Games to play with grandparents, at the table or on a video call

By the Hangtime Games team · October 26, 2026

Plenty of grandparents will beat you at cards, so this isn't about going easy. It's about mixed ages. A game that works for a 7-year-old, a 14-year-old and a 75-year-old at once has a few things in common: one simple action per turn, no frantic clock, a board everyone can see, and lots of reasons to talk.

What makes a game grandparent-friendly

• One thing to do per turn. Tap a card, type a guess, buzz in. Not five menus.
• No rush. Games without a timer, or with a generous one, let everyone think.
• A big shared board. The TV shows the game, so nobody leans over a tiny screen.
• Teams. A grandparent and a grandkid on one side is the best team in any game.
• Stories. The best part of playing with grandparents is the “that reminds me” moments. Leave room for them.

Games to play in person

1. The card game they already know. Let them teach it. Go Fish for the little ones, Crazy Eights, Gin Rummy, or 13-card Rummy in many Indian families. If shuffling and holding 13 cards is the hard part, Rummy on Hangtime keeps each hand private on a phone, with live hints, one-tap Auto-arrange, and a Declare button that only lights up when the hand is valid. Indian 13-card or American Rummy, 2 to 6 players, about 30 minutes. It's in the Launch Pack.
2. Team trivia on the TV. Trivia Board is free and Jeopardy-style. Switch on Teams, and each team can share one phone, up to 8 teams. Grandparents rule categories like American History, The 80s and Around the World. Kids take Best of Disney and Animal Kingdom. Pair them up and everyone gets to be the hero once.
3. A category about the grandparents. Write one on hangtime.games/make, free: “The town where Grandma grew up.” “Grandpa's first car.” “The year they got married.” They'll correct every answer, and that's the fun.
4. A calm word puzzle. Wordy Birdy is free: everyone guesses the same five-letter word on their own phone, six tries, with green, yellow and gray clues. There's no clock, so nobody is hurried, and Birdy gives hints if someone is stuck. The TV shows everyone's colors, never their letters. 1 to 10 players, about 15 minutes.
5. Draw and guess. In Doodler (free, 2 to 10 players) you draw on your phone and it appears on the TV. Kid mode swaps typing for six multiple-choice picks, which helps pre-readers and anyone who hates typing on a phone.
6. “What did it cost?” No tech needed. Kids ask a grandparent what something cost when they were 12: a movie ticket, a soda, a gallon of gas. Everyone else guesses first, closest wins. You'll get stories you've never heard.
7. Dominoes, checkers or a jigsaw. Quiet, slow and good for one-on-one time while the rest of the house is loud.

Games to play over a video call

Screen-sharing a game on a call is hard on everyone, and hardest on whoever has the smallest screen. It works much better when the game runs on each person's own phone and the call is just for faces.

The setup

1. Start the call on a tablet or laptop if you can, so the phone is free for the game.
2. One person opens hangtime.games/play on their phone, picks a game under “Can't all be in one room?”, and gets a four-letter code.
3. Say the code out loud on the call. Grandparents go to hangtime.games/play, type the code and their name, and they're in. No app or password.

Do a five-minute practice the day before. Once they've joined once, game night is easy.

What to play remotely

• Wordy Birdy (free): the calmest one, and great across time zones.
• Doodler (free): the drawing shows on every phone as it's drawn.
• Rummy: a proper card game with hands private on each phone.
• Bowl Game: Fishbowl in teams, 4 to 16 players. This one needs the video call, because the act-it-out round happens on camera.
• Who's Lying?: grandparents are often the best bluffers in the family.

Trivia Board is the one that doesn't work remotely, because it's built around a race to buzz in on one shared board. Save it for visits. For little kids on a call, 20 Questions and I Spy (using things in each other's rooms) need nothing at all. More ideas in our guide to long-distance game night.

Tips for mixed ages

• Seat grandparents closest to the TV. Simple, and it helps.
• Make phone text bigger first. The phone's own text size setting makes every page easier to read, including the game.
• Keep it to two or three games of 15 to 20 minutes. Stop while people are still laughing.
• Let them pick a game. Then play their game properly, by their rules.

Trivia Board, Doodler and Wordy Birdy are free. Rummy, Bowl Game and Who's Lying? are in the Launch Pack, a one-time $5 founder price ($10 later). Only the host buys it, so grandparents never pay or sign up.