last year I played rapidough with some people incl one of my brothers in law and the clue was "loch ness monster" but he got confused and thought the clue was rapidough and he didn't know how to make it and gave up.
Ticket to Ride is the best board game for family at Xmas. Easy to learn, takes about 45 mins, enough drama for all ages.
Can you even buy a proper Monopoly these days? Last time I was looking it was all branded versions or the one with that awful card machine instead of paper cash
Dingbats or Pictionary or that one where you have to describe things to your team not using the obvious words are always ace but not really so good for kids.*
*do not put me and mrs W on the same team for these, we will pwn you
What's that card game with 2 packs where you have to lie to get rid of your pairs/runs. We used to call it Bullshit. If player 1 said "8 Kings" and player 2 called "bullshit" and Player 1 wasn't lying, player 2 has to pick up the extant deck
Brandy Trivial Pursuit. You just work your way through the Trivial Pursuit questions asking each other and every time someone gets a question wrong they do a shot of brandy. (Other versions are available but when I played it it was New Year's Eve and we'd drunk everything apart from the leftover Christmas pudding brandy)
Monopoly, but only if you start with double money and the game ends when first person goes bankrupt (with Richest the winner). Otherwise it drags on forever and all the losers get bored.
Love cards against humanity (with cards like maddie mccann and jade goody you can't lose) but not really one I can play on hearing distance of the parents. Also really like an art trading game called modigliani as one Christmas I spectacularly destroyed my sister in laws hopes and dreams playing it.
Big fan of Catan but Ticket to Ride is easier to explain and get into. There are some interesting variants now too. Saw a London one in a bookshop the other day, which I imagine would be very fast to play.
Carcasonne is good fun too and pretty simple; but you may need to play it a bit to get the tactical nuances. Could be a tough Christmas ask unless people are fairly committed boardgamers.
Aside from all the obvious ones (Risk, Monopoly Scrabble etc), you might want to try the following
- A social deduction game of some sort. One Night Werewolf is best if kids aren’t too young.
- Exploding Kittens
- Unstable Unicorns
- Bear Park
- King of Tokyo (actually this would be my main recommendation - its really simple dice and cards but with a bit of tactics and intra group dynamics)
Genuinely just curious, I was trying to imagine what a family Dux Christmas was like, that's all. Was it just you and your parents and Mrs Dux frantically trying to land on Park Lane, or are there more Dux brothers and sisters...
I am not close to my brother at all, I am envious of those with excellent relationships with their siblings.
your right its absolutely hilarious, I bet the madeline card is hard to find haha and the holocaust card appears when you say anything about Israel killing children
The Mind (ten minute card game with rules that can be explained in under a minute). Highly addictive
Magic maze - cooperative game to explore a shopping mall against a timer and get your people into the shops they need to rob and escape before the time runs out. The catch - each person has control of a direction, not a token, and they're can be no communication verbally or otherwise.
Tichu - highly repayable trick taking partnership game
Carcassonne
Avalon; 7 players. 4 allocated good. 3 allocated bad. Bad guys know each other. Good don't know anything. Good trying to complete three missions with only good players on them. Bad guys trying to pose as good and sabotage those missions.
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monopoly
risk
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1. Scrabble
2. Sorry!
3. Uno
4. Cluedo
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Monopoly
Cathedral
Trivial Pursuits
Clag
Chase The Lady
Chess if a particular relative is about
Naked Olive Oil Twister
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Pop Up Pirate
i actually went to a pop up pirate themed bar in tokyo which was bonkers but fun
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Oooh, yeah - second Scrabble and Cluedo as well.
Plus Pictionary sometimes.
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Catan
Monopoly
Wingspan (bit niche)
if you will look beyond board games then UNO
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Soz - I assumed the 'etc' allowed card games too. Would add Sevens and Rummy as well.
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last year I played rapidough with some people incl one of my brothers in law and the clue was "loch ness monster" but he got confused and thought the clue was rapidough and he didn't know how to make it and gave up.
HE WILL NEVER BE ALLOWED TO FORGET THIS.
anyway, rapidough.
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it says rapidough on the back of the cards, you see
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Ticket to Ride is the best board game for family at Xmas. Easy to learn, takes about 45 mins, enough drama for all ages.
Can you even buy a proper Monopoly these days? Last time I was looking it was all branded versions or the one with that awful card machine instead of paper cash
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Ticket to ride
Carcassone - particularly apt!
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Cards Against Humanity
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Catan
Carcassonne
Risk
Monopoly
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Have already played that one with my parents, Buzz, and there is not enough alcohol in the world to want to repeat the experience!
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The Hat game
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Also card games (poker or canasta)
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Bridge?
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Carcassonne is the most boring thing ever invented. It is more boring than just looking at some bricks.
I would suggest (assuming kids will be there):
- trumps
- draughts
- pairs
- That one where you have a famous person from history stuck on your bonce and have to work oout who it is
- bird bingo (this one is ace if you have a good caller think they also do cat/dog etc. versions)
- jenga
- Roulette (with all proceeds going to charity obv - we had this every xmas when I was growing up at my nan's house, run by y G Uncle the monsignor)
- Play Your Cards Right (anna u may be too young to remember this) but it is brilliant. Nothing for a pair, even those, not in this game...
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There will be no kids there, everyone is over 30.
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Dingbats or Pictionary or that one where you have to describe things to your team not using the obvious words are always ace but not really so good for kids.*
*do not put me and mrs W on the same team for these, we will pwn you
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Whot!
Simple but amusing card game. Use 2 packs
The national card game of Nigeria apparently
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What's that card game with 2 packs where you have to lie to get rid of your pairs/runs. We used to call it Bullshit. If player 1 said "8 Kings" and player 2 called "bullshit" and Player 1 wasn't lying, player 2 has to pick up the extant deck
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Linkee is a decent trivia game
Yahtzee
Pass the pigs
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Echoing others, but Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne and Scrabble are all popular with my family.
Catan didn't work at all, people found it very boring.
Most entertainment last year came from a University Challenge quiz book though.
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Monopoly played for/with real money.
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charades
sardines
guess who thing on forehead
perudo
puckett (which is also excellent as a gift)
All enhanced by alcohol.
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Brandy Trivial Pursuit. You just work your way through the Trivial Pursuit questions asking each other and every time someone gets a question wrong they do a shot of brandy. (Other versions are available but when I played it it was New Year's Eve and we'd drunk everything apart from the leftover Christmas pudding brandy)
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Perudo is fun when played with a bunch of drunk adults
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Trix - you've reminded me I have a Perudo set that's never been used - will rectify that this Christmas.
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- Articulate
- uno
- logo board game
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Thanks all. Rapidough, Catan and 221b Baker Street have been purchased. TGF Amazon.
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no naked twister?
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Monopoly, but only if you start with double money and the game ends when first person goes bankrupt (with Richest the winner). Otherwise it drags on forever and all the losers get bored.
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I was introduced to Scythe recently....that is a cool board game but maybe not taking into account the pain that would be explaining it to the rents
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My fam always plays Monopoly on Boxing Day. I've only ever lost once.
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Love cards against humanity (with cards like maddie mccann and jade goody you can't lose) but not really one I can play on hearing distance of the parents. Also really like an art trading game called modigliani as one Christmas I spectacularly destroyed my sister in laws hopes and dreams playing it.
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There's a game called Plop Trumps which might go down well with your inlaws anna
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Strip poker
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Articulate!
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Big fan of Catan but Ticket to Ride is easier to explain and get into. There are some interesting variants now too. Saw a London one in a bookshop the other day, which I imagine would be very fast to play.
Carcasonne is good fun too and pretty simple; but you may need to play it a bit to get the tactical nuances. Could be a tough Christmas ask unless people are fairly committed boardgamers.
Aside from all the obvious ones (Risk, Monopoly Scrabble etc), you might want to try the following
- A social deduction game of some sort. One Night Werewolf is best if kids aren’t too young.
- Exploding Kittens
- Unstable Unicorns
- Bear Park
- King of Tokyo (actually this would be my main recommendation - its really simple dice and cards but with a bit of tactics and intra group dynamics)
- Machi Koro
- Flamme Rouge
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Dux, do you have any siblings?
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Maybe, why?
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Heh @ dusty.
I presume she was referring to only children winning lots at Monopoly, Dux.
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Genuinely just curious, I was trying to imagine what a family Dux Christmas was like, that's all. Was it just you and your parents and Mrs Dux frantically trying to land on Park Lane, or are there more Dux brothers and sisters...
I am not close to my brother at all, I am envious of those with excellent relationships with their siblings.
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Another vote for Exploding Kittens. Easier to get to grips with than it looks at first,
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Reign of Cthulhu
Legendary Encounters: Alien
Advanced Squadleader
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Cards against Humanity is dreadful. I’m no prude but putting Madeleine McCann and the Holocaust in a game isn’t fooking funny.
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your right its absolutely hilarious, I bet the madeline card is hard to find haha and the holocaust card appears when you say anything about Israel killing children
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Soggy biscuit
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Love a bit of mah jong. Especially if you are the only one who had a Chinese m7 at school who taught you wtf was going on
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exploding kittens is utterly gash
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I agree with scapey on the kittens. See also mario monopoly. If only the 8 year old understands the game it isn't fun.
Reversi / othello is good
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Codenames is ace. I've not met anyone who doesn't love it after 1 game
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Seconded on Codenames. Articulate and Linkee are also good.
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The Mind (ten minute card game with rules that can be explained in under a minute). Highly addictive
Magic maze - cooperative game to explore a shopping mall against a timer and get your people into the shops they need to rob and escape before the time runs out. The catch - each person has control of a direction, not a token, and they're can be no communication verbally or otherwise.
Tichu - highly repayable trick taking partnership game
Carcassonne
Avalon; 7 players. 4 allocated good. 3 allocated bad. Bad guys know each other. Good don't know anything. Good trying to complete three missions with only good players on them. Bad guys trying to pose as good and sabotage those missions.
Dixit
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RISK
Nothing brings a family together like landing a large army in Kamchatka.
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Pit https://www.amazon.co.uk/Win-Moves-Card-Game-WNM1012/dp/B001Y9CXK6/ dead easy to pick up and each individual round is short
Robo Rally https://www.amazon.co.uk/Avalon-Hill-Robo-Rally-2016/dp/B01N8T7ACD/
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