The holiday season has many perks and one of the best ones is spending time with your family. Family traditions and activities should be something we all look forward to all year long. Maybe your favorite thing is to cuddle up on the couch and watch your favorite Christmas movies or sit around a fire with hot chocolate and tell stories. One of my favorite traditions is to get the entire family together and break out the boardgames. We are always collecting board games throughout the year and sometimes it is hard to find the time to play them so when our winter break comes along it is the perfect time to get into some of our favorite ones and maybe learn a few new ones. If this sounds like the perfect tradition for you and your family take a look at 7 board games, we think you should play this holiday season.
Tis The Season
What is better than watching your favorite Christmas movies together as a family? How about playing a trivia game about your favorite Christmas movies to show your family you have more knowledge than they do! Tis The Season has sold MILLIONS of copies and covers movies like It’s a Wonderful Life, Home Alone, Elf, A Christmas Story, The Grinch, Nightmare Before Christmas and many more. Each card has different Christmas trivia not only about movies but also Christmas songs, Christmas traditions and even some Christmas carol trivia.
Sequence
Not all games that are gun to play around Christmas is going to be themed around Christmas, if that was the case this would be a shorter list because there are only so many GOOD Christmas themed games. All a game really has to be in order for it to be fun around the holidays is, well be fun of course. Some of the most fun you can have playing a board game can be had playing the game Sequence. This game can be played with 2-12 players and is a fantastic strategy game that is fun for all ages. The box says 7 and up but we have played this with our son who is 5 and he loved it, he just needed a little help in some areas. There is a variant however that is strictly for kids, but I feel if you are wanting to have fun with the entire family it is easier to just show the kids how to play the original. Easy to learn and hours of fun this is our go to yearlong but especially when everyone is over for the holidays.
Ticket To Ride: Nordic Countries
Ticket to Ride has been a go to family game since its original release in 2004 and with many different expansions it continues to grow as a favorite. We suggest if you are going to play a Ticket to Ride this holiday, you should check out Nordic Countries! This expansion has a beautiful board and will make you feel like drinking some hot coco and relaxing by a fire. This version of the game was released in 2007 and can be played by 2-3 players.
Disney’s Villainous
If you love Disney movies this is going to be your new favorite game! Disney’s Villainous is a 2-6 player game where each person controls a villain from a different Disney movie. Each villain has their own villain deck, fate deck, a player board and a small character to move across the player board. The wonderful thing about this game is the replay value of it. Each villain has its own way of winning so if you change your character each game, it will be completely different. Disney is still coming out with expansion packs so at the moment there are around 18-20 different villains you can choose from, including the marvel movies. I for one am hoping there is a Star Wars expansion coming soon!
Betrayal at House on the Hill
So, this may not be on any other Christmas lists, but Betrayal at House on the Hill is one of the best board games I have ever played, and I will push it as much as I can! This game can be played with 3-6 players (or even 2 players if you get creative) and is an adventure horror game that can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours to play. Each player will journey through a mansion and reveal room tiles as they go. The mansion will be different each time since the tiles are randomly chosen. Players start out playing co-op however eventually the “Haunt” will begin, and everything changes with one player turning traitor against the others. This is such a fun game and if it is a little intimidating for first time gamers or a younger crowd, check out the Scooby Doo variant!
Truth or Dare Jenga
Jenga is already a super fun party game and truth or dare is a game we have all played so what happens when you marry the two together? You get a laugh filled party game that is fun for everyone. This can be played with 2-8 players and takes about 20 minutes per game. The gameplay is the same as the original game but with 2/3 of the blocks colored with truth or dare questions on it. The remaining blocks can be written on with a washable marker so players can make up their own.
Christmas-opoly
No family game night would be complete without monopoly. This is typically the last game the family plays because it will end in a fight where you curse your Grandma and swear to never talk to your cousins again. We felt we would end our game list with the game to end all game nights, but with a twist. Perhaps adding some Christmas cheer to the game will keep your family from going at each other’s throats, or maybe this will be the game to push you over the edge and finally move to Arizona like you’ve been wanting, either way this 2-6 player game is perfect for you and your family!
Written exclusively for our company by Jacob Ruble
Source – CoolMambo.com
