Building family culture and creating strong family connections across generations can sometimes feel like a boring task. While sometimes my children ask for stories from someone’s childhood, there can often be moments of disinterest. But even a short game with conversation cards can help connect family members of all ages.
Whether families live close together or miles apart, there is not reason to not build strong family and cultural bonds between generations. One great way to do this is through conversations started and using them as prompts for a game night… even if it’s a video call or a yearly reunion.
These creative ways ensure that the game becomes more than just a conversation starter—it becomes a cherished family bonding activity!
Conversation starters and Conversation Card Style Games we recommend:
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- Prompta Conversation Starters for Grandparents
- Prompta 600 Conversation cards for families (there is a coupon code in Amazon is you grab at least 2 prompta card sets!)
- Brain Freeze Party Game that also reveals each others’ preferences and personality
- Chat Chains Conversation Game
1. Memory Lane Storytelling Night
Pick a few cards randomly from the deck. Read the question aloud and share your personal story related to it.
Encourage grandchildren or other family members to ask follow-up questions, including maybe feelings surrounding an event or maybe even some of the details that make a story more like listening to an audiobook where kids can form a picture in their mind! If possible, show old photographs or keepsakes to bring the story to life.
I know that my kids once remarked that my stories compared to some other family members’ stories were “better than an audiobook” because they could hear my enthusiasm, listen to the thoughts I had about the situation, and even shared about wearing a favorite piece of clothing or how the room smelled in the moment. Make sure your answers aren’t just bland regurgitation of facts, but fun stories that help them envision the moment for you! It will help them connect to your history.
Set up a camera and record the conversation on video or in a journal for future generations. Make the game something fun in the moment but something that leaves a record for other family members to reference and enjoy.
2. “Guess the Answer” Game
Step 1: Select a card but don’t reveal the question.
Step 2: Have grandchildren guess how you might answer based on what they already know about you.
Step 3: After a few guesses, reveal the real answer and share more details.
Step 4: Flip the game—let the grandkids answer the same question about their own lives!
3. Scrapbook & Story Collection Project
Before the start of the night, pick 5-10 cards with meaningful questions that resonate with you.
Write down your responses in a notebook or type them up. Collect photos, drawings, or keepsakes that relate to your answers and bring them with the cards to the game night.
Bring supplies and play the game together as a family, working with family members to create a memory scrapbook. Present it as a special family keepsake or gift to another family member or put it with other photo albums to enjoy another time!
4. “Conversation Bingo” for Large Family Gatherings or Family Reunions
Step 1: Choose 25 questions and arrange them into a Bingo-style grid.
Step 2: During a family gathering, have members ask the questions to different people.
Step 3: When a person gets an answer from a family member, they mark off that square.
Step 4: The first person to complete a row, column, or diagonal wins!
Step 5: Celebrate with a small prize or a fun reward. Maybe even have a family cookbook as a prize if doing it at a yearly reunion or get together.
5. Utilize Zoom, FaceTime, or similar for Virtual Storytelling with Long-Distance Family
It’s pretty easy to set up a video call with family members who live far away these days. Our family has used everything from zoom to the video feature in Facebook Messenger.
Each person selects a card and asks the question to the grandparents.
Grandparents can share your answers while engaging in fun and meaningful discussions. Ask younger family members to answer the same questions as they are still applicable and learning about each other goes both ways! What fun it would be to find commonalities between generations. I often think about How I began making biscuits and gravy because my grandmother taught me how and now it’s a favorite meal of theirs. If their great-grandmother was still alive, this would bring her such joy!
If you want, record and save highlights or notes for future memories, especially if you play in a way that shows how the generations compare to each other.
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