The best Thanksgiving games work for everyone at the table at once. Dinner is done, someone has the football on, and you've got three generations in one room: a grandparent who doesn't do apps, a teenager who does nothing but, two cousins who haven't spoken since last year, and a nine-year-old who wants to win everything.
The trick is picking games that need no explanation, reward knowing the family rather than knowing facts, and give the quiet relatives the same shot as the loud ones.
Here are 12 Thanksgiving games that work for family dinners and Friendsgiving alike, plus a running order and how to play with no phones out or with relatives joining on a video call. Thanksgiving is on Thursday 26 November this year, so there's plenty of time to write a few questions about your family.
Match the game to the moment
| Moment | Try these |
|---|---|
| While the turkey rests | Unscramble, Missing Letter |
| After dinner, whole family | Thanksgiving Feud, family trivia, Charades |
| Friendsgiving with friends | Who Said It, Concentration, Taboo |
| Kids and grandparents together | Charades, Song Association, Odd One Out |
| Relatives on a video call | Telepathy, Who Said It, family trivia |
12 Thanksgiving games everyone can play
1. Thanksgiving Feud
The "survey says" round is a Thanksgiving tradition, and Telepathy plays it with your family as the survey. Ask "name a Thanksgiving side dish" or "the first thing you'd grab from the table", everyone writes what they think most of the family will write, and the biggest matching group scores. Nobody needs to know anything, so Grandpa and the nine-year-old start level. Our guide to games like Herd Mentality has 30 more prompts.
Best for: after dinner, 3 to 20 players or up to 5 teams.
2. The unique answer round
Concentration flips Telepathy: the rarest answer scores the most. "A pie flavour" gets plenty of pumpkin and apple, and whoever writes "sweet potato" takes all 1000 points. Try "something you're thankful for this year" and read the rare answers aloud. It gets surprisingly moving.
Best for: Friendsgiving and families who like a debate, 3 to 20 players or up to 5 teams.
3. Who Said It: gratitude edition
Ask "the best thing that happened to you this year" or "a Thanksgiving memory you'll never forget". Everyone answers privately, the answers go up on screen with no names attached, and the table guesses who wrote what in Who Said It. It's a gentler way to go round the table than asking everyone to speak in turn.
Best for: Friendsgiving and close families, 3 to 20 players or up to 5 teams.
4. Family trivia
Where did Grandma and Grandpa meet? Which cousin has the most cats? What did Uncle Ray burn in 2019? Build a set in Trivia with single-choice, select-all and typed questions. Turn on Letter boxes for typed answers so players see the shape of each name before they type. Mix in a few general Thanksgiving questions so the in-laws have a chance.
Best for: after dinner, 2 to 200 players, solo or in teams.
5. Thanksgiving Charades
Carving the turkey, the parade balloons, a food coma, falling asleep in front of the football. Charades keeps the prompt private to the performer, and the host taps each correct guess so nobody argues about the timer.
Best for: kids and grandparents together, 4 to 50 players.
6. Taboo with a holiday deck
Describe "cranberry sauce" without saying red, jelly or Thanksgiving. Write a deck in the Playground and play Taboo in teams: the kids' table against the grown-ups' table works nicely.
Best for: competitive families, 4 to 50 players in teams.
7. Thanksgiving Unscramble
"YKRUTE" is turkey. "FIFSGTUN" is stuffing. Unscramble takes ten seconds to explain and keeps early arrivals busy while the food finishes.
Best for: while the turkey rests, 2 to 200 players.
8. Missing Letter
"CR_NB_RRY S_UCE", "P_MPK_N P_E", "M_SH_D P_T_T_ES". Players race to fill the gaps in Missing Letter. Easy enough for kids, fast enough that the adults take it seriously.
Best for: mixed ages, 2 to 200 players.
9. Odd One Out
Four options, one doesn't belong. "Which of these isn't a Thanksgiving side dish?" Build a round about your family's own traditions in Odd One Out.
Best for: a quick round between courses, 2 to 200 players.
10. Song Association
A word appears, and whoever's up has seconds to sing a lyric that contains it. Use home, thankful, family and together in Song Association. Grandparents and teenagers know completely different songs, which is exactly the point.
Best for: kids and grandparents together, 2 to 50 players.
11. Two Truths and a Lie, in-laws edition
Each player shares three statements, and the table votes on the lie in Two Truths and a Lie. It's the fastest way for a new partner at the table to become part of the family stories.
Best for: a family with a few new faces, 3 to 30 players.
12. Friendsgiving Social Bingo
For a Friendsgiving of 20 or more, where half the guests are friends of friends, start with Social Bingo. Every guest gets one number, and the only way to fill a card is to go and ask other people for theirs.
Best for: big Friendsgivings, 20 to 100 guests.
A 30-minute after-dinner game show
| Time | Game | Why it's here |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 3 minutes | Everyone joins | A QR code on the TV, or no phones at all |
| 3 to 10 minutes | Thanksgiving Unscramble | An easy first win for every age |
| 10 to 18 minutes | Thanksgiving Feud (Telepathy) | The whole family reacts to the same screen |
| 18 to 27 minutes | Family trivia in teams | Households against each other |
| 27 to 30 minutes | Podium, then pie | End on a moment |
No phones at the table? Play from one screen
Plenty of families have a no-phones-at-the-table rule, and plenty of grandparents don't want to scan anything. A One-host session runs the whole game show from one screen, with no join link at all. Set a headcount of up to 10 players or split the room into 2 to 5 teams (by household works well), and you tap what happened as everyone plays out loud.
Charades, Taboo and Song Association play as usual. Unscramble, Missing Letter and Odd One Out play Hot Seat, where each question goes to one player or team in turn, so the kids get their own question and nobody gets shouted over. Telepathy, Concentration and Who Said It work too, with answers typed on the host's device in turn. There's more in our guide to party games without phones.
Relatives who can't make it
Share the host screen on Zoom, FaceTime on a laptop, Google Meet or Teams, and send the join link to the family chat. Relatives on the call play from their own phones on exactly the same terms as the people at the table. Our guide to hosting a virtual game night has more on running games over video.
What it costs
Up to 10 players is free on the Free plan, with every game and a 90-minute session. For a big family or Friendsgiving, a Party Pass is a one-off payment of $10.99 in the US (£7.99 in the UK) for 24 hours with up to 50 guests. There's no subscription to cancel afterwards.
Frequently asked questions
What games can you play on Thanksgiving with family?
Games that reward knowing the family rather than knowing facts work best: a Thanksgiving Feud round with Telepathy, family trivia, Charades and Who Said It. Add Unscramble or Missing Letter for a quick round the kids can win.
What are good Friendsgiving games?
Who Said It, Concentration and Taboo in teams are great for friends. For a big Friendsgiving where not everyone knows each other, open with Social Bingo.
What Thanksgiving games work for all ages?
Charades, Song Association, Odd One Out and Missing Letter work for most ages, as long as the questions suit the youngest players. In a One-host session, each player or team takes a question in turn, so younger players aren't drowned out.
How can family who aren't there join in?
Share your screen on a video call and send them the join link. They play from their own phone while the rest of the family plays in the room.
Do we all need phones?
No. In a One-host session, only the host's device is used, and everyone else plays out loud.
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