For the whole family
Games kids, parents and grandparents can play together, around the tree or across the country on a video call. Free, on your phones, with nothing to print.
Free · no app · works on any phone
Christmas is the one day when an eight-year-old, a teenager and a grandparent are all in the same room with nothing to do after dinner. The trick is finding a game none of them finds too hard, too babyish or too long.
The games below have short questions, simple taps and quick rounds. Everyone plays at the same time on their own phone, so nobody sits out waiting for a turn. The youngest can share a phone with a grown-up and still be part of it.
One person starts a room
Pick a game and press create. You get a room code and a link to share.
Everyone joins on their phone
Each player opens the link or types the code. No app, no download and no account.
Put it on the TV if you like
Most games have a "Put it on the big screen" button in the lobby. Open herdgamesonline.com/tv on the TV and type the code it shows.
Live in a gingerbread house or a snow globe? Get one big present or ten small ones? Everyone votes and the family’s split comes up. Kids love finding out what Grandma picked. Every question is also listed on the Christmas Would You Rather page.
"Name one of Santa’s reindeer." "What do families argue about at Christmas dinner?" Everyone answers, and you score by matching what most of the family said. Families tend to think more alike than they admit, which is half the fun.
A letter, a timer and Christmas categories like "Something in a stocking" or "A name for an elf". You only score for answers nobody else thought of, so the kids’ wild guesses often beat the grown-ups.
One player gives a one-word clue for a color, then a two-word clue, and everyone taps where they think that color is on the board. There’s no spelling and no general knowledge, so a six-year-old can beat the whole table.
A Christmas quiz with carols, films and traditions. Pair kids with grandparents and let the leaderboard settle who knows Christmas best.
Everyone drops words into the bowl, then you play them three ways: describe them, then act them out, then one word only. It works like charades, but by the third round everyone knows the words and the guessing gets very fast.
Stick to Would You Rather and Hue Match, keep rounds short, and let little ones share a phone with an older sibling or grandparent. Read the questions out loud for anyone still learning to read.
Teenagers usually come round to Say Anything and Chameleon, where being funny or sneaky matters more than knowing things. Let them be the host.
Start a video call, send everyone the room link, and play together from different houses. It works for grandparents who can’t travel and relatives in other time zones. Agree a time in advance so phones are charged.
Want questions about your own family? Write a pack with your family’s in-jokes on the custom questions page. "Who always burns the roast potatoes?" gets a bigger laugh than any trivia question.
Games with short questions and no reading race: Christmas Would You Rather, Christmas Herd Mentality (answer like everyone else to score), and Hue Match, which is about colors, not words. Young children can share a phone with a grown-up.
Phone games are ideal indoors: no space needed, nothing to set up, and everyone can play from the sofa. Start a room on one phone, put it on the TV if you have one, and everyone else joins from their own phone.
Start a video call, then send everyone the same room link. Each person plays on their own phone or laptop wherever they are, and you watch each other react on the call.
No. Tapping the link opens the game in the phone’s browser. There is no app and no account. If a phone is tricky, they can play on someone else’s and still be in the game.
Yes. Every game is free with up to 20 players in a room, which covers most family gatherings.
Would You Rather, Hue Match and Scattergories work from about seven with a little help. Herd Mentality and Christmas trivia suit older kids and adults, and teams mixing ages work well.
Questions or stuck? support@herdgamesonline.com