Christmas is a time for catching up, holiday feasts, and family game nights!
Whether your family is in the mood for fast-paced games or ones that involve some degree of strategic play, you’ll want to grab one (or more) of these to help bring in that holiday cheer.
Exploding Kittens
Photo courtesy of Peas in Pod via Lazada
Recommended Ages: 7+
Number of players: 2-5
Time to play: 10-20 minutes per round
Exploding kittens is a card game for those who love cats, explosions, and deception. Players take turns drawing cards from a deck. The object of the game is to avoid drawing an exploding kitten card, which automatically gets you out of the game—unless you have a defuse card.
This family-friendly game started off as a Kickstarter project, surpassing its goal after only 8 minutes. Since its launch in 2015, it has since grown to include several expansion packs, NSFW decks, and an app version.
Photo courtesy of Over Max via Lazada
Recommended Ages: 8+
Number of players: 2-6
Time to play: 10 minutes
Will you be the one to make the balloon pop?
Boom Boom Balloon is played with an inflated balloon encased in a plastic frame, with sticks inserted at odd angles. A player rolls the dice, chooses a stick, and pushes it until they hear a certain number of clicks (the number they rolled); the person who makes the balloon pop loses.
Photo courtesy The Game Aisle
Recommended Ages: 7+
Number of players: 2-5
Time to play: 15-20 minutes
The challenge of this card game is to create combinations that win you the most points! Each card contains a certain type of sushi or sashimi with their corresponding number of points. A player simply picks a card from their hand and reveals it at the same time as everyone else. Players then pass their card form the left, pick one from that deck, and keep passing until all the cards are gone.
This strategy card game is a successful Indiegogo campaign and has since expanded into a board game: Sushi Go! Party.
Photo courtesy of itong via Lazada
Recommended Ages: 14+
Number of players: 4-8
Time to play: 15 minutes
Codenames is the espionage-themed version of Taboo, the spoken-word game that uses word associations to hint at a final answer.
Players split into two teams and use word hints to choose the card with the right answer printed on it. The team that manages to guess all their words right wins!
Watch out for the assassin card—if a team chooses a card with “ASSASSIN” printed on the flip side, the entire team dies.
Photo courtesy of Mystery Manila
Recommended Ages: 8+
Number of players: 2-7
Time to play: 45 minutes
This is the card version of the escape room strategy game.
At the start of the game, each player is randomly assigned a character card, each one with their own unique “powers” that they can use to their advantage. Players attempt to be first at escaping by guessing which of the “tool cards” match the “exit card.” If they guess wrong, they are automatically out of the game.
“Escape from Enigma” is the brainchild of the team behind live action escape room, Mystery Manila.
Recommended Ages: 8+
Number of players: 2-7
Time to play: 45 minutes
This is the card version of the escape room strategy game.
At the start of the game, each player is randomly assigned a character card, each one with their own unique “powers” that they can use to their advantage. Players attempt to be first at escaping by guessing which of the “tool cards” match the “exit card.” If they guess wrong, they are automatically out of the game.
“Escape from Enigma” is the brainchild of the team behind live action escape room, Mystery Manila.
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