Competitive board games are a reliable way to end Christmas afternoon with someone sulking in the kitchen. Cooperative games solve this by putting everyone on the same team against the game itself, which somehow makes losing feel like a group activity rather than someone's personal failure.
Sorted below by roughly how much rules reading is involved, so you can match the game to how much patience is actually left in the room by 3pm.
Quick and simple (ready to play in under a minute of explaining)
- Outfoxed! (Ages 5+)A kid-friendly whodunnit that plays a bit like Cluedo, without the risk of a five-year-old being eliminated on turn two.
- Bandido (Ages 6+)A tiny card game that fits in a coat pocket and takes less time to learn than to find where you put it last year.
- Hanabi (Ages 8+)Everyone can see everyone else's cards except their own, so the whole game is played through hints and mild panic.
- Zombie Kids Evolution (Ages 7+)A genuinely gentle zombie game, more silly than scary, with new rules and stickers to unlock across the holidays.
- Ghost Fightin' Treasure Hunters (Ages 7+)A haunted house crawl with dice and torches, light enough that younger players keep up without being carried.
A proper sit-down game (20 to 40 minutes, worth the table space)
- The Key: Theft at Cliffrock Villa (Ages 8+)Everyone investigates at their own pace on their own board, so nobody is stuck waiting for their turn.
- Forbidden Island (Ages 10+)A sinking island, four treasures and a genuinely tense final few turns once the water starts rising.
- Magic Maze (Ages 8+)No talking allowed, which somehow makes a simple shop heist one of the more chaotic things on this list.
- Mysterium (Ages 10+)One player plays a mute ghost communicating only through dream cards. Works surprisingly well after a couple of mince pies.
- Castle Panic (Ages 10+)Monsters advancing on a castle from every direction, and a board that gets more satisfying the closer it comes to falling apart.
For the ones who actually like board games (an hour or more)
- Pandemic (Ages 8+)The game that made cooperative board games mainstream in the first place, and still one of the best.
- Forbidden Desert (Ages 10+)Forbidden Island's harder sibling, with a sandstorm that keeps rearranging the board while you try to get off it.
- The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine (Ages 10+)A trick-taking card game dressed up as a space mission, with no talking about your hand allowed at all.
- Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle (Ages 11+)A cooperative deck-builder that gets more complex with every game, in the good way, not the confusing way.
- Flash Point Fire Rescue (Ages 10+)A burning building, a countdown clock and just enough real tension to make Boxing Day feel eventful.
Need a hand actually buying one rather than just reading about it? Every game above links to an Amazon UK search, or try our Gift Finder if you are still deciding who needs which kind of distraction this year.