Christmas video games 2020: The best party games to play with family or friends this holiday season

Back in the day, we would recommend the best 'Monopoly' or 'Mouse Trap' board games for families and friends to enjoy over the Christmas holidays.

However, there are a breadth of games that can easily be played by a party with smartphones and consoles with minimal setup.

The pandemic of 2020 has only spurred these on even more, with many arranging 'virtual' pub quizzes and much more on social networks.

With that, here's a few games to play with family and friends over the holidays if you've had enough of EastEnders and Emmerdale.

JackBox Party

The 'JackBox Games' company have been bringing out a series of 'JackBox' entries where anyone with a smart device can log in through their web browser, and take part in the plethora of games available.

From finishing sentences to pitching drawings and bidding for them, it's a perfect party game for Christmas that can also be a perfect game for 'virtual parties too'

Some have been known to host a game on Twitch through a stream, and then having friends and family privately join.

HouseParty

This, alongside Zoom, is an app that has come to the forefront thanks to the pandemic. It's available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, where it enables a party of friends and family to join a private room, and with the app, take part in games that vary from quizzes to karaoke.

It's a well-designed app that doesn't require much effort to set-up, so if your Grandma has a tablet, they can easily join a house party in very small steps and play some Uno with you if desired.

READ MORE: How 'Bid For Power' was built on Dragon Ball foundations.

Mario Kart 64

An oldie but a classic, retro consoles have come to the forefront as a Christmas gift in recent years, either in their official forms or as something else entirely.

This has also brought about local multiplayer games. Many remember the take-a-turn games of WORMS, but others also remember Mario Kart 64 and GoldenEye. These are classics that will easily waste an evening away in the best way, with different tracks and power-ups that give that 'just one more go' feeling.

READ MORE: How 'Bid For Power' was built on Dragon Ball foundations.

Golf With Your Friends

Developed by BlackLight Interactive, 'Golf With Your Friends' is something that, at first glance, you may avoid due to it just being a golf game, and featuring graphics from 2005.

However, once you play a few matches with friends, is when you realise just how good and how fun this game is.

Across countless courses that even feature influences by the 'WORMS' and 'Escapists' series, you can have power-ups that can freeze or change the ball of your opponents, or even change the theme to a hockey or basketball competition for no reason.

Once you start playing with friends and family it's difficult to stop, as this writer can vouch for. It's a perfect game at Christmas, and as you can pass the console around in a multiplayer game if needed, it can really help pass the time when needed.