Board games for grownups - help me have a harmonious Christmas!

[ThatLibraryMiss]

I've been invited to spend Christmas with Daughter and her partner, lovely bloke, all good and I'm delighted that we all get on really well. Also in attendance will be some or all of his dad, his sister and his brother, all adults and all of whom have their quirks (well, don't we all?). There will be no alcohol.

Please, oh wise Mumsnetters, recommend a board game or two that I can produce during that flat time after Christmas dinner, to head off The Airing of the Grievances. It needs to be suitable for 2 - 5 players, fun, quick to pick up, fairly fast to play, entertaining for adults and not too competitive, as I foresee tears before bedtime if certain players lose consistently.

One person is dyslexic, so word games like Scrabble and Lexicon won't work.

Splendor is very quick to pick up and good fun but may be a little competitive.

there are a few good "working together as a team" games where there is no winner - either the whole group of players wins, or no one wins. someone has already mentioned Forbidden Island but I think the related Forbidden Desert is better. if the group includes star trek fans then 'The Captain is Dead' is brilliant.

try going on boardgamegeek.com and search for games you know the people who'll be there like. there are list linking tools which will tell you "if you like that, try this"

i am looking at Catan and Ticket to Ride. Can 5 people play both? Catan is really expensive and has an extension pack too.

Pandemic
Love Letters
Condottiere (never spell that correctly!)
Dominion

• Kingdomino is 2-4 and really easy
• Unlock is good - each game lasts an hour and it's the same concept as an escape game but around a table. Only down side is that there are only 3 per box.

Hexentanz
similar to Ludo but with hidden colours and for up to 6 players

I'm guessing that Cards against humanity, is a no go .....

Well, there are 5 of us play this every week. My dad, aged 75, won this week..... Youngest is my youngest, he is old enough to play.

We also do Monopoly and Cluedo, but am looking into the games mentioned here with interest.

I think I have the perfect game for you.

Sequence, it is a card/board game - and so easy to pick up and fun to play but also good strategy and can play in teams to make it more fun. Games are quick too.

It is good with 2 players but also up to 12 (in teams).

Pandemic is brilliant and it has expansions too if you get into it. We like the cooperative nature of the game and can really play to our strengths.

We also like Codenames. You play in teams so ideally even numbers. You have words that your team need to guess without guessing the other team's words or the assassin (word). It's a bit about knowing what words mean and how you can link several of your words together so you team can guess multiples at one time, but also a bit of luck knowing what your team might know. Can be very competitive and/or very funny. Also quite quick to play.

Sushi Go Party is a quick, easy game too. Simply collecting cards in a rotation game to gain points. Quick to learn, quick to play, good dollop of luck coupled with a little bit of skill needed to win. Suitable for older kids and adults.

I recently read about Chameleon, a sort of bluffing game which sounds kinda great. The premise is that there is a topic which everyone is aware of except the chameleon (who has to blag that they are part of the conversation) and you all have to guess who the chameleon is.

Sequence. A cross between a card game and board game that can be played individually or un teams. Everyone in my extended family really likes it.

Dobble or Tension