Fun board games that bring Nigerian families together during the holidays
The holiday season in a Nigerian home is always very lively. The house is full, food is everywhere, and after eating the third serving of rice, everyone starts looking for something fun to do. Children are running from room to room, adults are scrolling through their phones, and someone is probably asking, “What can we do now?”
When the TV gets boring, and the conversations begin to slow down, board games are the perfect solution to liven up a holiday gathering. They pull everyone into one space and turn a quiet moment of laughter, friendly competition, and many playful arguments. Children, cousins, aunties, uncles, and even family friends can all join in —no special skills required.
Here are seven fun and hilarious board games that are perfect for family time during the holidays and guaranteed to keep the house lively.
Monopoly
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Yes, it can take forever, but if you shorten the rules and do not take it too seriously, Monopoly is hilarious. Watching family members negotiate fake real estate deals like high-powered executives can never get old.
How to play:
Players move around the board buying properties, collecting rent, and trying not to go broke. The aim is to end the game as the richest player.
Monopoly has a way of turning calm people into serious business moguls. Deals start flying, alliances form, and someone always insists the banker is cheating.
Pictionary
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Pictionary is one of those board games that gets better the worse you are at sketching.
How to play:
Players sketch out a word or phrase while their teammates try to guess what it is before time runs out.
Under pressure, even a simple word can turn into a confusing drawing. The guesses, laughter, and running clock make it impossible to stay too serious when playing.
Apples to Apples
Apples to Apples looks calm, but it can be surprisingly funny.
How to play:
One player reads a describing word, while everyone else submits a card they think matches it best, then the judge picks out the winning card.
The laughter comes from the choices. Someone’s explanation will make no sense at all, and they can somehow still win the round.
Read more: The 10 holiday romance movies I’ll be watching this December
Ludo
Ludo is a classic; it’s simple, colourful, and impossible to play quietly. Everyone understands it within minutes, which is why it always ends up on the table first.
How to play:
Players roll dice to move their tokens around the board. You must roll a six to bring a token out, and the goal is to move all your tokens safely home.
The real fun starts when someone is one step away from winning and gets sent back to the beginning. That single move can change the mood of the entire room.
Clue
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Clue is a mystery board game that lets players become detectives. However, the twist is that it allows everyone to feel like they know what’s going on, even when they are very wrong.
How to play:
Players move around the board collecting clues to figure out who committed the crime, where it happened, and what was used.
People get very confident very quickly, pointing fingers and sharing long theories. The big reveal usually proves most of them wrong.
Telestrations
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Telestrations is proof that drawing badly can actually be a skill.
How to play:
One player writes a word and draws it. The next player guesses what the drawing means and then draws that guess. This continues until the book returns to the first player.
By the end, a simple word often turns into something completely different. Watching everyone react to just how wildly wrong things went is the best part.
Guess who?
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Guess Who? is easy to play, but it still finds a way to cause debates amongst the group.
How to play:
Players ask yes-or-no questions to figure out which character their opponent has chosen.
As the game progresses, the questions become more creative and the arguments more passionate, especially over what really counts as a fair question.
These seven board games help keep the fun going at holiday gatherings. Playing these games isn’t just about who wins. It’s about the reactions, the side comments from people not even playing, and the moments everyone talks about long after the holidays end. Keep the rules flexible, the snacks close, and the competition friendly. With these board games, family time becomes the highlight of the season.
