How to Host a Holiday Game Night Without Taking Over the House

Throughout Thanksgiving week and the Super Bowl, there are more trips to the house, as compared to any other time of the year. By the end of the 3rd quarter, football is on, a mixed case of beer is within reach, and by the end of the 3rd week in August, a box of a board game is set out on the coffee table. Frequently, friends will gather for drink time, and friendly competition turns these into a memorable evening filled with fun, food, and a bit of competition.

This is typically the way Rooster Combats start. The cards are set on the kitchen island, while cans roll to the bookshelf. Pulled from the couch of said one who never requested a game night is a game piece on Monday. With a bit of planning, the whole evening can take place in one room.r

Pick One Room and Give It the Whole Night

Start by deciding where the night happens during the holiday season. Choose one room for play, ideally one with the TV in view, and keep game boxes, open drinks, and score sheets out of every other room in the house.

The dining room usually wins. It already has a big flat surface, a chair for everyone, and overhead light meant for seeing what’s on the table. A living room can handle a smaller group, though a crowd around a low coffee table runs out of elbow room fast.

Tell guests where things go when they walk in. Coats go on the bed, the cooler sits by the back door, and games stay in the dining room. People follow a plan when you hand them one, and the rest of the house stays yours.

Let the Football Set the Schedule

Holiday football gives the evening a built-in clock. Thanksgiving brings a full day of NFL games, with Detroit and Dallas traditionally hosting, and the league has added Christmas Day games in recent seasons. A Sunday game can set the pace for snacks, casual conversation, and a few beers with friends before Super Bowl Sunday caps the stretch in February.

Incorporate the games into the broadcast. Quick games are run during a commercial break or halftime in an event. Longer strategy games follow the end of the game when no one is nuzzling their eardrum to hear if the replay has been performed correctly.

On big game days, some hosts split the table. One end runs with each snap, and one end plays cards with the volume down. If both teams agree on the TV volume before the game, that will suffice until some other arrangement is made.

Choose Games That Fit the Crowd and the Clock

Holiday guests are a mixed group, and the same goes for a friends’ night during the festive season. You may have every rule of a 2-hour strategy game memorized, but your aunt can learn some in 5 minutes with a glass of beer, and she won’t be the only one planning to try. You might know all of the rules for a 2-hour strategy game, and your aunt will want to learn some in 5 minutes with a glass of beer. She will not be the only one wanting to try. They have a small, flexible and fair line-up to cover both:-

• Enjoying the game: some party and word games such as Codenames or Wavelength allow an interruption for a big play in a round of the game.
• Half-time: Card games (last 20 minutes), e.g. Sushi Go or The Mind.
• Once into the table game, it can be anything longer, such as Ticket to Ride or Catan, relying on the final whistle to help a person decide to sit and play for an hour.

Don’t place a large number of copies on the stack. Three or four boxes along a sideboard are better to select from than an empty closet on the floor, and fewer boxes equals fewer loose pieces to put together once you’re through.

Plan the Beer Around the Table

Beer and board games share a table well with a few precautions, helping create the perfect holidays for friends and family. The cans and bottles are less likely to tip over, and a coaster at every seat will prevent a ring from landing on the wood.

Brew heavy drinks of beer and drink them in large quantities for an extended amount of time. Clear beer, even if a pilsner or a brown ale, lets drinkers sift through the first two games and the fourth quarter and still count their chips. Don’t forget to include a couple of nonalcoholic options in the cooler too; many breweries have crafted excellent nonalcoholic options.

Often, there are some good releases during the holiday period. Store the spiced winter warmers and barrel-aged stouts for slow-play time. Keep it for turn breaks, after football, with slow-paced people enjoying a glass.

Place one drink station clear of the area where children play. A cooler or sideboard prevents over-the-board refills and reduces the number of returns to standing around during commercial breaks.

Serve Food That Holds Up at a Game Table

Football staples with wings and nachos also leave residue on the fingers that get played with cards. Try to place the food that people have just put together out as they are playing, then change it to more sanitary snacks when the boards are pulled out of the way.

All the above are at a game table. Place snacks in small bowls at either end of the table to stop people edging across the table, and large napkins within reach of all seats.

The holiday table should also be set up. The other reason you would find this helpful if a game is ongoing is that gravy is introduced into the game when eating over it.

Give Your Dining Table Two Jobs

Holiday game nights hit a snag at mealtime. A game started during the early kickoff has to be packed up so dinner can go out, then set up again from scratch afterward. By the time the board is back, half the table has wandered off to the couch.

A board game dining table takes care of that handoff. It is designed to look exactly like a solid wood dining table, and functions the same way, including detachable leaves on the upper surface. Open the leaves, and then you will find that there is a recessed play area a few inches down, allowing a game to be played underneath while the turkey is coming out.

Some of these tables even feature player stations along the edge and cup holders and card holders. When you have a full cooler and a close game to play, the drinks don’t even need to be mentioned to keep them off of the board.

The partner that does not want to live in the game room sees the table as regular dining furniture the other 34 (or 35) nights of the year. The game room has a home,e and the room resembles a dining room when visitors leave.

Make Cleanup Part of the Plan

Set the time to stop before anyone comes in, on paper and verbally. It eliminates the need to look pointedly at midnight if anyone is missing and doesn’t know what time the game is starting. It provides everyone with an aim and is a good way to avoid the “penalty” of being called out of bed at midnight to start the game.

Locate each game prior to the early evening. A zip bag/box lid for all decks and loose parts makes it only 5 minutes to pack up. A nice house rule is to have the loser from the previous game conduct cleanup. It is a nice house rule to have the loser from the previous game lead the cleanup.

Place a recycling bin by the drink station and be sure to remove drink containers from the table throughout the evening. So, if the last one of us leaves 15 minutes before everyone else, then the dining room is clean on Monday morning!

Planning the Night Around One Table

Game night puts the edge on holiday hosting! Select the dining room, have long games late in the game, offer beverages at one place, have cup holders in the line, and say a last game time early.

These 4 essentials will allow football fans, game players, and family/friends who have come to eat pie to sit around the same table with a few beers on offer for those who would like one! You can leave the house nice and tidy for more space to chat, tasty treats in season, and more relaxed hosting for a wonderful holiday gathering.