Christmas games for the whole family
What are the holidays for if not for bringing families together? Make sure to gift some games that everyone can play together. Below find our top recommendations for family games that everyone (of all ages) can enjoy together. Some use boards, some use cards… some are just completely different.
It is important to spend time bonding with your family, and a family game night is one of the best ways to do it! The strategy and abstract thought involved in many family games develop effective problem-solving techniques. Experts agree, games have the benefits of developing fine motor skills and improving critical thinking and problem solving skills, with the added benefit of dragging everyone away from TVs, tablets, video games and cell phones for a few hours. Furthermore, studies indicate that regularly scheduled family time such as game nights is correlated with larger vocabularies, higher reading scores, scholastic motivation, improved peer relationships, and emotional adjustment.
Best family games for game night
Tenzi is an easy-to-learn, versatile family game. Simply pick a color, and continue to roll until all ten of your dice show the same number. Ages 4+
Click to buy
Players must attempt to collect all 10 bells of the same color with a magnetic wand, while simultaneously avoiding the remaining colors. Ages 6 +
Click to buy
Each round, players must bid their letters for the timing of their turn, earning them an opportunity to add to a chain of words. Bid-A-Letter develops problem solving, creative thinking, vocabulary, and spelling.
Click to buy
Dohdles! by Thames and KosmosPlayers must stretch their imagination in this amusing sculpting and guessing game. Need a hint? You can ask two yes-or-no questions or ask for a letter of the word. Don’t worry, no artistic skills are required. Ages 10+
Click to buy
A fast-paced matching game, Frankenwords is a communicative board game that helps develop cognitive, social, and emotional skills. Ages 7+
The Ultimate Picture Trivia Family Game (sweetened by a Star Wars theme). Pictopia requires teamwork but entails a fierce competitive edge. Ages 7+
A bluetooth compatible set of 22 puzzles for iPad and Android, Puzzlets helps kids think like a programmer and encourages learning in chemistry, math, music, engineering, and more. Ages 6+
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The 9 Story Cubes help kids to imagine an infinite variety of stories featuring their favorite Batman characters and situations. Original Rory’s Story Cubes were also featured in 10 stocking stuffers under $10.
Click to buy
Players must avoid the enemy while evading the laser fire. Ages 6+
This educational matching game was developed with the input and guidance of educators, and is thus guaranteed to help develop speech and language, visual perception and processing speed. It uses basic sight words from reading books for kids to helps prepare young readers for even more complicated language skills down the road. Ages 5+
Click to buy
Players must use the consonant cards in their hand along with the vowel dice in the Dice Slide in a race to spell words. Ages 8+
A unique ghost themed memory game, Spooky Stairs is one of 3 Kinderspiel des Jahres award winners by Lion Rampant. (The others are Magic Labyrinth and The Enchanted Tower.) Ages 4+
A little bit like Jenga, sensitive touch and thoughtful strategy are key in this bamboo and wooden family game. Ages 3+
Blockers, mirrors, and beam splitters will help (or hinder) players reflect their laser around and through obstacles to reach the end goal. With 40 out-of-this-world challenges, this fun logic maze game tests science, logic, and problem solving. Ages 8+
Click to buy
This “Family Game of Visual Perception” has won over 35 Best Game awards.
81 cards are randomly placed and must be grouped by four features: number; symbol; shading; and color. Sound easy? The features can be either all the same or all different in each of the four attributes. A truly challenging yet brain-building game. Ages 6+ Click to buy
Draw your way through underwater scenes on the quest cards, meet targets while avoiding obstacles. Ages 6+
Click to buy
One of the best social night games around – the winner has to blurt out the answer in this hilariously fast-paced tongue twisting card game. Don’t think too hard – just say what comes to mind first! Ages 6+
Click to buy
A little bit board game, a little bit darts, a little bit magnetic ring toss? …launch the magnetic game piece with surprising speed and an oddly satisfying “thwack” by pulling apart the sticks in just the right way. Fun, competitive, unique… and did we say fun?
Click to buy
#1 Best Family Game… Game Night in a Can!
Two Los Angeles inventors and comedians decided (after hosting phenomenal game nights all over LA) that they wanted to share the creativity and joy of their games with the rest of the world, so they created Game Night in a Can – an amazing collection of party games in one … can.
There are 30 original games in each package, but over 3 million different possible variations on the game (meaning you can play 3 million family fame nights in a row and never repeat a game!). GNIAC includes memorable and wacky games like Curate This!, Frumpy Bumpers, and Creepy Peepers, which all guarantee to jump start your imagination while exercising the right and left sides of your brain.
Here are some examples of tasks you will be asked to complete when you pull 7 game cards on family game night:
-dream up a new mythical animal
-reinvent the national anthem
-choreograph a brand new dance move
Everything you need is included, just bring paper, pens, and a couple of close friends and family, and unleash your creativity while flexing your brain’s neuro-plasticity and problem-solving skills. As if that’s not enough, they’ll plant a new tree for every GNIAC sold. Yeah.
Click to buy
Thanks for reading about the top family games. So… what is the best game in the whole world? You pick! You may also want to read about the best Christmas audiobooks for kids.
Enjoy spending some time with your loved ones, practicing critical thinking, and getting competitive with these fun family games!
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