The 30 Best Games to Play With Your Family Over the Holidays

Hunker may earn compensation through affiliate links in this story. Learn more about our affiliate and product review process here.

When you're hanging out with your family for days on end, it's a given that you reach a point when there's a lull in the conversation ... or there's a bit ‌too‌ much conversation, if you get what we're saying. Take a break and have a laugh with the fam with one of these fun and unexpected games. Some are even so cute and pretty, you'll want to keep them on a coffee table all year round.

Advertisement

Video of the Day

You'll divide into teams and someone will draw a card showing an illustration on one side and information on the other. The team must try to name the person or thing illustrated — and any amount of inappropriateness is allowed.

Advertisement

Video of the Day

Get the best of both worlds with this two-in-one chess and checkers set. It's equal parts fun and stylish, thanks to its modern design and bright color palette.

Advertisement

This fast-moving word play game is kind of like Scrabble, but in a speeding car.

Advertisement

Looking for a way to just sit around and talk? That's half the fun of jigsaw puzzles. This cool Gray Malin puzzle doubles your fun: It's two-sided, so you can do side A at Thanksgiving and side B later on.

Advertisement

One player draws a card, on which there are prompts like "superhero," "power tool," "astronaut," or "hair product." If the card matches one in another player's hand, they must face off to be the first to name an example (i.e. "Superman," "chainsaw," "Buzz Aldrin," etc.).

Advertisement

Advertisement

Test your family's knowledge of famous women with this multiple choice card game, which can be played casually while prepping food or wrapping gifts.

Advertisement

Yes, it's a millennial-ized version of Lotería. It might not be a fit for the older generations, but your cousins will definitely be down.

Advertisement

This symbol-matching game is great for kids and adults alike, and once we learned it's Phoebe Waller-Bridge's recent obsession, we had to order one.

Advertisement

Not quite a game, per se, but this astrology book is plenty fun to go through with family members — it outlines how your zodiac sign relates to others in your life.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Got a family of know-it-all intellectuals? This quiz game will test their knowledge of great historical figures across a wide range of topics like architecture, philosophy, literature, and more.

Chip and Jo came up with this wood domino set that feels completely homespun.

Oh, so you think you know the '90s? Time to prove it. From fashion to movies, quiz each other with over 400 pop culture questions. And there's a complimentary game soundtrack on Spotify to really get you in the mood.

You'll have to haggle, trade, and barter in this imaginative strategy game to turn your beginnings of a civilization into a metropolis.

Advertisement

This stack contains five strategy games that only require the addition of a pen or pencil.

A game of spymasters and hidden identities! It's a bit complicated but was enthusiastically voted for by a handful of Hunker editors.

So, the rules of mah jong can take a while to nail down, and the game is part art, part strategy — but once you learn how to play, it becomes completely addictive.

Ferm's matching game is so pretty, you'll want to keep it on some type of display year-round.

Advertisement

With more than 800 questions spanning a range of topics, this trivia book is perfect for passing the time.

A chess set, but make it cute!

Draw cards ... until you draw an exploding kitten and then you die! Fun for kids and grown-ups.

An old-school classic with a cooler twist.

Between this game and a bottle (or three) of wine, you'll be all set for the night.

Heads Up! creator Daniel Leary considers this the ultimate party game. "[You} can play [it] with literally anyone — from your family, to your best friend, to a bunch of strangers at a bar, to the kids you're babysitting for. It's always a good time." The rules are simple: Quickly guess the mystery words on the card above your head based on your teammates' descriptions. Insider tip: Leary's favorite deck for big groups is Hey Mr. DJ, where one player tries to guess the song that the entire crowd is humming.

Good for up to 20 people, Herd Mentality is a social deduction game, where players receive opinion-based questions and have to strategically guess the most common answer amongst the group. How well do you ​‌really‌​ know the people around you?

A fan favorite, What Do You Meme? is kind of like the classic Apples to Apples, but instead of matching nouns to descriptions and having a judge vote for their favorite, you match the best meme caption card in hand to the given image. Watch out: It can get pretty risqué.

The tried and true party game Cards Against Humanity has reinvented itself for family fun. And just to clarify: No adult content doesn't mean you won't be laughing your faces off.

Go around the circle and give one chosen player (the one metaphorically going on a date) the card in your hand describing a match you think will best suit their fancy. Here's where the sabotage comes in: Players then strategically give one another a red flag card to accompany the good card. The goal? Try to convince the date-goer that the description of your bachelor is somehow the most appealing.

The group will receive a controversial and hilarious question like, "Who gets paid too much for what they do?" and everyone has to vote for the player the question best describes. This is also an excellent "get to know each other" game ... with a mischievous twist.

Be the first to decode the gibberish phrase. An example? "Ham a sauna let's uh" is actually Amazon Alexa. Time to put your brain to work.

This one is probably best played in families that are close ... or don't take themselves too seriously. These thought-provoking questions ("Say one thing that's really annoying about your parents" and "Would you want to live on Mars?") may teach you things you didn't know about your family members, or open doors for reminiscing about the past.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Report an Issue

screenshot of the current page

Screenshot loading...