Table games for a motley crew at Christmas!

snowleopard61

Not sure where this thread really belongs (OS? Marriage & Families? Christmas?) but I'd love a bit of inspiration.

Does anyone know any games which can be played around the table after a Christmas meal, with very little space and without special equipment? - the catch being that most of the games I can think of like this are word games of one sort or another, but two of the guests aren't overly keen on that type of thing (both dyslexic, and sometimes get tongue-tied when speaking too) and another has limited English. We're all adults, no children; some related, some not, and there will probably be seven of us.

Oh, and two are my young adult children, with a low embarrassment threshold, especially where parents are concerned!!

Any suggestions?

Fluff15

Uno? I've played it since I was in primary school and still enjoy it now (23). I know you said without special equipment, but you can probably pick up a pack in a charity shop. Failing that, if you have a pack of cards (will your crackers have some in?) you could always use a normal deck of cards, use the type of card in place of the colour (heart for red, spade for blue etc), and use the king/queen/ace as the special cards.

snowleopard61

Uno is a thought, actually. We did have Uno cards, though I have a feeling the pack is no longer complete, but I could see what I can find - thank you!

[Deleted User]

We play NEWMARKET which is I have to admit a betting game and you need two packs of cards for it. The most cuthroat games involve betting after dinner mints or their like not money as it's winner takes all when it happens. We've played it with a full range of ages from 80 years young to 6 years old at the same table and it's ALWAYS thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. Look online for how to play, it's very easy and lots of fun.

snowleopard61

Two packs of cards we can muster - never played it but it's worth investigating. Thanks!

Broomstick

Cheat is also playable with playing cards and, if you used two packs of cards with seven people, it could take for ever!

B x

Sezzagirl

Ah hah! A chance to share our family's favourite silly game - Hello Harry. Most suitable for after Christmas Lunch!

You will need some equipment for this game. Specifically, a packet of sticky spots available from any stationers shop or possibly the local post office -that's all you need

How to play Hello Harry

Person 1 says to Person 2 "Hello Harry"
Person 2 replies "Yes Harry"
Person 1 says "Tell Harry"

Person 2 turns to Person 3 and says "hello Harry"
Person 3 must reply "Yes Harry"
Person 2 says "Tell Harry"

Person 3 turns to Person 4 and carries on.....

All sounds very simple but each person must say the right words. If they get it wrong, a sticky spot is stuck on their forehead and the game changes!

So game could go like this

Person 1 says to Person 2 "Hello Harry"
Person 2 (Wrongly) replies "Hello Harry" so a sticky spot is put on his forehead. He is now One Spot!

So person 1 now says "Hello One Spot"
Person 2 replies "Yes Harry"
Person 1 says "Tell Harry"


You could get to the point where you get an excahnge like this
Person 4 says to Person 5 "Hello 4 Spot"
Person 5 says to Person 4 "Yes 2 Spot"
Person 4 says to Person 5 "Tell Harry" where person 4 has got 2 spots, person 5 has 4 spots and person 6 has 0 spots so is still Harry!

I think our family record was someone who ended up a 6 spot, 3 stars + the little bit of the side of the page!!

Sounds complicated but one of those things that works if you do it!!

Have fun

snowleopard61

Broomstick wrote: »

Cheat is also playable with playing cards and, if you used two packs of cards with seven people, it could take for ever!

B x

I've played Cheat at some stage in the distant past (I'm really useless at remembering card games) but could look it up online - thanks.

cherrycake

We play sevens - a simple gambling game that is fun for all the family

snowleopard61

Sezzagirl wrote: »

Ah hah! A chance to share our family's favourite silly game - Hello Harry. Most suitable for after Christmas Lunch!

You will need some equipment for this game. Specifically, a packet of sticky spots available from any stationers shop or possibly the local post office -that's all you need

How to play Hello Harry

Person 1 says to Person 2 "Hello Harry"
Person 2 replies "Yes Harry"
Person 1 says "Tell Harry"

Person 2 turns to Person 3 and says "hello Harry"
Person 3 must reply "Yes Harry"
Person 2 says "Tell Harry"

Person 3 turns to Person 4 and carries on.....

All sounds very simple but each person must say the right words. If they get it wrong, a sticky spot is stuck on their forehead and the game changes!

So game could go like this

Person 1 says to Person 2 "Hello Harry"
Person 2 (Wrongly) replies "Hello Harry" so a sticky spot is put on his forehead. He is now One Spot!

So person 1 now says "Hello One Spot"
Person 2 replies "Yes Harry"
Person 1 says "Tell Harry"


You could get to the point where you get an excahnge like this
Person 4 says to Person 5 "Hello 4 Spot"
Person 5 says to Person 4 "Yes 2 Spot"
Person 4 says to Person 5 "Tell Harry" where person 4 has got 2 spots, person 5 has 4 spots and person 6 has 0 spots so is still Harry!

I think our family record was someone who ended up a 6 spot, 3 stars + the little bit of the side of the page!!

Sounds complicated but one of those things that works if you do it!!

Have fun

Certainly does sound complicated, but could be a laugh. It reminds me a bit of a game I once played (in a very large group; don't think it would work with a smaller one) where you pass two identical objects around, one to the right and one to the left, saying "This is a wick" for one and "This is a wok" for the other - don't know if anyone knows it. I won't go through the whole thing now but it ended up with everyone helpless with laughter - one of those things where you just had to be there, I suppose!

Shereen

Spoons is a lot of fun for all ages and only needs a pack of cards and something to use as tokens (the spoons in the title): http://m.wikihow.com/Play-Spoons-%28Card-Game%29