Thanksgiving games
Here are 25 Thanksgiving games for family and Friendsgiving, each with its rules in one or two sentences: games at the table, games for after dinner, games to play around the NFL games, a short adults only round, games for kids and games on one phone. Thanksgiving 2026 falls on Thursday 26 November, so there is time to plan.
Imposter
Everyone sees the secret word except the imposter. One clue each around the table, then vote out whoever is faking it.
Full rulesSwitch off Friendsgiving 18+ at a family table. Leave only Trivia on and the card becomes a quiz with the answers one tap away.
Tap the card to draw a random game, or switch on the trivia round and the card turns into 12 Thanksgiving trivia questions with the answer hidden until you tap.
- Games
- 25
- Trivia
- 12 questions
- Players
- 4 to 30
25 Thanksgiving games for family and friends
Games at the Thanksgiving table
5- Thankful Alphabet: go around the table and name something you are thankful for, starting with A, then B, then C. Whoever gets stuck on Q or X tells a story instead.
- Who's Grateful: everyone writes one thing they are grateful for this year on a card, anonymously. The host reads them out and the table guesses who wrote each one.
- Hot Seat: one person at a time takes three questions from the table, like 'best Thanksgiving ever?' or 'which dish would you cut forever?'. No passing, no long speeches.
- Blind Side Ranking: everyone ranks the side dishes on a slip of paper without saying who made what. The host reveals the table's favourite with dessert.
- Wishbone Pull: let the turkey wishbone dry, then two people pull it apart. Whoever gets the longer piece makes a wish, and the table can play a bracket for the honour.
Games for after Thanksgiving dinner
5- Survey Says: ask 20 relatives five questions in advance, like 'name something you eat on Thanksgiving'. Then play it Family Feud style in two teams.
- Spoons: deal four cards each, pass cards around quickly, and when someone has four of a kind they grab a spoon. There is one spoon fewer than players.
- Thanksgiving Charades: act out words like 'carving the turkey', 'Black Friday' or 'falling asleep on the couch' while your team guesses against a minute timer.
- Leftover Sandwich Battle: teams get five minutes and the leftovers to build the best sandwich. The cook of the day is the judge.
- Thanksgiving Pictionary: draw things like 'the Mayflower', 'pumpkin pie' or 'uncle asleep in front of the game' on a big pad, sixty seconds a turn.
Games to play around Thanksgiving football
4- Football Squares: draw a 10 by 10 grid, everyone writes their name in squares, then draw a digit for each row and column. The last digit of each team's score after every quarter picks the winning square.
- Commercial Bingo: bingo cards with moments from the ad breaks, like 'a truck drives through snow' or 'a celebrity eats a snack'. First full line wins the last slice of pie.
- Turkey Bowl: two hand touch football in the yard before dinner. Mix the teams by generation, and the losing team clears the table.
- Prediction Card: before kickoff, everyone guesses the final score, the first team to score and the total points. Closest card picks the next game.
Friendsgiving games for adults (18+)
4For adults who opted in. A sip is a small sip, water counts just as much, and anyone can pass.
- Never Have I Ever, Friendsgiving edition: 'Never have I ever passed off a store bought pie as homemade' or 'hidden from a relative's question about my love life'.
- Most Likely To: read a question, everyone points at once, and the person with the most fingers on them owns it. 'Most likely to fall asleep before dessert' always lands.
- Gobble Rule: pick one banned word for the night, like 'turkey'. Say it and you sip, and whoever catches you gets a point.
- Gratitude Toast Relay: go around the circle, everyone has ten seconds to toast something good from their year. Stall or repeat someone and you sip.
Thanksgiving games for kids
4- Turkey Hunt: hide paper turkeys around the house, some worth one point and one golden turkey worth five. Grown ups can only give hot or cold hints.
- Pin the Feather on the Turkey: draw a big turkey with no tail, blindfold the player and let them stick on a paper feather. Every kid gets three feathers.
- Hand Turkey Contest: trace your hand, turn it into a turkey and decorate it. Grandparents vote for funniest, prettiest and most like a real turkey.
- Pumpkin Pass: pass a small pumpkin around the circle while the music plays. Whoever holds it when the music stops says what they are thankful for.
Thanksgiving games on a phone
3- Imposter: everyone sees the secret word except the imposter. One clue each around the table, then vote out whoever is faking it.
- The Quiz: the host shares a pin code, up to 16 relatives answer on their own phones at the same time, and the podium settles kids against grandparents.
- The Timeline: a real music clip plays and you place it in order by year. Grandparents win the old songs, the kids win the new ones.
Thanksgiving trivia questions with answers
12- Which president made Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863?
Show answer
Abraham Lincoln - Which magazine editor campaigned for years for a national Thanksgiving, and also wrote Mary Had a Little Lamb?
Show answer
Sarah Josepha Hale - On which Thursday of November is US Thanksgiving held?
Show answer
The fourth Thursday - Which president moved Thanksgiving a week earlier in 1939, a change nicknamed Franksgiving?
Show answer
Franklin D. Roosevelt - What was the name of the ship the Pilgrims sailed on in 1620?
Show answer
The Mayflower - Which Native American people shared the 1621 harvest feast with the Pilgrims?
Show answer
The Wampanoag - When does Canada celebrate Thanksgiving?
Show answer
The second Monday of October - In which year was the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade held?
Show answer
1924 - What is a male turkey called?
Show answer
A tom, or a gobbler - Which two NFL teams host a game every Thanksgiving?
Show answer
The Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys - In bowling, what do you call three strikes in a row?
Show answer
A turkey - In A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, which sweet does Snoopy serve along with toast, popcorn and pretzels?
Show answer
Jelly beans
How to plan games for Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving is a long day with a big meal in the middle, and the games should follow its rhythm. Busy hands before dinner, conversation at the table, and something everyone can play from the couch afterwards.
- Before dinner, get people movingA Turkey Bowl in the yard or a Turkey Hunt for the kids keeps everyone out of the kitchen while the cook works.
- At the table, keep it lightThankful Alphabet and Who's Grateful work between courses, because they take a minute each and nobody has to leave their seat.
- During the football, play alongFill in the Football Squares and Prediction Cards before kickoff, so even the people who don't follow the game have a reason to cheer.
- After dinner, one big gameSurvey Says, Spoons or a live quiz on everyone's phone. Pick one game the whole room can join, from the youngest to the oldest.
| Your Thanksgiving | Before dinner | At the table | After dinner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big family with kids | Turkey Hunt | Thankful Alphabet | Pumpkin Pass, then Survey Says |
| Family with football fans | Turkey Bowl | Prediction Card | Football Squares and Commercial Bingo |
| Friendsgiving with roommates | Leftover Sandwich Battle | Hot Seat | Never Have I Ever, Friendsgiving edition |
| Mixed ages, lots of phones | Pin the Feather on the Turkey | Who's Grateful | The Quiz with a pin code |
| Small table of four to six | Spoons | Blind Side Ranking | Imposter |
A music game that every generation wins
In Dronk's The Timeline, a real music clip plays and you place it on your timeline by year. Grandparents nail the sixties, the kids nail last summer, and nobody knows where the eighties go.
Get Dronk free on iPhone
Thanksgiving football and the games around it
Football is part of Thanksgiving for a lot of families. The Detroit Lions have hosted a game on Thanksgiving almost every year since 1934, the Dallas Cowboys have hosted one most years since the 1960s, and a third game is played in the evening. The matchups change every year, so check the NFL schedule for this year's games.
The trick is giving the people who don't watch football a reason to care. Football Squares and Prediction Cards do that: you don't need to know the rules to cheer when the score ends in your number. Commercial Bingo works for anyone who only looks up for the ads.
- Fill the squares before kickoff. Draw the digits only once every square has a name, so nobody can pick the good numbers.
- Play for pie, not money. First pick of the dessert table is a better prize than cash at a family table.
- Halftime is game time. Use the long break for a round of Thanksgiving trivia or Spoons, then back to the couch.
Questions people ask
What games can you play on Thanksgiving?
Thankful Alphabet and Hot Seat work at the table, Survey Says, Spoons and Thanksgiving Charades work after dinner, and Football Squares fits around the NFL games. This page has 25 games in six groups.
What are good Friendsgiving games?
Never Have I Ever, Friendsgiving edition, Most Likely To, Leftover Sandwich Battle and Hot Seat suit a table of friends. Imposter on one phone is a good choice when the group is new to each other.
What are good Thanksgiving games for family?
Survey Says, Spoons, Thankful Alphabet and The Timeline work across all ages, because each generation has its own advantage. With small kids, add Turkey Hunt and Pumpkin Pass.
What NFL games are on Thanksgiving?
Three games are played every Thanksgiving: the Detroit Lions host one, the Dallas Cowboys host one, and a third is played in the evening. The opponents change each year.
When is Thanksgiving 2026?
Thanksgiving 2026 is on Thursday 26 November. US Thanksgiving is always the fourth Thursday of November.
How do you play Football Squares?
Draw a 10 by 10 grid with one team along the top and one down the side. Players write their names in squares, then you draw the digits 0 to 9 for each row and column. After every quarter, the square that matches the last digit of each team's score wins.
Keep the night going
Updated