A selection of activities, from our tried and tested reviews to some personal favourites (The Independent/iStock)
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You know the Christmas period has begun when the games come out.
In our opinion, nothing quite beats the moment when you settle down for the evening in front of the fire for some family fun.
It’s often at the point when you’ve all had one too many glasses of mulled wine, and so the competition beings to really heat up among the rellies you were least expecting it from.
You might even begin questioning why aunt Mildred is quite so passionate about securing Park Lane in Monopoly.
Or perhaps you and yours fill those blissful Twixmas days (the period in between Christmas and New Year) with challenges to keep your brain ticking.
Whatever it is, they’re a source of good old-fashioned fun and are a great activity once you’ve devoured all the Christmas novels you can read and watched all the festive films you can bear.
With all this in mind, whether you already have a bourgeoning collection, or are new to the game, we’ve compiled a round-up of some of our all-time favourites for you to enjoy during the festive period.
Just remember to keep your cool even if you don’t win, but chances are your opponents are cheating anyway.
You can trust our independent round-ups. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections, which are formed from real-world testing and expert advice. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
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Taking the top spot in our review of the best family board games, there’s no denying that Monopoly is a Christmas classic, and this is perfect because there will be no squabbles over who’s the banker. Our reviewer noted that “this modern twist on the ultimate family board game comes with an interactive Mr Monopoly banking unit, which is voice-activated and handles all of the game’s transactions. He keeps tabs on players’ money and properties so there’s no cash or cards to think about.” Before praising it for being a “fun, fresh take on a classic”.
Similarly to 30 Seconds, this is another fast-thinking game. The brand says it’s aimed at children from the age of 12, but owing to its difficulty, we’d suggest it’s better suited to those aged 15 and older. The premise is simple: once split into groups, players describe words from six different categories (object, nature, random, person, action and world) on a card to their team as quickly as possible. With only 30 seconds to do it in, there’s bound to be squeals of excitement. The number of moves you’re allowed to make across the board depends on how many guesses they got correct. The more glasses of prosecco you’ve had, the harder it’ll be. Great fun for all adults.
Calling all wordsmiths, this is a fun-filled educational word game that doesn’t require any pens, paper or a board. It’s a modern take on Scrabble in that it involves building interconnected words, but it’s much faster. As opposed to accumulating points, this is about being the first person to use all your letter tiles. If you and your family already own and love this game, you might want to consider Banangrams party edition (Amazon, £17.27). Along with letters, there are tiles with pictures that instruct you to do certain tasks or bestow them on others, such as playing while standing on one foot. Just prepare for some serious competition.
If you’re looking for something that will keep your brain ticking during the downtime, this one might be the answer. Crowned the best buy in our round-up of the best kids’ memory games, our tester praised it for being “amazing value for money – a real find.”
The premise is fairly simple, “players essentially roll the dice and try to locate a piece which matches the colour on the top. You take turns in this way – and whoever has the most pegs at the end is the winner.”
It’s also one that will keep kids happy, as our reviewer said it kept her four-year-old “beaming from start to finish – and not just because she won”.
As well as being a great fit for the aspiring detectives among you, this one really is great for all the family. And we think wintery Christmas evenings offer the perfect time to solve a crime.
In this classic whodunit, you need to solve a murder – working out which character committed the crime, what weapon they used and which room of the mansion they did it in. Do this by asking questions that lead you to confirm or deny your suspicions. Cross off your suspects and work through the outcomes using your clue sheet. The winning contestant is the first to solve the murder. This particular board comes with a new suspect, too: Dr Orchid.
In a similar vein, we like the look of the host your own Christmas murder mystery game kit that can be played either virtually or in real life. While we can’t vouch for it, all you need to do is simply download the materials to enjoy a night of mystery with your household or Christmas bubble. Or, say goodbye to boring Zoom quizzes and play this virtually with friends or colleagues instead.
If your family were frequent Zoom quiz goers during lockdown, this one is for you. In this quick-fire game you have just 30 seconds to describe five names to your teammates, with topics varying from landmarks and TV shows to celebrities and popular songs. In our review of the best board games, our tester said: “It’s a simple premise but quickly became a firm favourite with our family.” You can’t argue with that!
As family games go, this is the one most likely to cause a raucous this Christmas. It’s less of a board game, and more of shout-out trivia card game. After assigning a taskmaster to read out the cards, teams then have to work out what the links are between the answers of the four separate questions. For example, if the answers were John, Paul, George and Ringo the link would be… The Beatles. If you’re the first team to shout out the right answer, you win the card. Win enough cards to spell the word Linkee and you win the game. While it sounds deceptively simple, it’ll certainly get your brain working, just make sure no cheating goes on! If like us, you work your way through the pack, there’s an extension pack (Amazon, £16.99) that you can add to the box.
There are hours of fun to be had with this one, warm up your vocal cords and get stuck in! It’s a simple game, just draw a stick at random and sing the first line of the song to the group, the first to sing the next line wins the stick. Either play it solo, or as a team, and those with the most sticks at the end win. A great one to have on the table to keep the conversation flowing.
Chances are you’ve played iterations of this guessing game before. It involves using yes or no answers to guess the character you’ve randomly selected from the pack of 60 double-sided name cards. To make sure you’re blissfully unaware of your character, simply slot your card into your festive eyewear and let the guessing begin.
