Deck the halls with elves and Karens. Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la. ‘Tis the season for games and sharin’. Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la!
Yep, that’s right – it’s Christmas game time! And these are the absolute ten best Christmas board games for your holiday gatherings. Christmas board games have become a popular choice for holiday gatherings, appealing to all ages and group sizes. Ranging from 2 to 16 players, ages 6 and up, these holly jolly games will get you in the mood for the holidays – and keep the party merrily rolling along. So, check your list twice and see which games are naughty or nice.
What are the Best Christmas Themed Games?
Santa Cookie Elf Candy Snowman
Age: 7+ Players: 2-8 Time: 15-20 minutes
Whether you’ve played Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza or not, you’re bound to love this Christmas version of it: Santa Cookie Elf Candy Snowman. It’s the perfect stocking stuff, sure, but it’s also the perfect fun, quick, silly game for crowds up to 8 to play on Christmas, at a holiday gathering, or any time you just need a boost of holiday cheer. This holiday version includes three new special action cards: Silent Night (shhh!), Reindeer, and Drums (rum pum pum!), and the same gameplay as the nonseasonal game. If you enjoy Santa Cookie Elf Candy Snowman, you might want to search for other similar games to add to your collection.
Santa Cookie Elf Candy Snowman is ridiculously fun for all ages, super easy to learn, and delightfully silly. To play, you’ve got to say the next word in the pattern (per the title) and flip a card from your personal deck simultaneously. If the card matches the pattern, everyone playing must slap the pile – and whoever’s last takes the pile to add to their deck. Special cards, like the new Reindeer, require actions like giving yourself reindeer antlers, before slapping the pile. When one player manages to get rid of all the cards in their deck, the game ends and the winner emerges.
Black Stories: Christmas Edition
Age: 12+ (Community 10+) Players: 2-15 Time: 45 minutes
For those looking for the darker side of the holidays, check out Black Stories: Christmas Edition. This game sorts itself from other holiday games with its darker themes, offering morbid, mysterious riddles for adults and teens to solve, reconstructing the crime by asking questions and guessing the answers with only yes and no answers permitted. The creepy game reveals dark humor fun for big groups or small, with specifically Christmas-themed tones in this holiday edition.
To play: one player reads the riddle, and the others guess what could have happened. The storyteller alone has the answer and can only answer with yes or no responses as the others try to figure out what went down that dark and stormy night. Black Stories: Christmas Edition is the perfect dark fun game for folks looking for logic puzzles and medium playtime.
Gingerbread House
Age: 8+ Players: 2-4 Time: 30-60 minutes
In Gingerbread House, players take on the role of mischievous gnomes striving to build the best gingerbread houses in a delightful race against time. Designed by Phil Walker Harding, this charming game combines strategy with a sprinkle of luck, where players gather resources, build houses, and attract hungry, sweet-toothed critters. Each turn, you’ll draw tiles representing different ingredients and construction elements, laying them down to create magnificent gingerbread structures. The goal is to be the first to collect points by completing objectives and luring in all sorts of whimsical creatures. With its beautiful components and engaging gameplay, Gingerbread House adds sweetness to any holiday gathering and encourages creativity as families and friends come together to build their sugary dreams.
A Christmas Karen
Age: 14+ Players: 3-10 Time: 45 minutes
“I’d like to talk to your manager!” Cringey cries from A Christmas Karen ring out in this ridiculously fun game wherein players attempt to decipher real 1-star reviews from fake ones. It’s a big challenge, too, if you’ve got any good bluffers or complainers amongst your Christmas game board crowd. Real one-star reviews pulled from the internet provide the cringe, while you and yours provide the hilarity as you try to guess what item or service received the awful reviews.
You’ve got three options: what’s been reviewed, fill in the blanks, or write the review. In each round, one player takes on the role of host and reads the reviews from the deck. The other players then fill in the blanks, make up a product they think might have been reviewed, or write a believable negative review. Once the players are done, the host reads out all the answers and oversees the vote. Whoever votes correctly scores a point, and whoever’s fake answers gets votes also scores a point. Every five points loses one star – and whoever loses all their stars first wins.
The Very Merry Christmas Game
Age: 8+ Players: 2-4 Time: 30 minutes
The Very Merry Christmas Game isn’t just a game, but rather a jam-packed Christmas festivities bonanza. The game features a silly competition for up to four players or four teams “grabbing” for the fullest – and best – stocking of all. Diving into traditions from the UK with crackers, sprouts, silly hats, presents, and festive songs, of course, players draw cards in this 30-minute Christmas board game. The cracker cards let you trade gifts with each other as you aim for the best presents possible – or you might have to sing for your gifts to keep them safe. Then, of course, the dreaded sprouts card may be drawn.
Complete with 42 cracker cards, 32 present cards, 4 playing pieces, the game board, party hats, and dice, the seasonal Very Merry Christmas Game is sure to bring smiles as you compete for the ultimate Merry Christmas. Move around the board to collect presents for your stockings – avoid the sprouts cards (or you automatically lose at the end) and see who comes out on top with the best Christmas ever.
Articulate! Christmas
Age: 12+ Players: 2-8 Time: 30-45 minutes
Ready for a fast-talking Christmas word game? Well, if you love the original Articulate!, you’re sure to love Articulate! Christmas. Much like the original game, this fast-paced competition asks players to describe as many card entries as possible on a timer, without using keywords. Each 30-second round features one player talking through a deck of cards, trying to get teammates to guess the word before moving on to the next. For each correct round, the team earns a Christmas jigsaw puzzle piece towards victory.
Perfect for family gatherings, holiday parties, or Christmas board game nights, Articulate! Christmas lasts about 30 to 45 minutes and works for 2 or more players (officially 8, but lots of people play with more). Describe your way through classic Christmas foods, songs, traditions, films, and more to get into the Christmas spirit and loads of ridiculous fun with 55 cards, 2 jigsaw puzzles, one timer, and one die.
12 Games of Christmas
Age: 6+ Players: 1-16 Time: 10-30 minutes
Ideal for Christmas parties, gatherings, and large families, the 12 Games of Christmas provides you with all you need for the big day. The collection does as the title reads: Each box comes chock-full of 12 Christmas games to play with the family all season long. Solo games, card games, puzzle games, quiet games, loud games, and more come in this collection, meaning you’ve really got something for everyone.
The games include Merry Quizmas, Santa’s Sports Day, Reindeer Antler Ring Toss, It’s Snow Joke!, Christmas Pairs, Clutch the Kazoos, Panto or Picture, Santa’s Letters, Festive Guesses, Santa’s Hat, White Lies, and Christmas Characters. Quiz, guess, bluff, toss, tease, and puzzle your way through the holidays with this delightful collection of quick games running anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, designed for 1 to 16 players.
Clue: How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Age: 8+ Players: 2-6 Time: 60+ minutes
Giving a twist on the classic game, Clue: How the Grinch Stole Christmas takes holiday themes and a beloved Dr. Seuss story to new levels. Solve the mystery of the Christmas caper of the Grinch when you deduce who caught the Grinch, what the Grinch stole, and from where the item was stolen. Classic gameplay from the original game applies, only you’re taking on the roles of the Mayor, Papa Who, Cindy-loo Who, or one of three other characters. Move around the board to Mount Crumpit, Town Hall, the Who family Living Room, or others, and determine if it was the roast beef, tricycle, wreath, drum, can of Who hash, or the Christmas tree that was taken.
And just to up the ante on the fun, new ‘?’ squares have been added – and players must draw cards that represent key moments in the original movie while providing players with critical clues to help solve the case. The game includes 1 custom Clue: How the Grinch Stole Christmas game board, 6 character markers, 6 die-cast possibly-stolen Christmas items, clue cards, object cards, location cards, “little bit more” cards, 2 dice, and the familiar envelope to conceal the winning answers.
Elf: Card Scramble
Age: 12+ Players: 2-4 Time: 90 minutes
Everybody’s favorite human-sized elf is ready to help you celebrate Christmas in Elf: Card Scramble. This ridiculously fun Christmas board game works for 2 to 4 players, ages 12 and up, and lasts about 90 minutes. It’s the perfectly, fantastically fun time for your Christmas celebration or the days leading up to the holiday. Journey across the “Elf” movie-themed board, opting for one of three gameplay options. Elf: Card Scramble can be as engaging as games set in iconic locations like New York.
Elf: Card Scramble comes with 4 character pieces, 32 action cards, 96 space cards, and 80 scoring pieces. These help you navigate the silly game of collection and strategy, centered on collecting and matching cards as you outwit your fellow elves.
Merry Dissmas
Age: 12+ Players: 3-8 Time: 30-90 minutes
Ideal for folks who either know each other super well or have never met before – because, well, Merry Dissmas is all about calling each other out on the bizarre behaviors we have (all in good fun!). The rotating Diss-Master starts each round by reading a card aloud – naming off the characteristic like “pickiest eater” or “chronic over-sharer” – and the other players must write down their answers on the dry-erase boards provided. Then, the Diss-Master picks their favorite answer among the responses, after reading them aloud, of course.
Two types of cards exist in Merry Diss-mas, providing a variety of play, even within the same game. As the Diss-Master, you’ll either draw a “name that answer” or “most likely” card. And, of course, even if you play the game over and over again with the same crowd, answers will change over time – and the 250 cards provide plenty of options for hundreds of games. The whole thing is ultimately about interactions, getting to know each other better, and just having some silly fun together. Most of the cards are silly, and only a few might be considered rude – so no worries, there, either. It’ll be loads of fun, whoever you’re playing with. The first player to 10 points wins.
Santa’s Bag
Age: 7+ (Community 6+) Players: 2-8 Time: 15 minutes
It’s time to bring cheer to kids around the world – by building toys in Santa’s Bag a fun, quick game for kids from 7 to 99 (6 and up if you ask the community). The delightfully fun game puts players in the role of Santa’s elves – and you’ve got to race to finish making all those toys in time for Christmas Eve sleigh time. Gather parts by trading and using elven magic, then build those toys as quickly as you can.
Taking just 15 minutes, Santa’s Bag lets you build easy to tricky toys for “naughty” to “nice” children on Santa’s list. Compete against each other to earn the most points by making toys for the nicest children on the list, the toughest toys to manufacture, and building them faster than your fellow elves.
Also Read: Top Board Games by Player Count for Every Group Size
Conclusion
You better watch out – you better not cry. You better not pout, I’m telling you why: Christmas games are coming to town!
This big velvet bag of Christmas cheer, from A Christmas Karen to Clue: How the Grinch Stole Christmas, from Articulate! Christmas to Santa Cookie Elf Candy Snowman will surely bring out the giggles and fun for your holiday gathering. Make some cocoa, nab some candy canes, light the fire, and crank the carols as you play A Very Merry Christmas Game or the Krampus-y Black Stories: Christmas Edition with up to 16 players at your Christmas party or family gathering.
You’ll find the Christmas spirit lands squarely and abundantly in your household with these delightful games, so gather one and all ‘round the Christmas tree, open some boxes, empty the stockings, drink all the eggnog, and play some 12 Games of Christmas or Elf: Card Scramble loud and long enough for all to hear! And don’t forget to leave out the milk and cookies for Santa or you might not get anything wonderful from Santa’s Bag!
FAQ
What age groups are these Christmas games suitable for?
Most of the games listed are suitable for players aged 7 and above, with some specifically catered for ages 12 and up. Always check the individual game descriptions for age recommendations.
How many players can participate in these games?
The games vary in player count, with some accommodating as few as 2 players and others allowing up to 16 participants, making them perfect for both small family gatherings and larger holiday parties.
How long do these games typically last?
Game durations vary; most can be played within 15 to 90 minutes. This ensures that there is a suitable option for both quick and longer game sessions, depending on your holiday schedule.
Are the games family-friendly?
Yes! All the games included are designed to be family-friendly, promoting fun interactions and laughter while steering clear of inappropriate content. They provide a great opportunity for family bonding.
Can these games be played multiple times without getting boring?
Absolutely! With various gameplay options and numerous cards or scenarios, the replay value of these games is high. Each session can yield different experiences, ensuring fresh fun every time you play!