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A Great Big List of Games

 

It’s underneath the tree every Christmas.

A new game.

Sometimes we open it on Christmas Eve to play, sometimes it gets played Christmas afternoon and sometimes it waits a couple of days to make the rounds.

But it’s long been a tradition – the new game for Christmas.

If your family likes to search out a new game for the holidays, I thought I’d take some of the guess work out of the search for you.

Some of the games listed I have written reviews for over the years and you can click on those to read more.  Some of the games I’m just telling you are fun and you’ll have to take my word for it.

I’d love to hear your game suggestions in the comments.  (The kids have requested Exploding Kittens this year but I can’t recall much about that game.  We still don’t own Trivial Pursuit so I’ve been leaning toward that one.)

Here you goOur Family’s Favorite Games.

Pass the Pigs.  You can buy the party set with multiple pigs and I think it’s worth it to avoid the sharing of the pigs in little hands.  I love this game – it’s equal parts silly and challenging and a bit of a gamble.  I also appreciate the fact that it is highly portable for restaurants and waiting and it can be played in five minutes or twenty.

Yam Slam.  This one has been a favorite for years.  It’s a lot like Yahtzee, but less complicated.

Telestrations.  Think the game telephone, but with art.  Endlessly hysterical to my family.  And fun for grown ups and kids.  (Yes, it frequently results in potty humor, but it doesn’t have to.)

Tenzi.  I love this one for lots of reasons – it’s easy to bring on road trips.  (Although it’s too loud for restaurant waiting, unless you’re eating in a barn and then – go for it.)  With two sets of Tenzi you can play up to ten players and that’s fun for large gatherings.  It’s simple and engaging for all ages and reading abilities – because there is no reading.  The instructions are fast so you get to playing right away.  (Long directions make me feel crazy.)

Rummikub.  It’s a game for four players and it’s a numbers game – which is why I find it surprising that I like it so much.

Timeline.  Yes, this is probably an educational game.  But I still really like it and so do the kids.  It’s also easy to bring on trips – ours stays in the car.  There are several versions (history, music, sports etc) and you can combine them if that’s your style.

Blokus.  This game is also for only four players and I think the directions are complicated but after having it explained and played for me a few times, I’m addicted to this one.  The kids are always eager to play this one too.

The Game of Keigley.  Sure – you can’t get this EXACT game at your house, but you can make your own version.  It’s SO worth the effort and we pull this one out waaaay too often.  In fact, last year we made miniature versions of this game for some of our friends’ families.  (It was a fun little gift – we bought small cute cards at Hobby Lobby and wrote out versions specific to that family.)

Pit.  It’s a card game where you are trading commodities to equal a full set.  It’s ludicrously loud and we all love it more than we should.

There.

That should give you a starting place to make a few Christmas decisions.  And, hey, Public Service Announcement of the self-serving variety, if you order any of these games through Amazon, use my link (right sidebar up at the top) and I get a teensy kick back from Amazon.  But teensy plus teensy over time equals small and small plus small over time equals helpful.

Happy Gaming, y’all.

 

 

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4 Comments

  • Rhonda

    Carcassonne -Tile-based farming / castle building / road-based thievery simulator . The game has loads of add-on packs to increase the complexity. Well designed, well crafted, never the same scenarios. A brilliant game with near infinite re-playability.

    Take It Easy! – Take It Easy is a true multi-player solitaire in which each player individually completes a hexagon-shaped board with spots for 19 hexagon tiles. One person (the caller) draws a tile randomly and tells the others which of the 27 tiles featuring colored/numbered lines crossing in three directions, with numbers from 1 to 9, it is. “The 9-8-7,” for example. Each player then chooses which empty spot on his own board he’ll play the 9-8-7. This is repeated until the boards are filled. The idea is to complete same-numbered lines across your board. Scoring is calculated by multiplying the number on the tile with the number of tiles in the completed line. A complete column of three 9s is worth 27, for example. Take It Easy is often compared to Bingo because of the familiar pattern of a number being called and then everybody looking at their cards to play it, and then scoring if a line is completed. But that’s as far as the comparison goes. Bingo is sheer luck; Take It Easy is a game of skill.

    • laceykeigley

      I’ll check these out. London doesn’t care for games of luck – she prefers games of skill, s I try to get games of all variety.

  • Alicia Byars

    We discovered Timeline this year and love it. We also enjoy quick games of Sleeping Queens. The older kids and Brian love role playing games as well. Catch Phrase and Boggle are favorites too.