Some people are into loud parties strewn with booze. Other people like parties with lots of close dancing. As for me, my ideal party is a small group of geeky friends and a collection of fun games. Today, I will share a list of my go-to’s.

My Top 5 Party Games:

5.) Jenga

Jenga is an easy game that people can jump into no matter when they show up. There are only two rules: “Don’t knock over the tower” and “Don’t take bricks off the top.” Despite its simplicity, it can become incredibly intense the longer the game runs.

4.) Imaginiff

This game can be really fun for groups who already know each other. Each member of the party has their name written on the game board. As the dice get rolled, a marker lands on each name. Each turn, the current player draws a card and reads through the multiple choice list, calling everyone to “Imagine if [your friend’s name here] was a….”



From there, all players vote with numbered cards what option they think suits the friend listed. The goal? To guess what the majority vote will be and play it. Every player who is in the majority gets to move ahead on the board.

This game is a really entertaining way to get to know your friends a little better. I would not, however, recommend playing it with complete strangers. It’s far more fun and entertaining when everyone knows a little about each other.

3.) Quelf

This is the craziest, most random game I have ever played. I love it, however, it must be played with the right people for it to be fun. It is similar to Cranium, but with lots of really silly added rules and challenges. If your friends have a great sense of humor, love to be goofy, and aren’t easily embarrassed, you will probably have a ton of fun with this! Quelf involves acting, singing, trivia, drawing, word-oriented questions, memory games, and more. Not to mention, all of the hilarious penalties that you can encur. 

2.) Apples to Apples

This is a great game to kick off a party with because of the fun bantering and discussions it can start. The basis is simple: there is a red deck (people/places/objects/actions) and a green deck (descriptive words). At the start of each round, a green card is played. Then, each player takes a red card from their deck that they think goes with (or better yet, contrasts!) the green card on the table. The result is many laughs from matchups such as….

“Imaginary” = “My First Kiss”

“Friendly” = “Hand Grenades”

“Terrifying” = “Women”

At the end of each round, a winning card is chosen. The green card it was matched with is awarded to the winning player. The first player to collect the predetermined number of green cards wins!

1.) Bring Your Own Book

This is my new favorite game. It is similar to Apples to Apples, in that the main basis is goofy description match ups. Rather than finding your match-ups in a deck of cards, however, you find them in books. First, the player who is judging the round draws out a prompt card. The cards say things like “Something that will get you fired” or “The meaning of life” or “something you’d overhear at a yard sale”. Then, all players furiously flip through their books to find a phrase or a piece of a sentence to take out of context. The judge picks whichever one they enjoy the most, and the winning player is awarded the prompt card. The first player to collect a predetermined number of cards wins!