Best family game this holiday.

We played Querkle and Codenames, both new to me, easy to learn but required a bit of thought to play well and enjoyable. The family is horribly competitive so it's always better to a game that is partly chance and partly skill or people can get a tiny bit cross if they keep losing!

DD was given a miniature curling game - curling - the game the Scots play on ice with large stones - except in this case the 'rink' is about 4 foot x 1 foot, of a shiny plastic, and the curling 'stones are the size of flattened large marbles with a large ball baring inside to give it weight and make sure it moves smoothly.

We had a tournament ongoing, for most of the last week and I have proved to be remarkedly adept at the game.

They sound good.
The curling one would suit my sports mad lot too.

foxie Just a ‘tiny bit cross’ made me laugh! Thank you.

Herd Mentality has been our most popular game this Christmas. We have also played Labyrinth quite a bit. Both games work for adults and children.

Sounds Fishy is one of our family favourites.

We like Codenames and Herd Mentality.

Also like Dixit a lot.

And sometimes play Senior Moments, as recommended by a GN on a thread a few months ago.

Good old fashioned ’Cludeo’

Frustration.

I agree re Herd Mentality, though it took me a while to stop trying to be different. It's good for all ages, and can be played at ease in the living room , though some might prefer to use a table.

We love Rack Oh - a number arranging game from Canada original finally but you can get it over here. very addictive and easy for everyone from about six and up to play together. Even our four year old GS like to play a simplified version, just uses fewer cards

We played Articulate. It's harder than you think.

At a recent family gathering the obligatory game session was something new to us - Fill your Pants!! Needless to say, it was pretty rowdy but raised a lot of laughs😂

Our current favourite is Who's in the Bag. Good fun.

Our current favourite with our 8 yr old and 5 yr old grandkids is Kluster. I’m sure our next door neighbours wondering what on earth is going on when they hear the yelps and screams of frustration it causes!! Simply involves each player placing their magnetic buttons within a frame without them jumping towards another players’ ones. Hint: Get the Classic version rather than Kluster Duo, it works better!

UNO Flip. Great card game for the family. 10+ years for children

We played Cluedo and Herd Mentality.

Magnetic Chess, it's not a chess game so no idea how the name comes about, it's 20 small magnets and a circle of rope, you each take a turn putting in a magnet, if they some attach together you have to take those, the one with no magnets left is the winner, adults and children loved it

Thank you for starting this thread! I purchased a game called Exploding Kittens (I know, horrible), but it seemed too complicated for our gang. Ages from 9 upwards, with little patience for reading instructions!

I saw the magnet game up at the ski hill last Saturday, grandparents were playing with young children, and it looked like a lot of fun! We always resort to snakes and ladders, or Trouble, but those are getting dull.

Wow, so many games I haven’t heard of. I think I’ll have to visit the board game cafe in a village near here to try some of these out.

Canadiangran our Gchn loved snakes and ladders and ludo when they were smaller. Now 14 year old Gson was poorly recently and there was a feeble voice asking for a ‘gingerbread man and a game of ludo please’ when I asked what would help him to feel better!
Coppit was another favourite.

Good Game is called Paniku - Panic. Questions are in Maltese ad English, so you can answer in which language you want [the same question on each card]. You have to reply within 10 seconds of a buzzer being pressed, and that's what causes the panic, because some of the questions are simple, and yet the tick tick tick sets you on edge. If the answer is correct, you keep the card, if not, you give it to the person who questioned you. The cards have colours along the edges, and so you build a grid with them, so the colours touch [not in the same order on each car, four colours]. You take out cards at random from a box. modelshop.com.mt/shop/toys/board-games/paniku/

At Christmas we play a memory game (nothing needed except pen and paper or a phone to make a list of names). We call it Celebrities. One independent person is appointed to keep the list and each participant chooses a secret random celebrity/historical figure/fiction character, etc. The list keeper adds some of his/her own names to add some confusion! The tactic is not to choose a celebrity, etc. who you’re known to like or be familiar with. The list is read out, then each person randomly asks another if they chose that name. If their guess is correct, they form a team and then work together. If not, the person who answered then asks someone else. The last person who hasn’t been guessed correctly is the winner.

We played Horrible History and a newer version of UNO.

We played Charades on Christmas day with much hilarity, and continued at other GP's house on Boxing Day!
The GC are aged 7 to 17.
The youngest possibly enjoyed it best.

Great suggestions above and I second Magnetic Chess. It's also an excellent addition to the small bag I always take if we're having a meal out with grandchildren.

Our most memorable this year was the Marshmallow Game.
For each player you need a paper cup and a drinking straw ( I found re-usable plastic straws in the pound shop) Then simply throw a whole bag of mini marshmallows down the centre of the table and each player has to pick up as many marshmallows as they can using ONLY the straw and putting them in the cup. It was loved by young and old alike. Use a timer, whoever has the most marshmallows wins.