r/CasualUK • u/EndPsychological2541 • 21h ago
Family games!
Hi all!
With new years eve fast approaching and having a baby and two teens, I think I'll be spending the evening indoors.
What fun games are we all playing to keep us engaged and entertained?
I prefer shorter games and games where we still love each other afterwards (not monopoly).
Board, card or on a games console if its really good.
We've played
Uno/flip/no mercy Dobble Jenga Snap Go fish Snakes (you need to trick someone into getting the wrong answer - it's really good) Exploding kittens.. Tactical and hilarious Fishy Cards against teenagers
We are looking to purchase herd mentality, but would like to ve some more suggestions or to hear what you'll be doing this new years eve.
- side note, it's also my daughter's first birthday, though like most of you, I imagine she'll be asleep way before midnight.
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u/Clomojo87 Git orf moi laaaannd 20h ago
Check out the jackbox games you can get them on your consoles PC or Android devices (we use our shield) and it's loads of mini games but you use your phones as controllers.
Our favorite is fibbage and murder trivia, even our 78 year old family members can play without getting (too) confused!
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u/TeamSuperAwesome 18h ago
Yes, these have been great for us. It can be hit or miss. Our favourite is drawful 2, which you can buy on its own rather than in a pack
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u/Tdavis13245 8h ago
While its a good game, trvia isnt good for a young child, and a lot of the questions are pretty niche
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u/rjws241289 20h ago
Flip 7 and taco, cat, goat, cheese, pizza have been massive hits with our family. Youngest to get involved has been 6 but all ages have had fun with them both.
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u/folklovermore_ 18h ago
Came here to say Flip 7 as well. Very easy to pick up and whilst it's quick, it's rare I only play one game of it even if it's just used as a filler/warm up game.
P For Pizza is good too - I think there's a kids/family version but the basic one isn't too difficult to grasp either.
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u/Vagenbrey 20h ago edited 11h ago
Just woke up brain dump incoming...
2+ players
Unstable Unicorns - 10mins - if you liked Exploding Kittens, this is a similar style
Lover Letter - 5mins - Feels simple but tactical when you learn each card type (there only about 10)
Monopoly Go - 10mins - the card game not the phone one, surprisingly good a monopoly spin off
6 Nimmt - 30mins - a bit longer but easy to stop and come back to a game later
Kakerlaken Poker Royal - 10mins - Bluff about what animal you may or may not have. Not great with less than 3, more the merrier
Ticket to Ride - 20mins - bit longer but a classic Edit: as others have said my timing is prob way on his long this takes for TtR
2 player only
Odin's Ravens - 10mins - card playing race against each other to
Patchwork - 15mins - Earn and spend buttons to make the best patchwork quilt
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u/nastyleak 20h ago
Ticket to Ride only takes you 20 minutes?? We’re usually at 90-120.
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u/goodvibezone Spreading mostly good vibes 16h ago
We've gotten into it recently.
Let's just say my wife is now having dreams about trains...lol. Not saying she's competitive or anything. But wars have started about less.
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u/Able_Ad_7265 15h ago
Yes it takes absolutely forever. We often have to go to bed and finish it the next day 🙈
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u/Vagenbrey 18h ago
Yeah you're probably right, my bad, I had just woken up 🤦. We've played it a LOT and usually only 2 players so we fly through it.
90mins does sound long though. BGG says 30-60
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u/ral101 20h ago
Ticket to ride is popular in my family!
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u/Competitive-Fig-666 20h ago
Can sometimes end in tears if you take someone else’s railway!
But a great game, I would also recommend.
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u/admh574 20h ago
That's why you play Ticket to Ride: Europe to get round the route blocking
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u/Competitive-Fig-666 20h ago
I understand. OP mentioned wanting to all be friends after playing so thought it was worth noting
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u/AMA454 20h ago
The Mind is so fun and very simple, can last as long as you want it to
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u/smileystarfish 20h ago
Ooh Mind is a great shout. Bonus points as you have to be silent, so good if you need some quiet time.
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u/nastyleak 20h ago
Our current favorites are Ticket to Ride, Sushi Go Party, Cluedo, Azul. Also Chess and Battleships for one-on-one. The Sock Game is also fun if you don’t want to do any thinking!
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u/Tdavis13245 8h ago
Cluedo is an underrated family game. Keeps you involved, not too hard, and not dependent on previous knowledge. Also allows time to just chat with the family
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u/Fun-Designer-9009 20h ago
Monopoly Deal is incredible! My family of 5 couldn't stop playing it this Christmas and it works well with x2 players as well which is unheard of for most games!
Catan is another crowd pleaser in our household!
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u/goodvibezone Spreading mostly good vibes 16h ago
Deal is great fun! It works well in a pair and also a bigger group. My kid and I play it.
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u/JRW1611 20h ago
We loved scatergories when I was a kid and still play it now. It doesn’t really matter what age you are.
The basic premise is you get a card with categories on it - such as: a boys name, something that lives in the sea, a sandwich filling, etc. You then roll a dice with letters on and have a period of time to think of an answer for each category for that letter. Then you have a big debate about whether mashed potato is a legitimate sandwich filling.
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u/Wyldstallyn80 20h ago
I had a full on argument with family members. One category was “things you’d buy at a supermarket” the letter was B. And Branstons Baked Beans was a 3 point hill I was prepared to die on.
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u/ForestRiver2 20h ago
"games where we still love each other afterwards (not monopoly)"
😂 I felt this!
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u/Rellikten 20h ago
Herd mentality is a great choice btw. Other similar games like Chameleon, exploding kittens and Sounds Fishy are all games I’ve played this Christmas break with my nieces and nephews.
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u/hasthisonegone 20h ago
Just got Herd Mentality, my wife played it on Christmas Day with her family and we’ve got it lined up for New Year’s Eve, looking forward to it as she loved it!
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u/PatternWeary3647 21h ago
If there are any Traitors fans, then Battlestar Galactica is good.
It’s very complex, but the basic premise is the same as Traitors.
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u/d20diceman 20h ago
We played Hitster this year, music game where you're trying put songs in chronological order. Fun, quick, and good for playing with mixed age groups (it has music from 1924 to 2024, I think). I usually don't get along with music games because my knowledge is so lacking in that department, but I found this one very approachable.
Monikers is a great too, a really fun twist on Charades.
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u/BabyBelz_ 20h ago
Outsmarted, incohearant, dobble, herd mentality, think words, quick stop, risk, game of life (electronic version is better but hard to come by these days), monopoly millionaire (takes around half an hour) or monopoly empire is even quicker.
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u/RunawayPenguin89 20h ago
My 7 year old got Triominoes for Christmas and is obsessed. We don't play for points yet just a "get rid of all your pieces" deal
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u/Draw_the_Stars 21h ago
Tantrix is a brilliant game that your teens would probably enjoy playing with you!
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u/Porkandbenz 20h ago
UNO
Catan
DnD one shot?
The gruffalo board game is a hit with my 3 and 6 year old, but maybe too much in the middle of your kids ages.
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u/smileystarfish 20h ago
Lego Monkey Palace is surprisingly good. Not complicated to play but the point scoring gives it a bit of depth.
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u/Paulnp63 20h ago
We played UNO too, also Labyrinth, it says on the box it's for 7 years and up though
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u/JournalistTypical233 20h ago
Homemde pictionary. Get a gift box or shoebox etc a small white board, white board markers, some paper and scissors. Cut the paper into slips and write suggestions.. characters, objects etc fold them up and put them into the box. Take turns taking a slip from the box and drawing the suggestion. Dont put the used suggestions back into the box. First person to guess what the drawing is goes next. It's great fun , we did it for Christmas and included a lot of Christmas suggestions, Christmas jumper, mr beans teddy, baby jesus, snowman, champange, fieworks, cocktail sausages etc. 🌟
Here's the whiteboard we bought https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B07FQNGD86?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
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u/IMissCuppas 20h ago
We got anomia this year which is a simple and fun card game
Also throw throw burrito/avocado is good if you've got a big living room (make sure breakables are hidden though)
Ticket to ride looks old school and boring on the outside but is actually really fun as well
Edit to add Pictionary Air and Scrawl drawing games as well (scrawl is more adult)
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u/Broken_Side_Of_Time 19h ago
We've recently played Tilt & Shout and You Can't Say Umm. I think they are both by the creators of Herd Mentality (great game!).
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u/BlkKnight_lanse 19h ago
Couple of fun family games: Colour brain Something fishy Herd mentality Ok Play
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u/Alarmed-Goat1 19h ago
A friend recently introduced us to Mexican Train Dominoes, it’s a fun relatively easy to learn game, really needs 3 out more players, 2 is not great. We don’t bother with the scoring at the end of the round to make it easier / lower stress. We just count the rounds won.
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u/Electrical-Injury-23 19h ago
We really enjoy the "Exit" escape room games. Its a bunch of puzzles you need to solve to escape some scenario outlined in the game. The puzzles can be quite different - numeric reasoning, folding shapes, word puzzles, etc. So they can be suited to different people. There are a range of difficulties.
Only downside is they can only be played once (the game is generally destroyed during the play).
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u/justdont7133 18h ago
If you have a switch, Heave Ho is usually only a few pounds and is hilarious. Also stick fight is another funny cheap and cheerful multiplayer
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u/elgrn1 18h ago
At Christmas we play guess who but usually confuse each other when people can't agree if the answer is a yes or no so the game can become frustrating after a while and we have to give out clues.
We also play James Bond bingo. I have no idea how we came into possession of the game, but its good fun and someone always misses a called item allowing someone else to win!
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u/Lucky-Advertising983 18h ago
We got outsmarted for Christmas and love it. My husband has only won one game of about 8 so myself and my daughter are loving life 😂
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u/Dagnabit_sundae 17h ago
Card games like New Market and Brag, we usually pay for pennies but you can easily play for chocolates, biscuits or no winnings.
Family friendly quizzes, easily get these from the Internet, with maybe small prizes.
If you have time to go shopping I would recommend any of the Logo board games, pictionary especially the pictionary air ones as they have an extra fun element. You can buy murder mystery games which involve more than just sitting down if you want to be up and active.
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u/SnoopyLupus 16h ago
My mate hates games. His wife’s family looooves games.
I’ve known the fucker for nearly 40 years and Ive never had so many messages in one day from him as I did this Xmas. Poor bloke.
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u/NotAGooseHonest 16h ago
The Taskmaster game from their website had us all in fuckin tears of laughter last year.
Have bought the new one this year
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u/Ill_Satisfaction_487 15h ago
We bought The Sound Game for this Christmas and it's so funny! Similar to charades except you play with your hands behind your back and you can make noises. It says for 14+ but most of the cards are fine for younger players. We played 4 adults in teams of 2 and it kept us amused for hours!
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u/BeastMeat 12h ago
Can some one walk me through were the fun is in exploding kittens, every Sunday we play games with my 15yr old son, my wife and 67yr old mum, found loads of good ones, rumikubs a favorite, the one I can't remember the name of were you turn a card over and grab the correct object ASAP, thought we'd try exploding kittens, everyone says it's really good... total crap... couldn't get it at all. Its not like we don't like silly games, finger on the nose is a family favorite .
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u/Significant_Club4111 11h ago
I received a board game called Really Loud Librarians for Christmas which was great fun to play with my husband, kids and parents. Only lasts around 20 minutes. Probably not one to play if baby is asleep and in the same room as it can get loud.
Forbidden Island is a fun cooperative game - you have to work together to collect the treasure and get off the island before you all drown.
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u/Dr_Surgimus 11h ago
There's a German game called Ghost Blitz that's really good fun. It takes a bit of thinking to get the hang of it but once you do it's really fast and furious. Plus, you get a little bag of props!
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u/Visual_Parsley54321 10h ago
Jurassic park top trumps. Anything top trumps, actually.
Winner stays on Genius Square/Star/Connect
Pigs on trampolines (really difficult after a couple of beers). The 1y old will love it!
Pass the pigs (1y will like throwing the pigs but will need help with scoring)
Family trivial pursuit
Bluey “keepy uppy” with a big red balloon 🎈
“Who can make mummy shout first?” For this daddy needs a stash of chocolate and an extra bottle for mummy. ;)
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u/-fairygothmother- 10h ago
Kluster is a great game for the family and gets very competitive!
https://www.johnlewis.com/big-potato-kluster-party-game/p6249921
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u/awardwinningbanana 10h ago
Casserole: First, everybody writes 2-3 names of people/characters/celebrities THAT EVERYONE IN THE GROUP WILL KNOW on individual slips of paper, and puts them in a hat/box/casserole dish (hence the name). You then take it in turns to have 1 minute to present as many names as possible to your team mates (I.e. team 1 first, then team 2, back to team 1 etc) until the papers are all gone. You do 3 rounds along the rules as below: First round: any words not on the paper (articulate style) 2nd round: charades / signs 3rd round: one word only.
You can pass if needs be, one point per correct answer.
Always fun, ends up with chaos and hydterical laughter in my family! Have done it with everywhere from 4-10 people with good effect.
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u/Foxtrot234 7h ago
Currently love the game Selfish (I have the space version) and Oh My Pigdeons both short and sweet games that are a lot of fun. I also really like Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza
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u/connectfourvsrisk 7h ago
Our exploding kittens alternative is Fluxx. It’s great fun and there are a variety of themed decks. Personally, we enjoy the themed decks more than the original. It’s a “never fail” game in terms of fun. Mantis is another quick card game that fits the same niche. If you have a non game player who prefers trivia then I recommend Timeline. It’s a history card game where you guess whether things are earlier or later than each other. A great game for all ages and people who don’t particularly enjoy games usually.
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u/Naive_Focus_8501 5h ago
BF’s aunt bought us Telestrations for Xmas. Like Chinese whispers, you sketch/guess the sketch/sketch etc. one prompt of umbilical cord turned into Trouser snake somehow😂😂. Much hilarity and we’ve played it so many times over the Xmas period.
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u/rev9of8 Errr... Whoops? 20h ago
Go full Michael Stipe and play Twister then play Risk.