Some of the best nights we’ve ever had involve friends, games and a couple of drinks. We have games nights often, especially around holidays, so we wanted to share our top six favourite games – some of which have definitely flown under the radar.
1) Telestrations
What the game is all about: We love this game because it’s like broken telephone with doodles. It can also get pretty hilarious. It’s PG, but if your group gets a little wild like ours did it can totally go off the rails. This game is also super simple, so if the drinks are flowing and no one has played before it’s really easy to get started. Each player is designated a word from the Telestration cards by the roll of a die. All players, all at the same time, write their word on the first page of their book, and a sketch of that word on the second page and pass their sketch to the next player, who must guess what’s been drawn. Players then simultaneously pass their guess — which hopefully matches the original word (often it doesn’t) — to the next player who must try to draw the word they see — and so on.
Players Needed: 3-6 (we had too many people so we teamed up and it was even more fun)
Perfect for: smaller groups, fam jams, those who can’t draw good.
Awesome, I want it: You can grab a copy of this game here.
2) Bad People (NSFW)
What the game is all about: Ok, we’re obsessed with this game right now. We’re even gonna say it might be the best party game ever. Bold claim, right? Bad People is a game of voting. Each person playing takes a turn being the Dictator for the round (similar to Cards Against Humanity) and draws a hilarious question card, like “Who’s Most Likely to Secretly Run a Meth Lab?” The Dictator silently casts their vote (and they can’t vote for themselves) and all of the other players vote for who they think the Dictator chose. If you’re positive you’ve picked the right person you can use a Double Down card (everyone gets one) to get double the points – but if you’re wrong you lose the card for the rest of the game. With cards like “Most Likely to Have Sex with Their Cousin” and Most Likely to Randomly FaceTime me Naked at 2am” – all bets are off.
Players Needed: 3-10
Perfect for: a close-knit group of friends who know each other’s dirty secrets, those who can take a joke, people who enjoy making fun of others
Awesome, I want it: You can grab a copy of this game here
3) Personally Incorrect (NSFW)
What the game is all about: The premise of this game is very similar to Cards Against Humanity. Each person gets seven cards and there’s a Dictator who runs each round. What makes this game different from CAH is that the question card comes with two blanks – one to insert a name from someone in the group and the other is for the card the players hand in. For example: “Insert Name” says he/she always buys enough ________ to share with his/her family around the holidays. Let the shenanigans begin.
Perfect for: those who have played Cards Against Humanity one too many times, anyone with an off-colour sense of humour (if you think Butt Crack Lint is funny, then this game is for you).
Awesome, I want it: You can grab a copy of this game here
4) Werewolf
What the game is all about: Werewolf is a bluffing game. This 75-second video breaks it down the game well, but here’s our recap. Assemble a group – an odd number of people is best. There should be an equal number of cards to the people playing – each person gets one and should look at it, but not share it with anyone else. You should always have 1 Seer, 1 Doctor, and 2 werewolves and the rest of the players should be Villagers. The goal of the game is for the Villagers to kill off the werewolves or the werewolves to kill off enough Villagers so that there’s only two left. The werewolves and the moderator know who each other are, but the Villagers don’t know who is also a Villager like them, or who the werewolves are. The game moves forward in rounds, starting with the night, where the werewolves can pick someone to kill off. During the day, all the living players gather in the village and decide who to kill. As soon as a majority of players vote for a particular player to kill, the moderator says “Ok, you’re dead.” So the werewolves are trying to disguise themselves as Villagers and the group needs to decide who’s bluffing. The werewolves try and have each others back and protect each other. It’s brings out some hilarious strategies, and you can add more roles to the game the bigger group size you have (like the badass Spellcaster in the above photo).
Players Needed: At least 7 but you can have up to 75 – it’s a crazy game like that
Perfect for: a huge group, Halloween, pals who are a touch nerdy (have they seen all three extended versions of the Lord of the Rings trilogy? Yes? Cool, they’ll dig this).
Awesome, I want it: You can grab a copy of this game here
5) Taboo
What the game is all about: We know you’re probably already familiar with Taboo, it’s been around since 1989 after all. It’s an oldie but a goodie, which is why it makes this list. It’s a great game for kicking a games night off, because it’s easy and it moves quick. The objective of the game is for a player to have their partners guess the word on the player’s card without using the word itself or five additional words listed on the card. It’s a harder version of Catchphrase if you know that one.
Players Needed: 4-10 (an even number of players is best)
Perfect for: fam jams, office functions, if you’ve got a random mix of people – including those who don’t know each other.
Awesome, I want it: You can grab a copy of this game here.
6) Cranium
What the game is all about: Cranium involves a variety of skills – so it’s likely you’ll be decent at one of them. Players have to successfully complete activities in each of four sections to win. Here’s a rundown of the categories:
- Creative Cat: A player must clue a word to his or her teammates by drawing it, sculpting it in clay, or drawing it with his or her eyes closed.
- Data Head: A variety of trivia questions.
- Word Worm: Players unscramble words, spell challenging words, guess definitions, identify words with letters left out, or spell words backwards.
- Star Performer: players must whistle a song, impersonate a celebrity, or act out a clue.
Perfect for: fam jams, when you’re only moderately drunk, when you wanna show off your mad skillz
Awesome, I want it: You can grab a copy of this game here.
Honourable mentions include Cards Against Humanity, Jenga, Scattergories, Charades and Exploding Kittens. If we missed any game that you love, def let us know in the comments.
If you’re hosting a game night, then you bet we’re got a drink for you: the Pineapple Mint Margarita. It’s super easy to make in big batches, and we guarantee it will get the party started. Grab the recipe here.
A games night needs a bumpin’ playlist and nothing gets us more fired up than sweet sweet 80’s jams. We’re talking Journey, Queen, Aerosmith, Blondie – this playlist will not disappoint. Get the party started.
Click Here to Start Listening!