AFTER weeks of lockdown, families and couples may now be starting to run out of new ways to keep themselves entertained.

The past four weeks of battling boredom has seen people rediscover their love for the classic board games. But now the strict government measures have been extended until May 7 at the earliest and there's only so much Monopoly a family can fall out over.

That's why we've asked Frazer Eden of Northwich-based board game cafe Board Beans to give us his top tips of board games to make the rest of the lockdown period fly by with a roll of the dice.

Northwich Guardian:

Frazer Eden and wife Betsy at their Board Beans cafe in Witton Street

There's a whole world of amazing board games that are perfect to help people keep entertained while stuck at home, and nobody knows them better than Frazer.

Here's the 11 of the best, which are all available to buy or rent at here.

Ticket to Ride

Northwich Guardian:

Ticket to Ride is a cross-country train adventure where players collect cards of various types of train cars that enable them to claim railway routes connecting cities in various countries around the world.

Bananagrams

Northwich Guardian:

Game play involves arranging one's tiles into a grid of connected words faster than one's opponents. The object of the game is to be the first to complete a word grid after the pool of tiles has been exhausted.

Cobra Paw

Players take turns rolling the dice (featuring 6 unique symbols), spotting the tile with the matching pattern, then grabbing it before their opponents. The first player to snatch up 6 tiles wins the game!

Just One

Just One is a cooperative party game in which you play together to discover as many mystery words as possible. Find the best clue to help your teammate. Be unique, as all identical clues will be cancelled!

Azul

Northwich Guardian:

In the game Azul, players take turns drafting colored tiles from suppliers to their player board. Later in the round, players score points based on how they've placed their tiles to decorate the palace. Extra points are scored for specific patterns and completing sets; wasted supplies harm the player's score. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.

Patchwork

Two players compete to build a patchwork quilt using Tetris like pieces to create the most aesthetic (and high-scoring) patchwork quilt on a personal 9x9 game board.

Catan

Northwich Guardian:

In Catan, players try to be the dominant force on the island of Catan by building settlements, cities, and roads. On each turn dice are rolled to determine what resources the island produces. Players collect these resources (cards)—wood, grain, brick, sheep, or stone—to build up their civilizations to get to 10 victory points and win the game.

Gingerbread House

In Gingerbread House, you place domino-like tiles in a 3 by 3 grid, covering symbols that provide you with four different types of gingerbread and special actions. Tiles are also placed on existing types of tiles, forming a 3D structure in front of you. Covering two of the same symbol is extremely valuable as it provides a bonus gingerbread or action. Victory points are awarded for building the tallest structure, completing orders by discarding sets of gingerbread, as well as being the quickest to achieve certain conditions. In the end, the player with the most victory points wins.

Sushi Roll

Rice and dice! Load up the conveyor belts with savory sushi dice — then pick one and pass the rest! Earn points for winning combos like two tempura or a set of sashimi. Grab a menu to re-roll your dice or use chopsticks to swap with an opponent. And be sure to save room for pudding at the end!

Qwixx

Qwixx is a quick-playing dice game in which everyone participates, no matter whose turn it is. Each player has a scoresheet with the numbers 2-12 in rows of red and yellow and the numbers 12-2 in rows of green and blue. To score points you want to mark off as many numbers as possible, but you can mark off a number only if it's to the right of all marked-off numbers in the same row.

Pandemic

Northwich Guardian:

Pandemic is a cooperative board game in which players work as a team to treat infections around the world while gathering resources for cures. As skilled members of a disease-fighting team, you and the other players work together to keep the world safe from outbreaks and epidemics. Only through teamwork will you have a chance to find a cure.