There’s no time like December to dig out the games. And there’s something very wonderful about the simple tactility of playing with pen and paper. So grab a winter tipple, ensure the snacks are by your side and gather everyone one together to give these merry games a try.
1. Roll Your Own Gingerbread Game
A deliciously simple game of dice rolling and doodling.
Object of the game:
In turn, players roll a dice to determine which part of a gingerbread person they can draw. The first player to finish drawing their gingerbread character wins.
Number of players:
2 or more
What you’ll need:
One 6-sided dice
Pencil and paper for each player
How to play:
Choose a player to start the game at random. The player rolls the dice, then draws a part of the gingerbread person on paper depending on the number rolled.
1 = Gingerbread body
2 = An eye
3 = Mouth
4 = A button (x3 needed in total)
5 = Icing
6 = Santa hat
There are some rules on when each part can be drawn: You must draw the body first – all other parts cannot be drawn until the player has rolled a 1. Rolling a 4 means you draw one button (three are required in total), and rolling a 5 means that you draw icing details of your choice.
If a number is rolled that matches a body part that cannot be drawn or that the player has already drawn (for example, the player rolls a 1 but they have already drawn the body) then the player’s turn ends.
Once a player has rolled the dice and drawn their gingerbread part, pass the dice clockwise to the next player who takes a turn. Keep going until somebody wins the game.
A complete gingerbread will have a body, two eyes, a mouth, three buttons, decorative icing details, and a Santa hat. The first player to draw all parts of their gingerbread wins.
2. Festive Forehead Detective Game
The guessing game we know and love but with a festive twist.
Object of the game:
To correctly guess as many words on your forehead based on the clues provided by fellow players.
Number of players:
2 or more (best played in a larger group)
What you’ll need:
Pens and paper
A timer
A bowl
How to play:
Write out well-known seasonal foods, characters and objects on scraps of paper to create your game. Fold up the pieces of paper and put them in a bowl. Choose a player at random to start the game.
Each player must pick a piece of paper, unfold it and stick it on their forehead without looking at what it says. Set the timer to 60 seconds while the player asks a series of yes and no questions to the group to figure out who or what they are. If they guess correctly in the time limit, the player receives a point.
The player to their left goes next and repeats the process. Once the bowl is empty, the player with the most points wins.
Here are some ideas we wrote earlier:
Seasonal objects
~ Baubles
~ Candy canes
~ Stocking
~ Tree
~ Christmas card
~ Wrapping paper
~ Bell
~ Sleigh
~ Chimney
~ Frankincense
Festive food & drink
~ Stuffing
~ Eggnog
~ Pigs in blankets
~ Figgy pudding
~ Mince pie
~ Yule log
~ Nut roast
~ Mulled wine
~ Brussel sprout
~ Cranberry sauce
Famous characters
~ Mariah Carey
~ Mrs Claus
~ Buddy the elf
~ Cindy Lou
~ Kevin McCallister
~ Ebenezer Scrooge
~ George Michael
~ Rudolph
~ Tiny Tim
~ Jack Frost
3. Paper Reflections Game
An emotion-provoking game of written prompts to reveal more about you and your year.
Object of the game:
Look back on 2021 and ahead to 2022, and acknowledge how you feel. Reflect, laugh, cry, learn.
Number of players:
2 or more
What you’ll need:
Pen and paper
A gift bag, box or hat to put the prompts in
How to play:
Write out your chosen written prompts on scraps of paper, fold them up and place them into a hat, bag or box or some sort. Each player takes it in turns to pick out a prompt, read it aloud and share their answer. Alternatively, you can take it in turns to answer the entire batch of prompts. The game is best played sat in a circle or around a table to aid connection.
Here are some prompts we wrote earlier:
My happiest memory of the year...
My karaoke song for the Holidays is…
The thing that made me laugh the most this year...
The best present I ever got...
The worst present I ever got...
This year I am proud that....
The person I’d most like to meet under the mistletoe...
2021 has taught me...
Last year if you’d told me me ________, I wouldn’t have believed you
The thing I’m letting go of this year…
My highlight of the year...
Next year I will ______
The gift I probably need most right now...
The song that describes my year best...
If my year was a novel it would be called...
All I want for Christmas is…
Ready for another game? There are lots more ways to play with pen and paper. Try these ideas.
