• 32 games
  • Checked October 2026

Virtual Thanksgiving Games

Thanksgiving games for a video call: a family in different houses, coworkers before the break, or a class.

Virtual Thanksgiving Games

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  1. Charades With the Card Sent to One Screen1. The host opens the charades cards on their own screen, unshared, and sends one card to the actor by private message.2. The actor stands back from the camera and acts it without a sound.3. Every other house, or every other player, guesses aloud.4. The first right guess scores, and that house supplies the next actor. Sixty seconds a card keeps it moving.Players: 4 to 30. You need: nothing.
  2. Thanks Chain in the Chat: Nobody Twice1. The host types a thank-you in the chat to one teammate by name, for one piece of work from this year.2. The person thanked goes next and thanks someone who has not been thanked yet.3. Keep going until every name on the call has appeared once.4. The last person thanked thanks the host. Each line names the work, not the person's character, which keeps it easy to write and easy to read.Players: 4 to 30. You need: nothing.
  3. Claim a Seat at the Shared Table1. The host shares a drawing of one long table with a numbered seat for everyone on the call.2. Each player types a name beside a seat.3. Then the host gives the rule: you must sit beside at least one person you have not worked with this year. Players move their names until the rule holds for all.4. Each player asks one new neighbor a question about their work. Take a screenshot of the finished table.Players: 6 to 30. You need: a shared whiteboard or document.

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Family in different houses 8

  • Guess the Dish From Its Recipe, a Line a House 1. Before the call, the host types out a family recipe without its name and sends one line to each house, in order. 2. The first house reads its line aloud, then the next, with a pause after every line. 3. Any house may guess the dish in a pause, but each house gets only one guess. 4. The earlier the right guess, the better the bragging rights. If nobody has it by the last line, the cook who owns the recipe wins. Players: 4 to 24. You need: a family recipe, sent a line to each house.
  • How Many Pots in the Other Sink? 1. Pair the houses off. 2. Each house writes down how many pots, pans and bowls it thinks are waiting in its partner house's sink right now, and holds the number up. 3. The partner house carries the camera to the sink and counts them aloud. 4. The closest guess wins. A house whose sink is already empty wins the round outright, and everyone else may groan. Players: 4 to 24. You need: paper and a pen at each house.
  • Only at Our Table 1. Before anyone eats, each house in turn carries its camera slowly down its own table. 2. The other houses call out any dish they see that is not on their own table. 3. The cook of that dish holds it up and says what it is. 4. A house scores a point for every dish no other house has. The house with the fewest points is owed the recipe for the dish it liked best. Players: 4 to 30. You need: the tables as they are laid.
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Family in different houses, continued

  • Sealed Leftover Forecast 1. Before the meal, each house writes down which dish on its own table will have the most left over, and which will be gone first. 2. Fold the paper and stand it against the camera where everyone can see it stay shut. 3. At the end of the call, each house holds up the dish with the most left and the emptiest serving bowl. 4. Unfold the papers. A house that got both right did the shopping well. Players: 4 to 30. You need: paper and a pen at each house.
  • Spot the Second Helping 1. This one runs for the whole meal. Every house keeps a spoon and a glass within reach. 2. Whenever anyone on any screen takes a second helping, the first player in another house to tap spoon on glass and name the person and the dish scores a point. 3. The person caught says thank you to the cook. 4. Count the points at dessert. Third helpings score double. Players: 4 to 30. You need: a spoon and a glass at each house.
  • Wave Goodbye With Something From the Table 1. To end the call, no house may leave until it has waved goodbye with something from its table. 2. Go one house at a time. A wave with a napkin, a wishbone or a drumstick all count. 3. Nothing may be waved twice on the call, so the later houses have to hunt for something new. 4. The last house to find an unused thing gets the final word of the day. Players: 4 to 30. You need: whatever is left on the tables.
  • Whose Hands Are Peeling? 1. One house points its camera at the kitchen counter so that only a pair of hands can be seen. 2. The hands do one job for twenty seconds: peeling, whisking, folding a napkin, wiping a counter. 3. The other houses guess whose hands they are. 4. The owner of the hands waves, and the next house takes a turn. Swap in a child, a grandparent or a visitor to keep the guessers honest. Players: 4 to 24. You need: a kitchen job to do.
  • Whose Plate Is This? 1. Once plates are filled, one house goes first. Its players step out of view. 2. One at a time, a plate is held up to the camera by a hand and nothing else. 3. The other houses agree on whose plate it is, and say why: the plate with no vegetables, the tower of rolls. 4. The owner leans into view to take a bow. Each right guess scores for the guessing house. Players: 4 to 24. You need: the filled plates.

Coworkers before the break 8

  • Claim a Seat at the Shared Table 1. The host shares a drawing of one long table with a numbered seat for everyone on the call. 2. Each player types a name beside a seat. 3. Then the host gives the rule: you must sit beside at least one person you have not worked with this year. Players move their names until the rule holds for all. 4. Each player asks one new neighbor a question about their work. Take a screenshot of the finished table. Players: 6 to 30. You need: a shared whiteboard or document.
  • Describe a Project as a Side Dish 1. Each player picks one project or task the team finished this year. 2. In turn, a player describes it as a side dish and never names it: it took all day, nobody asked for it, and it was gone in five minutes. 3. The rest type their guesses in the chat. 4. The first right guess scores, and so does the describer. Keep it to the work, not to who did it. Players: 4 to 20. You need: nothing.
  • Mash, Baste, Carve: A Five-Tool Kitchen Hunt 1. The host calls a kitchen job, not a tool: something to mash with. 2. Players have twenty seconds to bring anything from their kitchen that could do the job, and hold it to the camera. 3. A proper tool scores one point, and the oddest tool that would still work scores two. 4. Run five jobs: mash, baste, carve, strain, serve. Anyone who would sooner stay at the desk is a judge. Players: 4 to 30. You need: whatever is in each kitchen.
  • Monday Inbox Forecast 1. In the last meeting before the break, everyone types one number in the chat: how many unread messages the team's shared inbox, or their own, will hold on the first morning back. 2. The host saves the chat. 3. On the first morning back, each player reports the real number. 4. The closest forecast is excused from the first agenda item. Nothing is staked. Players: 4 to 30. You need: nothing.
  • The Out-of-Office Message From a Turkey 1. Everyone has three minutes to write a two-line out-of-office reply as a turkey that is leaving town for the week. 2. On the host's count, all press Enter at once so that nobody copies. 3. Each writer reads their own aloud. 4. Vote with one reaction each. The winning message may be used for real, at the winner's own risk. Players: 4 to 30. You need: nothing.
  • Thanks Chain in the Chat: Nobody Twice 1. The host types a thank-you in the chat to one teammate by name, for one piece of work from this year. 2. The person thanked goes next and thanks someone who has not been thanked yet. 3. Keep going until every name on the call has appeared once. 4. The last person thanked thanks the host. Each line names the work, not the person's character, which keeps it easy to write and easy to read. Players: 4 to 30. You need: nothing.
  • The Tool I Am Thankful For, in Three Clues 1. Each player thinks of one work tool, shortcut or habit they are glad of: the mute button, a saved reply, the second monitor. 2. In turn, give three clues, hardest first. 3. The rest guess in the chat after each clue. A guess after the first clue scores three, then two, then one. 4. When it is named, the player says in one sentence how they use it. People leave with a few tricks. Players: 4 to 20. You need: nothing.
  • Write the Recipe for Our Year 1. Split into small rooms of three or four. 2. Each room has six minutes to write a recipe card for the team's year: five ingredients with amounts, such as two cups of late changes, and a method in three steps. 3. Back in the main call, one person from each room reads the card. 4. The host picks the dish that sounds most like the year. Paste every card into one document to keep. Players: 6 to 30. You need: small rooms on the call and a shared document.

For a class on a call 8

  • Clap the Menu: How Many Beats in Cranberry? 1. The teacher says a word from the dinner table: pie, stuffing, cranberry. 2. Pupils clap one clap for each beat of the word, with microphones off, and then hold up that many fingers. 3. The teacher claps the answer: one for pie, two for stuffing, three for cranberry. 4. Pupils take turns choosing the next word for the class to clap. Youngest player: age 5. Players: 10 to 30. You need: nothing.
  • Class Feast Chain: Repeat Only the Last Three 1. The teacher starts: to our class feast I am bringing bread. 2. Going down the class list, each pupil repeats the last three things brought and adds one of their own. 3. Because only three are repeated, a class of thirty can finish. A pupil who is stuck may ask the class for one hint. 4. At the end, the class tries to name all of the dishes together while the teacher types them. Youngest player: age 6. Players: 10 to 30. You need: nothing.
  • Class Turkey: Hold Up Your Feather 1. Each pupil draws one large feather on paper and writes or draws one thing they are glad of on it. 2. The teacher shares a whiteboard with a turkey body drawn and no tail. 3. Pupils hold up their feathers one row of the screen at a time, and the teacher adds a feather to the tail for each, labeled with the pupil's word. 4. When the tail is full, the class counts the feathers aloud. Youngest player: age 5. Players: 10 to 30. You need: paper and crayons at home, and a shared whiteboard.
  • Fetch Something That Keeps You Warm 1. The teacher calls a kind of thing to be glad of, and pupils have twenty seconds to bring one to the screen. 2. Call five in all: something that keeps you warm, something that makes you laugh, something somebody gave you, something you made, something you share. 3. After each, two pupils tell the class about theirs in one sentence. 4. Nothing asked for is food, so no kitchen is needed. Youngest player: age 5. Players: 10 to 30. You need: things already in each home.
  • One Card for a School Helper, a Line a Pupil 1. The class chooses one helper at school to thank: the bus driver, the custodian, the cooks, the crossing guard. 2. The teacher shares a blank card on screen. 3. Each pupil in turn says one line for the card, starting with thank you for, and the teacher types it exactly. 4. Read the whole card aloud together. The teacher prints it and delivers it for the class. Youngest player: age 6. Players: 10 to 30. You need: a shared document.
  • Parade Balloon: Wind, Rope, Deflate 1. Everyone stands up as a giant parade balloon, arms wide, swaying slowly. 2. The teacher calls one of three words. On wind, lean far to one side. On rope, reach up and pull an arm down as if a handler tugged it. On deflate, sink slowly to the floor. 3. Call faster. A call of float brings everyone back up. 4. Finish with one long deflate, and the class is sitting down again. Youngest player: age 5. Players: 10 to 30. You need: nothing.
  • Set the Table for the Whole Class: Hold Up the Number 1. The teacher tells the story of a class feast in numbers: there are 24 of us, and each table seats 6. 2. Pupils work out how many tables are needed, write the number large and hold it up together on the count of three. 3. Make the feast harder each round: two rolls each, three chairs short, half of the pies eaten. 4. Pupils who are stuck may draw the tables. Ten rounds make a lesson. Youngest player: age 7. Players: 10 to 30. You need: paper and a marker at home.
  • Shop, Cook, Serve, Wash Up: Put the Helpers in Order 1. The teacher sends six pupils one job each by private message: write the list, shop, wash the vegetables, cook, set the table, wash up. 2. Each of the six mimes their job on camera, all at once, without a word. 3. The rest of the class works out the six jobs and tells the teacher the order they happen in, first to last. 4. The six say their jobs aloud to check. Pick six new helpers and add a job. Youngest player: age 7. Players: 10 to 30. You need: nothing.

Host shares a screen 8

  • A Thankful Hunt, One Line at a Time 1. The host shares a hunt list on screen but covers all of it except the first line. 2. Players have thirty seconds to find that thing at home and bring it to the camera. 3. Uncover the next line and go again. A team of colleagues may send one runner per line. 4. After ten lines, each player holds up the find they like best and says why. Players: 3 to 30. You need: things already in each home.
  • Bingo From the Shared Screen, a Card at Every House 1. Before the call, every house prints its own bingo card from the same set, so that no two match. 2. The host shares the caller's screen and reads each call aloud as it comes up. 3. Players mark their cards with a pencil or with dried beans. 4. The first to finish a line shouts and reads the squares back while the host checks them against the screen. Play on for a full card. Players: 3 to 30. You need: a printed bingo card and a pencil for each player.
  • Charades With the Card Sent to One Screen 1. The host opens the charades cards on their own screen, unshared, and sends one card to the actor by private message. 2. The actor stands back from the camera and acts it without a sound. 3. Every other house, or every other player, guesses aloud. 4. The first right guess scores, and that house supplies the next actor. Sixty seconds a card keeps it moving. Players: 4 to 30. You need: nothing.
  • Draw It on the Whiteboard, Houses Guess 1. The host sends a drawing word to one player by private message and opens a shared whiteboard. 2. The player draws with a mouse or a finger. No letters, numbers or talking. 3. The others shout guesses, or type them if the call is large. 4. The first right guess scores for guesser and artist alike, and the guesser draws next. A wobbly mouse drawing is part of the fun. Players: 3 to 30. You need: a shared whiteboard.
  • Lose a Feather for Every Wrong Letter 1. The host draws a turkey with seven tail feathers on a shared whiteboard, and under it a dash for each letter of a hidden word. 2. Players call letters in turn. A right letter is written on its dashes. 3. For a wrong letter, the host rubs out one feather. 4. The players win if the word is finished while the turkey still has a feather. The player who finishes it picks the next word. Players: 2 to 30. You need: a shared whiteboard.
  • Riddles on Screen, Answers Held Up 1. The host shares one riddle on screen and reads it aloud twice. 2. Each house, or each player, writes an answer large on paper and keeps it face down. 3. On the count of three, all answers are held up to the camera at once. 4. Every right answer scores a point. After ten riddles, the top scorer reads the next ten. Players: 3 to 30. You need: paper and a marker.
  • Too Close to the Pie: Name the Dish 1. Before the call, the host takes a very close photo of each of eight dishes or kitchen things: the crust of a pie, the holes of a colander, the skin of a roll. 2. Share the first photo. Players write down what they think it is. 3. Share the same dish from a step back, as proof. 4. One point for each right answer. The host's own family should not play this round. Players: 3 to 30. You need: eight pairs of photos taken beforehand.
  • Would You Rather: Stand Up or Stay Seated 1. The host shares a would-you-rather question on screen and reads it out. 2. On the count of three, everyone who picks the first choice stands up, and everyone who picks the second stays seated. 3. The host calls on one stander and one sitter to say why in a sentence. 4. Ten questions is a good round. Nobody is out and nothing is scored. Players: 3 to 30. You need: nothing.

How this list was compiled: Our suggestions for a Thanksgiving held on a video call: a family in several houses, a team before the break, or a class. The wording, the ages and the player counts are ours. No game is a race to eat, nothing is staked, and the features are named generically (chat, a shared screen, small rooms), so the list fits any call product and is tied to none. The games for coworkers were screened against the harassment page of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, https://www.eeoc.gov/harassment, read on 10 October 2026: none asks about faith, family, age or health, or shows a home that a player has not chosen to show. It is a party list, not legal advice, and it states nothing about the history of the holiday. Licence: own work

How it works

These virtual Thanksgiving games use what a call already has: a camera, the chat and a shared screen. The family set is played around the real dinner in each house, and no game is a race to eat.

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A family dinner in several houses

1. As the tables are laid: Only at Our Table. 2. Once plates are full: Whose Plate Is This? 3. Through the meal: Spot the Second Helping. 4. To hang up: Wave Goodbye With Something From the Table.

Virtual Thanksgiving games for students

For a class on a call has eight games for 10 to 30 pupils, each with its youngest age. None needs food at home, and two get the class out of their chairs.

  • Ask each house to prop the phone or laptop where it shows the whole table, not one face.

Questions and answers

What Thanksgiving games can you play on a video call with coworkers?

Coworkers keeps 14 games that ask nothing personal and show no home a player has not chosen to show. Try Thanks Chain in the Chat: Nobody Twice, The Out-of-Office Message From a Turkey and Write the Recipe for Our Year.

How do you play Thanksgiving bingo on a video call?

Each house prints its own card before the call. The host shares the caller's screen and reads every call aloud, and the first player with a line reads it back to be checked.

What is a good close-up picture game for Thanksgiving?

Too Close to the Pie: Name the Dish. The host photographs eight dishes or kitchen things from very close, shares each photo, then shows the same thing from a step back.

Which virtual Thanksgiving games need no supplies?

11 of the 32 need no props, among them Parade Balloon: Wind, Rope, Deflate, Describe a Project as a Side Dish and Would You Rather: Stand Up or Stay Seated. No props shows them all.

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