Fun family games are always a great idea under the Christmas tree! I’ve got a list for you – some tried and true classics, some of our family favorites and a few that I’m considering myself!
ThinkFun Cat Crimes Brain Game and Brainteaser for Boys and Girls Age 8 and Up
Ages: 8-adult
Skills: critical thinking skills and logic
Players: single playerCat Crimes is one of ThinkFun’s most popular stem toys for boys and girls. It’s a cat themed logic game that comes with 60 challenges of increasing difficulty, from beginner to expert, and comes with a very clear and easy to understand instruction manual – you’ll be able to play within minutes of opening the box. Like all of ThinkFun’s games, Cat Crimes has an educational aspect – it’s built to develop critical thinking skills and ties into STEM subjects like math and formal logic.
G got this one last Christmas and has had a lot of fun with it! I love that it’s a one-player game!
Qwixx – A Fast Family Dice Game
Ages: 8-adult
Players: 2-5This is another one we play together and it’s a lot of fun with quick gameplay!
Qwixx is simple to play but each decision is crucial – the more numbers you cross off, the more points you score. With no downtime between turns you’ll have a chance to gain from each and every roll. Just one round of this thrilling game and you will be caught up in Qwixx-fever! Playing time is 15 minutes
Spoof – Family Party Bluffing Board Game
Ages: 10-Adult
Players: 4-8Spoof is the hilarious bluffing board game that will have you talking and laughing all night. Provides the best party games for adults and family.
Easy to Learn: Learn how to play Spoof in just 5 min. Ages 10 plus but younger players may play by teaming up with an adult.
Best Games for Groups: For 4-8 Players. Playtime is 30 min.
Great for Kids and Adults Alike: Perfect for group games, holidays parties, vacations, & more. Spoof is great for any gathering of friends and family.
Okay, y’all, Spoof was the HIT of Family Thanksgiving 2022!
My takeaways from trying this game: It IS very easy to learn. Kids younger than 10 CAN join in. My 8 year old nephew played with minimal help. You WILL laugh. Great for all ages – we had ages 8 to 50 playing and we all had a good time. If I had to describe it using other games, we all agreed it was like a mash-up of Balderdash, Trivial Pursuit and Apples to Apples. You do NOT have to be a trivia buff to do well because you’re making up answers!
Sushi Go! – The Pick and Pass Card Game
Ages: 8-adult
Players: 2-5Pass the sushi! In this fast-playing card game, the goal is to grab the best combination of sushi dishes as they whiz by. Score points for making the most maki rolls or for collecting a full set of sashimi. Dip your favorite nigiri in wasabi to triple its value. But be sure to leave room for dessert or else you’ll eat into your score! Gather the most points and consider yourself the sushi master!
Don’t Go Boom Card Game
Ages: 7+
Players: 2-6Your Mission? Don’t Go Boom! Get the lowest score in 3 rounds by totaling up the numbers on each player’s minefield cards. Watch out for Big Bad Bomb cards, they’re worth 15 points each. Explosively fun card games by Inspiration Play. Inspired by the parlor card game, Golf.
Have a BLAST – Other kids games on the market move slowly and can’t keep attention. The Don’t Go Boom card games for kids keep you and your kids guessing down to the last card. Approx. 25 mins. (2 – 6 players)
Easy To Learn & Play Anywhere – Don’t Go Boom is easy to learn and is perfect for kids ages 7 and up. Action cards help players strategize the best moves and create a fun, engaging vacation, travel, car, recess, or classroom card game your family will love!
Explosive & Calculated Fun – Family card games are where it’s at! Improve your kids counting and math skills while having fun and ditching virtual play. Our travel games for kids help teach your child social skills, math, and the art of kicking some serious butt.
Exit: The Game – Escape Rooms
Okay, y’all, these games are super fun if you like group-think, escape room type games. I bought one in 2019 and played it with my teenage nieces when the whole family was together for Christmas. Everyone LOVED IT. It was the hit game of the holiday gathering!
We played Exit: The Sunken Treasure but there are several to choose from made by Thames and Kosmos! They do have difficulty rankings so look out for that!
Keep in mind these are intended to play ONCE as you have to use up (write on, tear, fold) clues in the game to escape.
Double Ditto – A Hilarious Family Party Word Board Game
Okay, if you need a game for a BIG group – this is your game!
Ages: 10-adult
Players: 4 to 20!Double Ditto is a fast paced family game that can be played with kids 8 years & up to adults. A customizable card game that allows for creativity with answers and has other players guessing the answers of competitors.
How to Play: Pick a card, read it aloud, & quickly write down two answers you think others will imagine. Laugh or cry as you discover if you were correct. Find out whose mind is in sync with yours. It may not be who you’d expect! Creativity is key!
What You Get: 400 category cards, a 15-second timer, score sheets, & instruction card. Play Time: 25 minutes. (**8 and 9-year-olds with strong reading and writing skills may also enjoy playing, and younger players may “team up” with an adult).
Trailz
If I told you that a game with snails and mushrooms was as hard as chess, you’d think I was crazy. But the strategy needed to play Trailz is almost exactly like chess!
Ages: 7+
Players: 2CROSS THE BOARD — Your shrooms are on the run to make it across the board… but watch out for slugs! Slugs eat shrooms!
THINK AHEAD — So, move carefully and use your own slugs to keep enemy shrooms from reaching victory before you do!
INTRO STRATEGY — Great beginning strategy game that grows with you–play using as little or as much strategy as you want!
Taco vs Burrito – The Wildly Popular Surprisingly Strategic Card Game
Ages: 7-adult
Players: 2-4Surprisingly Strategic – Basic gameplay is easy to master but the Action Cards shift the game into unpredictable territory. Exciting up to the very last card!
Created by a Kid, Perfect for Everyone – Alex dreamed up TvB at age 7, but this crazy, fun strategic food fight is a smash with kids and adults alike! Ideal for ages from 7-77.
Easy to Learn and Quick to Play – Takes only a few minutes to learn. Gameplay runs 10-15 minutes. Optimal for 2-4 players.
Winning Moves No Stress Chess
G and I both learned how to play chess over the summer with a set similar to this that made it really easy to learn the piece moves and rules! Chess is a classic game that is great to learn for critical thinking skills.
Elena Essex Puzzles
If your family loves puzzles, you need to check out Elena Essex puzzles. If you want to lose yourself in a puzzle this Christmas, you won’t find a more luxurious jigsaw puzzle than a gorgeous 1000 piece puzzle by Elena Essex Puzzles.
Special for Christmas, is the Christmas Cornucopia puzzle but all the puzzles are gorgeous. And there even puzzles for the younger family members!
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