Sunday Lunch Table Games: 16 To Play Without Leaving The Table

Sunday lunch is the one time in the week the whole family is at a table with nothing scheduled after it. A game keeps everyone there twenty minutes longer, which is the entire point.

Nothing here needs anything but the table, and most of it works with people still eating.

Games while the food goes round

• Rose, thorn, bud - best bit of the week, worst bit, something you're looking forward to.
• High and low, the shorter version of the same thing.
• One question for the table, chosen by whoever cooked.
• Categories: name ten of something before the plate reaches you.
• Two truths and a lie, one person per lunch.

Between courses

• Twenty questions, one person thinking.
• Who am I, with a name written on a scrap and stuck to a forehead.
• The word association chain, out on a repeat or a pause.
• The story chain - one sentence each, round the table.
• Name the tune, hummed badly.

Questions worth asking

• What did you do at my age? Asked of the oldest person there.
• What's the best thing you ate this week?
• What's something you changed your mind about?
• What would you do with a free Saturday?
• What's a family story you've never told us?
• If we could all do one thing together next month, what?

For restless children at the table

• I spy, the version that lasts exactly as long as a roast dinner.
• The quiet game, with a prize. Unsporting and effective.
• Paper and pencil at each child's place: hangman, boxes, consequences.
• A job - pouring water, passing the gravy, being in charge of the timer for the pudding.
• A table quiz of five questions written by a child, asked of the adults.

Shop cards

How to write it so it lands

• One game per course, no more.
• Ask the oldest person at the table first.
• Give restless children a job, not a telling off.

Where to shop next

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• Birthday cards for kids
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What games can you play at the dinner table?

Rose-thorn-bud, twenty questions, who am I with a name stuck to your forehead, categories and a story chain. All work with people still eating and need nothing but the table.

What are good conversation starters for a family meal?

Best and worst bit of the week, what did you do at my age, what's a family story you've never told us, and what would you do with a free Saturday. Ask the oldest person at the table first.

How do you keep children at the table during Sunday lunch?

Give them a job - pouring water, passing things, timing the pudding - and put paper and a pencil at their place for hangman and boxes. A five-question quiz they write for the adults keeps them there longest.

How long should a family meal game last?

One game per course, ten minutes each. The aim is keeping people at the table a bit longer, not turning lunch into an event.

Do you sell games or party supplies?

No - we make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK. Every game here runs with what's already in the house, and the only products on this page are our own cards.