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Seasonal · Holidays

Holiday board games for a full house

Holiday game nights are the hardest to plan: the table is big, the ages run from eight to eighty, and nobody wants to spend forty minutes explaining rules. The right game is quick to teach, works for five or six, and gets the room laughing.

Brew a holiday deck and pickaru deals party-friendly, easy-to-medium games that play at five or more. Everyone swipes on their own phone — yes, no, maybe, or bench it — and the group matches on what to set up first. Connected a BoardGameGeek shelf? The deck can draw from the games you actually own.

Brew a holiday game deck →

free · no install · friends join with a code

Games that carry a full table

  • Codenames

    Two teams, one word, instant arguments about what 'moon' has to do with 'cheese'.

  • Just One

    Co-operative clue-giving that works with grandparents and teenagers alike.

  • Ticket to Ride

    The gateway game — five players, a map, and a lot of quiet plotting.

  • Azul

    Beautiful tiles, gentle rules, surprisingly cutthroat.

  • Wavelength

    A dial, a spectrum, and the discovery that your family disagrees about everything.

  • Telestrations

    Drawing telephone. The room will cry laughing, and nobody keeps score.

Examples, not the deck: the deck is dealt fresh from the filters when you brew it, so it changes every time.

How it works

  1. 1

    Brew the deck

    The button below opens the builder pre-tuned for this night. Tweak anything, then deal.

  2. 2

    Share the code

    Friends join from any phone with the six-letter code or the invite link — no install, no password.

  3. 3

    Swipe, then match

    Everyone votes in private. Results unlock together: a full match, a ranked shortlist, or let the roulette pick.

Questions

Does this need everyone's board game collection?

No. Without a shelf the deck draws from the popular and top-ranked games on BoardGameGeek that fit your player count and time. Connect a BGG username in Settings to deal from what you own.

What about younger kids?

The preset sets the age band to 8+. Drop it to 6+ in the builder for a deck of games the little ones can join.

How long does a party take?

Dealing takes a minute, swiping a deck of ten games about two. Results unlock the moment the last person finishes.

Brew a holiday game deck →