It’s holiday time, which means it’s the perfect time to sit back and get hundreds of solo gaming hours under your belt.
That is until life gets in the way and you suddenly have friends/family to entertain.
With that in mind, these are the games we recommend you check out if you want to both spend time with your loved ones and still get some gaming in.
Check them out below:
Jackbox Party Pack 1/2/3
The genius of the Jackbox is how perfectly they manage to mimic familiar television game shows while actually allowing everyone in the room to participate.
It’s also immediately accessible, meaning even if Gran doesn’t know how to use her smartphone she can still use it to play a game like Drawful.
It’s also a game that’s flexible enough to be perfectly family friendly when kids are involved, or incredibly naughty after a few drinks have been imbided.
Until Dawn
One of the only games on this list that doesn’t have any multiplayer element, Until Dawn is still best played with a partner or friend next to you.
Many of the choices presented in the game can be quite literally life-or-death, giving you and said partner the perfect opportunity to debate what to do next.
In addition, the horror tropes presented are immediately familiar to most non-gamers, while the story still provides enough twists to keep everyone guessing.
The LEGO Games
The perfect games for all ages , the LEGO games really do offer something for everyone.
While the newer games are prettier and have more to them, real joy comes from the sheer amount of franchises attached to the Travellers Tales property.
Like Dinsoaurs? Play Juarrassic World? Like superheroes? Both DC and Marvel are well represented? You can even play GTA-lite in Lego City: Undercover.
Guitar Hero/ Rock Band
There was a time where the Guitar Hero and Rock Band games were the biggest games on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Their popularity has slowly faded and the new games aren’t quite as good, but with friends and family coming around now is the perfect time to whip out the old console and plastic instruments for some jamming.
Skylanders
This entry originally contained Disney Infinity (and an honourable mention goes to LEGO: Dimensions), but the toys to life franchise belongs squarely to the Skylanders series.
You don’t need to buy the latest models to get into the series, and best of all the games are actually pretty decent action-platformers.
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
Like the best games on this list, Keep Talking and Nobody explodes takes an incredibly simple premise and elevates it into one of the best co-operative experiences available.
One player has to disarm a bomb nut can only do so by accurately describing how many wires, buttons, and levers are attached.
The other players armed with a Bomb Disposal manual have to frantically flick through it while deciphering the clues they’ve been given and hope they give the right advice in return.
The result is a mad rush against time as you hope the whole thing doesn’t go up in flames.
Rocket League
Rocket League is a special game.
The idea of “Football with cars” is so universally simple to understand that nearly anyone can pick it up play to a semi-competent level within a couple of hours.
It also has the distinction of being the only game on this list that offers cross-platform functionality.
Battlefield 1
If you are the type to play games with a group of friends or family members then you will likely have an annual deliberation of “which game to get”.
For my money, “that game” this year is Battlefield 1.
Rayman Legends
Rayman is the closest you can come to the sheer joy of 2D Mario without owning an Nintendo console.
It’s platforming is fast-paced, breath-taking fun and can be as challenging or relaxing as you want it to be.
Add to this the ability to drop in and out at any time and you have the perfect pick up and play game for when you have people to entertain.
Gang Beasts
Full disclosure – I incorporated Gangs Beasts solely because of the sheer amount of fun I’ve had playing it with friends and family since it debuted in Early Access.
Gang Beasts similar to games like Surgeon Simulator and Qwop is about fighting the controls as much as it is fighting your fellow wrestlers in the ring.
This results in 30 seconds of wild flailing and then the odd moment of sheer brilliance as you perform the perfect suplex and then throw someone out of the ring.
