18 Thanksgiving Games for Adults and the Whole Family
Thanksgiving has a natural lull: the turkey's in the oven and everyone's hungry, or dinner is over and nobody can move. Games fill those gaps and keep the conversation away from politics. Here are 18 that work for a table of adults, a mix of ages, or a full house of cousins.
Table games while you wait for dinner
- Thanksgiving trivia. Ask about the 1621 harvest feast in Plymouth, Sarah Josepha Hale (who campaigned for a national holiday), Lincoln's 1863 proclamation, and when the Macy's parade started (1924). Teams of three work best.
- Table talk cards. Put a stack of conversation prompts at each place setting: "What's a tradition you'd like to start?" They're gentle enough for in-laws.
- Gratitude ABCs. Go around the table naming something you're thankful for, A to Z. Anyone who stalls is out.
- Thanksgiving word search or scramble. A quiet option for kids and early arrivals.
- This or That. Pumpkin or pecan? Stuffing or mashed potatoes? Quick, silly and surprisingly heated.
- Would You Rather. "Would you rather skip dessert or skip the turkey?"
Games for the whole room
- Thanksgiving bingo. The easiest way to include everyone from age 6 to 96. Use unique cards so you don't get ten winners at once.
- Who's Most Likely To. "Who's most likely to fall asleep before pie?" Point on three.
- Thanksgiving charades. "Carving the turkey", "running a Turkey Trot", "watching the parade."
- Fill-in-the-blank story. Collect nouns, verbs and adjectives, then read the finished Thanksgiving story aloud. Kids love being in charge of this one.
- Thankful leaves. Everyone writes what they're grateful for on a paper leaf and adds it to a branch or wall. A nice keepsake to photograph each year.
- Guess the pie weight. Closest guess gets the first slice.
Active games for after dinner
- Backyard football or a family walk. The classic for a reason.
- Pumpkin bowling. Small pumpkins and plastic bottles in the driveway.
- Turkey feather hunt. Hide paper feathers around the house for the kids to find.
- Pass the pie (or the roll). A Thanksgiving twist on hot potato with music.
- Minute to Win It: stack the cups. Build a pyramid of plastic cups in 60 seconds.
- Thanksgiving Pictionary. One drawer, one guessing team, a one-minute timer.
Tips for mixing ages
- Mix teams so every team has a kid and a grandparent; trivia suddenly gets much funnier.
- Have one quiet game (word search) and one loud game (charades) ready so you can match the mood.
- Print the day before. Thanksgiving morning is not the time to discover you're out of ink.
Free printable Thanksgiving place cards
Setting the table? These free fold-over place cards include a gratitude version that doubles as a conversation starter.
Free printable Thanksgiving place cards: 12 fold-over tent cards with autumn leaf designs, including an "I am thankful for" version. PDF, no sign-up.
Thanksgiving 2026 falls on Thursday, November 26. If you want everything above ready to print, our Thanksgiving games bundle has 12 games, 30 unique bingo cards, table talk cards and thankful leaves in one PDF.
Gather & Give Thanks Thanksgiving Games Bundle: 12 Printable Family Games$10.99 · Instant downloadView the printable →Frequently asked questions
What are good Thanksgiving games for adults?
Trivia in teams, who's most likely to, would you rather, charades and table talk conversation cards all work well for adults and need little or no setup.
When is Thanksgiving 2026?
Thanksgiving in the United States falls on the fourth Thursday of November, which is November 26, 2026.