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Games can be so much fun, especially while playing them with friends and family. If you know someone who enjoys playing games, you’re going to love this list. I’ve got a list made with some games that I thought would be great for the holidays. Whether you want to gift these or have them out to play during the holidays, I hope you find them enjoyable.
Exploding Kittens
Make any get-together even more fun with the Exploding Kittens Game. This strategic card game has one simple aim – avoid getting blown up by exploding kitties. This fast-paced, UNO-like game will delight players of all ages as they play action cards in their quest to become the last player standing. The original box includes 56 cards, a box and instructions, and can be played by itself or combined with other decks to accommodate even more players for more fun.
For Ages: 7+
Learn more about Exploding Kittens.
Mind the Gap
A trivia game for the ages! Team up with players from every generation – Boomer, Gen X, Millennial, & Gen Z – to answer pop culture trivia and race around the board the fastest. Land on a Challenge Space and you’ll have to act out a famous scene, hum a well-known tune, or dance the coolest dances from all the generations.
- For 2 + Players
- 20-60 minute game play
For Ages: 10+
Learn more about Mind the Gap.
PANDO
If you’re looking for a laugh, this game is it. Play this one with the whole family. You’ll be able to draw cards and read the questions aloud. See who knows you best by answering these questions correctly. You may end up learning something new from your friends and family. You never know with all these questions. It’s a very funny game and it’s so much fun learning about others. No pens, paper or scorecards required! Just a fun game to learn more about each other.
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- Do I tend to embellish the truth?
- Have I ever dumped someone with a text?
- When flying, do I prefer the window or the aisle seat?
- How old was I when I started walking?
- Generally speaking, am I naughty or nice?
Learn more about PANDO.
House Guests From Hell
This is a blast to play with friends and family. In this game you want to get rid of all the guests. Get ready to come up with some fun explanations to help solve some of these difficulties. You can be very creative with this game. It is so fun to see what everyone comes up with. You have to draw dilemma and solution cards. The Dilemmas must be solved using the solution cards that you have drawn. This game sure can get crazy. This is definitely the game to play with all your friends and family. You’re sure to have a great time.
Learn more about House Guests From Hell.
Game of HAM
Game of Ham is a fun game to play with the whole family. This is one of my favorite game as well as my daughters. We had never heard of this game til recently. It’s new to us, and we love it. The judge pulls out a card and everyone else has to use their cards to try to see which one best resembles the one the judge has. Now the judge gets to decide whos card matches up the best. If you get picked, you get to move around the board. There are also colored spots on the board, which mean you get to pick a card when you land on a color. Each of these colored cards are different and can be played right away or during another time during the game. There are also numbers on the board where you get to move that many spots forward. You can even send players back to a white spot by landing on their piece! There are so many possibilities with this game. It’s a lot of fun! I can’t wait to play it more during the holidays.
Learn more about Game of HAM.
Banana Blitz Banana Grabba
Banana Blitz is a great game to play with the family. It’s great for those with younger kids ages 5 and up too. I love that this game is good for ages 5 and up because I have a lot of younger family members. We always love finding games we can all play together. Each round in this game you want to be the first to complete a written sequence using the banana pen. When a banana is rolled on the dice, the player to the left snatches the banana pen and begins writing the same sequence. The next player then begins rolling. When the pen comes back around, pick up where you left off. The first player to complete the sequence wins. This game can be so much fun! We have done something like this before with my kids, but never with a fun game like this. This makes it so much fun. Everyone loves being able to grab the banana pen. It’s really fun to see what everyone comes up with too.
Tenzi
TENZI is a fun fast dice game. My family enjoys playing dice games, and this was a fun one for us to try out. We are so excited to have this for the holidays too. We hope to play more with family with this dice game. Everyone gets a set of colored dice and tries to roll the dice as fast as possible. The first person to get all ten of their dice to match has to shout “TENZI” and then they will win the game. It’s a quick and easy game. A lot of fun too! If you love competitive games, this one sure is it. There are a total of nine different ways to play this game too. This could make for a great holiday game this year. Wouldn’t it be fun to play with everyone during the holidays?!
Learn more about TENZI.
Roto Brain
Roto Brain is a fun challenging 3D puzzle sphere. This is great for those who are 8 or older. It can be a bit challenging, so if you love a great challenge, you’re going to love this. This brainteasing puzzle enhances memory, critical thinking skills and tests consumer’s IQ’s. Its endless color combinations keep users engaged and off electronic devices. Roto Brain is the Rubik’s Cube reinvented! If you already love the Rubik’s Cube, then I think you’re going to love this one too. Try to crack the color combination code with the Roto Brain. This is great for an on the go game too. My family loves bringing games like these on long car rides. If you love endless puzzles, then this would be the product for you.
Learn more about Roto Brain.
Dark Darker Darkest
Dark Darker Darkest is a very intense horror game. If you love horror and games, you’ll love to play this game. In this game a team of urban survivors try to fight the darkness in an unsettling location: the house of Doctor Mortimer, which holds the antidote to a virus turning the world into an army of undead. Gather up all the tools to open doors, control fires and even battle creatures, which will try to destroy you. A challenging yet fun game. You and your team of survivors must explore the heavily guarded house of Dr. Mortimer, find and unlock his laboratory, and escape with the antidote to stop the zombie apocalypse. Think you can do it? This is such an exciting game, especially for anyone who loves horror.
Learn more about Dark Darker Darkest.
Pandemic
Pandemic is the perfect game to play now with all that has been going on around the world. In this game there is a disease outbreak. A team of specialists in various fields have to try to find cures for them before mankind is wiped out. Players must work together playing to their characters’ strengths and planning their strategy of eradication before the diseases overwhelm the world with ever-increasing outbreaks. The outbreaks are breaking out fast and time is running out. Your team has to work together to fight this. This is a game about cooperating with your teammates. A great way for everyone to work together to solve the problem. Teamwork is needed in this game. Everyone will win or lose together.
Learn more about Pandemic.
Abomination: The Heir of Frankenstein
In Abomination: The Heir of Frankenstein there are secret workshops that are scattered around the city, stacks of bloodless extremities and human organs fuel a nightmarish contest. A creature that should not exist drives a Group of amoral scientists to build it an unspeakable companion. And elsewhere, a Grizzled old sea captain clutches The grip of his pistol. He has come to honor the promise made to a dying Victor Frankenstein, and he prays for courage. Race to construct a viable living being to satisfy the Mad obsession of your benefactor. Research The newest scientific findings, charge your Leyden jars, and scavenge the local cemeteries for the raw materials needed to Perfect your craft. Bribe, steal, exhume and murder your way to victory, for the creature is always watching, and it does not tolerate failure. An all around fun game to play, especially with the family. Race against all your friends and family members for a fun competitive game.
Learn more about Abomination: The Heir of Frankenstein.
Arkham Horror
Learn more about Arkham Horror.
Pandemic: Hot Zone North America
Thanks for the great gift ideas. My boys are into games and these are great ones
You’re welcome. I’m glad they love games too.
OMG I have never heardof ANY of these before – hahahaha! But I want to get to know them better!
They are so amazing. We love games!
I think the House Guests game would be hilarious for one of our family game nights. Gotta check that one out!
It’s a great one for the whole family for sure.
These sound like some fun games. I might have to pick one up for our next game night.
They are all a ton of fun.
My older girl asked me for games and I am so lost as to what is cool these days. Thank you, for the help! The banana game looks so fun!
You’re welcome. The banana one is so much fun!
Thanks for sharing this list, so many amazing games.
You’re welcome. There sure are a lot of great games out there.
These look like a lot of fun. I’ve always been a big fan of game nights, but our games are getting boring. We’ve been playing them forever. I’ll have to give these a closer look.
We always try to switch it up and get new games too. We love trying out new games.
All games sound amazing. We play a lot of board games. Tenzi looks really exciting.
Tenzi is a favorite of ours. I really love it.
I love these kind of games! I hope I get some for Christmas!!
Us too! We love getting games for the holidays.
These are great ideas for stocking stuffers or to put under the tree. We’re a competitive family and game nights are a hit with the kids.
I’m glad you love game nights too. It’s always fun to get together with family for a game night.
So many amazing games I have never heard of! I definitely want to get a couple of these and try them out. My daughter would especially love that banana one with the monkey on it.
The banana one is so much fun. We love it.
Some lovely gift ideas there. I know my daughters would really enjoy them. They do love to play games and I like to encourage them too. It means they’re not on screens which is good.
We enjoy playing games too. It’s great to see them play games and not be on the screens all the time.
These games all look super fun! I bet my family would love Pando and the game of HAM. We need to play more games.
They are tons of fun. We love them all.
We have family game night once each week so this list of games is a welcome treat for our family.
We love our family game nights too.
These are really fun games! Sounds great to play these with my family on Christmas day.
Yes, they sure are.
These games sounds so fun! My family and I will surely enjoy it if we play these on Christmas day.
They all are amazing games. A lot of fun to play.
Those are great gifts to give, for sure. Any kid would love to have any of those games.
Right! We sure love games in our house.
There a few here that we do not have, so I am going to get them for our family, We have game and movie night each week
I’m glad to hear that. We love our game nights too.
These look like so much fun! My family loves having game nights. These would be awesome.
We sure love our game nights too.
Such a great gift guide for game lovers! My brother, husband and nephews are all game freaks. I might gift a few of these to my nephews 😍
That’s great to hear. We sure love games too.
These are amazing gifts for the game fans. Yes my son and hubby loves game. I will check it out for them.
We sure love games too. Family game nights are the best.
Nice list. My kid might like the Roto Brain. One of the card games I’ve been eyeballing lately is the meme card game called What do you meme? Last year I finished collecting all of the Cards Against Humanity, as well as the big box that is sold separate.
Roto Brain is a good challenge. We love that one.
I am soo loving this list …for myself! Haha, I really love playing games with my family. But I also know few who will love these items. Thanks for sharing.
I really love playing games with the family too. It’s always a blast.
My nephew is a gamer & these are some wonderful gift ideas for him! Thanks for sharing this amazing list!
Of course! I hope you find something he’d like from the list.
My family is a game lover! Thanks for sharing these useful recommendations.
Of course! We love games too.
Wow! Nice ideas! My nephew and nieces will definitely love this. Thank you!
Of course! Games are always fun to play with the family.