Party Games

Tips for Successful Game Leader

Get attention of the group.

Stand where everyone can see you.
Use the other adults as helpers.
Groups will cooperate better if they know what is going to happen.
Plan your activities to move easily from game to game. For instance, if everyone
is seated, then play two or three "sitting" games.
Stop the game before interest lags.
Arrange competing teams so they are equal in strength and skill.
Change the activity before the group gets bored.
Change the rules to meet the situation.
If there is something missing, improvise.
Learn to use whatever materials are available.

Treasure Hunt
Divide kids into teams 1through 4 depending on how many are at the party. Make up
clues and scatter them all over the house (and outside, too, if weather permits). Each
clue leads to the next and at the end of the trail is a treasure for the team, for example,
food, party favors, or prizes.
Hint: Color code clues so teams only find their own clues. Time the hunt and see which
team gets done first.

String Treasure Hunt

Take colored strings and wind them all over your property, inside and outside. Up the
stairs and then back down. Over and under furniture, beds and chairs. Teams must wind
up their roll of string to find the treasure at the end of the roll.

Scavenger Hunts
Scavenger hunts are a lot of fun, there are many variations on the idea. The key to a
successful scavenger hunt is to think about who the players will be and make clues and
items that will appeal to them. After you decide what type of scavenger hunt you will
have, you need to spend some time coming up with a list of items to collect or activities
to complete. Here are some fun ideas:
Video Scavenger Hunt - Players use video recorders to record themselves doing the silly
things on their list. When all the groups get back together, they watch the tapes.
Picture Scavenger Hunt - Players use Polaroid cameras to photograph the crazy things
on their list.
Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt - Players go out on foot in your immediate neighborhood
to follow the instructions on their list.

Mall Scavenger Hunt - Players are set loose in the mall to follow the instructions on their
list. (This works well with the camera!)

Mail Call
This game is usually played as an icebreaker. Have your group sit in a circle so there are
no gaps. (It may be helpful to use chairs if possible.) Someone stands in the center of the
circle and says, "Mail Call for everyone who is wearing red." Then all the people who have
red on get up and switch chairs with someone else who had red on. Players cannot sit in
a chair immediately beside them or in their own chair. The object is for the person in the
middle to get a chair before someone else can. It's similar to musical chairs.
Note: The person in the middle does not have to be wearing red. Be creative, some other
examples you can use are: "Mail Call for everyone who ... has a dog, has a sister, likes to
eat pizza, drove in a car to get here, wears braces, hates math." The list is endless!

Honey I Love You

Honey I Love You, is another icebreaker that's fun to play. Your group should be sitting in
a circle again with one person in the middle. The person in the middle can go to anyone
in the circle and say "Honey I love you, won't you give me a smile?" The person who was
asked the question has to answer back "Honey I love you, but I just can't smile" (without
smiling.) The person in the middle can do anything to the other person to make them
smile except touch them. You have to be the judge as to what you call smiling.

Back to Back
Have youth start in groups of two or three people. Have the pair (or trio) sit on the floor
back to back. The youth need to bend their knees and link elbows. On the count of three
they try to stand up. It may take a few tries before the group is successful!
Next have the individual groups combine to make a larger circle. Combine circles until
you have everyone work together to stand at the same time.

Guess What?
This is another relay game. Divide the group evenly. Have the first person from each
team run across the room to a paper sack (each team has a sack.) In the bag are a
bunch of different foods wrapped in tin foil. Each person has to take a food article and eat
it - no matter what it is! Then run back to their team and let the next person go. Some
food ideas: candy, liverwurst, pizza, or onions. Warn everyone that they may be in for a
surprise! Check with the youth about food allergies before playing this game.

Head to Toe
This is also played as an icebreaker. Have your group split itself into pairs of twos. Have
one partner be "A" and one partner be "B." Group "A" forms an inner circle and walks
clockwise. Group "B" would make an outer circle walking counter-clockwise. The leader
would put some music on and when he turns it off, the group would stop and have to do
what he/she says. The leader, when the music is stopped, would then have to put his/her
head to his/her partner's toe. You eliminate couples when they are the last ones to do
what you told them to do.

Note: Do different things like "nose to knee" and "cheek to cheek."

Oranges 1
Each team is lined up with one orange per team. The object is to pass the orange to the
end of the line by using only your neck and chin. If you drop the orange, you have to
start back at the beginning.

Oranges 2
This is a fun race game. You will need two oranges and one pair of old pantyhose for each
racer. Place one orange into the leg of the pantyhose and then tie the pantyhose around
the waist of the racer. The orange leg should hang down towards the ground and swing
between their legs. Using the "third leg" players tap the second orange on the floor in
front of them and race to the finish line. The first player and orange to cross the finish
line wins.
Note.- This is a great game for a tournament. Hold practice runs, then elimination races,
and finally a championship race.

Guess the Phrase

You need two teams for this game with an adult serving as referee. Before the party,
think of phrases, TV shows, movies, etc. that your group would easily guess and put
them on index cards. You may want to follow a theme (example: Christmas or summer
vacation) or just say "anything goes!" Team members take a turn drawing and guessing.
Everyone on the team must take a turn drawing! The team that draws has an opportunity
to guess the phrase and receives a point if guessed correctly within 1 1/2 minutes. (You
may want to use a kitchen timer or use a timer from another game you already have.)
The other team does the same. Drawings must be completed without any words or
gestures. Teams alternate back and forth guessing and drawing.
If the phrase isn't guessed within the time limit; the other team gets a free guess and
can steal the point.
Note: A fun twist on this game is to allow your teams to think up the words or phrases to
be drawn. Each team makes up the clues that the other team has to draw and guess.

Wink'Um
Have your group sit in a circle. With a deck of cards, have each player take a card until
everyone has one. If there are seven players, take seven cards from the deck then pass
those around. Make sure one of the cards is an ace of spades. The person who receives
that ace secretly winks at the other players. If you are winked at, you say, "I'm dead"
and throw your card in the middle. The object is to guess who has the ace of spades. If
you think you know, state that you want to guess. If you're wrong, you forfeit and die - if
you are right, you win.

Around the Table Ping Pong

For this game you need a ping pong table, two paddles, one ball, and from 5-15 people.
Everyone is spread out around the table, and the two people on either end have the

paddles. One person serves, drops the paddle on the table and moves in a clockwise
direction around the table. The person on his left moves in and picks up the paddle to
return the ball. Everyone gets a chance to hit the ball, and really has to move fast!
Everyone is allowed two misses and then they are out. When there are two people
remaining, they must hit the ball, place the paddle down, turn around, pick up the
paddle, and return the ball, until one of them misses and is out.

King Elephant
This is a game of memory and laughter! Here's how it works. Players sit in a circle and
everyone decides what animal they will be and what hand signal they will use to reflect
that animal. For example; someone may be a worm and wiggle their finger or be a duck
and bend their arms and "flap them" like wings. One person is King Elephant and their
signal is holding their arm out in front of their face like an elephant trunk. King Elephant
is the "head" of the circle and there should be an empty chair or empty space between
him/her and the next player, who is the back of the circle.
When play begins King Elephant starts. King Elephant makes his/her signal and then
another player's animal signal. That player then has to make their signal and another
player's animal signal. Play continues uninterrupted until someone goofs! The player who
goofs goes to the back of the play circle and all other players move up.
The goal of each player is to become King Elephant. This can happen when King Elephant
makes a mistake and has to go to the end of the line. King Elephant then has to become
whatever animal the new King Elephant was and use this new signal. The new King
Elephant has to remember that they are now the King Elephant signal. It gets confusing
and that is part of the fun!
Note: It may be a good idea to set a time limit on play or just let the group keep playing
until you see that the interest and enthusiasm is lagging.

Hand Pat
Players form a circle, cross arms, and lay their hands flat on the table or floor. Someone
is picked to start the pat and each hand pats the table in its turn. If someone pats their
hand twice, then the direction changes and the patting goes the other way. Remember,
your arms are crossed so you have to watch carefully and wait your turn to pat! If
someone lifts their hand to pat when it is not their turn, or does not pat when it is their
turn, that hand is out. Play continues until there is only one hand that has not made a
mistake left in the circle.

Hi, Larry
Players sit in a circle and say the following to one another: Player A, "Hi, Larry." Player B,
"What, Larry?" Player A, "Tell, Larry."
This short dialogue goes around and around the circle and only changes if someone
makes a mistake. After a player makes one mistake they become "One Dot." After the
player makes a second mistake, they become "Two Dot." A third mistake and the player
is out. Players must remember what level everyone is so they can call them the right
name. For example, your dialogue might be, "Hi, Larry. What, One dot? Tell, Two Dot." Or
any variation! The game gets going fast and is very fun!

Coin Toss/Hand Squeeze Race

Players form two teams. The teams sit on the floor in lines, facing each other. At the head
of the lines, the "referee" sits between the two players with a coin. At the end of the line,
a small ball or other item sits in the middle of the last two players. All the team members
hold hands and close their eyes. The only team members who can keep their eyes open
are the two at the head of the lines. They watch as the referee flips the coin. If it lands
tails, nothing happens. If it lands heads, the hand squeezing begins! It is a race to
squeeze hands quick enough so that your team member at the end of the line can be the
first to grab the ball or other item in the middle. The winning team gets to rotate their
players down one. The game is over when a team has rotated all their players through
the line.

All Tied Up
The group is going to get "all tied up" and try to get untied. Stand in a circle close to
each other and have the youth place their hands in the center of the group. Grab the
hand of someone across the circle. Make sure that youth are not holding both hands of
the same person. It might take some time to do some hand switching to make this work
right.
Without letting go of each other's hands try to untie the mess they created. Be careful
not to let youth twist someone's arm too much. Allow youth to let go long enough to keep
from hurting each other. When they are all untied you will end up with one large circle or
two smaller circles.

Airplane Bonko
Any number can play. Have 4-6 kids per table. Designate a head table and number the
rest 2, 3, 4, etc. Materials: pair of dice for every table, wrapped packages that will be
given away at the end of the game, a bell, buzzer or whistle to get attention, and pads of
paper and pencils for every player.
Play begins with a player rolling dice (2) at each table. Each player tries to roll "1's" - a
player earns 1 point for every "1" that he rolls on either dice. If the player rolls double
"1's" on the first round, he receives 25 points and gets to pick a package from the prize
table. If he rolls doubles of any other number, he receives 5 points. If he rolls double
"3's" at any time, he loses all points and his turn. Player one keeps rolling until he has
rolled no points or counters on the dice. Play continues with each player taking his/her
turn and adding up points until a player at the head table reaches 50 points, blows a
whistle, and stops the round.
The two top scoring players at all tables (except the head table) rotate up a table - the 2
low players stay at the table. The top scores at the head table stay there and the losing 2
players go down to a lower table.
Top table signals when ready to begin Round 2.
Second Round-All players try to roll "2's."
Third Round - All players try to roll "4's." (Skip "3's" because three's cause a player to
lose a turn and all their points.)

Continue to go up to "6's" and back down to "1's" to the end of the game.
As play continues, packages will be removed from the prize table so players will be taking
gifts away from players who have already taken a prize earlier. Whoever has a package at
the end of the last round unwraps the prize and gets to keep it.

the Cup Game

(aka "Cupline")
For 4 or more persons, the more the better.
(The game can technically be played with as few as 1 or two, but is not
nearly as fun)
Warning: This game can be repeated for hours on end, possibly depriving
partygoers of sleep and nourishment.
Equipment:
1) Table, or other flat playing surface, which can have people sitting all around
it. It may be larger than such, but not smaller. If there are not enough people to
sit all around it, the table must be situated so that all players can stand and walk
around it.
2) Plastic cups. At least as many as there are players, but preferably many
more.
Cup Specifications:
Cups are optimally between 4 and 5 inches tall. Diameter at the bottom is
optimally 2 inches wide, and at the mouth 3 inches. Smaller or larger cups can
be used as well.
Setup Option A)If the table is the correct size and provides enough seating for
all players to be seated around it and be closely adjacent to each other, playes
shall (obviously) sit around the table.

Setup Option B)If the table or playing surface is too large for all players to be
situated directly next to each other in a full circle, players stand adjacent to
each other along the table.
Each player begins with one cup in front of them, upside down. (For those who
are unclear, where there to be any liquid in the cup, placing it upside down
would cause the liquid to spill on the playing surface.) Extra cups should be
stacked or set next to each other to the left of the leftmost player with a few
scattered near other players(with Option A), or in the middle of the table (with
Option B).
Play
There is a rhythm to this game, and all players must perform the motions in
unison. When just learning, it may go slowly.
All players do the following...
For each statement, one net action is performed. This action is indicated in all
capital letters.
CLAP
CLAP
TAP the top of the cup with your Right hand
TAP again with your Left hand
TAP once more with your Right hand
CLAP again
GRAB the bottom (currently up) of the cup with your right hand
Pick the cup up off the table and MOVE it in front of you (probably but not
necessarily to the right) and let go of it, still upside down.
CLAP
With your right hand, GRAB the cup from the left. To do this, your hand will
likely feel backwards and your elbow stick out.
With cup in hand, move your right hand back to its "natural" orientation, thus
turning the cup right-side-up and off the table, and TAP the open end of the cup
to your open left palm (be sure your left palm is ready and waiting a little ways
above and to the left of the cup). Make sure your right hand holds on to the cup.
Bring the cup back down to HIT the table, where it should now rest, right side
up, still held by your right hand.
Lift the cup once more, in a similar motion to the previous grab, this time
extending the bottom of the cup toward your left palm. SWITCH hands by
grabbing the nearby bottom of the cup with your left palm.

Keep the cup, now grasped by its bottom by your left hand, in the air for the
time being. Move your right hand leftward, and use it to SLAP the table.
Leaving your right hand where it is, bring your left hand, with the cup, cross
above your right hand, set the cup down near the person to your right, and
RELEASE it.

Now you know all the motions needed for cupline. Try it a few times to get the
hang of it.
The motions are done to a very specific rhythm, as follows...
There is a steady beat to the Cup Game. Imagine a metronome in your head.
Each of the following lines counts as one beat of the metronome. If there are
two actions in a line, they should take equal amounts of time to perform.
CLAP
CLAP
TAP, TAP
TAP
CLAP
GRAB
MOVE
<wait one beat with no action>
CLAP
GRAB
TAP
HIT
SWITCH
SLAP
RELEASE
<wait one beat with no action>
Repeat with the cup just passed to you from the person on your left.
Keep going indefinitely.
Though it personally annoys me, a person once suggested that the rhythm
sounds like "This Old Man." To get a better idea of the rhythm, you might hum
it in your head as you try to figure out the rhythm...
<i.e. This Old Ma-a-an, he played one... he played knick knack on my thumb>

with each syllable (including the tackily extended ma-a-an, standing for one of
the aforementioned motions.

Once you have the hang of the motions, play with the whole group of people.
All players should make the motions in unison, and there should be a nice
rhythm coming from the sounds of the claps, slaps, hits, etc. This rhythm will
mostly likely get faster naturally, until people can't keep up and mess up. In this
case, they either get out of the line or try to pick up with the rest of the group.
Variations:
A -- Sitting around a table) If there are enough players to comfortably sit near
each other around a table, play progresses nicely, with a continuous stream of
cups passed in a circle. If someone manages to lose their cup, extras should be
nearby in the middle of the table.
B -- At a table that is too big) Players stand next to each other and begin play. If
there are no extra cups, the player on the far left will be left without a cup for
the second round, and must therefore walk briskly / run to the far right of the
group, where he resumes with the cup left by the far right person. Play
continues as such, resembling the train tracks in Gumby. If there are extra cups,
a stack may be available for the person at the far left, so he does not have to run
off right away (or cups may somehow be shuttled back to the person at the far
left).
I'm sure this seems horribly confusing. If there's some way I can clear it up, or
if you need help, send a message to the address below.
Enjoy!

Balloon Tower
For a large number of people, in teams
Equipment: About 20 uninflated balloons per person, Plenty of tape

Optional:Stopwatch or timer, Tape Measure

This is a great game both for teambuilding and just for fun.
Separate players into, preferably, 3 or more teams of about 3-10 persons each.
Each team is given a pile of uninflated balloons and a few rolls of clear tape.
Instruct the teams that they are to build the largest free-standing balloon tower
possible in a certain amount of time. Give no further restrictions on the game.
Start the clock, and everyone begins building the towers.
When time is called, look at the towers (measure if necessary) and declare
whose tower is tallest.
If at a leadership retreat, you can go on in detail about what went well and what
didn't, and shock (and slightly annoy) the players by suggesting that it would
not have been against the rules to combine resources with each other to make a
much taller tower.
Note on location: Be advised that carpet works quite well, but surfaces like
concrete tend to pop the balloons. Experiment ahead of time to make sure the
surface is satisfactory.
Enjoy!
Party Games Home

Guess Whose Resolution

Ingredients

Pieces of Paper
Hat
Scissors

To Play

Cut out slips of paper.

Make each of your guests write down 5 resolutions, each on its own slip of paper.
Pull one slip of paper out of a hat at a time and read it out loud.
Everyone has to write down who they think made each resolution. At the end of
the readings, the person who guessed the most correctly wins a prize. Read
some of the wrong guesses out loud for fun!

Find Your Prediction

Ingredients
Miscellaneous Items
Wrapping Paper

To Play

Make up some phony generic predictions like, "In the New Year you will shave
your head", and attach it to a corresponding item (a wig).
Hide predictions with their corresponding items.
Tell guests that predictions are hidden around the room with corresponding
wrapped items, and that they each need to find one, read it aloud to the group,
and open it.

Who Wins a Prize?

Ingredients

Just Add Guests!

To Play

Every 10 minutes or so (or longer, depending on how long the party is supposed
to last) call out a question that relates to guests at the party, such as "Who's the

youngest here?" "Who brought the best food?" "Who said the last word?" "Who
laughs the loudest?" "Who's sitting next to the hostess?" and so on.
Award a prize each time you call out a random question. Soon lots of people will
have prizes- and they won't have to stay for the entire party, or worry about
missing all of the games because they are party hopping.

Prizes

Champagne or Wine
Calendars
Truffles or Fancy Chocolates
Stationary
Poker Chips

Skeletons In Your Purse

or
Scavenger Hunt

Search your purse to see if you have any of the following items I am
going to ask for. If you do, lay them out in front of you and give
yourself the points indicated beside each number.

Give yourself
Gum or breath mints

5 points

Hand cream

10 points

Sewing kit

15 points

A piece of fruit

30 points

Paid utility receipt

10 points

Sunglasses

5 points

Lottery ticket

15 points

Dog biscuit

25 points

Tissues

15 points

Playing Cards

15 points

Tea bag

30 points

A package of sugar

20 points

Driver's license

5 points

Q tips

25 points

Flashlight

15 points

Credit cards

5 points for each one

Add up your points. Does any one have 250 points? Find out who
has the highest score and they are the winner.

Variation on game:

you can make items

specific such as items relating to a baby, a bride, and
person, etc.

Other items you can use for the

game:

Calculator

Tape Measure

Matches

Chap stick

Date book

Check book

Aspirin

Cough Drops

Brush

Yarn

Dental Floss

Movie Stub

Super Glue

Video card rental

Coupons

Vitamins

Mirror

Reading book

Pink lipstick

Band-aid

Moist towelette wipes

Blue eye makeup