Work Christmas party games

What makes a good game for a work party?

One that works for the person who has never played it and the person who has to leave at nine.

• Learnt in a minute. If the rules need a second explanation, half the table has wandered off.
• Short rounds. Ten minutes or so, so people can join between hands and leave without wrecking the game.
• Room for everyone. Teams, or a game that plays as well with ten as with four.
• Rules about the game, not about people. A rule that picks on the new starter is funny to exactly one person.

Which card games work best for a team?

Any of these can be taught to a mixed crowd in a minute or two.

• Uno: everybody already knows it, it plays two to ten, and a few house rules make it new.
• Cheat: play cards face down, say what they are, and hope nobody calls you a liar. Three or more players, and louder with more.
• President: win a round and you are President; come last and you hand your best cards up. Best with four to seven.
• Codenames: two teams, one clue at a time. Two to eight players, or more in bigger teams.
• Exploding Kittens: quick, silly and over in about fifteen minutes. Two to five players.
• Monopoly Deal: the property game as cards, in about fifteen minutes. Two to five players.

How do you run a card game at a work party?

Set up a table rather than an event. A game in the corner that people drift over to beats one everybody is made to play.

Explain the rules in a minute, play one short round as practice, and let people swap in between hands. Keep a second deck nearby: when the table doubles, start another game rather than squeezing in.

What house rules keep it friendly at work?

Pick rules about the game and the table: swaps, skips and silly manners are funny at any desk. Save the rules that pick on one person for a night with friends who know each other well. These are from Uno rule sets in the library.

Your Majesty

Until your next turn, anyone who speaks to you must call you Your Majesty.

Forget, and draw one.

Said by The Headmistress

From Mind Your Manners

Hear it

Elbow Check

Everyone with an elbow on the table right now draws two.

Said by The Warlord

From Mind Your Manners

Hear it

Thank You Note

Until your next turn, anyone hit by a Draw card must say thank you to whoever played it.

Forget, and draw one more.

Said by The Clerk

From Mind Your Manners

Hear it

Pass It On

Everyone passes their whole hand to the next player.

Said by The Enforcer

From Give and Take

Hear it

How to make Uno more fun

How do you play a Kris Kringle swap with a deck of cards?

If your Kris Kringle is a swap rather than names out of a hat, a deck of cards makes a fair order and adds a little drama.

1. Everyone brings one wrapped present, and the presents go in a pile.
2. Deal one card face down to each person, then turn them all over. The lowest card goes first, aces low.
3. In turn, each person opens a new present from the pile or takes one somebody has already opened. Whoever loses theirs opens a new one.
4. A present changes hands twice at most. After that it stays where it is.

How does Zaragata fit a work party?

Zaragata puts the house rules on the cards. Stickers go on a deck you already own, one phone with the app runs the whole table, and a character reads each rule out loud as its card is played, so nobody has to remember them. It is for players 18 and over.

Zaragata stickers are on pre-order and ship in December 2026, and the app is coming to Google Play and the App Store. If your party comes first, the house rules above work just as well agreed before the deal.

What is ZaragataHow it worksGet the stickers

Rule sets to try

• Mind Your Manners

  Etiquette with teeth. Call-outs, forbidden words and table manners that cost cards the moment you slip.

• Party Line

  The whole table in it together. Partners, links, dares and quick calls where everyone has a part.

• Open Secrets

  Nothing stays hidden for long. Peeks, reveals and confessions: the gentlest deck, and the most knowing.