12 Thanksgiving Games for Adults (That Aren't Awkward)

Game Night Paper Co. · 2026-10-19

Thanksgiving dinner usually has a long stretch between the main course and pie, when people wander off to their phones. A couple of simple games keep everyone at the table, and they give relatives who don't see each other often something easy to talk about. Here are 12 Thanksgiving games for adults. None of them need a board, an app, or a lot of explaining.

Games for the table (no getting up)

1. Thanksgiving trivia

Split the table into two teams and read questions about the history of the holiday, turkeys and food traditions. Keep score on a napkin. Mix easy questions ("What tart red berry is usually served as a sauce?") with harder ones ("Which writer campaigned for years to make Thanksgiving a national holiday?") so everyone gets a turn to shine.

2. A friendly feud

One person hosts and reads a prompt like "Name something people do after a big Thanksgiving dinner." Teams guess the most popular answers. Three wrong guesses and the other team can steal. It's loud, competitive, and it works with a crowd of any size.

3. Table talk cards

Put a stack of conversation questions in a bowl. Between courses, someone draws one and reads it aloud: "What's a tradition from your childhood you'd like to bring back?" Anyone who wants to answer can. It's a gentle way to steer the conversation away from topics that start arguments.

4. Gratitude dice

Pass a die around. Each number has a prompt: something you're thankful for, a favorite food memory, a compliment for the person on your left. The dice make it feel like a game instead of a speech.

5. Who's most likely to…

Read a card such as "Who's most likely to fall asleep on the couch first?", count to three, and everyone points. It's quick, and it always gets a laugh.

6. Would you rather

"Would you rather do all the cooking or all the dishes?" Everyone picks a side and defends it. Great while the coffee brews.

Games for after dinner

7. Charades with a fall twist

Write prompts like "carving a turkey," "raking leaves," or "unbuttoning pants after dinner" on slips of paper. Teams take turns acting them out with a one-minute timer.

8. Pass the pie

Sit in a circle with a wrapped treat. The host reads a story full of LEFT and RIGHT, and you pass the treat each time you hear one. Whoever holds it at the end keeps it.

9. This or that

Hand out a sheet of fall face-offs (pumpkin pie or apple pie, stuffing or mashed potatoes) and compare answers. It takes five minutes and starts a surprising number of debates.

10. A to Z challenge

Everyone gets three minutes to write one Thanksgiving word for every letter. Score one point for each answer nobody else wrote.

11. How many words?

Write HAPPY THANKSGIVING at the top of a page and see who can make the most words from its letters in five minutes.

12. Thankful sheets

End the night with a short fill-in sheet: a person you're thankful for, something that made you laugh this year. Some families keep them in a folder and read old ones each year.

Make it easy on yourself

You don't have to write all of this yourself. Our printable bundle has every game above ready to print: answer keys, host cards, a score sheet and a game guide that lists play time and ages.

Thanksgiving Party Games Bundle

14 Thanksgiving table games including trivia, a feud game and charades. $8.99

See it on Payhip

Hosting friends instead of family? The Friendsgiving pack has a party-moment bingo, Never Have I Ever and end-of-night superlatives.

Friendsgiving Party Games

9 games for adult Friendsgiving, from icebreaker bingo to superlatives. $6.99

See it on Payhip