Dinner table questions for the whole family
- What was the best part of your day, and the most annoying part?
- If our family had a motto, what would it be?
- Which family holiday would you go on again tomorrow?
- What is something you learned this week that surprised you?
- If you could invent a new family tradition, what would it be?
- Who in the family is the best at cheering people up?
- What is a food you would happily eat every day for a month?
- If our pet (or a pet we could have) could talk, what would it complain about?
- What job would you give each person in this family if we ran a hotel?
- What is one thing you want to get better at this year?
Questions for kids to ask the grown-ups
- What was your favourite toy when you were my age?
- What did you get told off for most as a child?
- What did you want to be when you grew up?
- What was the first film you saw at a cinema?
- What is the silliest thing you ever did at school?
- Who was your best friend when you were ten?
- What is a game you played outside that kids don’t play now?
- What was the hardest thing about being a teenager?
- What is something you are still scared of?
- What is one thing you hope I remember about being a kid?
Family game night ideas with no board needed
- Two truths and a lie: each person writes two true facts and one fake one; everyone guesses.
- Would you rather: take turns asking, and everyone has to explain their answer.
- The story chain: each person adds one sentence to a story that must end with someone sneezing.
- The family quiz: one person answers questions as another family member; the others score them.
- Silent charades: act out a film, book or family moment without making a sound.
- Hum it: hum a song until someone guesses; the guesser goes next.
- Compliment round: each person says one thing they like about the person on their left.
- Draw it blind: draw an animal with your eyes closed while others guess.
- Categories: name a letter and a category, and go round until someone gets stuck.
- Question deck: draw a family card from the deck below and everyone answers.
How do you plan a family game night that works?
The secret of a good family game night is that nobody has to work hard. Choose games that need no setup and no long rules. Choose questions that a seven-year-old and a grandparent can both answer. Everything on this page works that way. You can start the moment dinner finishes, with whoever is still at the table.
Keep it short. Thirty to forty-five minutes is plenty, and it is better to stop while people are still laughing. Rotate who picks. Let a different person choose the game or ask the first question each week. Children love being in charge, and teenagers are much more likely to join something they chose. Phones in a basket, apart from the one you are using as a question deck.
Why do conversation questions work so well for families?
Families talk every day, but mostly about logistics: homework, lifts, what is for dinner. Questions like the ones above give everyone permission to talk about something else. Children often love the “ask the grown-ups” list because they get to hear stories about their parents and grandparents as kids. These are the stories families retell for years, and many of them would never come up otherwise.
Questions also give quieter family members an equal turn. In a free conversation, the loudest person tends to talk the most. When you go round the table with a question, everyone gets a turn. Let anyone pass, and accept short answers from younger children.
Which games suit which ages?
For young children, choose silent charades, hum it, draw it blind and the compliment round. They need no reading and little waiting. For mixed ages, the story chain, categories and would you rather work well. Older children help younger ones, and adults enjoy the silly answers. For teenagers and adults, two truths and a lie with party scoring and the family quiz create the most laughs. Our examples for kids and families help if someone gets stuck.
If your family likes a bit of mischief, try the family category of the truth or dare deck below. Its truths are gentle and its dares are harmless, like doing an impression or speaking in a different accent for a round. For older children, our clean truth or dare for teens page has more.