Chromecast gets Showtime, Starz and family-friendly games to make the holidays less tedious

So, your kids have grown into easily bored teens who would (in their own words) rather die than join your yearly holiday Scrabble tournament. Sorry about that. Maybe they'd enjoy these new Chromecast games for the family a lot better than traditional board games, though. Since they're Chromecast apps, they use your phone or tablet as a controller and the TV as a game board. The list includes titles that put a spin on classic board games (Wheel of Fortune, Hasbro's Monopoly Dash, Scrabble Blitz, Connect Four Quads and Simon Swipe), as well as Just Dance Now for those who prefer a more active game to a sedentary one. And, yes, the phone or tablet can tell if a player's putting their hands in the air or if they're being a wet blanket.

If your family's full of trivia buffs, though, you might be better off downloading Big Web Quiz, which formulates questions using Google's Knowledge Graph. Finally, there's Emoji Party, which is like charades, expect you'd have to guess movie titles based on the emojis on screen. Everyone who wants to participate will need to download the apps from iTunes or Google Play. A word to the wise, though: hold off on making an especially cringey Dad joke until everyone's already done installing the games on their phones, hmkay?

PS: Other than these games, you can now also download Showtime Anytime and Starz apps for Chromecast. Plus, you can get 60 days of free Hulu Plus and 90 days of free Google Play All Access Music, so long as you're a new subscriber.

[Image credit: Getty Images]