Deck the Halls With Laughter and Play

After the holiday feast is complete and everyone feels blessed and well-dressed (elastic waistbands included), what's next? Keeping the festivities rolling without hitting a wall of yawns can be a real challenge for multigenerational families. Games that bridge the age gap are a great way to create holiday memories without any Silent Night nod-offs.

Deck the halls with these entertaining group game ideas and expert strategies for making the most of family togetherness.

Every move counts when it comes to setting a group gathering up for game-playing success, says George Bergstrom, Regional Coordinator of Professional Development for Indiana State Library and Past President of the American Library Association's Games & Gaming Round Table, a national group of librarians who support and promote gaming in libraries.

First, decide what type of experience best suits your family, says Bergstrom. "Do you enjoy individual and competitive activities or lighthearted team/bonding experiences? These would lead to very different choices in games," he explains.

After all, for some family members, the only thing sweeter than Grandma's cookies is beating her at Scrabble.

Bergstrom says that other key factors to consider when selecting games for your family gathering include group size, time commitment and learning curve.

"In general, I recommend games that are shorter in length, support larger groups, and are easy to teach and pick up and play quickly. Cooperative and social/party games generally fit well for these settings," he says.

You don't have to limit your options to a single game that caters to all players. According to Bergstrom, you can divide a large group into smaller sets depending on interests and space availability.

Games celebrating family heritage or hobbies are another good fit for multigenerational groups, says ALA Games & Gaming Round Table Board Member Rebecca Strang, a Children's Services Librarian at Naperville Public Library in Naperville, Illinois.

"Storytelling and role-playing games are great for families because they are easily modified if young children are playing but can still be highly engaging for adults," says Strang.

Bergstrom says another smart strategy is to find games that play similarly to games that at least some people in the group are familiar with.

He says the crowdsourced website BoardGameGeek is a good place to find game details. The site details thousands of board, card and other games, including average playtime, suggested number of players and recommended age ranges. Use the site's search tool to discover games with mechanics similar to familiar games.

Bergstrom recommends watching the YouTube channel Watch it Played, where you can learn game rules, setup and strategies.

Before everyone sits down to play, be sure that someone has learned the rules, advises Strang.

"That way, one person is prepared to teach everyone else instead of having everyone wait around while someone reads the rulebook," she says.

Have manipulatives such as card holders, digital dice and fidgets on hand to make games accessible to a wide range of player ages and abilities, advises Strang.

"Understanding that everyone has a different capacity for holding focus is also important. Having quiet fidgets on hand can be useful for kids in general, but also neurodivergent folks," she says.

Bergstrom says that coming to the game table with a positive attitude about trying new things will help foster group harmony. He says that to get groups of people working together, don't hesitate to take a game everyone knows and modify it.

"A classic example of this would be to have teams of two playing Trivial Pursuit together so that no one person is expected to know all the trivia. This can work well, especially for versions that draw on other cultural properties or time periods (like a show/movie franchise or a certain decade)," he says.

Try a multigenerational scavenger hunt if your family members aren't into board or card games. GooseChase, an interactive app, offers templates for scavenger-hunt-style missions, including Christmas and Hanukkah. "You can also create a custom mission which includes trivia, photo challenges and creative tasks like building gingerbread houses or re-creating favorite memories," says integrated marketing manager Mia David.

Custom GooseChase missions could include capturing a picture of the youngest and oldest family members re-creating a favorite family memory (Photo mission), answering questions about family traditions (Trivia mission) or dressing up as a snowman using items from around the house (Creative mission). The app is screen reader compatible, and less tech-savvy participants can team up with others, says David. After each mission, participants can enjoy a digital scrapbook. Free and paid options are available.

Library game collections vary widely, but many focus on the most popular games within a community, such as children's or role-playing games. If your local library doesn't offer games, don't hesitate to request them, says Bergstrom.

"The more the public can ask us about it and interact with the libraries, the more likely we are to get them into more libraries," he says.

Fill Santa's sack with these Game Librarian selections for family gathering fun and laughter.

Exploding Kittens
Really Loud Librarians
MonsDRAWsity
Poetry for Neanderthals

Just One
Lanterns: The Harvest Festival

Lucky Numbers
Qwirkle
Qwixx

Wavelength

Artisans of Splendent Vale

Furry Foodies
Snake Oil

Arboretum
Bridge
Cribbage
Canasta
Hearts/Spades 

Jackie Perrin A consumer-focused journalist with 20 years of experience, Jackie Perrin has covered home, health, leisure, food, travel, and business topics for publications ranging from TripAdvisor to Gannett News Service. Read More