10 Thanksgiving Games to Play on Zoom

Well here we are friends, under strict restrictions during the holidays. Many people are opting to stay home since we’ve been told to forego large gatherings. Then again, with 10 of us in the family, anywhere we go is a large gathering. On the internet, the concept of a “ZOOMsgiving” is taking hold. In fact, ZOOM is dropping its 40 minute time limit on Thanksgiving Day to allow families to connect virtually. To add some fun to your gathering, I have 10 Thanksgiving games to play on ZOOM.

What make these “Thanksgiving games to play on Zoom?”

Some of these games I’ve mentioned before in my post about Zoom games. The difference here is that they all have a Thanksgiving theme to them. That way they are specifically tailored to be used at your Thanksgiving ZOOM gathering. These games do not require that you be in the same location, so perfect for playing over Zoom.

For what ages are these Zoom Thanksgiving games suitable?

The great thing about the following games is that they are suitable for all ages. They can easily be adapted to whatever virtual crowd you have.

Do these Zoom games require any prep work or materials?

For some of these games (especially the ones that utilize a printable) you’ll want to send the corresponding links to whoever will be playing with you. Each participant can then have his/her own printable. Printing pages out is pretty much the extent of your prep work. As far as materials, you will have all that you need around your house.

Will these games cost me any money?

All the printables mentioned are free. The only cost you will incur is for paper and ink.

So what are the 10 Thanksgiving games to play on Zoom?

Glad you asked! Here they are in no particular order:

1. Charades

Mom of 6 has a Thanksgiving Charades game that can also be played as a “Head’s Up” or “Head Bands” game. In those games, you would “wear” the card on your head and have to guess what’s on your card. You can see instructions for both types of games on her site.

Views from a Step Stool has a Fall Charades printable you can cut into strips.

Play Party Plan has another Thanksgiving Charades game for you to print and cut into strips. If you have never visited her site, you will be amazed at how many game printables she has. Great resource.

2. Would You Rather?

“Would You Rather” are sets of questions that are “either/or” kinds of questions. An example would be, “Would you rather shelter in place for a week or be on a deserted island for a week?” You can play this several ways. One way is to have one person (the host) read each question at a time and have all players take turns answering. Or, you could have players write down their answers to say, 10 questions, and then take turns reading answers after.

Mom of 6 has a set of 50 Thanksgiving Would You Rather Questions to keep everyone occupied for a while.

Teachers Pay Teachers has another Thanksgiving Themed Would You Rather printable for you to use.

3. Photo Scavenger Hunt/Scavenger Hunt

You do not have to be together in person to have a scavenger hunt. In fact, ZOOM scavenger hunts are lots of fun. Players can print out their own list and leave at the same time to find their items. They can then return after a designated time limit to display what they retrieved. Or, a host can call out each item one at a time and have people race to be the first person to retrieve and return with that item. Either way will get people moving.

Moritz Fine Designs has a very nicely designed Scavenger Hunt list. I’d love to see people run around with their turkeys to show off for the camera.

Got it from My Momma also has a fun Scavenger Hunt list to try out with your friends and family.

Mom of 6 (yes, again!) has a Photo Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt list for players to take pictures of items within a certain time limit. They come back and share their photos with everyone else.

Edventures with Kids has a different twist on the photo scavenger hunt. In the Thank”phone”ness challenge, players use pictures from their phones to search for ones that fall into a category on the list. For example, one category is “Good friends,” so you have to find a picture of good friends to cross off your list.

4. Thanksgiving Bingo

Bingo is an oldie but a goodie. Very easy to play and anything can be used to cover up spaces. Players can print out their own boards at home. Just make sure everyone has a different one. You can play in pairs or teams if you have more than 10 people in your virtual group.

Miss Information has very cute Thanksgiving Bingo cards (10 different cards).
Catch My Party also has 10 Thanksgiving Bingo cards with an instruction sheet. Clues can be called out from the sheet.

My Party Games also has adorable Bingo cards to print out.

5. Thanksgiving Scattegories

Savvy Spending has a Thanksgiving Scattegories Game for you to print out.

You Create Crafts  has Thanksgiving Scattegories categories (You will need your own paper). As a bonus, she has an “I’m Thankful For” printable. There are blank spaces next to each letter of the alphabet for players to write what they are thankful for (may be harder for younger ones).

Meredith Plays has both Scattegory lists and score cards to print out and use. 

6. Thanksgiving Pictionary

 Using the chat feature on ZOOM will come in handy for this game. The host can send a private message over chat to each player when it is his/her turn to draw.

View from a Step Stool has a Thanksgiving Pictionary printable that you can cut into strips. You can put the strips in a bag or cup and randomly choose what each person will draw.

Confessions of Parenting has a pretty set of Thanksgiving Pictionary cards. These are two sided cards, but you only need to print out one side.

7. Thanksgiving Trivia

You can play trivia several ways over ZOOM. The way I’ve played is by asking players to number a piece of paper from 1-10 (or whatever number you choose). I read the questions and players write down their answers. After I’ve read the questions, I go back and ask for volunteers to share their guesses. I then read the real answers.

If you’d rather, you can ask one question at a time. You can go around and ask each player for a guess before revealing the real answer. Adapt play to your group.

 Thanksgiving Trivia from Play Party Plan has two different versions, cards or a full sheet of questions for you to use.

Meeblily.com also has a printable with 15 trivia questions

8. Roll-a-story

To play a “roll-a-story” game, you need a story chart which shows numbers on a dice that correspond to different categories. Here’s an example from my site (It’s a free printable in my resource library. I used it as part of my Thanksgiving worksheets post. ).

Thanksgiving Roll-a-Story
Thanksgiving Roll a Story

You’ll roll to get the setting, again to get the place, once to get the character, and lastly to find your conflict. You (and the other players) will then make up stories (either write it down and share, or just make it up on the spot) using the components you rolled.

Mine can be used for any age, but if you want one that has fewer elements, you can find a simpler one at Teachers Pay Teachers.

9. Word Scramble

Word scrambles can be done as individual activities, but you can also turn them into a group game. Have each player print out his/her own word scramble (just make sure each of you has the same version). Set a time limit and then see who can unscramble either all the words, or the greatest number of words in the allotted time.

 My Party Games has a cute Thanksgiving Word Scramble Game  for you to use.

Big Activities has a large selection of Thanksgiving Word Scramble sheets to print. They are grouped by difficulty: easy, medium, hard and super hard. 

10. Thanksgiving Mad Libs

As I mentioned in this post, Mad Libs are a great way to practice grammar skills in a very entertaining way. Beyond that, they also make a fun group game.

Small Stuff Counts has a printable Thanksgiving Mad Lib plus another sheet to write down your answers the way our family does them. 

Woo Jr. has 6 different Thanksgiving Mad Libs to print. We’ve already completed two of them.

At Scraplifters, you can download two Thanksgiving Mad Libs on one page.

Modern Homemakers provides two more Mad Libs to add to the collection.

If you want more game ideas, you can see:

10 Great Games to Play on ZOOM

10 Simple Games to Play Around the Table

Dinner table games for kids of all ages

Drawing dice games

So there you have it, 10 Thanksgiving games to play on ZOOM. I hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving however you are celebrating it!

.