When you’re hosting any type of celebration, whether it’s a birthday party, an engagement party, or a wedding, you know you’ll need a few basic things, such as food and decorations. But it’s also a good idea to have a few ideas for games that your guests can play. Playing games can liven up any type of party, whether your guests are kids, adults, or a mix of both. Party games are even great for weddings: They’re a good way to break the ice while people are waiting for the reception to start. From simple and silly kids’ games to decidedly adult games perfect for a bachelor party, there’s a fun idea for any crowd, and you can usually DIY everything you’ll need to play.
Birthday Party Games
- Birthday Scavenger Hunt: You can use these clues to lead one person along a trail of gifts, or you could let all of the party guests play together and give them candy or small prizes at the end.
- Seven Creative Ways to Limbo: All you need is some music and a stick of some sort to play the classic version of this dancing game.
- Sticker Stalker: Kids and adults can have fun with this game, in which you try to stealthily put stickers on other people at the party.
- How’s Yours? Things can get pretty silly as the person who’s “it” tries to guess the body part or piece of clothing that everyone else is describing.
- Face the Cookie: Place a cookie on each player’s forehead and see who can get the cookie into their mouth without using their hands the fastest.
- Werewolf: Can you catch the werewolves before they take over the village?
Wedding Party Games
- Wedding Table Trivia: Set out quizzes about the happy couple for guests to answer. For more fun, give a prize to the person with the best score at each table.
- “I Spy” Wedding Game: Adding a scavenger hunt to your wedding reception can also help you to collect some fun candid photos from your guests.
- Find the Guest Bingo: Get your wedding guests up and mingling by giving them a bingo game to play.
- How to Make Your Own Giant Jenga Set: If you’re having a fairly casual reception, this popular game can help your guests break the ice while you’re taking photos with the wedding party.
- DIY Cornhole Boards: Save money and add some fun to your reception by making everything for a game of cornhole yourself.
- Wedding Mad Libs: This simple fill-in-the-blanks game often produces hilarious results and is great for the reception, rehearsal dinner, engagement party, or bachelor party.
Fun Kids' Games
- Pin the Tail on the Donkey: Make your own version of this classic game and customize it any way you want.
- Doughnuts on a String: The doughnut is the prize in this silly eating game.
- Egg and Spoon Race: Run to the finish line without dropping your egg to win.
- Musical Chairs: This classic game is just as fun for kids today as it was when their parents were little.
- Duck, Duck, Goose: Playing this game can burn off a lot of energy, and you can keep playing as long as everyone is still having fun.
- Simon Says: To play this game, kids have to listen carefully and follow instructions.
Fun Adult Games
- Selfie Hot Potato: By the end of this game, you should have a gallery of photos of everyone at the party.
- The “Anything but a Cup” Game: The primary rule for this game is that you can’t drink out of anything that people are supposed to drink out of. Beyond that, you can add on any house rules you wish.
- Flip Cup: If you’ve got a good-sized group of people and a good amount of beer (or another beverage of choice), you can play this simple drinking game.
- Never Have I Ever: You might learn more about your friends than you bargained for when you play this drinking game.
- Beer Pong: You just need a pingpong ball, a table, and a bunch of cups to play one of the most popular drinking games.
