House partying never gets old for me.  I get to see familiar faces, eat great food, share laughs, poke fun at friends, drink tons, and PLAY GAMES.  What?  Just because we’re adults, it doesn’t mean we can’t have fun.  I’m not talking about hitting a star-shaped piñata or Pinning the Tail on the Donkey (although Pin the Tail on the Donkey after a few beers screams nothing but awesomeness).  I’m talking about group games where no matter if you are a player or spectator, you’re having tons of fun.  Oh, and did I mention, group games are some of the cheapest forms of entertainment.

Here are a few games that my friends and I play when we get together:

Poker

Someone in your group is bound to have poker chips and a poker table.  In my group we actually play for a “Championship Belt”.  This is the actual belt:

Sorry, the picture of the belt is a little blurry.  Actually very blurry, but you get the point.  That’s what we play for.  Screw pride when you have a Championship Belt!  Winner gets to bring it home, boast, sleep with it, and even wear it to work until the next tournament.   I never win it because I’m a horrendous poker player.  If you’re up against me and I have this “constipated” look on my face, sure enough I’m bluffing.

Beer Pong

I’m 27 and I still play this with large groups of friends.  Hey!  Don’t judge me!  If you’re hosting, you would provide the “red cups” while your guests bring the beer.  Learn the rules and play the real way incorporating tactical re-stacks, swatting, and stamping. 

Taboo

In this game you draw a card from a stack.  Your goal is to describe the KEYWORD(S) that is on your card without saying it and any other related words listed on the card while your team guesses the “keyword(s)” on your card.  So for example: If you draw the word(s) “Barack Obama” with related words of #president, #michelle, #black, and #white house, you cannot say any of those words in your attempt to describe it.  In turn you have to come up with something witty on the fly such as:  Who lives on 1600 Pennsylvania Ave? or Yes We Can!

Catch Phrase

This game is hella* fun.  You get an electronic device that spits out a keyword.    It’s your teams goal to guess what that keyword is.  You can use gestures or any verbal cues to make it happen.   I highly suggest this game for groups that like to battle it out in a more artsy and intellectual manner.  Trust me, it does not work for every type of party out there.

* Northern California slang for “a lot”

Cranium

Like Taboo and Catch Phrase, this game basically has it all from artistry (drawing, drawing w/ eyes closed, and creating clay sculptures), trivia (multiple choice, true or false), linguistics (spelling, spelling backwards, etc), and performance (charades, humming, and copycats).

I like humdingers.  A humdinger situation is when your team has to guess whatever their teammate is humming.  It’s a perfect opportunity to demonstrate how tone deaf someone is.  LOL.  Can you hum the “I Dream of Jeannie” show tune?

Apples to Apples

Hilarity in a box.  This is such a fun game that is extremely subjective which adds to the appeal of it.  In a nutshell, a judge picks up a GREEN card (judge duties rotate throughout the contestants each round).  Let’s say that the card he chooses has the word “Madonna” on it.   Players then sort through their set of RED cards and decide which of them best represent the green card.  The RED cards have random verbiage on them like: #slutty, #diva, #submarine, #beach balls, or #Barry Manilow.  Once they find a matching card, they place it face down on the table.  The cards are mixed up and the judge reads them aloud one at a time.  The judge subjectively selects which RED card goes best with the GREEN card he selected.

This is the only game where #Madonna and #Beach Balls makes complete sense.  Well, it still doesn’t make any sense.   Too bad it’s not your call, it’s the judge’s decision.

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I actually have one more game that I have in mind, but that one requires its own post.  It’s that awesome!  What games do you play at parties?  I would love to expand my arsenal of games.

Selamat jalan! (Malay)

Photo Credit: Ian of Leam – Jack Card

Photo Credit: DJ Lein – Beer Pong stack

Photo Credit: party-games.net – Catch Phrase

Photo Credit: MacGeekGrl – Cranium

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