The best games to play with grandparents are simple enough for a five-year-old and interesting enough for an eighty-year-old. Bonus points if they start a story. Some need a table and a deck of cards. Some need nothing at all. A few work even when Grandma is two time zones away and the only table is a phone screen.
Here's a mix of all three, from old favorites to a few new ones. Pick two or three, keep them handy and let the grandparents choose.
Games to play with grandparents at the kitchen table
These are the classics for a reason. Most grandparents already know the rules, which means they get to be the teacher.
Go Fish and rummy
One standard deck covers both. Go Fish works from about age four. Rummy is a great step up, and many grandparents have strong opinions about the house rules. Let them explain.
Dominoes
Counting dots, matching ends, the satisfying click of tiles on the table. Little kids can play a simple matching version while the grown-ups keep score.
Checkers
Two players, one board and plenty of time to talk. Grandpa will probably let you win. Then one day, he won't, and you'll know you're getting good.
Jigsaw puzzles
Barely a game, and nobody minds. A puzzle on a side table lets grandparents and kids work side by side for days, one piece at a time.
A memory game made of family photos
Lay the cards face down, flip two, find the pairs. With family photos on the cards, every match comes with a story. Matchy Matchy Memory prints your real photos as a memory game, from $19.99. Kids find Grandma. Grandma finds her wedding day.
No equipment games for porches and car rides
No board, no batteries, no cleanup. These fill a walk, a long drive or the wait for dinner. Grandparents often know a dozen of these by heart.
- I spy. Perfect for the youngest players. Grandparents can make it harder with "something older than me."
- Twenty questions. Think of an animal, a person or a place. Everyone else asks yes or no questions until someone guesses.
- Story chain. One person starts a story with a single sentence. The next adds one more. It goes off the rails fast, which is the point.
- Would you rather. Would you rather live on a boat or in a tree house? Grandparents' answers are often the most surprising.
- When I was your age. The kid names a thing, like school lunch or phones. The grandparent explains how it worked back then.
Games across the country, over a video call
Distance makes games harder and more important. A call with a game in it lasts longer and feels less awkward than a call with only questions about school.
Bingo with matching cards
Print the same bingo cards at both houses. Grandpa calls the numbers. Everyone yells at once.
Show and tell trivia
The kid holds up an object from their room. The grandparent asks three questions to guess its story. Then they switch.
Guess the drawing
One person draws on paper and holds it up to the camera. The other guesses. Grandparents tend to be terrible at drawing, which makes this the funniest game on the list.
Matching decks
Get two copies of the same photo memory game, one for each house. Grandma holds up a card, and the grandkid races to find its twin in their own grid. Then they switch, and the kid gets to be the boss.
Read and pause
Grandpa reads a picture book over the call and pauses before the last word on each page. The kid shouts it out.
Games that get the family stories out
Some of the best games barely look like games. They're excuses for grandparents to talk and kids to listen.
- Who is this? Pull out an old photo album. The kids guess who each person is. Most of the time, it's Grandpa with hair.
- The storyteller rule. In any matching game, you keep a pair only after you tell one thing about the photo.
- Two truths and a tale. Grandma shares three stories from her childhood. One is made up. Kids vote on which.
- Map pins. Put a map on the table and let Grandma point to every place she has lived. Kids guess the order.
- Guess how old. Hold up an old photo and guess how old the person was. Closest guess picks the next photo.
Picking the right game for your grandparent
Every grandparent is different. A few things to think about before you set up the table.
- Clear pictures. Bold pictures and familiar faces are easier for everyone, glasses or no glasses.
- Short rounds. Ten minute games let people drift in and out, and nobody gets stuck losing for an hour.
- Teams over solo play. Pair the youngest with the oldest. They usually make the best team at the table.
- Their favorites first. Ask what they played as kids. You might learn a whole new game.
Above all, let them win sometimes. And let them lose sometimes too. Grandparents can tell the difference, and they like a real game.
One last idea. Keep a small game basket at the grandparents' house. When the kids visit, the games are already there, and nobody has to remember to pack them.
Make a game the whole family is in
Pick photos of the grandkids, the grandparents and a few old favorites, right from your phone. Choose real or re-drawn. Choose 12, 24 or 48 cards. Then check your first card before you pay.
Matchy Matchy Memory keeps your real photos, from $19.99. Matchy Matchy Magic re-draws them in 3D Film, Watercolor or Anime, from $29.99, so Grandma and the grandkids show up as characters. Order early for a holiday gift. Questions? Write to us at hello@matchygame.com.