What will your holiday gaming be like?

Ah Christmas. Or Hannukah. Or Kwanzaa, or whatever you want to celebrate at this time of year. It's a period of breaks, relaxation leading to family related stress and, if we have a few spare hours to kill, some gaming.

While the traditional family Christmas might end with hours of vegging out on the sofa, the rest of us will be grabbing a controller or mouse and keyboard and laying the smack down on enemies both human and AI controlled.

So what's your gaming plan this year?

Perhaps you've picked something up in the latest Steam sale? Or GoG's Winter sale? There's been plenty of games up for grabs, whether it's RPG classics like the Heroes of Might & Magic, or something a little more anarchic with the likes of the Saints Row or GTA series of games.

This time of year is always ripe for picking up AAA titles you missed earlier in the year too, so keep your eye out for great deals on Alien: Isolation, Civilisation: Beyond Earth, Titanfall, Destiny, the latest Call of Duty; there's a lot of games that you could buy yourself. Though of course, it might be worth waiting until after the 25th to do so, as someone might have bought that particular game for you already.

Don't forget the the indies of the year though. Shovel Knight is available for a number of different platforms, and silly'em ups like Octodad and Goat Simulator would provide a good few hours of time-sink if you need it.

If you want to be a little more social however and rope your family or friends in, how about a game of Gang Beasts? Maybe Nidhogg if you want more of a lesson in frustration. Perhaps Never Alone or Valiant Hearts if you're in the mood for something more thought provoking.

For me, I'll be playing a little bit of everything. Chances are we'll break out Super Smash Bros for a family tournament and when I'm alone I'll probably bang my head against the wall trying to park, in Euro Truck Simulator 2 on the Oculus Rift.

Still, we all like to step away from the screen now and again don't we? If you want to continue gaming, but your eyes are burning, Christmas actually makes for a great opportunity to try out different board and card games. Of course you'll need to own them, but you never know what Santa might bring this year.

A great card game for family play is Aye, Dark Overlord, which does require some basic role playing and improvisation skills, but can be great fun if handled well. If you have a more open minded, or simply drunken family, then Cards Against Humanity is always a fun one that is guaranteed to have half the room laughing and the other frowning in disgust.

If you want to try a board game but are dreading the idea of your dad breaking out the monopoly set for the upteenth time and don't want to stretch the non-gamers in the room too much, why not try and grab a copy of the Discworld board game, Ankh-Morpork. Gameplay is incredibly simple, but you'll need to outwit and outplay your opponents in order to win.

If you're in the mood for something more complicated, I can personally recommend standouts like War of the Ring (if you have some LotR or Hobbit fans in the house), as well as Descent: Journeys in The Dark Second Edition for those that fondly remember Hero Quest or Space Cadets if you want a lesson in why being a space captain is nigh on impossible.

Of course you'll need these games in the house or at a local store following Christmas in order to try these out, so head back to you PC if you really want to do some board gaming but don't have what you need. Talisman is a fun way to while away a couple of hours and if you fancy something a bit more experimental, try Desperate Gods. You can even knock each others' pieces over so you'll need to play with someone trustworthy.

Still, these are just our suggestions of what some fun gaming might be over the holidays. What are you guys planning to play?

Whatever it is, thanks for visiting throughout 2014 and we look forward to seeing you again in 2015.

Image source: Marco Arment