. 
3 to 6 players, 1-2 hours to play, Ages 10 and up

Munchkin X-Men- In Munchkin: X-Men, players will take on the role of young mutants enrolled at Xavier's school for gifted youngsters, starting at level 1, and work their way up to level 10 to graduate at the head of their class. Players gain levels by defeating iconic Marvel villains, recruiting allies such as Wolverine, declaring an x-affiliation and using special powers and items like silver samurai's Katana.
3 to 4 players, Ages 10 and up

Nefarious the mad scientist game- In Nefarious: The Mad Scientist Game, you are a mad scientist attempting to destroy the world. To do so, you must build terrifying inventions which require research, hard work, and espionage. Unfortunately for you, other mad scientists are trying to steal your evil glory by destroying the world first. Overtake your rivals and become the most notorious mad scientist in history!
2 to 6 players, 20 to 40 minutes of play, Ages 13 and up

No Stress Chess- No stress action cards help the player learn correct moves for each chess piece. Two-sided board shows where to place the pieces to start and the flip side is played without the action cards & you play chess unaided.
2 players, Ages 7 and up

Pandemic- In this game, players collaborate as members of a disease-fighting team combating four deadly diseases. The team travels around the world to stop the infection and develop resources for the cures. Players win by discovering cures for the four diseases, but lose if they do cannot do so fast enough or if they fail to effectively keep the number of infections in check.
2 to 4 players, 45 minutes of play, Ages 8 and up

Photosynthesis- Players use light points to take their trees through their life cycles, from seedlings to fully grown. Then players collect scoring tokens with points proportional to the richness of the soil on which the trees grow.
2 to 4 players, 45 - 60 minutes of play, Ages 8 and up

Prime climb. The beautiful, colorful, mathematical game- Learn and master multiplication, division, factorization and prime number concepts by combining colors. Perfect STEM gift for pre-teens and teens to inspire deeper math learning.
2 to 4 players, Ages 10 and up (or 8 and up with an adult)

Qwirkle : Mix, Match, Score and win- Qwirkle is MindWare’s must-have game and it is easy to see why! Simple to learn, yet strategic and exciting to play, Qwirkle is a favorite of all ages. Build lines of tiles that are all the same color or shape, with no duplicates. Score big by placing a tile that touches multiple pieces with matching attributes. Score even bigger by matching all 6 attributes and creating a Qwirkle!
2 to 4 players, Ages 6 and up

Really Bad Art- READY… SET… DRAW…! It’s the lightning-fast drawing game where you need to draw just well enough to win! Everyone takes one of the 500 phrases and has only 6 SECONDS to draw their best interpretation. Mix them all up and try to guess which scribble matches which phrase. Get your big ideas across and guess correctly to score!
3 to 6 players, Ages 12 and up

Risk!- A board game of military strategy where players lead their armies as they sweep across continents to launch attacks against other players. 
2 to 6 players, 2 hours of play, Ages 8 and up

Rush Hour: Traffic Jam Logic Game- Shift blocking cars and trucks out of your way to clear a path to the exit. 40 brainteaser challenges build problem solving skills.
1 player, Ages 8 and up

Scattergories- Right off the top of your head...can you name a sport, an ice cream flavor, and something in a pet shop, all beginning with the letter B? The trick is to take on 12 categories in 3 minutes or less and not match anyone else's answers! So be creative and seek the unique. Bungee jumping may score better than baseball, boysenberry better than black cherry. With more than 190 categories and 20 letters on the die, no game is ever the same. For crowd-pleasing, fast-thinking fun, the choice is Scattergories!
2 to 6 players, 30 minutes of play, Ages 12 and up

Scrabble: Book Lovers Edition- The Book Lovers Edition of Scrabble features 2 ways to play including traditional Scrabble fun or custom play with a novel twist allowing players to earn bonus points for literary words. All new Plot Twist cards add suspense and drama as players enhance their score with directives for all new custom game play. Game comes complete with a beautifully decorated game board, rich burgundy tiles with gold lettering, 25 Plot Twist cards and a mini book bag to store tiles.
2 to 4 players, 45 minutes of play, Ages 8 and up 

Stuff You Should Know- Fans of the award-winning Stuff You Should Know podcast--and those who are just curious about the world--can experience the show's content in an exciting way with the Trivial Pursuit: Stuff You Should Know game. Get ready to challenge friends as you take turns answering interesting, obscure, and amazing trivia questions.
3-6 players, Ages 16 and up

Sushi Go!- Pass the sushi! In this fast-playing card game, the goal is to grab the best combination of sushi dishes as they whiz by.
2 to 5 players, 15 minutes of play, Ages 8 and up

Takenoko- You must cultivate plots of land using irrigation and intelligence so that bamboo, the only food that the Panda will eat, grows in abundance. But beware of the sacred animal's uncontrollable appetite for crunchy young sprouts.
2 to 4 players, 45 minutes of play, Ages 8 and up

Ticket to Ride- Players attempt to gain the most points through claiming routes and completing paths of routes through North America.
2 to 5 players, 30 - 60 minutes of play, Ages 8 and up

Ticket to Ride: Rails and Sails-  Ticket to Ride Rails & Sails takes you on a railroad and ocean adventure across the entire globe with the world map on one side and the great lakes of North America on the other.
2 to 5 players, 60-120 minutes, Ages 10 and up

Tokaido- The players are travelers in Japan in days of old. They will follow the prestigious Tokaido and try to make this journey as rich an experience as possible.
2 to 5 players, 45 minutes of play, Ages 8 and up

Trekking the National Parks- Family board game where players visit America's national parks. Players compete for points by visiting national parks, claiming park cards and collecting bonus stones.
2 to 5 players, 30 - 60 minutes of play, Ages 10 and up
 

Villainous (Disney)- In this epic contest of sinister power, Take on the role of a Disney villain and strive to achieve your own devious objective. Discover your character's unique abilities and winning strategy while dealing twists of fate to thwart your opponents’ schemes. Find out who will triumph over the forces of good and win it all!
2-6 players, 50 minutes of play, Ages 10 and up

Wingspan- You are bird enthusiasts—researchers, bird watchers, ornithologists, and collectors—seeking to discover and attract the best birds to your network of wildlife preserves. Each bird extends a chain of powerful combinations in one of your habitats (actions). These habitats focus on several key aspects of growth: Gain food tokens via custom dice in a birdfeeder dice tower lay eggs using egg miniatures in a variety of colors draw from hundreds of unique bird cards and play them the winner is the player with the most points after 4 rounds.
1-5 players, 40-70 minutes of play, Ages 10 and up

Wit's End- This remarkable collection of trivia and brain teasers is drawn from every area imaginable- popular culture, history, science, geography, arts, etc. Four unique card categories will baffle and amuse you. Wrap your mind around a Teaser, deduce the Odd-1-Out, figure out the Sequence, or try your luck in the Wild Card category. Wit's end will exercise parts of your brain you forgot you had!
2 to 6 players/teams, Ages 16 and up

Wordplay- Players score points by thinking of words from different categories that contain given letters.
2 to 6 players, Ages 14 and up

Board Game for Families and Younger Children

Animal Upon Animal (Tier auf tier)- Classic Wooden Stacking- Players race each other to be the first to place all of their wooden animals upon the animal pile before any of the other players.
2-4 players, Ages 4 and up

Boggle Jr- In this kids' version of the popular Boggle word game, players are introduced to letter and word recognition, matching, spelling, and memory.
1-2 players, Ages 3 and up

Candy Land- Players encounter all kinds of "delicious" surprises as they move their cute gingerbread man pawn around the path in a race to the castle.
2-4 players, Ages 3 and up

Chutes and Ladders- ‘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.
2-4 players, Ages 4 and up

Clue Detective Game- You're on the case in the ultimate game of who, what, where! You've got suspects, locations, and weapons, now it's up to you to ID the murderer and solve the mystery!
3-6 players, Ages 8 and up

Connect Four- Game begins, both sides alternately place their pieces in turns. When someone gets 4 discs in a row first, then they win.
2 players, Ages 3 and up

Count Your Chickens
The baby chicks have flown the coop and Mama Hen needs help to bring them back. Spin and count numbers to travel and collect chicks while working together. Gather all the chicks and everyone wins! Features cooperative play.
2-4 players, 15 minutes of play, Ages 3 and up

Dinosaur Escape
Your dinosaur friends are lost in the ferns and a volcano is about to blow. Can you help them escape to safety on dinosaur island? Memory, logic and luck will be your guide!
2-4 players, 10 minutes of play, Ages 4 and up

Dominoes- The classic family fun game to help with math, colors and matching.
1 or more players, Ages 4 and up

Feed the Wozzle- The Woozle loves to eat hairy pickles and fuzzy donuts. Can you help feed him 12 crazy treats before all the snacks are gone? A monstrous game of mixed up fun!
2-5 players, Ages 3 and up

Friends and Neighbors
Can you help a little girl who's sad because she's standing out in the rain or a boy who's afraid of the dark? Get a token from the helping bag & see if you can help someone.
1-4 players, 10 minutes of play, Ages 3 and up

Giant Uno- More UNO to love! The same family card game you already know but with cards 3 times larger! Great size for the beach or pool, especially when 8 to 10 people want to play! Just like in classic UNO, match cards by color or number in a race to deplete your hand. Use challenge and wild cards to change the direction of the game. The only thing that could make the matching card game more fun Giant-sized cards! Bigger IS better.
2 to 10 players, 15 minutes of play, Ages 7 and up

Gnomes at Night: Dare to Enter the Maze- Gnomes at Night is a cooperative search-and-find maze game where players work as a team to maneuver the magnetic gnome movers around the maze. Work together in this quick-thinking communication game where every second counts!
2-4 players, 15 minutes of play, Ages 6 and up

Hoot Owl Hoot!- In this color coordinated matching game, players cooperate to help the owls fly back to their nest before the sun comes up. Help all the owls home before sunrise and everyone wins!
2-4 players, Ages 4 and up
 

ITZI- It’z simple! It’z fast! It’z letters! It’z laughs! ITZI is one of the newest award winning creations from the duo that brought you TENZI, SLAPZI, Risky ITZI, and PAIRZI. ITZI is an easy to learn, fast-paced word based card game that rewards creativity and quick thinking.
2-8 players, Ages 8 and up

Mancala- Invented thousands of years ago, Mancala is one of the world's favorite games of counting and strategy.
2 players, Ages 6 and up

Mermaid Island- In this game, players work together to help mermaids swim to Mermaid Island before the witch gets there. Spin, move, and pick up a wand to defeat the Sea Witch!
2-6 players, 15 minutes of play, Ages 5 and up 

Monza Car Racing- A clever but simple children's game that combines color recognition and "thinking ahead" skills. It plays in just 5-10 minutes and takes its name from the Italian city known for its Formula One Grand Prix racing circuit.
2-6 players, Ages 5 and up

Outfoxed: a Cooperative Whodunit Game
"Mrs. Plumpert's prized pot pie has gone missing and it's now a chicken chase to crack the case! Move around the board to gather clues and then use the special evidence scanner to rule out suspects. 
2-4 players, Ages 5 and up

Orchard-  The four fruit-trees are full of fruit. The apples, pears, cherries and plums are ripe and have to be picked quickly, because the crafty raven is eager to pinch some tidbits.
1-8 players, Ages 3 and up

Scary Bingo- Play bingo with a menacing mummy, a bowler-hat wearing yeti, a multi-eyed monster, and many more creepy creatures in this fun and inventive take on the classic game... if you dare.
3-7 players, Ages 3 and up

Scrambled States of America- Quick! Find a state that ends with the letter A. Now find one that borders Tennessee. Have fun learning about the United States in this madcap game of observation and quick reflexes. Collect state cards by matching them to a Scramble challenge. Or “Go the Distance” and find a state’s closest neighbor. Win the most cards and call yourself the Head of States! 
2-4 players, Ages 8 and up

Snug as a Bug in a Rug
All the colorful bugs need your help to get safe and snug before the stinkbugs show up and stink up the place! A fun cooperative and matching game for children with 3 levels of play so the game can grow with your child.
2-4 players, 15 minutes of play, Ages 3 and up

Story Time Chess- The game of chess has been found time and time again to be immensely beneficial to developing young minds. Chess has been shown to increase test scores, improve critical thinking, and help children problem solve and plan ahead. Teaching the game of chess to younger children has always been challenging. STORY TIME CHESS™ makes the game of chess come alive, and the rules and strategy of the game are woven through fun and engaging stories.
1-2 players, Ages 3 and up

Tea Party Spinner- Spread the real fabric tablecloth, ready the teapot spinner and spin to choose for tea, sandwiches, fruits, desserts, cream and sugar, napkins and utensils. 
2-4 players, Ages 3 and up

Ticket to Ride: First Journey- First Journey offers unique rules designed for a younger audience that retain the strategy, charm, and fun of the original Ticket to Ride. The whole family will enjoy claiming routes and completing Tickets!
2-4 players, 15-30 minutes of play, Ages 6 and up