Everybody loves a good party game. But if you don’t already have a handful up your sleeve, it can be tricky trying to pull something together at the last minute. There are so many traditional party games that are nowadays catered more for kids’ parties, but those won’t be very entertaining for you and your adult friends. So if you’re hosting a party and want some good games for adults, you’re in the right place! While this list is by no means exclusive, we’ll cover a nice variety of games from which to choose and which can also inspire you to find similar games.
A side note on videogames: this post does not include videogames because the idea here is to explore tactile, interactive party games that require more conversation with and focus on other guests in the present physical environment. If you would like to host a party that’s centered on video games, that sounds like a video game-themed party! You most likely already have a few favourite games up your sleeve. Check out the party planning guidelines in the post on hosting a party as well as other best party practices for general information on party planning/hosting. From that point, center on video games as the primary activity, and you’re set!
Games for Adults Who Love a Good Party
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1. Games That Move Your Body
Everyone knows that moving your body is not only beneficial for your health but is also fun. That’s what makes physical games so great for a party! Whether you throw your party outside somewhere near a volleyball net for a game of volleyball or whether you break out a game of Twister in your living room (see the Twister themed party post for Twister ideas), there are many ways to get your guests moving. Just keep in mind everyone’s physical abilities. If anyone plans to attend your party who would be unable to participate in a specific physical game, include alternative games that they can play as well (see the next sections). That will give your party some diversity in activities, too.
a) Sports
Sports are great fun for friends who enjoy them! The obvious caveat with sports is that they’ll almost always require you to host your party in a larger outdoor space. Soccer won’t fare very well inside your home, after all! But if you have the ability to host a patio party or if you can throw your party in a public outdoor space (check out some alternative ideas in the Earth Day themed party post), definitely grab a ball/net/whatever needed equipment so you and your friends can enjoy a game of whichever sport you all enjoy.
b) Yard games
Like sports, yard games require the party to take place outdoors à la patio party. What makes them different from sports is that they’re typically less physically intense and you can play them in heels (but not stilettos lest you aerate the yard). Some popular yard games for adults include corn hole, bocce ball, or even a mild round of frisbee golf if you have a disc basket set up nearby.
c) Tabletop games
Tabletop games include classics like ping pong, foosball, and air hockey. They’re like yard games in that they aren’t as all-body intense, though you’ll still use your arms quite a bit! And unlike yard games, they can be played indoors. But if you don’t already have an air hockey table or other such structure, they can be quite the investment. You can always ask if any of your friends or acquaintances have something they’re willing to lend for your party if you don’t want to commit to a new permanent fixture.
2. Board Games
Board games are pretty popular and bring together the most avid board game enthusiasts. The tricky thing about board games, though, is that they can become time-consuming and end up taking over the party. This is especially true for strategy board games or games like Munchkin. If you and your friends enjoy these games, then you’ll want to specifically theme your party a board game night. But if you want board games that people can play if they choose while still enjoying mingling and other party activities, consider some of the classics below.
a) Traditional board games
Traditional board games include popular games that have been around a long time, such as backgammon, chess, and checkers. If your guests already enjoy these games (or want to learn), it’s easy to have them set out and available for anyone who wants to pick up a game or two.
b) Classic board games
Classic board games are those from within the last century/modern era that have been around for decades, such as Monopoly, Clue, or Life. These can also be a bit time-consuming (looking at you, Monopoly) but are less invested than some of the newer strategy ones. For more creative thinking and mental stimulation, Scattergories and Pictionary are also fun and classic board games for adults.
3. Funny Games
Funny games are, obviously, funny! They include some of what would otherwise be categorized as board games, but which are included in this category to distinguish them for those who love some level of hilarity and/or humiliation (at their own expense as well as others’).
a) Funny board games
Apples to Apples is a popular party game that most people find entertaining. Its raunchy cousin, Cards Against Humanity, is another classic that less easily-offended party-goers also get a kick out of. Mad Gab is a fun one for tongue-twister challenges. Telestrations is a winner for delighting over outrageous misinterpretations. If you don’t have the board game itself, all you really need are many small scrap pieces of paper (as many per round as there are guests) as well as enough pens/pencils for each guest. You could likewise download and print out paper telephone, which is essentially the same thing.
Telestrations is like the childhood game ‘Telephone’, except instead of whispering a message to the person next to you to pass along, you write any phrase of your choice on a paper and pass it to the next person. They then draw their interpretation of what you wrote on their second piece of paper and pass it, on top of the hidden first piece of paper with the written phrase that prompted their drawing, to their neighbour. That neighbour then writes their interpretation of what the person next to them drew on a third piece of paper placed on top of the pile, and so on, until everyone eventually gets their original phrase back with subsequent drawings and phrases hidden underneath it. Everyone then takes turns sharing their original phrase and all its subsequent (and usually very mutated) drawn and written illustrations with the group.
b) Funny games that move your body
Pick Up is a simple game with a simple goal: to be the first player to pick up a prize. All players link arms at the elbow to form a circle around a $5 bill (or whichever amount, so long as it’s one piece of cash), with everyone facing outward. The first person to pick up the cash gets to keep it. The only rule is that players must keep their arms linked in the circle.
Bite the Bag is a similarly challenging game in which players keep their hands behind their backs and take turns reaching down to pick up a brown paper bag with nothing but their mouth. After every round, cut off or fold down another inch of the bag. The challenge here is that only players’ feet may touch the floor.
Tissue Box Bop will make every player look equally and hilariously ridiculous. You do need to acquire a few supplies for this one. Each person needs an empty rectangle tissue box, 10 ping pong balls, and a long piece of string or ribbon. You must first lace the string through each box so that it can be tied around each player’s waist. Then, fill each tissue box with the ping pong balls. When it’s time to play, tie a tissue box belt around each player’s waist with the box in the back. Turn on some upbeat music and have everyone ‘shake it’ to the beat! No one may use their hands to touch any tissue boxes. The winner is the first to ‘bop out’ all of their ping pong balls.
4. Drinking Games
Drinking games are often funny as well, but the difference is that funny games don’t require any alcohol while drinking games involve alcohol by nature. And you can usually turn almost any general game into a drinking game. Drinking games are the ultimate games for adults (alcohol is an adult beverage, after all), but you can always enjoy them using non-alcoholic beverages, too. Beer pong requires some skill, sober or not!
a) Beer Pong
Beer pong is the classic college drinking game that some people continue to play (or bomb) well beyond college. It’s like a carnival game (and just as hard) except it involves drinking the beer of any cup that the other team successfully throws a ping pong ball into. To set up the game, you need a long rectangular table. You’ll also need about 20 Solo cups (or cups of identical size that aren’t glass/breakable) and at least two ping pong balls (though it helps having more, depending on how much you enjoy chasing after them).
b) Straight Face
Straight face is a funny drinking game with the goal of getting players the opposing team to laugh. Each player needs a drink, five small scrap pieces of paper, and a pen/pencil. They then write five funny phrases, one on each piece of paper, that they think will make the other players laugh. After then jumbling all of the pieces of paper in a bucket to mix them up, each person takes turns pulling out a piece to read to the group with a straight face. Anyone who laughs or reacts has to take a sip of their drink. The last person to finish their drink wins.
5. Trivia Games for Adults
Trivia games are really fun for people who enjoy facts, history, and learning. They make good party games for themed parties since you can usually find trivia related to the theme. But even if you don’t have a specific theme, there are some general categories of trivia that remain popular. And for a mix of categories, you can’t go wrong with a fun fact trivia deck.
a) Music trivia
Music trivia games are excellent games for adults, especially those who have been around long enough to have heard it all! From decades music trivia to classic rock trivia and more, there are so many ways you can challenge your guests’ musical knowledge.
b) Geography trivia
Test your guests’ worldliness with a round of 200 world geography trivia questions. Or keep it simpler with a round of 100 world geography trivia questions. You also can narrow it down to more specific topics like an Asian capitals quiz or European geography trivia. Geography is always a fun conversation topic at a party because it inevitably leads to people sharing stories about places they’ve been.
c) Film trivia
Film trivia is perfect for movie buffs. Though there is such a large repertoire of film over the past century, it may help to narrow it down! Maybe you hone in on classic movie trivia or comedy movie trivia, for example. Whether you find trivia for specific film genres or decades or any other niche, there are plenty of movie categories to explore.
6. Get-To-Know-You Games
Also called ice breakers, get-to-know-you games are always great fun. These are also especially helpful in getting more introverted guests who may not otherwise easily connect with others to open up. Finding common ground (and especially in a playful way) is a great way to get guests to more easily bond and enjoy themselves!
a) Occupation fascination
Occupation fascination is a game I invented that’s fairly simple and indulgent, so it’s easy and fun for anyone! Provide a pen/pencil and a notecard or small piece of paper for each player. On the paper, everyone writes down their dream job, regardless of income needed (assume all monetary needs are met). The papers are then collected and tossed around in a bowl.
Each player takes a turn blindly selecting a piece of paper, reading it out loud, and then guessing whose dream job it is. If they guess wrong, they have to either take a shot (a ‘mystery mix’ of wines and liquors on hand makes for a fun surprise) or, if they don’t drink, they have to do a little dance or sing a line from their favorite song, with soul. If they guess right, they either get a prize (have $1 bills or other treats on hand) or they can select someone else from the group who must then take a shot or dance/sing. That person then chooses the next paper, and so on.
b) What’s my job
Another occupation-focused game, what’s my job has each guest take a turn to wordlessly act out their occupation. Everyone else tries to guess the pantomimed job. The trickier the job is to act out, the more creative the player must get! Whoever correctly guesses the job gets a point. After every player’s acted out their occupation, the one with the most points wins.
c) Never have I ever
A classic party game, never have I ever is an entertaining way to learn who has or hasn’t done what. The goal, much like in musical chairs, is to not be the last person standing. With all players seated on chairs arranged in a circle, one person begins by standing in the middle of the circle and stating something they’ve never done before, such as ‘never have I ever peed in the ocean.’ If anyone else seated in the circle has also never done the stated activity, they must get up from their seat and sit somewhere else in the circle that isn’t to their immediate right or left – all while the person in the middle also tries to sit down in someone’s chair, so that one person will be stuck standing. The last standing now states their own ‘never have I ever’ statement to start the next round.
d) Two truths and a lie
Two truths and a lie is a game where people guess whether each of three statements that each player makes about themselves is true or false. The goal is to accurately guess other players’ truths while tricking them into guessing that their own lie is in fact a truth.
Each player needs a pen/pencil and a piece of paper. They write two statements about themselves that are true, and one statement about their self that’s false (in whichever order). The lie should seem like something believable so that others think it’s one of the two truths. After each player then reads their statements to the group, everyone votes on which statement they think is a lie. The players who chose the lie correctly win one point. The reader wins two points per person they trick into believing that one of the true statements was the lie. After iterating through each player, the one with the most points wins the game.
7. Role-Playing Games
The role-playing games to which we refer in this section aren’t the same as RPG video games (see the video game note at the top of the post). Instead, these are games that require guests to take on pre-determined roles by which they interact with one another in the shared physical space. They are especially fun games for adults because they allow an opportunity to take on a fictional role in a make-believe context (without the pressure of an actual acting gig!).
a) Murder mysteries
Murder mysteries are increasingly popular role-playing party games. Murder mystery parties have become quite popular and can be a lot of fun, but by nature they tend to dominate a party as they’re all-encompassing. It’s best to specifically pre-designate your party as a murder mystery (for whichever chosen theme), and that way guests can know ahead of time what to expect and how to get into character. You’d certainly want to inform them of as much when you initially invite them.
b) Social deduction party games
The most popular social deduction party games include such classics as Secret Hitler and Mafia. Themed on the national socialist party and the mafia, respectively, these games involve taking on a role but in a less-involved way. In other words, your party needn’t be defined/dominated by playing these games. You can also find other iterations/spin-offs, such as Secret Sauron for LOTR fans. Like murder mysteries, social deduction games can be a lot of fun and provide some light-hearted suspense, but they’re also simple enough for anyone to join in on a second (or third) round.
Overview of Party Games for Adults
Here is a recap of the various party games for adults that you and your friends may enjoy:
- Games that move your body like sports, yard games and tabletop games
- Traditional and classic board games
- Funny board games and funny games that move your body
- Drinking Games
- Trivia games for adults
- Get-to-know-you games
- Role-playing games
There are far too many games for adults to include them all in this post, but hopefully you now have a good idea of which want to prepare for your next party! The best games are going to be those that you and your friends would most enjoy. Only you know your guests’ personalities and interests. Think about what would fit any given theme and/or special event, as well as what you all would most enjoy. Above all, have fun with it!