Perfect Arcade Game Wins That Will Make You Cheer

Christmas Charades

Play charades with a holiday twist! Write down Christmas-themed clues (e.g., decorating a tree, Rudolph, Mariah Carey, building a snowman...) and have teams act them out. Keep it simple for kids, especially ones learning to read, or add some pop culture references (Buddy the Elf, anyone?) for adults-only parties.

Name That Carol!

Play short snippets of Christmas songs and have guests guess the title. To up the challenge, use instrumental versions or hum the tune. For kids, you can turn this into musical chairs with holiday music!

Christmas Trivia

Create trivia questions about Christmas movies, traditions, and songs. Bonus points for the most obscure facts! Here's a few to start:

• Which country started the tradition of putting up a Christmas tree? (Answer: Germany)
• In the song Twelve Days of Christmas, what is given on the 7th day? (Answer: Swans a-swimming)
• Which country celebrates “Feliz Navidad”? (Answer: Spain or Latin American countries)

Guess the Holiday Scent

Use candles, essential oils, or holiday-themed spices like cinnamon, peppermint, or pine. Blindfold guests and have them guess the scent. Throw in some unexpected surprises like egg nog, maple syrup or Scotch tape.

Snowball NBA

If you're lucky enough to have a White Christmas, set up buckets outside labeled with different point values. Guests toss real snowballs, or “snowballs” like white cotton balls or small foam balls if you're playing indoors, into the buckets for points.

The Awkward Gift Wrap Race

Find awkwardly shaped items around the house, like a basketball or stuffed animal, and provide rolls of wrapping paper. The fastest (and neatest) gift wrapper wins!

Ornament Relay

Hand out spoons or chopsticks and teams have to race to get ornaments from one side of the room to another.

Candy Cane Hunt

Similar to an Easter egg hunt, hide candy canes around the house or yard and let guests hunt for them. Wrap a few with dollar bills to up the ante .;)

Holiday "Who Am I?"

Stick Christmas-themed names or characters (e.g., the Grinch, Jude Law, Holiday Armadillo, Charlie Brown) on players' foreheads. Guests ask yes/no questions to guess who they are. It's a great ice breaker for new friends!

Gingerbread Decoration Contest

Anything with a ticking clock adds a certain element of hilarity to it. Give your teams gingerbread houses with icing and decorations. Let the creativity flow, and award prizes for categories like “most festive” or “funniest" or "worst construction."

Here are more Christmas games to play this season:

Jingle Bell Toss: Set up your college-era Solo cups into a bowling pin formation at opposite ends of the table. Each players tries to get large jingle bellsinto the opposite side’s cups. The first player to get a bell in each cup wins.

Human Hungry Hungry Hippo: Pair up, stand in a circle, and hand out plastic candy canes. Toss shatterproof Christmas balls in the middle of the circle. One person stands, holding the feet of the other person on the floor. The person on the floor tries to collect more balls with the candy cane than the other teams for a human version of Hungry Hungry Hippo!

Christmas Pictionary: Like charades, but on paper. Use pop culture references like "Hallmark Holiday Movie" or holiday-themed phrases like "Silent Night" for teammates to guess.

Left-Right Christmas Story Game: Make up a holiday story that includes the words "left" and "right" often. Guests pass a wrapped gift or object left or right as the words are mentioned, and whoever holds it at the end keeps the gift!

Christmas Bingo: Downloadbingo cards with holiday symbols or themes. Mark them off as they’re called out. First to yell “Bingo!” wins.

Reindeer Ring Toss: Use inflatable reindeer antler hats (or make your own) and toss rings to see who can "decorate" the reindeer.

Christmas Cookie Taste Test: Bake or buy a variety of holiday cookies. Blindfold guests and see who can identify the most flavors correctly.

Christmas Movie Emoji Quiz: Create a string of emojis that represent Christmas movies and have guests guess the titles.

Snowman Building Contest: If there’s snow, go outdoors for a snowman-building competition! If indoors, use toilet paper to “wrap” someone as a snowman.

Holiday Scavenger Hunt: Make a list of Christmas-related items like a red ornament, mistletoe, or a stocking and have guests search for them in teams.

Christmas Karaoke: Set up a karaoke machine or app and sing along to holiday classics. Bonus points for best singer or most dramatic performance!

Daily Cryptic Crossword

Put down your phone during your lunch break to play this Daily Cryptic Crossword. Designed to be accessible, it'll test your knowledge with bonuses that refresh everyday.

Arkadium's Codeword

Before Arkadium's Codeword beings, a pop-up screen asks if you'd like to play a practice game which should tell you the challenges you could potentially face. Unlike the other games we've shared, you don't get many clues. A set of highlighted letters will be on the right for you to type into the missing spaces to complete a word.

The more letters you type into the blank cells, the more words begin to flesh out so it's easier for you to solve each code.

Word Wipe

This isn't your average crossword puzzle! You'll be racing against the clock to make as many words as you can. The more you find, the more rows you'll complete. Be careful though — this game is trickier than it seems.

PennyDell Fab FILL-INS

This seems like an easy game because you'll receive all the words you need, but the twist is that you have to make sure you place them in the proper place! You'll need to use a ton of critical thinking skills to make sure the words coincide with each other. Good luck!

Syllacrostic

If you guessed this game has something to do with syllables, you're right! You'll put them together to solve each short phrase on the right, so give it a spin. It may remind you of the worksheets your high school English teacher used to make you complete.

Outspell

Can you beat AI in this Scrabble-inspired game? If you're apprehensive, you can always choose the easy level so you can build your wordplay confidence!

Today's Hurdle

Today's Hurdle amplifies the pressure with it's twists and turns. You'll be faced with a new puzzle everyday that requires you to not only find words, but place letters in their correct spot. We've yet to truly beat all five Hurdles so don't be upset if you don't get it on your first try. If you do, teach us your ways!

Word Scramble

Think you've got what it takes to unscramble a set of chosen letters to make multiple words? Word Scramble will test your smarts to see if you're up for the challenge or not.

Word Hunt

Love solving word puzzles as long as they have a pretty background? Word Hunt is the free online game you need because you'll see new scenery as you level up and you'll receive bonuses that help reveal hidden letters if you need extra help.

Wander Words

Instead of trying to find a word or phrase before the timer ends, you get to take your time while playing Wander Words. But, this doesn't mean things will be easier. You'll have to find the name of an item, TV show, profession, and more in this game using all the letters.

Aries (March 21 – April 20): Hagrid

Starting off big and bold with the giant himself, Rubeus Hagrid. His larger-than-life presence fills up the room, the quidditch field, or wherever he steps foot, and people are automatically drawn to his infectious energy. Once he sets his mind to something, he cannot be stopped (remember Fluffy? And Norbert?), using his stubborn nature to the benefit of Hogwarts and the people around him as a whole. However, his mouth tends to run faster than his brain, sometimes getting him in trouble — much like you, dear Aries. 😉

Taurus (April 21 – May 21): Hedwig

Listen: Hedwig may not have been the first 'person' you thought of here, but hear me out! Hedwig is extremely headstrong, making her presence known and doing exactly what she wants (and needs) to do at all times. The Dudleys are being jerks? She's screeching. Harry needs his mail? She's flying. But at the end of the day, she just really loves to be home with her favorite person — Harry.

Gemini (May 22 – June 21): Draco Malfoy

Y'all aren't ready for this, but Draco isn't a Gemini simply because of the stereotypical assumptions people make about Geminis. While he is definitely sneaky, and whatever other negative attributes people try to attach to Geminis, I actually think his duality lies in his pull to please his parents vs his desire to be a literal child and friend to his peers. While he is a bully throughout the entirety of the series, it becomes quite clear that his bullish nature comes from his family's legacy — and his acceptance or rejection of that narrative. If he used his fierce dedication to his family (and ultimately the Death Eaters) for good, he could live an entirely different life.

Cancer (June 22 – July 22): Dobby

Have you ever met someone who cares for another person the way that Dobby cares about Mr. Harry Potter? Before they've even met, Dobby uses his extreme empathy in an attempt to save Harry from Voldemort. While his actions may seem misguided, his intentions truly come from the heart, as he desperately tries to keep Harry from making it to Hogwarts. And when Harry eventually returns that kindness with a sock, freeing him? Dobby is loyal until the bitter end.

Leo (July 23 – August 22): Harry Potter

Who has more main character energy than you, Leo? Harry may seem like a reluctant hero at times, but ultimately this wizard is definitely confident in his abilities. I mean who else would go after the golden snitch like that as a first year? Or literally say out loud, "I am the chosen one," to one of his best friends? Jokes aside, Harry is totally magnetic, attracting friends and foes alike wherever he goes — and he uses that powerful draw to help him throughout his fight against Voldemort and the Death Eaters.

Virgo (August 23 – September 21): Hermione Granger

It's no secret that Hermione is always the smartest person in every room. And much like you, Virgo, she also knows to ask the right questions when she doesn't know the answers — hello, searching high and low to learn who Nicolas Flamel is — ultimately getting exactly what she and her friends need in the fight between good and evil. She's organized, intentional, and an absolute go-getter, making her a pretty unstoppable force of nature. But don't be fooled by her buttoned-up exterior; our girl is totally tender inside, using her skills as a shield against any harm towards herself, her parents, and her friends.

Libra (September 22 – October 22): Albus Dumbledore

Who wants justice and balance in the world more than Albus Dumbledore? The fearless Hogwarts leader is nothing if not consistent in his almost religious pursuit of creating a fair, equitable, good world for all witches, wizards, and muggles alike. Even when it means sacrificing his own life, Dumbledore will do what it takes to do what's ultimately right. And with those fierce wizard coats and accoutrements? Yeah, he's absolutely a Libra.

Scorpio (October 23 – November 21): Severus Snape

Much like his younger Slytherin student, there's a lot more to Severus Snape than what you may typically think about Scorpios. Sure, he's a little sneaky, incredibly intense, and super elusive — but those aren't always bad traits to have! Snape uses his secluded nature to his advantage for the advancement of the greater good. See, he's loyal to the bone, and would do anything to protect Harry based on his love for Lily Potter. So while he may seem 'bad' at first, Snape is proof that appearances can certainly be deceiving, and that there's a lot more behind that wall he's got up.

Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21): Sirius Black

Alright, let's jump into the slightly mischievous, highly passionate Sirius Black. This man exudes Sagittarius energy to the max. He'll play the villain if he has to, completely unbothered by what other people think about him — just as long as he's able to protect and care for those he loves. He has the biggest heart, an immediate warmth, and a charm about him that allows him to become a fast friend to all. And at the end of the day, he’s not afraid to stand up for what he believes in…even when that’s his entire family.

Capricorn (December 22 – January 19): Minerva McGonagall

Minerva McGonagall is whip smart and incredibly dedicated to her job — sound like anyone you know, Capricorn? She takes her responsibilities so seriously that she's willing to fight trolls and Death Eaters and everything in between for her students. And while she's tough on Harry, Ron, and Hermione, she's also always looking out for them at every turn, giving off an innate motherly quality constantly. Truly, this woman is an absolute icon and should be protected at all costs.

Aquarius (January 20 – February 18): Ron Weasley

One thing about Ron Weasley? He certainly marches to the beat of his own drum like the true Aquarius he is. Ron's different, and he's not afraid to be, even when Draco says something snide or he's wearing hand-me-down robes. He ultimately wants to make the world a better place for his friends (and for everyone), allowing his experiences to help find unique solutions however he can. Ron is persistent in fight between good and evil — even when it brings him to the lowest of lows — and doesn't let hardship keep him from doing his part.

Pisces (February 19 – March 20): Luna Lovegood

Luna Lovegood is the epitome of a Pisces. She's dreamy and caring and sorta has her head in the clouds. Although she seems like she's in la la land at times, there's honestly a lot more going on beneath the surface. Luna has a perspective unlike anyone else, so she's able to help paint a fuller picture for Harry and the rest of Dumbledore's army as they train to defeat Voldemort day-in and day-out.