These party board games are essential for any New Year's Eve get-together

Traitors Aboard | $19.99 at Amazon
This might just be my favorite party board game right now. You play ne'er do-well pirates who are all about the loot, and it's an ingenious bluffing game that's easy to learn but utterly engrossing. Your aim is to build a legendary treasure haul by laying one of your randomly-drawn number cards face down each round until you reach a specific score. The twist? Some of you are secret mutineers trying to sabotage things by adding cards with minus numbers… and then lying about it. Because you have to place a card each round (even if you've only got minus numbers), it becomes hard to know who's genuine and who is trying to undo all your hard work. It's devious, and I love it.

Buy it if:
✅ You want something quick and easy
✅ You love deception games, like Traitors

Don't buy it if:
❌ You don't like bluffing games

UK price: £23.99 at Amazon

Blockbuster: The Game | $24.99 at Barnes & Noble
If you ask me, this is one of the all-time greats. Although it's all about movies, Blockbuster isn't a trivia game – as noted in my Blockbuster: The Game review, you don't need to be a film buff to win. After a gripping head-to-head round where one person from each team takes it in turns to name a film from a random category like "Christmas movies" or "rom-com," the winner gets to choose three of six randomly-drawn movie cards and acts out, describes, or 'quotes' them (the latter can be totally made up). The loser then has to do the same with whatever's left. If your team guesses these correctly before time's up, you add those cards to your collection. The first group to get one from each genre wins, so you better be quick on that buzzer.

Buy it if:
✅ You enjoy fast-paced games
✅ You're playing with a larger group of friends

Don't buy it if:
❌ You don't like pressure

UK price: £17 at John Lewis

The Chameleon | $24.99 at Amazon
I adore bluffing party games, and this is amongst the best examples in my opinion. You've got to choose a word connected to one of many topics listed on a card, but one of you secretly doesn't know what that topic is – they're the chameleon. As the name suggests, they've got to blend in by bullshitting an answer. If they can go undetected, they get points. I reviewed this back in 2019, and I'm still a big fan of it today.

Buy it if:
✅ You love sniffing out traitors
✅ You really enjoy deception games

Don't buy it if:
❌ You don't like thinking on your feet

UK price: £24.99 at Amazon

Herd Mentality | $24.99 at Amazon
Playing with family? Choose this easy-going party board game. It's ideal for folks who don't like board games or hate being in the spotlight; the idea is to blend in. You'll draw a card every turn with a question like "what is the best sauce?" and must write down what you think the majority of players will say. If you're in the majority, you get points! It's a simple but very effective system, and serves as an excellent ice-breaker.

Buy it if:
✅ You want something very chilled out
✅ You're playing with people who hate board games

Don't buy it if:
❌ You want something very strategic

UK price: £19.99 at Amazon

Articulate | $32.67 at Amazon
If lots of people are joining in or you want something a little more involved, Articulate is my go-to recommendation. As mentioned in my Articulate review, I think it's one of the best trivia games around; because it's more like charades than anything else, you don't need to be a font of random knowledge to win. It's all about how well you can describe whatever's on your card in the time limit. That means everyone on your team can get involved by shouting out answers, no matter how big that team is.

Buy it if:
✅ You're playing with lots of people
✅ You enjoy charades

Don't buy it if:
❌ You hate being in the spotlight

UK price: £18 at Argos