Image credit to Newcomers Club This is part 3 of 3 of the party games series. Let me know if you like this posting style. While Pictionary has an actual card game version, it can also be played very easily at home with just pencil and paper. Pictionary Suggested # of Players: 2+ 1) Find a list of words to choose from or designate someone to choose the words. The Heads-Up game app works well if you need a list. 2) One person starts off as the drawer and tries to draw a given word/phrase for the audience to guess. If an audience member guesses correctly, they get to draw the next word. This continues indefinitely. Pictionary can also be played as a team game as well. Divide your group into teams and have each team play for a set amount of time (i.e. 1 minute). The team that can get the most words correct wins! Another Variation Telephone Pictionary - If you know how to play the game Telephone*, this game is similar but with Pictionary.
Here is a video example from the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon playing normal Pictionary with Lena Dunham and J.K. Simmons. Image credit to Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon *Telephone is a game where players sit around a circle. The first person in the circle whispers a message to the ear of the next person in the line, and so on, until the last player is reached, who announces the message to the entire group. (Wikipedia)
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Image credit to Chicken Charades This is part 2 of 3 of the party games series. Charades Suggested # of Players: 3+ 1) Select someone who is going to start first. They have to think of a noun or verb and try to act it out for the audience. The audience then tries to guess what the person originally thought of. It is best to choose a category beforehand.
2) Once someone guesses right, they go next. This can continue indefinitely. It can also be a team game by assigning players into teams and having a designated judge who provides the words. Each team will get 1 minute to get as many correct as possible. Different Ways to Play! Not only the original and team versions, Charades can be also be played in other ways! Telephone Charades - If you know how to play the game Telephone*, this game is similar but with Charades.
Word Charades - This version is where instead of acting out a word, you try to describe it with only words. You cannot say the word/phrase itself or spell out the word/phrase. This one creates quite the discussion! Say It Backwards Charades - Taking "Word Charades" to another level, "Say It Backwards Charades" has the person on stage try to sound a word/phrase backwards. The audience then tries to guess what the original word/phrase was. This makes a great silly game for all ages! Here is a video to clarify the rules of normal Charades. Image credit to WikiHow on how to play Charades *Telephone is a game where players sit around a circle. The first person in the circle whispers a message to the ear of the next person in the line, and so on, until the last player is reached, who announces the message to the entire group. (Wikipedia)
Image credit to Marines Sometimes we find ourselves bored at parties or social gatherings. Other times we just want to find a good icebreaker to get to know everyone better. What if you didn't bring anything? What if no one brought games? I'm going to be showcasing 3 party games/team building games in the next 3 posts that I've played during staff training sessions. All you need to play are friends! Human Knot Suggested # of People: 3 - 8 1) Everyone stands around in a circle 2) Everyone then reaches out their left hand and grabs someone else's hand, typically across from them. Do this for the right hand as well.
Now you have a human knot! 3) The goal of the game is to untangle the knot. The group must work together and communicate effectively to figure out how to untie itself. Challenge Mode If the original game was too easy for your team, try these challenges below! Try doing the Human Knot:
Image credit to U.S. Army Check out this video to clarify any of the rules for The Human Knot
XOXO, What better game than to do Ultimate Tic Tac Toe on Valentine's Day! Hope you are enjoying this year's valentine with someone special. Everyone here probably knows how to play the original Tic Tac Toe game, but as a reminder, the goal of the game is to get three in a row to win. Cat's game after cat's game, Tic Tac Toe can get boring and repetitive. Ultimate Tic Tac Toe takes Tic Tac Toe to a whole other level. It involves much more strategy and thinking ahead which is why I love this game. I have included this game on the blog because of its portability and easy setup. All you need is a pencil and paper. How to Play Suggested # of Players: 2 1) First, draw the Ultimate Tic Tac Toe Board. The board is 9 tic tac toe "hashtags" within a larger tic tac toe "hashtag." Let's call the smaller Tic Tac Toe games their own sections. 2) Most of the rules from Tic Tac Toe are the same. X starts first anywhere. Once you get 3 in a row in a section, you win that section. Win 3 sections in a row on the bigger Tic Tac Toe board, you win the game. 3) Now the twist: Your opponent decides which section you go to to make your next move and vise versa. Let me explain. Wherever your opponent plays in a section, you go to the section relative to the board. For example, if they pick the top right corner of a section, you would make your next move in the top right section of the board. 4) Additional Rules
Happy Valentine's and happy playing!
Deal or no deal? This was the famous phrase that made the TV show so captivating. Deal or No Deal was well known for those who lived in the 2000s, and oddly made its way into arcades as well. Whether you watched to see if the contestant won a million, lost it all at the end, or some ... other reason, you knew the anticipation felt moments before each case was opened. Imagine if you could spice up your game nights with this classic, right now. Grab a standard deck of cards, because I will be showing you the original game I came up with during my free time, inspired by Deal or No Deal. How to Play Suggested # of Players: 2-6 (Players can pair up into teams) 1) Take out one of each card, Ace through King, from the deck. They could be from any suit, but I've decided to use Spades in my example. 2) Assign a contestant for the round. All other players are bankers. If you like the TV show Shark Tank, this adds a similar feel, with multiple investors and the contestant getting a chance to pick the best offer. Credit to notthelatimes 3) Shuffle the deck, and have the contestant pick a card, keeping it face down! This card is going to be the contestant's card (case). Then arrange the other cards in a 3x4 face down display in front of the contestant. 4) Like Deal or No Deal, the contestant takes turns revealing cards from the board while the banker(s) makes offers. Here is an Example Game
Continue reading for scoring and how to make offers below. Note: Once scoring is completed, the role of contestant is rotated clock-wise. 4) Points, Offers, and Scoring. This game runs on a 1 to 13 point system.
*Unlike Deal or No Deal, if the contestant rejects all offers and all cards on the board have been revealed, the player will only get to add half their card's value to their score, rounded down (For balancing game play). 6) Play! With all players, agree on the number of points to win. For time estimates, playing to 15 points usually takes my friends and I about 10-20 minutes depending on how many people play. 7) Strategy. Here are some helpful tips that I've put together after testing this game.
Now the choice is up to you: Deal ... or No Deal? Here is a video from the TV show "Deal or No Deal" to give you more of a gist for this game. Please DO comment any balancing issues or suggestions for this game. Thanks for reading! Hey everyone! I want to keep you guys updated on future blog posts I am thinking about DIYing here on the blog.
Feel free to leave a comment or suggestion on what games I could do next! Mafia is a great game to play whenever you meet up with friends or find yourself bored at a party! What is this game about? Here is a little backstory. You live in a small town where there are mafia trying to take over! It is up to the townspeople to figure out who a part of the mafia and stop them, while the mafia tries to eliminate all of the townspeople without being discovered. How to Play Suggested # of Players: 5-10 Mafia is a game with day and night phases. The day phase is when the town suspects someone to be a part of the mafia and votes to lynch that player, while the night phase is when the mafia secretly 'kills' and eliminates a civilian. My favorite part of this game is how the players can get really creative with their alibis and the storytelling of a moderator. Also note that there are many different ways to play Mafia. This is just one of the ways to play. 1) Assign a moderator. This person is going to be keeping track of what happens during the night phase. They are neither townsfolk nor mafia, and narrate to move the game along. Moderator Narration for Day and Night phases Night Phase: 1. Tell everyone to go to sleep (Players close their eyes) 2. Wake up each role, asking what they want to do for their role, and have them go back to sleep, starting from Mafia, then Detective, and finally Doctor. Day Phase: 1. Tell everyone to wake up 2. Explain who 'died' last night. You can have the victim reveal their role (or not if your group wants a challenge). This is where you can include a silly story! For example, "Teletubbies trampled the victim last night". 3. Have the remaining players discuss who they want to lynch and take a vote. The player with a majority vote gets lynched and eliminated. Repeat this cycle until either the Town eliminates the mafia, or if there is the same number of mafia as there are townspeople. 2) Assign hidden roles to each player. The most common way to do this part is by using a standard 52 deck of cards and assigning roles to the card values (i.e. K is Detective), then dealing them face down out to each player. Here are the basic roles in Mafia and what they each do.
Now, you may be wondering: how many of each role should there be for my group? Below is my recommendation for groups ranging from 5 to 10 people. This is from my experience playing the game, though you may find better combinations.
Variations There are many different variations for the game, so I want to share one of the variations my friends and I add to spice things up. We love to include a role called the 'Jester' into our games. The person assigned this role tries to get lynched in order to win. This really messes up the town because you never know who could be the Jester. Good luck and have fun! Here is another explanation to Mafia by HigaTV, with a few demonstration games What a game of mafia might look like. Credit to Wikimedia Commons Note: One Night Ultimate Werewolf is very similar to mafia, but with different roles.
You can also play mafia without cards by having the moderator tap players instead to assign roles during the 1st night phase. |
The Author
Hi, I'm Michael and I write about a variety of board/card games that you can easily pick up and play. Archives
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