Boxing Day Games: What To Play On The Slow Day
Boxing Day is the good one. Nobody's cooking, nobody's rushing, and for once there's time for a game that takes more than twenty minutes.
Here's how to fill it, including options for the walk and for the bit where half the house falls asleep.
Cards for the people you play with
Funny cards, blank inside, drawn and printed by us in the UK. Order on a working day and it usually goes out the same day.
Happy Valentines Day, Bab (Valentines Day Card)
£3.87
"Woof Woof" Sausage Dog Valentines Day Card
£3.87
Happy Valentines Day Card From The Cats
£3.87
Happy Valentines Day, My Love (Valentines Day Card)
£3.87
You're Purr-fect To Me (Cat Valentines Day Card)
£3.87
Happy Birthday Papa (Happy Birthday Card) (Multiple designs)
£3.87
The longer games you couldn't play yesterday
- Catan, Ticket to Ride, Cluedo, Trivial Pursuit and Risk if you have the stamina.
- Monopoly, properly, with the actual rules. See our Monopoly rules guide - there is no free parking jackpot.
- A jigsaw on a side table that everyone adds to all day is the most Boxing Day activity there is.
Card games for the afternoon
- Racing Demon, Newmarket with coppers, rummy and cribbage.
- Uno, once you've settled whether draw cards can be stacked.
For the walk
- Twenty questions, the alphabet game, and I spy for the youngest.
- A scavenger list written before you leave: something red, something older than you, a bird.
Quiet options
- A quiz, printed in advance, one round at a time between naps.
- Riddles for the children - ours has a new one every day.
- Charades, but sitting down, with no time limit and no enthusiasm required.
How to write it so it lands
- Start the long game early. Nobody begins Catan at nine o'clock.
- Leave a jigsaw out. It catches people who won't join a game.
- Leftovers on the table, not a separate meal. It keeps everyone in the room.
Where to shop next
- Board games hub
- Best family board games: curated picks
- Board games for adults
- Board games for kids
- Board games for two players
- Board games for toddlers
- Board games for teenagers
- Best card games for families
- Christmas board games
- Classic vs modern board games
- Quickest board games to learn
- Board games under £20
- Board games for big groups
- Monopoly rules explained
- Uno rules explained
- Articulate rules explained
- Cluedo rules explained
- Games for older relatives
- Kids' party games by age
- Charades word lists
- Free feel good tools
- Shop all cards
- Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
- How to make a balloon arch
- Photo booth prop ideas
- Birthday cards for kids
- Pin badges
- All guides
Frequently asked questions
What games can you play on Boxing Day?
It's the day for the longer games - Catan, Ticket to Ride, Cluedo, Trivial Pursuit or a full game of Monopoly - plus card games like Racing Demon and rummy in the afternoon.
What can you do on Boxing Day with a big family?
A jigsaw left out all day, a printed quiz run one round at a time, a walk with a scavenger list, and one long board game after lunch.
Do you sell board games?
No. We make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK, so these picks are simply what we'd recommend to a friend. The cards on this page are ours.