Now I know that I’m not the only one that plays board games on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Even when I was a kid I remember playing Euchre with my Aunt and Grandfather. Often it would be Tripoly with pennies with my family. Now I’m married and usually spend the holidays with my in-laws. For several years now Thanksgiving and Christmas have meant a time to be with my extended family, have a fantastic dinner, and then play board games. Not just one or two board games – but a lot! I don’t mean only the specific holiday either. You see we would arrive likely on Wednesday and leave Sunday afternoon. Each night we’d play games after dinner. Usually, it would start with games with the whole family. This would put the age range from 6 to 70+ looking to share some quality time together. As the early evening would move to the wee hours of the morning, children and grandparents moved to bed while the “hardcore” gamers would pass on.
Most people when they travel for Thanksgiving have multiple suitcases for their extended stays. Well, we had those too, but we also have a few bags full of board games! Our family would bring one large bag over holding probably at least 5-6 games. My brothers-in-law would bring over literally a luggage bag, specifically made for games. It wouldn’t be unusual for each of those bags to hold at least ten games apiece.
The types of games would be extremely diverse as well. You could count on some games being two-player only while others were specifically picked because they could accommodate more than 5 players. There would be plenty of games that my two kids would be able to play. No small tasks as one child is 6 and the other is 13. Even when the games we picked included our 6-year-old, we weren’t limited to traditional “kid” games like Chutes and Ladders and/or Candyland. Even the “hardcore” gamers would want to play the games targeted to include the youngest players. Finally, there was the medium to heavy games, generally reserved for myself and my brothers-in-law. All bets were off on what might hit the table! Frankly, these were games we’d individually receive earlier in the year and would just wait until Thanksgiving to share them with the family.
Well as you can see – games have played a large part of our Thanksgiving tradition for many years now, and I think if it illustrates anything – is that there are plenty of games for Thanksgiving that will fit just about any crowd. I’m going to pick out some great board games for Thanksgiving. I will try and clump them into relevant groups – much like we do at our Thanksgiving celebrations. Games that will fit multiple situations with varying group sizes.
Games For Two Players – “Non-Gamers”
Games for suitable for two people who don’t usually play board games.
Lost Cities
Lost Cities was one of the first games I purchased that my wife enjoyed. It is a great game for “non-gamers”. It uses a single deck of cards with 5 colors number 2-10. In short, achieve points by playing your cards in sequential order of a single color. Take care though – once you start laying down cards of a particular color – you start off by deducting 20 points from your score.
Lost Cities is considered by many as a two-player classic game. It has a place in every board game collection. It can be understood by kids as young as 8. Don’t let a young age fool you though. This is a great challenging game that you’ll have a great time playing with one of your parents or grandparents as well.
Can’t Stop
If card playing isn’t your thing – try this dice roller. Can’t Stop is a press your luck game where you try and get three of your runners down the track. The tracks are 2-12 which represent a dice roll of two six-sided dice. As you might guess, due to probabilities, the track for the 7 is much longer than the track for 2 or 12. After each roll, you can move one of three runners. As long as you have a legal move, you can keep rolling the dice. Roll numbers that don’t represent one of your runners – lose all the progress you made that round.
This is a game that works well at just about any age. For the younger crowd, you’ll “accidentally” teach them a bit on probabilities as well. In full disclosure – this game can be played with more than two players, but by far is best with two. It is a very fast game, but when you start stacking players in, the fun starts to diminish as you wait for people to roll the dice.
Niya
This one is a bit of a brain burner. Not because it is a hard rule set to understand. On the contrary, the rules are remarkably simple. It is a bit like Connect 4/Tic-Tac-Toe. You are trying to get 4 of your color either in a row or a 2×2 cluster. Another way to win is when your opponent isn’t able to place a tile. You’ll find yourself trying to think 2, 3, or even 4 moves ahead in this elegant game. The game originated out of Japan and has a great look to it.
It is kind of like a miniature version of chess. Not in piece movement, but in the thinking and strategic component that made chess stand the test of time. If you have “thinkers” in your family or circle of friends – this one will stand out.
Games for Two Players who are “Gamers”
Two Player games for people who already play a lot of board games.
Arkham Horror – The Card Game
A cooperative card game where you and your partner are trying to solve an ancient mystery. Players will assume different roles as they explore a mysterious house and unlock clues and work to defeat a looming threat. I choose this one because of not just the great gameplay and theme – but the growth potential as well. Arkham is what is known as a “living card game” (LCG). This means once you have the base game, you can buy additional decks/mysteries that can be added at a later time but played into the same games.
Arkham is a challenging game. In fact, one criticism of the game is just how challenging the later scenarios are. Many people suggest picking up the Dunwich expansion in addition to Arkham. Victory is a bit more achievable in the expansion than that in the base game. Arkham Horror the card game is a great intro into the Lovelace mythos and is very timely given the release of the new show on HBO Max.
Memoir ’44
You’ll need a bit of table space for this game, but it is a great tactical level war game. Using both cards and dice to drive the action of the game Memoir puts you as commander of either the Axis or Allied armies during specific battles of WWII. Miniatures and specific terrain tiles transform the game board into historically relevant WWII battles. The gameplay is straightforward and quick. You won’t need to schedule the whole afternoon or evening after dinner to get a battle in. That differs from the first generation of war games like Risk or Axis and Allies that would tend to drag on and on.
The game works well not just for experienced gamers, but for new gamers as well. If you happen to have a veteran in your household, they may enjoy it as well. Memoir also offers up plenty of expansion to choose from if you enjoy the base game.
Mr. Jack
Ok, perhaps assuming the role of Jack the Ripper seeking to flee the city isn’t exactly conveying Happy Holidays, but the game is a great little two-player duel. One play will assume the role of “Mr. Jack.” The goal is to get Mr. Jack out of the city. The other player is trying to deduce which of the characters on the board is indeed Mr. Jack. It’s a bit of a cat and mouse game.
At the end of the movement of 8 characters, Mr. Jack either be visible or not. This is determined by whether the Jack token is in the light or dark, or in close proximity of another token. Once declared visible or not, the investigator can use logic, deduction, and their gut to try and guess which token is Jack. The investigator only gets one shot at an accusation, and they have to do it before Jack leaves the city.
Games to Play With Younger Kids
Games that work great when there are young children that want to play too. Don’t think of these as “kid’s games”. Think of them as kid friendly games.
Ice Cool
A hands-on tangible game for kids and adults to play. Players will attempt to flick their penguins through an igloo school house collecting fish along the way. This is a great game to get the kids involved with. It is a lot of fun to try and line up good shots trying to get your penguin to navigate through doors, over walls, and around your opponents.
The reason this game works is that it doesn’t require anyone to be a great strategist, trivia expert, or even be able to read for that matter. Now you can argue that kids will have a harder time with coordination than adults when it comes to flicking the penguins, but from what I can tell it doesn’t dampen the fun. And trust me, you will be shocked just how fast kids will learn the optimal flicking style. They will want to play this game time after time.
Camel Up
Odd – another animal-themed game. Camel Up takes the players to the timeless tradition of camel racing. You and your opponents assume the roles of bettors attending the local camel race. Each turn players will choose one of a handful of actions available to them. It may be a prediction on how the race will end, taking more betting tiles, or simply advancing the camels along the track. There is a high degree of chance and luck in this game, which will keep kids engaged and on the edge of their seats.
But there is also surprisingly a bit of logic and deduction involved as well, which should hold older players’ attention as well. As the race draws to its conclusion, tension builds as each player awaits to see just how the camels will finish the race and if they will be rewarded or penalized accordingly.
Survive – Escape From Atlantis
There is something about kids and their fascination with volcanoes. This game plays right into that fascination. The game starts for everyone stranded on an island that also doubles as a volcano ready to erupt at any moment. The object of the game is to get your team of survivors off the volcano and onto the four surrounding islands. No easy task, as you’ll have to avoid a sinking island, man-eating sharks, and vicious sea-serpents.
I have loved this game for a long time. It was actually first released in 1982 when I was just a kid and I’m lucky enough to still have that copy. It is a fun game that is very easy to understand. I wouldn’t say it is highly strategic, which is probably why it does well with kids. Tension builds as the game reaches its conclusion, just waiting for that final explosion piece to be revealed.
Games for When People Who Don’t Want To Play
Games to play when you have a group people who “just want to watch”
Rollick
Sometimes people just want to sit back and watch the rest of the gang have a good time. Rollick is a great game for this because the people that are sitting out, can quietly play along without having to take part in the action. Rollick is basically charades. Admittingly, I can appreciate the fact that charades aren’t for everyone. For those that enjoy charades – Rollick is a great game. For those that enjoy watching people make fools of themselves – Rollick is still that great game.
Great in small groups and large crowds – Rollick offers the perfect spectator attraction.
Codenames
Codenames really lends itself to team play. One person is giving a numeric-alpha code and the people are their team attempt to figure out which code words they are referring to on a common grid. This type of game can draw an audience of non-players who just want to see what is going on. They may form guesses in their own head and enjoy seeing if they are right or not. They can essentially play along without actually playing.
Codenames works well because of its slim rule book and elegant design. It’s often a very thought-provoking game, trying to find that perfect clue to relay to your team. That can be a small drawback as it can lead to some longer turn times. However, that alone wouldn’t prohibit me from highly recommending this game.
What’s Yours Like?
Similar to Codenames – this is another party game based on dulling out clues to your teammates. You receive a keyword or subject, and you need to describe it in a short phrase. Ideally, your teammates will be able to discern what you are describing in short order. It is a great game to be a spectator in.
This game is very little about scoring points and very much about laughing at loud at the craziest examples of how someone might for instance describe their bathing suit or favorite dessert. For those so inclined, the game can take a PG-13 flare, just based on the types of clues people end up giving
Games to Play With More Than 6 People
Games that work great with a larger crowd. The turns go relatively quick and the rules are easy to explain to a larger crowd as well.
Bang!
Bang is a semi-operative hidden role game. That’s just a fancy way of saying at the start of the game you have a set of teammates, but you won’t know at the beginning who they are. Each player will have a hidden role as well as an objective associated with that role. The one exception is the Sheriff. The game starts with everyone knowing who the Sheriff is. The Sheriff wins if he eliminates all the outlaws. The outlaws win if they eliminate the sheriff, and the renegade wins if he defeats everyone – albeit in a specific order. There is also a deputy who wins under the same conditions as the sheriff.
In addition to a specific role each player assumes, they will also have a character card. The character cards are all just a little bit different and allow each character to do their own unique special power.
The game works well in a large setting. It’s a bit of deduction mixed with a bit of knock ’em out. The game itself is like being inside a “spaghetti western”. Don’t be surprised if as the role of deputy you mistakenly shot your vice deputy. The Renegade definitely has the hardest job, trying to be the last man standing.
Bohnanza
This is an older game that still packs a lot of punch. Fans of Settlers of Catan may get a kick out of this game because it shares one core mechanic that made Catan great. Trading! In Bohnanza you take on the role of a bean farmer (I know, just bear with me). You are limited in the number of beans you can have planted, and you must plant them in a set order based on how they show up in your hand.
The fun comes in the constant negotiation between the current players and everyone else at the table. Each player has to navigate their hand order and the cards that become available each round so as to maximize their bean profits. Those that have a profession in sales ought to do well in this game.
Incan Gold
A great press your luck game where each player makes a decision to explore a temple to gain treasure or abandon the hunt once the dangers are too numerous. A very simple game that is played with a deck of cards over 5 rounds. Each round consists of a card being turned over that either represents treasure or a hazard. If it’s a treasure, it is divided evenly among the explorers. However, you don’t get to keep that treasure until you safely exit the temple.
If the exploration reveals two identical hazards – round is up, and only those safely back at their base camp will get to keep the loot that they found. A great game for a large crowd that moves very fast. As people drop out the tension rises. With fewer people to split the treasures, the spoils become greater. However – there are usually fewer people in the temple because the risk has gone up significantly.
6 nimmit!
Each player starts with 10 cards they will deftly try to play without having to take on a lot of points. It is tricky because there are only 4 rows to play cards. Each turn, players simultaneously choose and reveal a card from their hand, then add the cards to the rows, with cards being placed in ascending order based on their number; specifically, each card is placed in the row that ends with the highest number that’s below the card’s number. When the sixth card is placed in a row, the owner of that card claims the other five cards and the sixth card becomes the first card in a new row.
The points that you take are based on the number of bullheads on the various cards. Some are only worth one, but beware as they increase to as high as 6!.
