Sinterklaas games for pakjesavond: seven games for the whole living room
13 oktober 2026 · Bijgewerkt 5 oktober 2026
It is 5 December, the sack is half empty and someone is still puzzling over a rhyme. The children are bouncing around the room, Grandpa would really like a coffee and your aunt has already opened her presents. That is exactly when Sinterklaas games for pakjesavond, the evening of presents, come in handy: a game that brings everyone back together for a while.
This list has seven games for the evening itself. You explain them in a few minutes and they work with a full room. If you are mainly looking for a present, take a look at our top 10 Sinterklaas games. This one is about what you put on the table together that evening.
How we chose these games
A good pakjesavond game has to be able to take a few knocks. Play keeps stopping for a poem or a surprise, so a two-hour game does not work. We looked at three things: can you explain it while everyone is already half playing, can young and old join in, and can you stop halfway without an argument?
Hitster Battle of the Generations: Grandpa against the grandchildren
Scan a card with your phone, hear a song and guess which year it came out. That is Hitster. In this version each player or team picks their own era: old vinyl classics, the hits of the cassette and CD years, or today's songs. Put the card in the right place in your own timeline, and whoever is first to have ten cards correctly placed wins.
It works so well on pakjesavond because your dad is suddenly the expert on a song from 1978 and your daughter thrashes him with a song from last year. The box says 16+. If younger children are joining in, put them in a team with a parent: the rules simply allow teams. Up to ten players can take part.
View Hitster Battle of the Generations
Flip 7: the whole room has a gamble
You can explain Flip 7 in a minute, and after that half the room wants to join in. You take turns drawing a card from the deck. If you get a number that is already in front of you, you lose everything this round. Stop in time and your cards count as points. Collect seven different numbers and you get a bonus on top. The first to reach 200 points wins.
It works so well on pakjesavond because everyone is caught up in every card that is turned over. Special cards such as Freeze and Flip Three sometimes turn things upside down, and then there is loud laughter or grumbling. Three to twelve players aged 8 and up can join in, and a game takes about twenty minutes. The few words on the cards are in English, but you will know them after one round.
Happy Salmon: two minutes of chaos
Sometimes the energy just has to come out. In Happy Salmon everyone has a pile of cards and nobody waits for their turn: everything happens at once. You call out what is on your top card and look for someone with the same action. A high five, a fist bump, swapping places or the real Happy Salmon move the game is named after.
A round is over in a few minutes. Whoever gets rid of all their cards first wins. Children from six join in without any trouble, and with eight players it really becomes a party. Do move the coffee cups out of the way first.
Spots: dice with dogs
Dogs have spots, and so do dice. That joke is what Spots is built around. You roll dice and place them on your dog cards, on the spaces where they fit. If a roll fits nowhere, you bury the die in the garden. But if you get too greedy and put too much in the garden, you get caught.
Push on or stop: you ask yourself that with every roll. The rest of the table watches and laughs out loud when it goes wrong, until it happens to them. The aim is to cover all the spaces on your dogs. The box contains 40 dice and 32 dog cards. Spots is for two to four players, so with a full room you take turns after each game. The box is in Dutch.
Dobble Catan: spotting in teams
Dobble Catan brings two well-known games together. You look for the right symbol as fast as you can, and meanwhile the island of Catan takes shape on the table. It contains five short mini-games, with names like Harbours, Longest Trade Route and Knights.
You earn points as a team, and the first team to reach ten points wins. Put an eight-year-old next to Grandpa and let them search together: the child often spots the symbol first. The game is for two to six players aged 8 and up, a game takes about fifteen minutes and the rules are in Dutch and French. More children in the house? Our blog on Sinterklaas games for children has plenty more.
Bloops: remember what you have
After all the excitement it is nice to play something where you can just stay in your seat. In Bloops you want as few points as possible. At the start you look at some of your cards and commit them to memory. After that it is all about remembering, estimating and a little bluffing. Special cards let you sneak a look, swap, or get in someone's way at just the wrong moment.
The most exciting moment is calling "Bloops". Do it too early and it can badly backfire. Children with a good memory often have the edge here, so do not count on the adults winning. Bloops is a new game from Zygomatic for two to five players aged 8 and up. A game takes about ten minutes and the box is bilingual (Dutch and French).
Wie is de ezel? Teasing with the whole room
This card game by Wolfgang Kramer starts with a question that gets everyone laughing straight away: who at the table is the most successful, and who the least? After that you try to get rid of all your cards as fast as possible. Whoever finishes first ends the game and everyone else gets penalty points for what is still in their hand.
There is one card you definitely want to get rid of: the Donkey. Whoever still has it in their hand at the end will be hearing about it for the rest of the evening. Three to twelve players can join in, so the neighbours who pop in can play too.
And the dice game with presents?
In many families a dice game with presents is part of pakjesavond. Everyone brings a few small gifts, they go on a pile in the middle, and whoever rolls a six may take one. Then a timer often gets set: in the second round a six lets you take a present from someone else instead. There are dozens of variations, and every family swears by its own rules.
For that game you only need dice and a few small gifts. You will find small games that suit a pile like that among our shoe gifts.
Which game suits your evening?
If there is a big group with three generations in the room, start with Hitster Battle of the Generations or Flip 7. Both work with a group of ten, and nobody has to wait long. If it is more of an evening with lots of young children, Happy Salmon is the safe choice. If the ages are far apart, Dobble Catan puts young and old in one team.
Want to sit quietly for a while after unwrapping? Then get out Bloops or Spots. And if the whole street comes in, Wie is de ezel? has enough cards for twelve. You will find more ideas in our Sinterklaas games category. Put one ready next to the sack, so you have it to hand as soon as the first poem has been read out.