For a hand-picked selection of brain teasers across easy, medium and fiendish levels, have a look at the adult puzzle range at puzzles and games.

For a bigger group, party and bluffing games give teenagers and adults something to sink their teeth into. Titles such as The Traitors board game and card game, both available from The Happy Puzzle Company, lean on reading the room and second-guessing each other, which tends to spark the loudest laughs of the night. Keep one of these for when the whole family is together at Christmas or on a birthday.

To compare escape room games by difficulty and player count, and find one that suits your group, see the escape room range at puzzle games for adults.

A good travel game earns its place in the bag by being compact and quick. You want something that sets up in seconds, plays in a few minutes and does not rely on a large board or dozens of loose pieces that scatter across a car footwell. Card games and self-contained puzzle games tend to win here, because everything stays in one small box or tin.

Stocking fillers are where the smaller puzzles shine. Self-contained games such as the Genius Square, along with pocket brain teasers, drop neatly into a stocking and give someone a challenge for the quiet bit of the morning. For children, a game matched to their age, from Bee Genius for the little ones to WordSnap XL for older siblings, tends to get more play than yet another plastic toy.

To compare word games by pace and age suitability, and see which reward speed versus vocabulary, take a look at the word games at educational games for kids.