Are you a game person/people? We have friends over almost weekly to eat, chat and play games and it’s become one of our favorite, very chill, traditions. But over the Holidays, it seems like everybody becomes game people–and isn’t that fun!? Here are a few of our favorites:
Monopoly Deal —probably 100x more fun than regular Monopoly
Skip-Bo
Exploding Kittens (Great for small groups. Our girls even love it. Definitely get the expansion pack! It adds some fun twists to the game)
Code Names –This is our current favorite when we have a big crowd over. It’s so fun and hilarious and sparks a lot of conversation.
The Game of Things–We played this with some friends at a New Year’s party and then went out and bought it and played with my family because it’s so fun! It’s a game you can play it as couples or individuals where you read the hilarious topics and write down your answers, then try and guess who said what.
Trouble–Our daughters’ favorite game
Time’s Up! –If you’re familiar with the game “Celebrity” then you know what Time’s Up is all about. The first round you try to get your partner to say what’s on your card (could be a person, movie, song, book, place, etc.!) by saying pretty much anything besides what’s on the card, the second round you can only say one word and the third round you can only act it out. It’s one of our favorite party games and we still haven’t gotten through all the cards it came with!
Wacky Six –We’ve been in the dark about this one, but some friends introduced us to it and we’re hooked. They actually sent it to us as a thank you for hosting game night with a note that said, “No game house should be without it.” It was so sweet (and true!).
Sequence –Classic but every time we play, I remember how much I love it
Anomia
Name 5–This is one of those games that we end up playing for hours, lounging around the living room
Like Minds–Another great one to mix up partners with!
Rummikub
Catan
Farkle–Great for all ages!
Pit
In a Pickle
Scrabble–Lately, we have been using the tiles to play speed scrabble! Everyone starts with 7 tiles and as soon as someone has connected all of their tiles into word(s), they say “go!” and everyone has to grab 2 more tiles and build on their personal crossword.
America —we played this a few times in a row over the holidays it was so fun.
Timeline
Telestrations–Maybe our favorite game of all time, that we play year after year with all sorts of groups–even our 8 year old joins us.
Ticket To Ride
Scum. When I showed my family playing this card game up at our cabin over Christmas, a few of you chimed in that you know it as a$$ho#*. By either name, my whole family loves this game and we often play it with our friends, too. All you need is two decks of cards for a group. Here’s a breakdown of the rules.
Mafia. I hadn’t played Mafia for a decade, but it’s still just as fun as I remembered! Basically everybody is handed a card besides the moderator/narrator. For our group of 12 there were 3 Mafia (Aces), 2 Police (Kings) 1 Doctor (Queen) and the rest were towns’ people (number cards). Every “night” (the portion of the game where everyone closes their eyes) the Mafia chooses someone to kill by quietly pointing out someone to the moderator. Then they go back to sleep and the police silently ask the moderator if someone is mafia or not. Then the doctor is able to save one person. In the “morning” (when everyone opens up their eyes), someone is announced dead by the moderator (unless the doctor saved the exact person the mafia chooses to kill) and deliberation to vote someone out of the town begins. You can lie. Persuade. Anything but show your card. And then you do it again until all the mafia or all the common folk are eliminated. It’s a riot.
Reverse Charades. You can actually buy this game, (we always use the free app called Reverse Charades). This game is one we played with Chris’s family a few years ago and we still laugh about it! The rules are simple, roles are reversed in charades (so your whole team is acting something out while one person tries to guess what it is.) but it’s hilarious to see what people come up with!
Karaoke. Ever since I got a karaoke machine for Christmas back when I was a tween, we’ve had a karaoke night around Christmas time. Nowadays, the setup is a little different. We use our TV (it’s one of those smart ones that can access apps including YouTube) as the Karaoke machine–YouTube has never let us down as far as lyrics and songs go–and these mics that can hold your smartphone and sync with your bluetooth if you don’t have a smart TV you want to use.
Did I miss any of your favorites? Sound off in the comments!
It’s really fun to play games during the holidays. Farkle on our website, Freethedice.com, has been played countless times because it’s really exciting and enjoyable.
Thank you for this list! We love playing games and whenever we’re ready for a new game, I always come back to this list!
We love the games Cover Your Assets (a great group game!), One Night Ultimate Werewolf, my kids adore Sleeping Queens (it’s so fun and I even enjoy it!), and we love Code Names too. That’s our favorite right now. Thanks for the list!
Mexican Train is the game we play more than any. It is easy to understand and set up, and allows for some talking and munching while playing, too. It is not a “funny” game but we always end up laughing until our sides ache.
My kids LOVE Sleeping Queens! They also like Rat-A-Tat-Cat and Pass the Pigs….just a couple of fun suggestions for the kiddos. They also make great stocking stuffers!