From Thanksgiving to New Year's Day, the table is bigger than usual, and the ages run from grade school to great-grandparents. A good holiday game does 3 things:
- It teaches in one hand. Nobody wants a rules lecture after a big meal.
- It takes a crowd, or splits into teams when it can't.
- It gives a child a real chance against a grandparent, through luck or simple rules.
The 12 games at a glance
| Game | What you need | Players | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| UNO | The game itself (its own deck) | 2 to 10 | A big group |
| Mexican Train | Dominoes: a double-12 set | 2 to 8 | A big group |
| Bunco | Dice: 3 per table | 12, at 3 tables | A big group |
| Pass the Pigs | The game itself (the pigs) | 2 to 10 | A big group |
| Five Crowns | The game itself (its own deck) | 1 to 7, or 14 with 2 copies | A big group |
| Rummikub | The game itself (tiles and racks) | 2 to 4 | All ages |
| Yahtzee | Dice: 5, plus the free score sheet | 2 or more | All ages |
| Phase 10 | The game itself (its own deck) | 2 to 6 | All ages |
| Ticket to Ride | The game itself | 2 to 5 | All ages |
| Spades | Normal cards: 1 deck | 4, in pairs | The grown-ups |
| Hand and Foot | Normal cards: 1 more deck than players, jokers in | 2 to 6, usually 2 teams | The grown-ups |
| Scrabble | The game itself | 2 to 4 | The grown-ups |
For a big group
UNO
A card game: match the top card by color, number or symbol, and be the first to empty your hand. Mattel says 2 to 10 players, ages 7 and up, and a new player learns it in one hand. Keep score if you like: whoever goes out scores the cards left in the other hands, and the first to 500 wins.
Mexican Train
A dominoes game for 2 to 8 players, with a double-12 set. Everyone builds a train of matching dominoes out from a double in the middle, and one shared train, the Mexican Train, is open to all. The dots (pips) left in your hand count against you, so the lowest total wins. Beginners only have to match numbers. A full game is 13 rounds; agree on fewer, such as 3 or 6, for a shorter night.
Free Mexican Train score sheet
Bunco
A dice game made for a crowd: usually 12 players at 3 tables of 4, with 3 dice at each table. Each round has a number, 1s in round 1 up to 6s in round 6, and you roll for it with the partner across from you. After every round, people move tables and swap partners. There are no decisions, only rolling and counting, so everyone starts even. At the end of the night, whoever won the most rounds wins.
Pass the Pigs
A dice game played with 2 small rubber pigs. Toss them, score by how they land, and choose: roll again, or bank your points before a Pig Out wipes the turn. The first to 100 wins. It takes 2 to 10 players and a minute to explain. With 6 ordinary dice instead, play Farkle, the same idea played to 10,000.
Free Pass the Pigs score sheet
Five Crowns
A rummy card game: make sets and runs, with 5 suits, over 11 rounds. The deal grows from 3 cards to 13, and the wild card changes every round. The lowest total wins. PlayMonster lists 1 to 7 players, ages 8 and up, and the rules let you combine 2 decks for up to 14. The short early rounds teach new players as you go.
For all ages at one table
Rummikub
A tile game: rummy with numbered tiles in 4 colors. Lay runs and groups from your rack, and rearrange the tiles already on the table to fit yours in. The box says 2 to 4 players, ages 8 and up. There is nothing to read, only numbers and colors, and the rearranging keeps experienced players thinking.
Yahtzee
A dice game: roll 5 dice up to 3 times a turn, then write the result in one of 13 boxes, chasing straights, a full house and 5 of a kind. Hasbro says 2 or more players, ages 8 and up. There is a lot of luck in it, so a first-timer can beat the family's best player.
Phase 10
A rummy-style card game: work through 10 phases in order, from 2 sets of 3 in Phase 1 to a set of 5 and a set of 3 in Phase 10. Mattel says 2 to 6 players, ages 7 and up. Everyone moves at their own pace, and the first to finish Phase 10 wins. For a shorter game, Mattel's rules let you play only the even phases.
Ticket to Ride
A board game about trains: collect colored cards, claim railway routes across a map, and connect the cities on your secret tickets. Days of Wonder lists 2 to 5 players, ages 8 and up, 30 to 60 minutes. A turn is one of 3 things (draw cards, claim a route, or take tickets), so new players catch on within a few turns.
Free Ticket to Ride score sheet
After dinner, with the grown-ups
Spades
A card game for 4, in 2 pairs, with a standard deck. Spades are always trump. Each side bids how many tricks (rounds of 4 cards) it will take, and the side that keeps its promises best reaches 500 first. For a shorter game, Bicycle suggests playing to 200.
Hand and Foot
A card game related to Canasta, usually played by 2 teams of partners. Each player gets 2 piles: the hand, then the foot once the hand is used up. Teams score books of 7 cards and every card they lay down, minus what they are caught holding, over 4 rounds. You need about one more deck than there are players, and around 2 hours, so start it when nobody needs to leave.
Free Hand and Foot score sheet
Scrabble
A word game: build crosswords on the board from letter tiles, scoring each tile plus the premium squares. Hasbro says 2 to 4 players, ages 8 and up, and you can play in teams of 2. It is slow and quiet, about 90 minutes by BoardGameGeek's count, which suits the end of a long day.
How to host it
- Print the sheets ahead. Each game above links to its free sheet. Print a few of each, and set out pencils.
- Start with everyone. Open with a game the whole house can join, like UNO or Bunco, then split into tables.
- Make teams for a big group. One partner holds the cards, the other helps choose. A child and a grandparent make a good team.
- Settle the house rules first. Stacking Draw Twos in UNO, what the double blank is worth in Mexican Train: agree before the first deal, and write it on the sheet.
- Keep score, and keep the sheets. Write the date, the place and everyone's name at the top, and circle the winner. Take a photo of the table before the boxes go away. Next year, those sheets show who won and who is owed a rematch.
