Family Games Night Fun with Boom Blast Stix and Five Nights at Freddy's

Games nights are a great way to bring the whole family together for an entertaining evening away from the TV, smartphones and iPads! Whatever your age, a games night is guaranteed to bring laughter, some healthy competition and plenty of family fun. Games allow us to unleash our inner child, whatever our age, and come together as one to enjoy some quality time. Spending an hour or two at the weekend or on an evening indulging in some family games is perfect at this time of year when the weather means we are often stuck in the house. My children have always loved it when we all sit down to play something, whether it's a card game, a traditional board game or one of the newer, more modern games on the market.

We received two new amazing games, Boom Blast Stix and Five Nights at Freddy's, so we could enjoy our own family games night. These games are far more exciting than the traditional games from my childhood. Both include a unique element of suspense and surprise, bringing extra excitement to games night. Family games night has never been quite so thrilling!

Boom Blast Stix is an explosive new game that keeps players on their edge of their seats. It features forty interlocking sticks that are under tension and can explode at any time. The aim is to stack as many of the pieces on top of the lid before the structure goes off causing a boom of cascading, spring-loaded pieces that literally fly across the room. It happens so suddenly, you can't help but jump out of your skin!

The high risk, addictive and unpredictable gameplay, is guaranteed to elicit laughter from everyone as they anticipate the blast. You have to try and be as gentle and calm as you can be as you place your next piece on the pile, but the tension makes it really tricky. You just don't know when the exploding  pile will go off. Even Ian with his steady hand was caught unawares a few times as the pieces exploded on his turn.

The packaging doubles up as the base for building the stack. You can use the lid alone or go higher using the box and lid together. Everything tidies away neatly inside after use. The design in this respect is really good.

Boom Blast Stix has been featured on CITV's Scrambled, and is set to become a fierce family favourite! A perfect choice for some fun this Christmas, and great value at £14.99. It is recommended for kids age 6+.

My youngest Freddy is 8 years old and loves the world of his namesake from Five Nights At Freddy's, having played the game online many times. This game brings FNAF's demon teddy Freddy Fazbear into real life in 3D form for another really tense and nerve wracking family game. Five Nights at Freddy's is famed for its jumpscares and this game definitely delivers the right level of jumpiness that kids will love.

Freddy holds pieces of multi-coloured pizza in his tray that players need to take from him in turn using the tongs. All is calm at first as Freddy sits back and snoozes. Creepy music plays, adding to the tense atmosphere, as each player takes their suspense-filled turn to spin the dial and take the relevant number and colour of pizza slices according to where the spinner lands.

However, someone will try to take one piece too many and will wake up Freddy from his slumber and unleash his rage. It's jump scares all round as he suddenly leaps up, opening his red eyes and screeches, signalling that player is out of the game!

 The winner is the last player standing. This game has the nostalgic element of games like Buckaroo, bringing that sense of tension, suspense and anticipation with each turn. However, the character of Freddy, brings the genre right up to date for today's kids to enjoy.

Five Nights at Freddy's is a great game for FNAF fans and is priced at £24.99. It requires 3 AA batteries and is recommended for kids age 8+.

Both games have that quality of being really exciting, as players wait for the moment when it all kicks off! Whether it's Freddy springing to terrifying life or the Boom Blast Stix firing off around the room, you can guarantee there will be squeals of laughter and plenty of jumps. There won't be a single dull moment during games night, as these high energy games keep delivering the surprises.

My Freddy, literally screamed out loud and jumped backwards against his chair the first time that Freddy Fazbear woke up. He was not expecting it at all! It was quite a hilarious response that had us all laughing. The creepy fairground style music is really unsettling and a great part of the game adding a very spooky atmosphere that Freddy says is "terrifying in a good way".

The Boom Blast Stix exploding was also quite unexpected. They go off with some force and everyone ends up ducking for cover as they fly off. The game keeps you on the edge of your seat. My 15 year old daughter loves this game and thinks it is "very intense, a lot of fun and a little bit lethal!" Freddy also enjoys playing this on his own trying to build the highest stack that he can. It is definitely a new favourite in our household.

Both games really do add that extra layer of entertainment to games night. Even the hardest to entertain children will love them. We will definitely be getting Freddy's older siblings playing these games with him when they are home for Christmas this year!

You can find both games at www.character-online.com.