37 Best Party Games To Pep Up Any Party

A game at the ready is the ultimate hosting trick. Guests will often mix and mingle on their own, but sometimes a lull needs to be filled and intermingling encouraged. It’s times like these when a game can break the ice and restore the party to a roar for kids and adults alike.

For kids, games are a great option for a group that's getting a bit rowdy or antsy. In these instances, a bit of organized fun can keep the kids entertained and laughing. When it comes to the adult crowd, there's nothing like a game to break the ice or reconnect with old friends.

Looking for party game ideas? No need to fall back on the old 7-minute game (in which two people are selected to retreat to a dark closet and do what they like for that time). These games will captivate guests of all ages at any event. Look to this list of fun games for your next birthday party, family reunion, or holiday bash.

Party Games For Adults

Two Truths And A Lie

Perfect for parties where guests are just starting to get to know one another, or for events where folks are well-acquainted, two truths and a lie is a classic party game. One by one, guests will share two fun facts and lie about themselves, not revealing which are true and which is false. Other guests will then have to guess which is the lie.

I'm Hosting A Potluck

This on-theme game can be played as a main focus or interspersed between the party’s otherwise scheduled conversation. The game revolves around the idea that you (or another chosen player) are hosting a potluck and everyone has to say what they plan on bringing. However, the host has set a secret rule, and only those whose potluck contribution fits within the rule are allowed to come.

For example, the rule may be that everyone has to bring something that begins with the same letter as their name. Guests will have to try to guess the rule by trial and error. They’ll tell you what they plan on bringing, you tell them if they’re allowed to come or not (based on whether they’re following the rule), and eventually, they will put two and two together.

Never Have I Ever

Gathered in a circle, guests will each raise one hand. They will one by one announce something that they have never done by saying “Never have I ever…” Other guests who have done that thing put a finger down. If no one in the group has done it, then the announcer puts a finger down. Once someone has no more fingers up on that hand, they’re out and the last person left standing is the winner.

Spoons 

This game requires some props. Come prepared with a deck of cards and spare spoons—enough spoons to match the number of players bar one. Gather guests around in a circle and place the spoons in the middle of the game table, then deal each player four cards. To get started, the dealer will pick up cards one by one, choosing a card in their hand to pass a card onto the next player each time so that there are never more than five cards in their hand. Each player will follow suit, receiving cards from the player before them and passing them on to the next.

The goal is to have four cards of the same number. Once one player has been dealt a flush, they will quickly reach out and grab a spoon from the center. From there, it’s a mad dash. No matter what they have in their hands, each guest will grab a spoon, but like musical chairs, the slowest player will be without a prize. The one left without a spoon is out and the game continues, removing one spoon from the pot each time until only one player is left standing with a spoon.

Tongues

If you only have enough spoons to suit your party’s dining service, the game spoons can become tongues. Rather than grabbing a spoon when they have four of the same number cards, guests will stick out their tongues. This version of the game is much more subtle, and sillier thanks to funny faces. It may take other players longer to realize that someone has won and follow suit by sticking out their own tongue until only one unaware person in the group isn’t making a funny face.

Mafia

This complicated, interactive storytelling game, also known as Assassin, Village, and more names, is a summer camp hit that translates well to parties. It’s essentially an over-the-top whodunit game in which a narrator weaves a dramatic tale of good guys and bad guys, assigning roles such as mafia/assassin, villager, and doctor to anonymous participating guests. The goal is for the group to successfully guess who the mafia is, while the mafia’s goal is to get away with their nefarious plot without being found out.

Mystery Word

The Mystery Word game adds an edge to dinner party conversation. Before the event begins, the host will choose a mystery word that speaks to the theme of the party or is relevant to the event in some way. For example, a Christmas dinner mystery word might be “gingerbread.” They will write the word down and cover it up or store it away for safekeeping until the game is over.

Once guests have arrived, inform them that they’ve unknowingly walked into a game—that there is a mystery word that has something to do with the party, and that whoever guesses it wins a prize. The catch is that they can’t outright guess the secret word. Instead, they have to weave their guesses into conversation. Over dinner, the host will keep their ears open, listening in for that keyword to deem a winner. At the end of the night, they’ll go home with a prize, like a gift bag, extra dessert, or a bottle of wine. 

Psych

Head to the App Store to get this game going. Each guest will need to download the game to get started. From there, lots of laughter is sure to come as guests answer real trivia questions with fake answers, trying to trick their friends who answer the question. In another version of the game, the app will spit out silly questions about guests, like who is most likely to engage in a theoretical scenario, and guests have to write in and vote on the correct answer. The app also has a physical card game counterpart for hosts who come prepared.

Name That Tune

For this game, the host doubles as a DJ. Simply turn on a song (nostalgic childhood tunes are always a hit) and see who can guess the name of the song and artist the quickest. Keep score of who guesses the most right and hand out prizes to the top guesser at the end of the night.

Great Minds Think Alike

Prepare for this game by writing up a list of categories. For example, “Southern appetizer,” “tropical fruit,” “famous redhead,” and “song with a person’s name in it” are a good place to start. Categories can be as niche or as broad as you would like. Give every guest a sheet of paper and a pen and split your crew into two teams. Then, read the categories out loud, giving guests time to individually and privately record their answers for each category.

The goal is to guess the same answer as your teammates for each category. Once everyone is done recording their responses, go down the list of categories again, this time allowing guests to announce the answers they wrote down. For each team, record how many times people have the same response, using a point system to add up for a winning team. Three points for every word that three people have in common, four points for every word that four people have in common, and so on.

The Newlywed Game

Despite the romantic nature of this game’s name, it can be played with friends, couples, or family at your next event. Prepare questions in advance on guests’ favorite things and fun facts. Send party guests the questionnaire in advance to answer and send you their responses beforehand. At the event, pair up guests who know each other well and quiz them on how well they truly know their partner. To expand the game to the whole group, read a submitted answer to one of the questions, and ask the crew to vote on who said it.

The Sticker Stalker Game

Start by buying some stickers, one sheet of up to 10 stickers for each guest playing. It’s best if the stickers suit the party occasion, but that isn't required. The goal is to stealthily attach your stickers to other people without them knowing. The first person to successfully shed their whole sheet of stickers onto other players wins. However, if anyone is caught while trying to put a sticker on another player, that player gets to give them a sticker instead.

Salad Bowl

Grab a spare salad or mixing bowl from the cupboard to get started. Hand each guest a piece of paper and ask them to tear it into as many pieces as they please, writing a person, place, or thing on each slip of paper, which will then be folded up and tossed into the bowl. Then, divide the crowd into two teams. In three rounds, a person from one team will pick a word out of the bowl for their teammates to guess, the same player will pick again once it’s guessed, and so on until time runs out for the round.

Each round will last just one minute, earning one point for each word guessed during that time. After each round, the next team will take their turn. In round one, the player can clue their team into the hidden word using only words, bar the chosen phrase. In round two, the picking player uses charades to hint at the word, and in round three, they can only give a single word clue for their team to guess from. The team with the most points by the end of all three rounds wins.

Hot Ones

Break out your favorite hot sauce—we know you have one—and get playing celebrity style. Use sauces you already have in the fridge, plus some extras that look interesting in the store. Emanating the breakout TV show, “Hot Ones,” players will take a bite of some chicken with hot sauce before answering a personal interview question pre-prepared by the host. With each round, the heat is turned up and questions get increasingly hard to answer with guests’ mouths on fire.

How's Yours?

To play this game, send one person out of the room. The other players come up with something everyone in the room has, such as hair, socks, or knees. The person comes back into the room and asks each player, "How's yours?" They respond with one clue, such as red, short, or wrinkly. The guesser can keep asking questions until they guess correctly.

Party Games For Kids

Telephone

In a circle, choose a phrase to whisper in the ear of the guest to the right of you. That person will then whisper what they heard to the person to their right. The chain will continue until the whispered phrase reaches the final guest in the circle to your left, who can share what they heard. The original phrase will undoubtedly become distorted no matter how hard y’all try to keep the story straight.

iSpy

This road trip classic works in a room, too—particularly at a party where there’s a lot happening. One person will start by choosing something in the room and saying “I spy, with my little eye,” before vaguely describing the chosen item. Others will have to guess what the spyer chose, asking only yes or no questions for hints. 

Limbo

Kids (and even adults) of all ages get excited about an old-school game of Limbo. Turn on some calypso music and use a broom to measure how low folks can go underneath it. Have two people hold the broom horizontally at shoulder height while party guests dance below it. Continue to lower the broom for each round. Anyone who touches the ground or the broom is out.

Musical Chairs

As this classic game goes, when the music stops, you better not find yourself on the outs. Play this game by lining up chairs—enough for one short of the number of guests participating—and turn on some music. While the tunes play, kids will circle the chairs, keeping their distance. When the music stops though, they must try to sit down, claiming a chair until one child is left without and therefore, out of the game. Removing a chair with each round, the child that claims the final chair left in the game wins.

Musical Statues

Alternatively, musical chairs can be played as a variation of a dance party—and it doesn’t require moving around any furniture. In this version, kids are encouraged to dance when the music plays and freeze when it goes silent. The last person moving is out.

Pin The Tail On The Donkey

Easy to play for all ages, this nostalgic party game will be just as big of a hit today as it was back then. Blindfold a guest, turn them in a circle a few times, and let them pin a paper tail onto a cutout donkey that is taped to a wall. The person whose tail is closest to where the donkey's tail would be wins. Instead of a thumbtack on the “tail” like we used to use though, consider using tape to avoid pricked fingers and nicked walls.

Egg And Spoon Race

On your mark, get set, go! Using a spoon, kids will balance an egg while racing from a designated start point to a set finish line in the backyard. If the egg falls from the spoon, they’ll need to get a new one and start all over. To avoid extra clean-up, hard-boil the eggs in advance.

Scavenger Hunt

Make a scavenger hunt the main event of the party, or use a little foresight to keep it as a trick up your sleeve for when kids at the party begin to get rowdy. Hide clues around the house that lead to a kid-friendly prize. When you’re ready to start the hunt, gather the children and read them the first clue to get them going. Once they figure out the clue, the next clue can be found at that location and so on.

Duck, Duck, Goose

This cat-and-mouse game of tag is sure to keep kids entertained and hopefully tire them out a little bit, too. Play outside or in an open indoor space without tripping hazards. Seat guests in a circle. Choose one child to be "It" and walk around the outside of the circle and lightly tap each person on the head. It says "duck" or "goose" for each tap. The "goose" gets up and chases It around the circle, trying to tag It before the child takes the goose's spot. The person left standing begins the cycle again.

Camera Hot Potato

Traditional Hot Potato gets a modern twist with this updated party game. Instead of a potato, pass around an iPhone or camera. Before starting though, set the phone camera or camera on a timer to take a photo once time is up. Encourage kids to make funny faces as they play. Not only will this have them giggling up a storm, but their parents will get to keep the silly souvenirs of whoever ends up having their photo taken.

Sandbox Dinosaur Dig

If your backyard has a sandbox, you’ve got the means for a winning party game. Before the big day, bury little dinosaur skeletons beneath the sand. Give kids little shovels and other sandcastle-standard beach equipment so that they may unearth dinosaurs.

Twister

Break out the old Twister mat and spinner to truly get the party started. Players spin the spinner and call out the color and body part it landed on, such as "Right foot, green." Each player places the body part called onto an empty circle of that color on the mat, resulting in challenging positions and giggles. Adults at the party will envy the kids who get to put their left foot on red and their right hand on yellow.

Bobbing For Apples

A traditional fall activity, bobbing for apples can be a party craze all year long. Kids will not only have the time of their lives, but a healthy snack, too. Fill a large tub with water and add clean whole apples, which will float to the top. Players put their hands behind their back and pick an apple using only their mouths.

Donut Dangle

Adults at the gathering better get their cameras out for this one. To prepare, pick up a variety pack from Krispy Kreme. When it’s time to play, tie one donut for each kid to a tree branch in the yard, low enough that kids can reach them. On your call, kids will race to see who can finish their donuts the quickest. There’s a catch though: They can’t use their hands. With donuts swinging to and fro, it’s trickier than you may think.

Party Games For Guests Of All Ages

Superlatives

Play this game at a gathering of tightly knit friends or family members and come prepared with a list of superlatives. Ask the crowd fun questions like “Who is most likely to be famous?” “Who is the most likely to sleep through an earthquake?” and “Who has the best style?” On the count of three, everyone in the group will point to someone else at the party to answer the question. Cue the laughs.

Would You Rather?

Spend the event throwing out hypotheticals to challenge and delight guests. Tricky “would you rather” questions can be used as a game or a conversation starter when chit-chat lulls mid-party. Print some questions beforehand or come up with them on the spot, choosing weird and funny combinations to choose from such as "Would you rather eat hot dogs every day for a year or dog food every day for a week?"

Heads Up!

Download the Heads Up! app on your phone and get ready for lots of laughs. For each round, the guesser will hold the phone up to their head and work as quickly as possible to guess the word superimposed onto the forehead. This automated guessing game prompts guests to act out and hint around movie titles, celebrities, foreign accents, and favorite songs.

Charades

It’s impossible to go wrong with a classic game of charades. Players act out words, phrases, or titles using only their hands, no words. The person with the correct guess then takes a turn acting out a word. Pictionary is another time-honored people-pleaser.

Mirror Charades

This version is a little trickier than the original. Two people act out the clue in this game, but one person knows the clue and acts it out behind the other players who are trying to guess. The second person doesn't know what they are acting out and mirrors, or mimics, the actions of the other player. It's harder and funnier than it seems.

20 Questions

Like iSpy, this game begins when one person chooses an object. Unlike iSpy, the chosen object doesn’t have to be in the room. It can be any person, place, or thing their mind can possibly imagine. Then, the rest of the crowd has to guess what it is, using only 20 yes or no questions to guide them.

BeanBoozled

This Jelly Belly game uses a variety pack with 10 colors of jelly beans. Unfortunately, the twist is that for every color, there are two potential flavors. For example, that green jelly bean could either have a juicy pear flavor…or taste like boogers. Follow the directions of the game, if you dare, and keep your fingers crossed that you choose the right bean.

Oreo Game

Choose your favorite flavor Oreo or one that suits the occasion like peppermint for Christmas or birthday cake for a birthday bash. Hand each guest a cookie, but don’t let them eat it right away. Instead, instruct them to tilt their head back and balance the Oreo on their forehead. On the count of three, guests will race to get their cookie from its current position to their mouths, without using their hands.

Face contortions and crumbling cookies are guaranteed, and it’s harder than it sounds. The first one to eat their cookie without using their hands wins.