I love November because it is Family Stories Month. However, telling your family’s stories shouldn’t be confined to just one month of the year. Having said that, holiday time is a great time to tell those stories as there are often many gatherings with extended family members. With that in mind, why not coax those stories out of family members and have fun playing together at the same time. Conversation games are the best types of games to tell those family stories. . .and maybe a few secrets too!
In addition, family gatherings are always fun, but it can be challenging to keep everyone entertained, especially when you have a multi-generational family. It can be difficult to find activities that everyone enjoys, but conversation games are a great way to keep everyone engaged. These games not only help to tell the family’s stories but also encourage family members to interact with each other.
We’re going to explore some conversation games that you can play with your multi-generational family and perhaps you’ll hear some stories that you’ve never heard before along with some old favorites.
I like portable boxed conversation games because they are small and easy to transport to a relative’s home or on vacations. The other type I like are what I call “sit-around” games. Those are the ones that don’t need anything but maybe some paper and a pencil or some dice. Knowing those two things, you’ll understand why these are my 12 top favorites conversation games that you can take just about anywhere.
Conversation Games by Type
Boxes Games
- All of Us
- Do You Really Know Your Family?
- Who Knows More? Kids or Adults
- Rapid Fire
- Our Moments
- Do You Remember?
Sit-around Games
- Would You Rather?
- The Storytelling Game
- Guess Who
- Two Truths and a Lie
- Never Have I Ever
- Get to Know You Dice Game
Boxed Games
All of Us
This is such a great game to play with your multi-generational family! This makes it a great game to play during those get-together times. The game is separated into questions for each generation of your family – Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z. You answer questions from your generation of questions or for a challenge. . .answer questions from another’s generation!
You can play with players from about age 8 years old to the grandparents. This will be a real hit with your family! I’m going to put in my two cents. The rules are a bit, well. . .let’s just say, if you don’t like the written rules, just amend them to suit your liking. For instance, the scoring system that is outlined makes finishing the game take longer. Shorter games tend to keep everyone engaged. Try this game at a family reunion, holiday gathering, or extended family game night!
Do You Really Know Your Family?
This is a fun game to play with children, teens, and adults. The basic premise of this game is to ask questions to the group about yourself and then have people answer them. There are Trivia Cards that have questions you ask the group such as “What is my favorite thing about winter?” After you think about the answer, you ask the group to guess. The first person to guess correctly wins the card. Then, there are Challenge cards. These challenge the group to do or say something where they can win the card.
Looking at the title of this game, you may answer “Yes! I know my family!” However, you may discover that you know less than you think. This game is a great way to get to know people you live near and those you don’t. Those who live near each other are more likely to know the answers, but not always. Sometimes, it’s just a guess, but it can definitely get the conversation going.
Now, a word about the challenge cards. Go through them at the beginning and decide what is okay and what is “no-go” for your group. I’ll admit, not all the cards are for everyone. So, just pick and choose before the game starts.
My take on this is that while it’s a bit pricey, the cards and game itself is good quality. There are a lot of trivia cards with questions to have a good variety. This game really sparked the conversation when people thought that the answer was different than their guess. It gave us a lot of opportunity to get to know each other better. As a side note, this is a great game for college roommates! It’s a great get-to-know-you activity, and they can handle all the crazy challenges.
Who Knows More Kids or Adults?
This game is by the same makers of the Do You Really Know Your Family game. So, you can expect the same quality. This game is more of a general trivia game. However, the questions are separated into questions for kids and questions for adults. Because of this, there are often questions about how someone knew that answer or where they learned that?
So, let’s be honest. . .trivia games are hit and miss with different people. What some people regard as too easy, others may think too difficult and visa versa. Because of this, you just have to try it and maybe adapt. If the kids’ questions are too easy, move up and just use the adult deck. Or, if your family isn’t as adept with the adult trivia, the kids’ questions may work just fine. It’s still really fun to compete kids against adults!
My experience with trivia games like this is that it works better with a bigger group. That way, you have a lot of minds working on the trivia questions. This one is no different, especially in the kids’ group. Whether you know lots of trivia or not, this game resulted in lots of laughs and more important. . .interacting with each other.
Rapid Fire
The many ice-breaker type questions in this game are laid out in cards with 6 questions each. Each person has one minute to answer as many of the questions as they can. You can score points or just keep passing the deck around to each person so you can get to know them. There are some repeat questions so that different people can answer the same question. However, there are mostly non-repeating questions to keep some variety.
This game is great to play as an actual game or as a get-to-know-you activity. If you are playing with your family, it’s sure to be eye-opening when you hear some of the answers. To add some added interest to this game, pick one of the answers and ask the person to explain their answer. This will get some conversations going for sure.
These next two are more activities than actual games, but they are great conversation starters. . .
If you want to spark conversation that leads to telling family stories, you will need something to trigger those memories. Both of these are great for asking family members questions that will help them remember those great stories that may or may not have been told before.
Our Moments – Generations
There are 100 questions in the Our Moments card deck. These are thought-provoking questions meant for grandparents to pass on their life lessons to their family. Bringing generations together while sharing memories is a great way to build those precious relationships.
Do You Remember?
This card deck is made up of 50 small-sized cards with questions that come in a tiny square tin. This makes it very durable and portable. Again, any time you can get family members together and share stories, you keep the door open to communication between the generations. You also preserve your family history.
Sit-Around Games
Would You Rather Game
This game is a classic conversation starter, and it’s a fun way to learn more about each other. Split the family into two teams and ask each team to come up with ten “Would you rather” questions. The questions should have two options that are equally challenging or, at times, hilarious. There are many resources online to find “Would you rather” questions. Just google it. Talking about the choices can really get a conversation going.
The Storytelling Game
This game is great for a large family group and encourages creativity and imagination. Ask the eldest family member to start a story with an opening sentence; it’s essential to make it interesting, suspenseful, or funny. Then each family member takes a turn adding a sentence to the story until it reaches the youngest member. The final sentence should wrap up the story. This game is a great icebreaker and will inspire storytelling skills in all generations of the family. It’s even more fun if you use a family member as the subject of the story.
Guess Who
Would you like a way to learn more about your family history and traditions? Create a list of family members with unique stories or traits and write them down on pieces of paper. Shuffle them up and randomly pick a paper and read the trait. The family member who guesses the correct person wins that round. This game has endless possibilities. If you can get an older family member who remembers ancestors who have passed on, you could really discover a lot about yourself and those whose traits you have inherited.
Two Truths and a Lie
This classic icebreaker game is perfect for multi-generational families. It’s a great way to learn interesting facts about each other, while having a blast! In this game, each person shares three statements about themselves- two that are true, and one that is a lie. The others then have to guess which statement is the lie. You may find that you have to be super creative if family members know each other really well. You can likely still come up with things that will stump even the closest of family members. This is a really great game to break the ice and learn more about each other at a family reunion.
Never Have I Ever
Even though Never Have I Ever is a popular drinking game, it can also be played without alcohol and is perfect for families of all ages. In this game, someone says a statement starting with “Never have I ever…” and those who have done that thing have to take a step forward and also explain the story behind it fi you want. It’s a great way to learn new things about each other but be careful as it may also reveal family secrets that are better kept in the closet.
Get to Know You Dice Game
For this game, you will need a single 6-sided die to roll. . .or you can use an app on someone’s phone. This one is great for a family holiday dinner. While everyone is waiting for the meal to be ready, you can be getting to know each other better. The younger kids love hearing how the older people in the family answer the questions. You need to prepare 6 questions with one of the numbers (1-6) next to each question and print them on a piece of paper. When someone rolls the die, they then have to answer the corresponding question.
Alternately, you could make a grid of 6 questions across and 6 questions down for a total of 36 questions. Next, you would number them 1 – across the top of the page and 1 – 6 down the left side of the page. When playing, roll a pair of dice and find the question that lies at the intersection of the two numbers.
To Sum Things Up. . .
Playing conversation games is an excellent way to connect with family members of all ages and create lasting memories together. Whether you’re playing one of the boxed games or a sit-around game, conversation games will help you break down barriers and encourage open communication. We hope we’ve inspired you to try out some fun and engaging conversation games with your multi-generational family. So go ahead, give them a try, and watch the magic happen!