Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and for my family that has always meant GAMES! Growing up, my family played a game we simply called “Marbles,” but it was basically a variation of Wahoo (which is basically a grownup version of Sorry). We played this almost exclusively at every family gathering…we played for hours upon hours and we loved it. Sometimes we would break out another game, but it was rare. Our family gatherings look a bit different nowadays and we’ve branched out a bit. Mr. Garland and I are huge board gamers so we have been slowly introducing my family to some new games. One category of game that we’ve recently been trying to build up a bit in our collection is party games. It’s hard to find good games that can be played with more than 4 or 5 people, but we have found some awesome ones that we go to again and again!

So, here are a few of our favorite games to play with a crowd!

Games-to-Play-This-Thanksgiving

1) Zombie Dice
Recommended for: Ages 10+, Play time: 15-30 minutes, Players: Unlimited
This one is another repeat from the family games post but it bears repeating because it’s a total crowd-pleaser. It’s similar to Farkle (another great party game!) but the theme is zombies. Who doesn’t love zombies?! Also, it can be played with any number of people which is awesome if you have a larger group!

2) Ultimate Werewolf
Recommended for: Ages 13+, Play time: Varies, at least 30 minutes, Players: Unlimited
I remember playing a variation of this game, Mafia, at slumber parties when I was a teenager, so I was thrilled (to say the least) when a friend first brought this out at a party. It requires a creative group who is willing to be a bit silly and one person who knows the game well enough to moderate (and it helps if that person has a creative, story-telling streak…it adds to the game a lot!). It’s perfect for a large crowd – you need at least 6 people to play. The game is played in two teams – the villagers and the werewolves, but you don’t know who exactly is on your team. The villagers are working to seek out the werewolves, while the werewolves are trying to slowly eliminate the villagers. It has a learning curve but if you have at least one person there who is familiar (or at least reads the rules beforehand), it’s a blast.

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3) Catch Phrasethankyou
Recommended for: Ages 8+, Play time: About 30 minutes, Players: Unlimited
You can’t talk about party games without mentioning Catch Phrase! It’s a classic game of getting people to guess a word or phrase based on clues you give them. The trick with this one is that the game (which is hand-held) will beep as you play and you pass it once your teammates guess the clue…it keeps going around until it buzzes, and whoever is left holding it “loses,” scoring the other team a point. It’s always a ton of fun and gets people very excited – and competitive!

4) Pass the Pigs
Recommended for: Ages 7+, Play time: About 30 minutes, Players: Unlimited
I played this game all the time as a kid. It’s ridiculous and so much fun. It’s along the same lines as Zombie Dice & Farkle, but with a twist – you roll pigs instead of dice! I buy this for almost every White Elephant party I go to and it seems that most people haven’t heard of it, but everyone loves it when they try it! There’s something just perfectly silly about rolling pigs, and it’s unique twist on a classic game concept.

5) Formula D
Recommended for: Ages 10+, Play time: 30-60 minutes, Players: Up to 10
This game takes a while when you’re playing with a crowd, but it’s so fun! The premise is simple: you’re in a race, and you want to be the first to cross the finish line. Actually getting there is harder: you have to shift gears (and roll difference dice depending which one you’re on), try not to damage your car too much (Mr. Garland has blown his car up before!), and try not to get into any accidents. It’s easy to learn and there are rules you can layer in to make it more complex if you have advanced players. The flexibility of this game is great (you can just do one lap, or you can do more), and it’s always a hit!

6) Cash ‘N Guns
Recommended for: Ages 14+, Play time: About 30-45 minutes, Players: Up to 8
There is something about this game that turns grown adults into little kids and makes everyone at the table laugh uncontrollably. Maybe it’s the fact that you get to hold up foam “guns” gangster-style at your family members? This game is all about the “Mexican standoff” – you play a group of robbers who have come upon some great loot and you all want it for yourself. It’s all about calling bluffs, taking risks, and being the last one standing.

7) Roll For It!
Recommended for: Ages 8+, Play time: About 20 minutes, Players: Up to 8, if you have two sets
I also talked about this one on my post about our favorite family games! This game is incredibly simple and could probably be played with even younger kids if they have some help. You have cards in the middle of the table with combinations of die rolls shown on them and you take turns rolling your own personal set of mini dice to try to match. You can set your dice aside on a specific card and take several turns to work towards it, but someone might get it before you. The base game only plays four, but we have two sets of this game (there are several different colored boxes that come with different dice) that we mix together to play with a larger group.

8) Concept
Recommended for: Ages 10+, Play time: As long or as short as you want!, Players: Unlimited
This is probably our favorite group game right now. It’s similar to Pictionary, but instead of drawing your clues, you places game pieces on icons on the board that represent various concepts. It’s incredibly easy to teach and quick to learn, and it’s FUN! We’ve played with my niece who is 10 and she did pretty well, but I think any kid much younger than that would struggle to give clues. However, younger kids could help guess!

9) The Resistance
Recommended for: Ages 13+, Play time: About 30 minutes, Players: Up to 10
This game is all about deceiving the people you’re playing with. It’s another one where you’re trying to seek out the spies, and the spies are trying to ruin the mission that everyone else is on. It requires some finesse to play (which means it’s better for an older crowd!), but once you get the hang of it, it’s a blast!

10) Spyfall
Recommended for: Ages 12+, Play time: As long or as short as you want!, Players: Up to 8
This is another amazing game. It’s very flexible in how long you play, so it’s great to break out when you’re waiting on dinner to finish up as you can stop anytime you want. In this game, everyone is given a card – all of the cards but one have a location on them, and the final card just says “spy.” You go around the table asking one another questions about the location – the spy’s objective is to figure out where they are, while everyone else is trying to determine who the spy is. This game always gets us laughing and never gets old!

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What are your favorite games to play when you have a big group?