Besides the food, the best part of Thanksgiving is spending time with family. But after a few hours, hanging out and chatting gets boring. Kids become restless while grownups start checking their phones, which doesn’t make for a great family gathering.
That’s when it’s time to break out the games. They’re a great way to get everyone involved and have fun. You can pick one game for the whole gathering to play together or set up a variety for people to choose between.
If you need help figuring out fun, easy Thanksgiving games for the family to play, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve got suggestions for all types of games, from traditional board games to Thanksgiving-themed fun.
Board Games
Pictionary
What Is It? Players use markers to draw their best rendition of the clue on the card, with a one-minute deadline. If team members just aren’t getting it, the sketcher can try a different direction. Players take turns drawing, so everyone gets to channel their inner artist!
Pictionary is a great game for large groups. You can divide everyone into two teams or have multiple smaller teams for a longer game. You only need something to draw on and a way to generate prompts for hours of fun.
Telestrations
What Is It? Telestrations is the visual version of the classic “telephone game” where you draw what you see, then guess what you saw to reveal hilarious outcomes!
Don’t feel like you’re very good at drawing? Telestrations is the game for you. The worse the drawings, the more fun the game is. While you can buy the official version, you can also make a DIY version.
Scattegories
What Is It? Team up in this fun, fast-paced game and rack your brain for items that fit the category. Can you think of articles of clothing, things you fold, or things at the beach that start with S? You score points when you come up with things that no one else does. But you’ve only got seconds to come up with them!
There’s nothing like the thrill of racing the timer to come up with words to write on your Scattegories sheet. It’s easy to learn but mentally challenging enough to keep you engaged. You can even find printable Thanksgiving prompts for a themed game.
Ticket to Ride
What Is It? Players collect train cards that enable them to claim railway routes connecting cities throughout North America. The longer the routes, the more points they earn. Additional points come to those who can fulfill their Destination Tickets by connecting two distant cities and the player who builds the longest continuous railway.
While this game only plays five people at a time, turns are short, and you can finish a round in under an hour. The most challenging part is racing to claim your railway route before someone else.
Card Games
Uno
What Is It? Players take turns matching a card in their hand with the current card shown on top of the deck, either by color or number. If you can’t make a match, you must draw from the center pile. And when you’re down to one card, don’t forget to shout “UNO!” The first player to get rid of all the cards in their hand wins.
Most of us grew up playing Uno. It requires no skill, and large groups of people can play it, from kids to grandparents. If you want to take it up a notch, try playing an Uno variant.
Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza
What Is It? Race against each other to SLAP a match between a card and spoken word. But – watch out! Your mind will play tricks on you.
Playing this game is fairly easy while remembering all the words and actions is tricky. Kids enjoy the silly cards while everyone struggles to match the right card and actions.
Oregon Trail
What Is It? To win, you’ll need to keep one player alive all the way from Independence, MO to the Willamette Valley. But between rattlesnakes, starvation, dead oxen, broken bones, dysentery, and a host of other calamities, the odds are long…almost as long as the Oregon Trail itself. Players work together to move along the trail, fording rivers and playing Supply Cards to overcome calamities.
Did you play this as a video game when you were a kid? Now, you can play it with your kids in card game form. It keeps the challenge of the video game but makes gameplay faster and multiplayer.
Spoons
What Is It? Players take turns trying to collect a four-of-a-kind. Once someone does, everyone tries to grab a spoon. Without a spoon, you’re eliminated until one person is left standing.
If you have a pack or two of cards and a bunch of spoons (or other easy-to-grab objects), you can play Spoons. It’s loud, rowdy, and competitive as people try not to be the next person out.
Other Games
Cornhole
What Is It? Contestants take turns pitching their corn bags at the cornhole platform until a contestant reaches the score of 21 points. A corn bag in the hole scores 3 points, while one on the platform scores 1 point.
If it’s a nice day, set up a cornhole tournament outside. Winning teams face off to become the ultimate cornhole champion. You could even include a fun prize, like candy or a mini trophy.
Thanksgiving Charades
What Is It? Charades is a word-guessing game where one player has to act out a word or action without speaking, and other players have to guess what the action is.
Come up with a bunch of Thanksgiving-themed prompts for a game of charades. Everyone can get in on the fun and enjoy the challenge of trying to guess their teammate’s performance.
Bingo
What Is It? Every player has a card with randomized numbers and letters on it. The caller takes turns calling out letter/number combos until someone gets five in a row. Bingo!
A good game of Bingo is a simple way to pass the time, even for kids. Make it more holiday-appropriate by finding a Thanksgiving version to play.
Scavenger Hunt
What Is It? A scavenger hunt is a game in which the players — either individuals or teams — compete to see who can obtain the most items from a list. Usually, the group that organizes the scavenger hunt comes up with a list of very specific and often quite unusual items. It could be anything.
Create a list of things to find, then give participants a set amount of time to hunt them down. Kids especially enjoy doing this, while grownups can participate or just enjoy watching.
Keep Thanksgiving fun this year with these easy family games. Which one is your favorite?
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