Beyond Monopoly: the board games to play this Christmas

Leave the old property game in the cupboard where it belongs, with options from a lighthearted matching game to saving humanity from a deadly pandemic

Christmas is here! And so too is the time of year when families across the nation drag out their one dusty copy of Monopoly, play it for half an hour before realising Monopoly is a bit crap, and then watch as the game drags on for another three hours before a drunk uncle storms off in outrage after losing their final property to a precocious five-year-old.

Don't play Monopoly. Just ensure that you have one of these games on the shelf in time for your family's Christmas and you'll have a lot more fun.