Games You Can Play at the Dinner Table whilst eating dinner at the same time
Dinner with children can sometimes be a strange combination of lovely family time, negotiations, arguments, complaints about the food and someone announcing that they are definitely finished after approximately four minutes.
And then there is the conversation.
“How was school?”
“Fine.”
“What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
“Anything interesting happen?”
“No.”
At this point, you can either give up and eat your dinner in silence – or introduce a game.
We started playing little games at the dinner table as a way of bonding without annoying each other too much. Dinner can sometimes be a surprisingly tense part of the day, particularly when you have children of different ages, homework, tiredness and everyone wanting to get on with whatever they were doing before dinner.
For us, games help keep things light. They also give the kids a reason to stay sitting at the table for a little longer. Now that ours are 8 and 13, getting everyone to remain at the table after they've finished eating can be quite an achievement.
The best thing is that these games don't require a board, cards or anything other than the people sitting around the table. Some are silly, some are surprisingly educational, and some are really just an excuse to find out what your children are thinking.
Here are 10 to try.
1. Would You Rather?
A classic, but surprisingly effective.
One person asks a question beginning with “Would you rather…” and everyone has to choose.
Would you rather live underwater or in space?
Would you rather be able to fly or become invisible?
Would you rather have £1 million today or £100 every week for the rest of your life?
Would you rather never use the internet again or never eat chocolate again?
The important part is that everyone has to explain why they made their choice.
### Why it's good
It's an incredibly easy conversation starter and can reveal quite a lot about how children think. It encourages them to explain decisions, consider hypothetical situations and listen to other people's reasoning.
It can also lead to some surprisingly philosophical conversations. A seemingly silly question about whether you'd rather be rich or famous can suddenly become a discussion about happiness, work and what actually makes a good life.
2. The £1 Million Game
This is a variation on Would You Rather, but with a bit more real-world thinking.
Give everyone an imaginary £1 million and ask:
“What would you do with it?”
Everyone has to come up with a plan.
Would they buy a house? Travel? Give some away? Start a business? Buy a ridiculous number of sweets?
For older children, make it more complicated. They have to divide the money between spending, saving, investing and giving.
You can even introduce unexpected events:
“You've bought your dream house but now you have to pay £5,000 a year to maintain it.”
Or:
“You've invested £100,000 and it has doubled. What do you do now?”
Why it's good
It's a sneaky way of introducing children to money, saving, budgeting, investment, generosity and the difference between wanting something and actually being able to afford it.
And it's much more interesting than giving them a lecture about financial responsibility.
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3. Two Truths and a Lie
Each person takes a turn saying three things about themselves.
Two are true.
One is completely made up.
For example:
- I've been to Japan.
- I once broke my arm.
- I can speak fluent Italian.
Everyone else has to guess which one is the lie.
The older the children get, the harder it becomes because they learn exactly how to make their lies believable.
Why it's good
It's a great way to learn random things about each other – including things you might never normally think to ask.
It also teaches children about observation. Was someone's story unusually detailed? Did they hesitate? Did they look suspiciously pleased with themselves?
And occasionally you discover something about your own children that you genuinely didn't know.
4. The Alphabet Game
Choose a category and work your way through the alphabet.
For example: countries.
A – Australia
B – Brazil
C – China
D – Denmark...
You can do animals, foods, films, famous people, cities, jobs, sports or practically anything else.
For younger children, keep the categories simple. With older children, make them harder.
You can also play competitively: if you can't think of an answer within 10 seconds, you're out.
Why it's good
This is basically disguised brain training.
Children practise vocabulary, recall, spelling and general knowledge without realising they're doing anything educational.
It's particularly good when you have children of different ages because you can adapt the category to the youngest player while allowing older children to come up with more challenging answers.
5. Guess the Person
One person secretly chooses a famous person, historical figure or fictional character.
Everyone else takes turns asking questions that can only be answered yes or no.
“Are they alive?”
“Are they a man?”
“Are they British?”
“Are they famous for sport?”
“Are they a fictional character?”
Eventually someone should be able to work out who it is.
### Why it's good
This teaches children to ask useful questions rather than simply throwing out random guesses.
It's also a great introduction to the idea of narrowing down possibilities – essentially using logic and deduction.
And it can become a sneaky history lesson if you include historical figures.
6. The Five-Things Challenge
Choose a category and give someone 30 seconds to name five things.
Five types of pasta.
Five countries in Europe.
Five animals beginning with C.
Five things you'd take to a desert island.
Five famous women.
Five things found in a kitchen.
Five films starring the same actor.
The other players can choose the categories, which is where things can get increasingly ridiculous.
Why it's good
It's quick, competitive and requires fast recall.
It also encourages children to build up general knowledge because you suddenly realise how difficult it is to name five things when everyone is staring at you!
It's particularly useful for vocabulary and memory, and the time pressure makes it feel much more like a game than a quiz.
7. One Question Each
This one is less of a game and more of a way to get everyone talking.
Every person gets to ask one question to everyone else at the table.
The rule is that you have to answer properly.
Questions could include:
What's the best thing that happened today?
If you could live anywhere for a year, where would it be?
What's something you would like to learn?
What was your favourite age so far?
If you could change one thing about school, what would it be?
What's something adults don't understand about being a kid?
That last one can be particularly interesting.
Why it's good
This is probably the best game for actual family communication.
Rather than asking children a series of questions that can feel like an interrogation, everyone participates – including the adults.
And because parents have to answer too, children often end up hearing stories about their parents' childhoods, jobs, mistakes and experiences that they wouldn't otherwise hear.
8. The Three Things You'd Save
Imagine the house is on fire – but everyone is safely outside.
You have time to go back and rescue three things.
What do you choose?
You can't choose people or pets. You have to choose possessions.
The answers can be surprisingly revealing.
One person might choose their phone. Another might choose photographs. Someone else might choose a favourite toy that is objectively worth about £3 but apparently has the emotional value of a priceless family heirloom.
Why it's good
It's a fun way to talk about possessions and sentimental value.
It can also open up conversations about what we actually value. Why is something important to us? Is it expensive, useful or simply connected to a memory?
For younger children, it can also be a useful way of talking about the difference between something being valuable and something being worth a lot of money.
9. Teach Me Something
This is one of my favourites because the children become the experts.
Each person has to teach everyone else something they know.
It can be anything.
How to do a particular football skill.
How a computer game works.
A fact about space.
How to draw something.
A weird fact about an animal.
How to say something in another language.
A shortcut on their phone.
A historical fact.
Or even something completely pointless.
The only rule is that the teacher has to explain it well enough that everyone else understands it.
Why it's good
Children often spend most of their day being taught. This reverses the roles.
It builds confidence and communication skills and gives them the feeling that their knowledge is valuable.
It also reminds parents that children know an extraordinary amount about things we don't necessarily understand.
Sometimes, however, you may regret asking for a detailed explanation of Minecraft.
10. The Family Time Machine
This is a great one for sharing stories.
Someone chooses a year in the past and everyone has to say what they know about that year.
You might choose:
1960
1985
2000
The year Mum was born
The year Dad left school
The year the grandparents got married
The year the child was born
You can talk about what technology existed, what music was popular, what people wore, what houses looked like and what life was like.
If you have older family members, they can contribute their own memories.
Why it's good
History suddenly becomes personal.
Instead of learning that people didn't always have smartphones, children can hear what their parents actually did before smartphones existed.
It also helps children understand how quickly the world changes. Something that feels completely normal to us can seem bizarre to them – and vice versa.
And, of course, there is always the opportunity for a parent to embarrass themselves with an old story.
Bonus: When It's Just Two of You
You don't need four people to make dinner games work.
If it's just a parent and child, try “Would You Tell Me?”
Take turns asking each other questions that you wouldn't normally think to ask.
For example:
What's something you were really proud of today?
What's something you wish adults understood?
What would your perfect day look like?
What is something you're really good at that I might not know about?
If you could change one thing about our family, what would it be?
What was I like when I was your age?
That last one can lead to some excellent conversations.
The trick is that the parent has to answer every question too. It shouldn't feel like an interview where the child is being interrogated.
The whole point is that you're both sharing.
Why Dinner Is Actually a Good Time for Games
There is something useful about having everyone sitting around a table with nowhere particularly urgent to go.
We're all busy. Children have school, clubs, homework, friends, games and screens. Parents have work, chores, messages and a seemingly endless list of things that need doing.
Dinner is one of the few times when everyone is physically in the same place.
But simply putting four people around a table doesn't automatically create quality family time.
Sometimes it creates arguments.
Sometimes it creates silence.
Sometimes someone complains about the food.
Sometimes everyone is talking at once.
And sometimes the teenager communicates entirely through facial expressions.
A little game gives everyone something else to focus on.
For our family, it's less about making dinner into some perfectly wholesome family-bonding exercise and more about keeping things light. If everyone is tired or slightly irritable, a ridiculous question can be enough to change the mood.
And there is another advantage: it keeps the children at the table.
As children get older, dinner can become increasingly transactional.
Eat food.
Say you've finished.
Leave.
But if there's a game going on, suddenly there's a reason to stay for another ten minutes.
And another ten minutes is often enough for the conversation to move somewhere completely unexpected.
You Don't Have to Make It Educational
Although many of these games have an educational element, I don't think every family dinner needs to become an extension of school.
Sometimes the best question is simply:
“Would you rather have spaghetti for hair or baked beans for eyes?”
If everyone laughs, that's probably achieved something.
Children don't necessarily need another lesson at the dinner table. They need opportunities to talk, argue, explain, listen, tell stories and occasionally be completely ridiculous.
The educational part happens naturally.
They learn how other people think.
They learn about money, history, geography and language.
They learn to explain an idea.
They learn to listen to an answer they don't agree with.
And, perhaps most importantly, they learn a little more about the people they live with.
So next time dinner starts heading towards awkward silence, try a question instead.
You might discover that “Would you rather live on Mars or under the sea?” produces a much more interesting conversation than “How was school?”
And if nothing else, it might keep everyone at the table for another ten minutes.
Quick List: 10 Dinner Table Games
1. Would You Rather? – Hypothetical questions and reasoning
2. The £1 Million Game – Money, budgeting and priorities
3. Two Truths and a Lie – Memory, observation and storytelling
4. The Alphabet Game – Vocabulary and general knowledge
5. Guess the Person – Logic and deduction
6. The Five-Things Challenge – Memory and quick thinking
7. One Question Each – Conversation and family bonding
8. The Three Things You'd Save – Values and emotional awareness
9. Teach Me Something – Confidence and communication
10. The Family Time Machine – History, memories and family stories
Takeaway: (pardon the pun) The dinner table doesn't have to be a place where you ask “How was your day?” and get “Fine.” Sometimes a silly game is the easiest way to get everyone talking.
Keywords: family dinner games, dinner table games, games to play at dinner, family games, games for kids, conversation games, family bonding, educational games for children
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