Party games are games that are played at social gatherings to facilitate

interaction Interaction is action that occurs between two or more objects, with broad use in philosophy and the sciences. It may refer to: Science * Interaction hypothesis, a theory of second language acquisition * Interaction (statistics) * Interactions o ...

and provide

entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...

and recreation. Categories include (explicit)

icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...

parlour A parlour (or parlor) is a reception room or public space. In medieval Christian Europe, the "outer parlour" was the room where the monks or nuns conducted business with those outside the monastery and the "inner parlour" was used for necessar ...

(indoor), picnic (outdoor), and large group games.Frankel, Lillian; Frankel, Godfrey; and Anderson, Doug (2007). ''Party Games for Adults'', p.7. Sterling. .Sheila Anne Barry (1987). ''The World's Best Party Games'', p.3. Sterling. . Other types include pairing off (partnered) games, and parlour races. Different games will generate different atmospheres so the party game may merely be intended as an icebreakers, or the sole purpose for or structure of the party. As such, party games aim to include players of various skill levels and player-elimination is rare. Party games are intended to be played socially, and are designed to be easy for new players to learn.McGonigal, Jane (2011). ''Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World'', unpaginated. Penguin. .

Characteristics

The characteristics of party games tend to include: * A game can support a relatively large or undefined number of players, compared to more traditional

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a co ...

s or

card game A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games (such as poker). A small number of card ga ...

s that require a small, set number of players. Some games, especially commercial games, have a set limit based on available equipment; others are limited by other mechanics of the game like time for each turn, while still others have no practical limit, like Appyshot App. * Team-based play in party games is common, but not required. Games that divide players into two, three, or four roughly equal teams, such as '' Cranium'', Charades or ''

Pictionary ''Pictionary'' (, ) is a charades-inspired word-guessing game invented by Robert Angel with graphic design by Gary Everson and first published in 1985 by Angel Games Inc. Angel Games licensed Pictionary to Western Publishing. Hasbro purchase ...

'' tend to allow for larger total numbers of players. By contrast, other games such as

Werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely ...

and ''

How to Host a Murder ''How to Host a Murder'' is a long-running series of boxed murder mystery games published by Decipher, Inc. Players take on the roles of suspects after a murder has occurred, all attempting to expose which one of them is the murderer. The setting ...

'' are role-based, with each player being given a character or other role to play in the course of the game. The number of players is limited to the number of roles, but in many such games there are "generic" roles allowing for a high degree of flexibility. * Cooperation and interaction between players is encouraged. Both team and role-based play generally encourage this social aspect to the game; games that do not encourage this interaction generally make poor party games. * Multiple ways to play and contribute. For example, in ''

Fictionary Fictionary, also known as The Dictionary Game or simply Dictionary, is a word game in which players guess the definition of an obscure word. Each round consists of one player selecting and announcing a word from the dictionary, and other players co ...

'' not everyone needs to create plausible dictionary definitions; humorous submissions are welcome. In Charades, players can actively participate in guessing without taking a turn at acting. Sports often make poor party games as limitations in a player's physical abilities may preclude participation though some party games, such as: relay racing and

Red light/Green light Statues (also known as Red Light, Green Light in North America, and Grandma's/Grandmother's Footsteps or Fairy Footsteps in the United Kingdom) is a popular children's game, often played in different countries. There are variations of play t ...

, involve a significant physical aspect and are especially suitable for groups similar in age and ability. * Players participate in gameplay frequently, sometimes on an impromptu basis. Games in which each player has their own independent turn generally make poor party games, especially if a turn takes a long time. * A game should also have entertainment value for spectators. Many party games involve at least some level of humor, whether inherent in the game or introduced by players. In this way, players not taking a turn can still enjoy the gameplay, whilst

party favors A party favor is a small gift given to the guests at a party as a gesture of thanks for their attendance, a memento of the occasion, or simply as an aid to frivolity. Occasions It is traditional in some Western cultures for the guests at b ...

can embellish the party atmosphere. * Player elimination is rare. ''

Monopoly A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...

'' makes a poor party game, because bankrupt players must sit out while the remaining players continue to the game's conclusion, which can take several hours. In contrast, no matter how far behind a team is in ''

'', all players can participate until the end. * The amount of specialized equipment needed is not dependent on the number of players. Games such as Liar's Dice make poor party games because each player needs a cup and five dice to start the game. By contrast, ''

Yahtzee Yahtzee is a dice game made by Milton Bradley (a company that has since been acquired and assimilated by Hasbro). It was first marketed under the name of Yahtzee by game entrepreneur Edwin S. Lowe in 1956. The game is a development of earlier ...

'' needs only one cup and set of dice regardless of the number of players (the basic Yahtzee game does have other practical limitations). * The game usually does not involve spending real money as a prerequisite or consequence of playing. Games that require each player to purchase consumable items or specialized equipment are usually poor party games. Casino games are a notable exception. Examples include "casino nights" with a token door charge or buy-in for charity or to defray costs and poker tournaments with a similar small buy-in.

Common party games

Musical chairs Lawn Jam Our Community Place Harrisonburg VA June 2008

1000 Blank White Cards 1000 Blank White Cards is a party game played with cards in which the deck is created as part of the game. Though it has been played by adults in organized groups worldwide, 1000 Blank White Cards is also described as well-suited for children in ...

* 30 Seconds *

Apples to Apples ''Apples to Apples'' is a party game originally published by Out of the Box Publishing Inc., and now by Mattel. Players start with a hand of seven "red apple" cards, which feature nouns. A player is selected to be the first judge, and that judg ...

* Appyshot App * Articulate *

Bat a rat Splat the rat, also known as bat the rat, is a simple variant on a bat and ball game that can be played at parties or fêtes. An open-ended metal or plastic tube or section of drainpipe is mounted on a board so that it is almost vertical. A ...

Balderdash ''Balderdash'' is a board game variant of a classic parlor game known as ''Fictionary'' or "The Dictionary Game". It was created by Laura Robinson and Paul Toyne of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The game was first released in 1984 under Canada Game ...

Bingo Bingo or B-I-N-G-O may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * Bingo, a game using a printed card of numbers ** Bingo (British version), a game using a printed card of 15 numbers on three lines; most commonly played in the UK and Ireland ** Bi ...

Beer Pong Beer pong, also known as Beirut, is a drinking game in which players throw a ping pong ball across a table with the intent of landing the ball in a cup of beer on the other end. The game typically consists of opposing teams of two or more player ...

* Botticelli *

Buck buck Buck buck (also known as Johnny-on-a-Pony, or Johnny-on-the-Pony) is a children's game with several variants. One version of the game is played when "one player climbs another's back" and the climber guesses "the number of certain objects out of ...

* Cards Against Humanity *

Catch Phrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

Celebrity Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

* Charades *

Chinese whispers Chinese whispers (some Commonwealth English) or telephone (American English and Canadian English) is an internationally popular children's game. It is also called transmission chain experiments in the context of cultural evolution research, and ...

Consequences Consequence may refer to: * Logical consequence, also known as a ''consequence relation'', or ''entailment'' * In operant conditioning, a result of some behavior * Consequentialism, a theory in philosophy in which the morality of an act is determi ...

* Couch of Power * Dixit *

Drinking games Drinking games are games which involve the consumption of alcoholic beverages and often enduring the subsequent intoxication resulting from them. Evidence of the existence of drinking games dates back to antiquity. Drinking games have been banned ...

* Cranium *

(related to the commercial

) *

Game For Fame ''Game for Fame'' is a party board game where 4-16 players work with and against their teammates in a number of physical challenges to earn money. The player with the largest amount of money at the end of the game is the winner. ''Game For Fame'' w ...

Gift Trap ''Gift Trap'' is a 2006 indie party board game, invented by Nick Kellet (based on an idea inspired by his eldest daughter in 2004). ''Gift Trap'' is billed as "The hilarious gift-exchange party game". Gift Trap relies on the players' personal ...

Mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...

(also known as Vampire or Werewolf) *

Murder mystery game Murder mystery games are a genre of party games where one of the players is secretly playing a murderer, while the other players must determine who among them is the criminal. In some styles of game, the murderer may be aware that they are the ...

s * Musical statues *

Nerf War A Nerf war is an activity involving Nerf toys or other toys. Nerf wars can be a wide range of combat, from informal shootouts in offices and basements to well-organized outdoor battles with high-powered modified blasters and toys. Since foam-fir ...

Never have I ever "Never have I ever", also known as "I've never..." or "ten fingers", is a drinking game in which players take turns asking other players about things they have not done. Other players who have done this thing respond by taking a drink. A vers ...

* Outburst (game) *

* Post Office (game) * Psychiatrist *

Scattergories ''Scattergories'' is a creative-thinking category-based party game originally published by Parker Brothers in 1988. Parker Brothers was purchased by Hasbro a few years later, which published the game internationally under its Milton Bradley b ...

* Scissors *

Scruples Conscience is a cognitive process that elicits emotion and rational associations based on an individual's moral philosophy or value system. Conscience stands in contrast to elicited emotion or thought due to associations based on immediate sens ...

Seven minutes in heaven Seven minutes in heaven (or seven minutes in the closet) is a kissing party game mostly played at teenage parties. The game may also be played with a different duration. The game Two people are selected to go into a closet or other dark encl ...

* Shout about movies * Song Saga *

Spin the bottle Spin the bottle is a kissing party game commonly played by teenagers. The game was very popular among teenagers during the second half of the 20th century because it fostered "sexual" interactions between boys and girls. It has even been describe ...

* Strip games * Squeak piggy squeak *

Taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

* The priest of the parish * The Resistance * Time's Up! (game) * Treasure Hunt *

Truth or Dare Truth is the property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth 2005 In everyday language, truth is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise correspond to it, such as beliefs, ...

? and related games such as " Strip or Dare?" and "Drink or Dare?" * Trip to Jerusalem *

Trivial Pursuit ''Trivial Pursuit'' is a board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures gam ...

* Twenty questions * Utter Nonsense! * What? *

White Elephant Gift Exchange A white elephant gift exchange, Yankee swap or Dirty Santa is a party game where amusing and impractical gifts are exchanged during festivities. The goal of a white elephant gift exchange is to entertain party-goers rather than to gain a gen ...

Would you rather "Would you rather" is a conversation or party game that poses a dilemma in the form of a question beginning with "would you rather". The dilemma can be between two supposedly good options such as "Would you rather have the power of flight or the ...

* Zip and bong * Zip Zap Zop * Zoom Schwartz Profigliano

Children's party games

Traditional children's party games include: *

Forty forty Forty Forty (also known as 123 Home, Forty Forty In, Mob Mob, flicky 123 and other names) is a children's game combining elements of the games "It" and Hide and seek. One player is "on", or "It", and they must capture the other players by 'spying ...

* Blind man's bluff *

The Farmer in the Dell "The Farmer in the Dell" is a singing game, nursery rhyme, and children's song. It probably originated in Germany and was brought to America by immigrants.I. Opie and P. Opie, ''The Singing Game'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985), pp. 183� ...

Hunt the Thimble Hunt the thimble (also known as hide the thimble or hide the handkerchief in both the US and the UK) is a party game in which one person hides a thimble, or other small object, somewhere in the room, while all other players wait outside. (In some ...

(or slipper, or other object) *

Hide and seek Hide-and-seek (sometimes known as hide-and-go-seek) is a popular children's game in which at least two players (usually at least three) conceal themselves in a set environment, to be found by one or more seekers. The game is played by one chose ...

Musical chairs Musical chairs, also known as Trip to Jerusalem, is a game of elimination involving players, chairs, and music. It is a staple of many parties worldwide. Gameplay A set of chairs is arranged with one fewer chair than the number of players ...

* Musical statues *

Oranges and Lemons "Oranges and Lemons" is a traditional English nursery rhyme, folksong, and singing game which refers to the bells of several churches, all within or close to the City of London. It is listed in the Roud Folk Song Index as No 13190. The earlies ...

Pass the parcel Pass the parcel is a classic British party game in which a parcel is passed from one person to another. In preparation for the game, a prize (or "gift") is wrapped in a large number of layers of wrapping paper or reusable fabric bags of different ...

* Pin the tail on the donkey *

Sardines "Sardine" and "pilchard" are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring family Clupeidae. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century, a folk etymology says it comes from the Ital ...

Piñata A piñata (, ) is a container, often made of papier-mâché, pottery, or cloth, that is decorated, filled with candy, and then broken as part of a celebration. Piñatas are commonly associated with Mexico. The idea of breaking a container fille ...

* Poor pussy * Wink murder *

Duck, duck, goose Duck, Duck, Goose (also called Duck, Duck, Gray Duck or Daisy in the Dell or Quail, Quail, Quarry sometimes in New Jersey and New England) is a traditional children's game often first learned in preschool or kindergarten. The game may be later ...

* Sleeping lions *

Mother May I? Mother May I? is a children's game, also known as "Captain May I?" and "Father May I?". Objective, rules, and general gameplay One player plays the "mother", "father" or "captain". The other players are the "children" or "crewmembers". To beg ...

Rock paper scissors Rock paper scissors (also known by other orderings of the three items, with "rock" sometimes being called "stone," or as Rochambeau, roshambo, or ro-sham-bo) is a hand game originating in China, usually played between two people, in which each p ...

Twister Twister may refer to: Weather * Tornado Aviation * Pipistrel Twister, a Slovenian ultralight trike * Silence Twister, a German homebuilt aircraft design * Wings of Change Twister, an Austrian paraglider design Entertainment * ''Twister'' (1989 ...

Video games

Party video games are commonly designed as a collection of simple

minigames A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements, and is often smaller or more simplistic, than th ...

, designed to be intuitive and easy to control, and allow for competition between many players. Some, like the ''

Mario Party is a party video game series featuring characters from the ''Mario'' franchise in which up to four local players or computer-controlled characters (called " CPUs") compete in a board game interspersed with minigames. The games are currentl ...

'' series and '' Sonic Shuffle'', are played on simulated game boards. ''

BYTE The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable uni ...

'' in 1981 called the

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

game '' Olympic Decathlon'' (1980) "the first true party game for microcomputers". Another early example is Starpath's '' Party Mix''.

Large group games

Large group games are played by many participants and are often used as planned activities in structured environments, especially as educational activities. They are similar to party games, except that large group games are typically planned for larger numbers (perhaps even hundreds) as part of an event. Large group games can take a variety of forms and formats. Some are physical games such as

. Some are modeled on the TV

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...

format, offering points for teams who can answer questions the fastest. Trivia-type games might have questions posed from the stage and each tabletop writing their answers to be collected and scored. Others may take on some of the qualities of Open Space environments and allow participants to wander in a less structured way. Some are modeled on TV reality shows such as ''

The Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in forei ...

'' or '' Survivor''. Participants compete as individuals or in teams to complete challenges that move them towards victory in a competition spanning the entire party. The TV shows on which such parties are based are normally competitions involving elimination, so such events require significant planning to avoid exclusion or boredom. There is also now electronic party games such as Cards Against Humanity or Appyshot App, that can be played on the phone or computer. Group

board games Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a co ...

can take on the design of small groups of players, seated at tables of 4 to 6 people, who work together on a problem. There can be large numbers of people (and thus many tables). If properly designed, these scalable exercises can be used for small groups (12 to 20 people) as well as very large events (600 people or 100 tables). Generally, for these larger exercises,

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradit ...

projectors, large screens and microphones are required for instructions and communications. A search for team building events can turn up millions of links to exercises, companies, and various offerings ranging from paintball competitions to fire walks to outdoor climbing or whitewater adventures. The impact on actual team building can vary widely - a golf outing for corporate executives does not generally accomplish much in the way of organizational improvement while a business simulation might be directly focused on linking the play of the game to issues for corporate improvement. Holiday groups use a gift exchange party game such as

white elephant gift exchange A white elephant gift exchange, Yankee swap or Dirty Santa is a party game where amusing and impractical gifts are exchanged during festivities. The goal of a white elephant gift exchange is to entertain party-goers rather than to gain a gen ...

for socializing and sharing gifts. New online party games, based on these holiday games, allow larger groups to gather on the internet to save travel expenses.

References