When I think of holiday gatherings, board and group games still come to mind as a way to break the awkward silence when you’re finished with small talk about work, school or the weather, and need something to do.
1. Mad Libs: A word game where one person asks others in the group for a list of words before reading the story out loud. It’s often nonsensical and hilarious. If you can’t get your hands on a paper pad of these, there are both regular and adult versions available in the App Store.
2. Apples to Apples: Card game where a player draws an adjective card and the other players match with noun cards what that they think best fits the description (or what the person drawing the card would like best).
3. Cards Against Humanity: Described as a party game for horrible people, it’s basically an unrated, uncensored version of Apples to Apples. It can often be hilarious, but is not for anyone easily offended.
4. Cranium: Players are divided into teams to face off in a variety of challenges including trivia, drawing, spelling and molding clay. Two Microsoft co-workers actually left their day jobs to go make this.
5. Taboo: A word guessing game where a player tries to get their team to guess a word or phrase by providing clues. The catch is they cannot say any of the prohibited “taboo” words on the card. Unspeakable is it’s closest digital kin.
6. Pictionary: A guessing word game played in teams to identify a word from their teammates’ drawings. All you really need for this one in a large easel. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
7. Celebrity: A party game where teams compete to guess as many celebrity names as possible before time runs out. Full rules are here and VH1 even came out with a free app for it.
8. Catch Phrase: Another word guessing game where the player tries to get their team to say the word on the disc/app by describing it with a few limitations. Once they do, they pass it to the other team. The team not holding the disc when time runs out wins. A similar game is also available as an app.
9. Scrabble: I don’t think I need to explain this one too thoroughly, but it’s that game where players strategically place tiles to spell words. It’s available as an app or as Words With Friends which became popular before the official version was launched. Image via Scrabble Skills.
10. Trivial Pursuit: A board game where a player’s progress is determined by their ability to answer trivia questions (and a little luck). There are many versions from general knowledge to pop culture. Image via About.com.
11. Scattergories: A 2 to 6 person game where players score points by naming objects within a category for the letter of the alphabet drawn.
12. Scene It?: A game where players answer trivia questions about films or pop culture, originally from trivia cards or short video clips. It’s now available for iPhone/iPad, video game consoles and Facebook.
13. Who Am I?: Simple, inexpensive game where cards with names or objects written on them are placed on a player’s forehead. They are allowed to ask up to 20 yes or no questions to help guess what’s written on their card.
14. Two Truths, One Lie: Each player writes down or tells three things about themselves, one of them false. It’s another player’s job to guess which one is the lie. A great way to get to know more about others!
15. Charades: Word guessing game where one player acts out a word or phrase for their team to guess. I’d play charades with Scarlett Johansson anytime she wanted. (image via Just Jared)
What do you think? Did I miss any of your favorites or essentials? Leave them in the comments below.
It can be intimidating to step out on your own and build a business from the ground up. As part of our collaboration with Office Depot, we're talking with Selfmade alum and solopreneur Colette Lawrence, the faith-based motivator and relationship builder behind The M.E.E. Movement, about ways in which women in business can find success.
B + C: How did you know M.E.E. Movement was your business to start?
The M.E.E Movement represents motivation, empowerment, and encouragement for women. It is what represents me. I did not know at first that it was my business to start, but then the thought of monetizing what I loved came to me. It scared me, however. I registered the business in July 2020 and have been slowly building my wings since.
B + C: What's one strategy that's helped you start your business?
Thinking through and researching what the requirements are to start my business, and then asking questions of people who are in the business. Not all advice worked; however, it helped me to figure out what I needed to do and not to do.
B + C: Did you always know life coaching would be your entrepreneurial path?
(Smiles) No, I did not. I 'stumbled" on it. I knew that people were always coming to me for advice and I found that I loved having conversations with them, especially with women, young and old.
B + C: What was your most valuable takeaway from Selfmade?
My most valuable takeaway was the first day of training: Get out of your own way. There were a lot of great moments and important takeaways from every presenter. However, getting out of my own way, pushing past doubts, was for me my most valuable takeaway. Doing something that I had never done before took courage. If I do not focus on what is happening with me mentally then I cannot deliver to my clients successfully.
B + C: What's one piece of advice you would give to female entrepreneurs on the brink of starting?
Get out of your head. You have something to offer. You have what you need to succeed so go ahead and do it.
B + C: How do you stay motivated?
I stay motivated by listening to music and listening to motivational speakers, and sometimes someone will just reach out and talk about the impact that I made in their life. That adds the extra juice or sauce I need to pummel through the day.
B + C: What's your best organizational tip?
Keep a diary and journal. It's the best way for me to keep organized and it also provides a source motivation as I record not only my "losses" but my wins as well.
B + C: Who inspires you in the entrepreneurial space?
Shirley Toliver – She motivates and empowers and makes me always want to show up.
B + C: What has receiving the Office Depot scholarship to Selfmade done to help you start or grow your business?
The scholarship was a blessing in that all the areas that were covered offered valuable information that I needed, from social media to HR. As a new business owner, I needed to know this to increase my own personal awareness in what it takes to run a successful business. The candidness of the presenters made it easy to see myself in their shoes and helped me to realize that I can also get there.
Thanks Colette! You can follow The M.E.E. Movement on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Want to feel motivated to take the next step for your business? Let Office Depot OfficeMax give you the confidence you need with a suite of business services & solutions to help you put your best foot forward. Make a good first impression with business cards & build the business pitch of your dreams with custom presentations. With Office Depot OfficeMax you'll find the tools to reach new customers with confidence.
Head to Office Depot's Selfmade page to check out even more amazing business resources (and discounts!) to help you accomplish more on your entrepreneurial journey. These offers are available for a limited time only, so be sure to take advantage of all this goodness while supplies last. Want to join the next Selfmade cohort this summer? Check out all of the scholarship details right here.