With Christmas just around the corner it’s the perfect excuse to set aside some time to play a few board games. Sadly for many games, this time of year can be especially hard. Surrounded by family rather than friends, no one is prepared to spend the next hour letting you explain how Twilight Imperium works. But if the unadulterated horror of a slog through the dusty family copy of Monopoly is just too much to bear, why not compromise with something that might be a bit more approachable for non-gamers?
We’ve taken a look at some of the games coming out that you might get the rest of the family or non-gamey friends to play as well. It’s that or the Strictly Christmas Special…
Taskmaster: The Secret Series Game
Target audience: Fans of the show, age 8+
Number of players 3 – 5
Play time: About an hour
Complexity: Medium to advanced
RRP: £24.99
Taskmaster is a hugely popular TV series and has already spawned a number of games and books. Where the Secret Series Game differs is the approach. With sealed envelopes and secret messages to be opened in a strict order, and each game carrying over into the next, this does have the feel of a legacy game. Players compete over ten games, called ‘Episodes’. The tasks are goofy and fun, and the game is fairly well presented, though the playing pieces could have been printed on both sides.
However, this one really does need a lot of buy in from all involved. Where as the other games on this list could be pulled out almost as an afterthought, unless you have extremely game friends, this one is going to need to be planned in advance, with everyone knowing it’s going to be played. Also, depending on the kind of person you are, the fact that it is in essence a legacy style game might mean you need to seriously consider the group you are intending to play this with.
Taskmaster: The Secret Series Game is out now from Ginger Fox.
The Christmas Express Game
Target audience: Parents who can’t face more Snakes & Ladders, age 6+
Number of players: 2 – 4
Play time: 20 – 30 minutes, or as long as attention spans last
Complexity: Low
RRP: £22.99
With a title riffing on The Polar Express, this is a game firmly aiming itself at the kiddie market. With simple game play, older six year olds should be able to grasp this. Even younger children can play, too, as long as they are part of a team with an adult.
What’s striking about this game is the production value. Where other boxes in the child’s game market wont bother with a cardboard inset to help store the game or, if they do, it would be plain white, here we have a beautifully printed case. From the quality of the card stock used to the backing of the board, almost everything about this game screams high end.
The only thing that is an issue is the design itself. The board has the sad feel of a raided clip art library. But other than that flaw, one which is unlikely to actually bother the children this is for, there is very little not to like. It’s not complex, and there is little strategy, but it’s a game for children, so these are positives. It’s also a lot more fun than Snakes & Ladders or Ludo.
This game gets a definite thumbs up, and when played on the run up to Christmas with a mug of hot chocolate and some festive music in the background it should help create some very happy memories for all involved.
The Christmas Express Game is out now from Cheatwell.
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Rolling Realms
Target audience: People who enjoy puzzles, 16+
Number of players: 1 – 6
Play time: 30 – 45 Minutes
Complexity: High
RRP: £25.00
A cunning entry to this list, Rolling Realms comes from Stonemaier Games, who traditionally make the kind of table-top game that would make non-gamers at least baulk if suggested. However, Rolling Realms is pleasingly approachable, More a series of mini puzzles, it’s a quickly played game that involves logic and problem solving. Completely suitable for non-gamers who are prepared and able to focus for a few minutes to learn how it’s played, it should appeal to adults who enjoy brain teasers.
The cunning part is that each of the mini games – there are 11 in the base game though there are plenty of expansions available – are based on the worlds of the different games created by Stonemaier. A player needs no prior knowledge of these games but, if you’re very lucky, a casual player might ask you about one of them. Then, who knows..? Truly a gateway game.
Rolling Realms is out now from Stonemaier Games.
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Spot the Intro
Target audience: The whole extended family, 14+ but likely most ages could play.
Number of players: 2+
Play time: 20 – 40 minutes
Complexity: Depends
RRP: £26.99
Spot the Intro, which calls itself ‘The Original Music Recognition Game’ – though having been released in 2021 that seems a questionable claim – is a guess the intro game. The rules are incredibly simple, and a bonus is that you don’t need an app to play, the whole thing works off QR codes and a website.
However, this can be a problem. Once a song is chosen the person in charge of the smart device needs to select the streaming platform, press play for 15 seconds, then stop it. This does not feel like an elegant solution and could preclude people less comfortable with smart technology from playing the tracks. Also, depending on the streaming service you are using and how you are set up, this can lead to more time spent listening to adverts than the intros themselves. Not fun in the least and so unless you can play these tracks ad free – supported services are YouTube, Apple, Amazon, and Spotify, though a URL is also included with each entry – this game cannot be recommended.
On the other hand, if you can play without ads and are comfortable clicking around a bit, the game itself is quite fun. Teams of whatever size or number you want listen to intros and move forward one, two, or three squares based on weather the were able to guess the title, artist, and bonus question. The categories are based on decades. ranging from the 1960s to the 2010s. Something to note is that each square is an either/or choice of decade, and it’s always the same decades paired. So, if you’re a team of two, with one of you loving the 70s grove while the other one wants banging choons from the norties, one of you is always going to be miffed.
Spot the Intro is out now from Cheatwell.
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The Traitors Card Game
Target audience: Fans of the show, age 8+
Number of players: 4 – 8
Play time: 30 – 45 minutes
Complexity: Low
RRP:
Any gamer who watched The Traitors immediately recognised that it was, basically, a social deduction game. Which means what you have here is a game based on a show based on a game. Which works. This is a simple, easy to understand, social deduction game. What more do you want?
It’s jazzed up a bit, with an app to help you along, but that’s nothing new for anyone familiar with the One Night Ultimate… range. There are a few side quibbles. For example the card stock used is fairly low quality and, given this is a card game, they don’t feel like they’ll stand up to much prolonged use. However, this is not aimed at existing gamers but instead fans of the show. As such, it works excellently. Because it’s fine, it does the job, and if people like it you can easily introduce them to a more complex social deduction game, and then who knows…
The Traitors Card Game is out now from Ginger Fox.
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We’re All Gonna Die
Target audience: People who might enjoy Cards Against Humanity if it wasn’t childishly crass and completely subjective, age 16+
Number of players: 1+
Play time: 20 minutes
Complexity: Low
RRP: £14.99
Remember Yahtzee? So did the creators of this game! That’s about it. Fortunately there is a twist. You have a series of cards with (sometimes) rather funny ways to die printed on them. The dice, rather than numbers, have six different types of cure printed on them which you then need to match to the cards, deciding as a team which dice to keep and which to re-roll. Incredibly simple to grasp, it’s a game people will be able to play within minutes, though the occasionally cheeky humour might mean this is more of a boxing day with mates rather than Christmas day with family game. Depending on your family…
The quality is high, the nicest thing being the dice themselves which feel chunky and are very nicely coloured. The box itself isn’t too big and would fit into anything other than a small handbag, which means it’s an easy one to take to a friends. Definitely recommended, though it might take a little persuading if you have a slightly less adventurous group, this is one that could very easily become a firm favourite.
We’re All Gonna Die is out now from Ginger Fox.
