Now, I bet that some of you are approaching this particular post with hesitation because you’re probably those people who are always quick to pull out Apples to Apples and/or Cards Against Humanity the second you have more than 4 people around who want to play games. Well, set aside your fears and listen up – because those games are quickly growing and tired. So I’m here to tell you about 3 other party games that you can pull out and impress all your friends with the next time you have a quaint little get together! Ready? Well, regardless, here we go!

1. Telestrations

Ideal with a group of 6-8, Telestrations can be played with even more people, and it brings a ton of silly fun to everyone involved. Basically, the group will sit in a circle and each person will write down a word in their conveniently provided dry-erase notepad. Then you will pass the books around in either direction (But, for the love of god, everyone pick the same direction. You aren’t being funny by passing it the opposite way as everyone else) and the second person will proceed to draw that word. Pass again and the third person will guess the word based only on the drawing, they can not flip back to look at the word (obviously). This alternating of words and drawings continues until everyone once again has their original notepad. Then, you reveal the drawings and words to see how far off everyone got as it went around, or if your friends are pure artistic prodigies who drew masterpieces in the time it took a tiny sand timer to run its course. Either way, it’s a great filler party game that’s fun, easy, and can get silly (at least if you’re as bad at drawing as me). Plus, on a positive note, you can buy the game for convenience (comes with notepads, markers, and tons of suggestions for starter words) OR you can easily do this for free with just some small notepads and pencils, or just sheets of paper that everyone folds as they pass it around. Woo-Hoo!

2. The Game of Things

Another excellent game that can be played with as many people as you want! Ideal, in my opinion, with up to 10, The Game of Things is simple and really helps you get to know those around you. In short, a simple phrase will be read to the group, such as “Things that make me cry” and everyone (including the reader) will write down their answer. The reader will read all the answers and then starting with the person to their left, everyone will try to guess who gave what answer. Get it right and you’ve knocked that person out of the round! Last person standing gets a point. I’ve typically played until everyone at the table gets to be the reader and then the person with the most points wins, but you could basically play as many rounds as you like … pretty much until everyone gets bored. Either way, The Game of Things  is sure to bring hours of fun to your friend group!

3. Codenames

The last on our list of fun new games to try with groups is Codenames! You’ve probably heard of or seen this one, it got pretty popular pretty quickly. Played in teams, this game is best with 6 or more, and big groups is plenty of fun! As a run-down, teams will be trying to guess the location of their spies as a leader tries to inform them saying only one word and one number hints (i.e. Animals, 2).  The clues signify a word some of our team’s code words on the table correspond to, and the number signifies how many it can apply to, the the leader’s opinion. While team members are guessing, they want to avoid the other team’s words, so as not to give them the points, as well as the Assassin’s word, which, if found, equals an instant loss. Totally simple, the game can actually get really intense, and as teams discuss, and playfully argue, it brings so much fun to the table that you’ll be playing for hours and not even notice.

So there you have  it, a handful of party games that are about 100x better than your typical Apples to Apples and Cards Against Humanity. Those are okay, but after the 1,000th time, they really don’t have the same glory. So, pick these up and watch your friend marvel at how much cooler your parties are than everyone else’s!
Happy Gaming 🙂