Festive Top Fives: Crowd pleasers
Welcome to the first in a series of ‘top 5’ lists we’ll be providing throughout December, just in time to help those looking for some inspiration for games to play at Christmas.
To kick things off, here are our top five Christmas crowd-pleasers: games that everyone can have fun with without too many rules to learn, with enough curb appeal to engage gamers and non-gamers alike.
First up, Junk Art is mainly a box of lovely wooden building blocks which people will be itching to mess about with before they even know there’s a game involved. The game itself is varied but simple, with a range of different ways to play included in the set. A huge hit at our family Christmas (see the photos below for evidence!), this one feels like a sure-fire winner for getting everyone having fun round a table.
Next in line, Wavelength is maybe the Treehouse team’s favourite game ever, and we’ve raved about it repeatedly over the last couple of years. Take the classic Articulate/ Codenames format with a clue-giver trying to help their team make an educated guess, then add bags of subjectivity, humour and gorgeous components to create a whole lot of fun in a box. Again this is a now a firm family favourite too, and it works well via video link so you don’t even need to be in the same place to enjoy it!
Takenoko is a great choice if you’ve played modern blockbusters like Ticket to Ride and Catan and are looking for something new. With a theme endearing enough to draw in sceptics (growing bamboo to feed a giant panda), there’s enough strategy and player interaction here to keep things interesting over multiple games with few enough rules to make it fun the first time round. It’s also one of those games where it’s satisfying to see the board develop through the game, however well you’re doing, so there’s plenty to entertain less competitive players.
On the other hand, Forbidden Desert is a go-to if you find competitiveness can sometimes get in the way of a good time when your friends or family play together. You and your fellow players are stranded in the desert and must work together to beat the game if you want to escape before you die of thirst. With a unique board each time you play and a range of specialist roles to try out, there’s a whole lot of game in this neatly-packaged, reasonably-priced tin.
Finally, Klask is pretty much guaranteed to score big with the sort of crowd who prefer bar room-type games like darts, pool or table football to more serious, thinky board gaming. Basically air hockey but with magnets and a ball, Klask involves enough skill to get the competitive juices flowing, but with rules that will immediately feel intuitive and super-appealing components that everyone will want to get their hands on. A staple of our traditional New Year’s Eve celebrations at The Treehouse, the festive season just wouldn’t be complete without a Klask tournament at some point!
Find all of the above and LOTS more in our shop, or come and test-drive pretty much every game we have for sale in the café if you’d like to try before you buy! We’ll be posting more Top-5s to provide Christmas shopping inspiration throughout December… watch this space. For more ideas, you can also check out last year’s Treehouse Christmas games guide here.