Hosting a game night? These party games are the best of the best. They’re the perfect party games for adults not because they’re only appropriate for adults but because they’re fun enough that adults will enjoy them, unlike so many kid party games out there!
We’ve been creating party games as a family for the past 12 years, and these are our most popular, most fun, and most hilarious party games – perfect for your next party or game night!
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Fun Adult Party Games
You invited friends over for a game night or a party – now what? The pressure is on to come up with adult party games that are actually fun, and I’m here to help.
I’ve hosted a lot of parties, played a lot of games, and created even more games. Most of those with adults in mind because I’m an adult who loves party games whether they’re grown up birthday games, Christmas games, or just board games.
The party games in this post are fun for adults, but they’re not just adult games. There’s no drinking games and no NSFW content. These fun party games are ones that everyone can play whether it’s your 18 year old nephew or your 72 year old grandma. I’m calling them adult games simply because they’re probably best played by adults.
Game Show Inspired Party Games
What adult doesn’t wish they’d been a participant on a game show at some point in their life? These games are all inspired by game shows and let you bring the fun of TV right into your own home!
1 – The Floor
Players compete head to head to guess items that show up on their screen in all sorts of different categories – everything from Harry Potter to kitchen applies. This is one of the most popular game shows right now for a reason and playing it as home is just as fun as you would think. Watching is also hilarious!
We’ve created all of the slideshows for you to play The Floor at home – all you have to do is choose whether you want to do an everyday Floor game, a Thanksgiving Floor game, or a Christmas floor game. Want to see how this game works? Watch our viral Christmas floor video!
2 – Family Feud
Can you guess the top answers on the board based on survey results that we gathered from our readers? This is one of the most popular game shows ever and is hilarious to play at home! It makes a great party game for adults because the questions and answers can be a little tricky for the younger ones!
Choose whether you want to play milestone family feud (about getting older), Halloween family feud, or Christmas family feud – then all you need to do is get family and friends to play!
3 – Jeopardy
Bring the popular trivia game home and battle to see who can get the highest score by answering category specific trivia questions. This one’s perfect for parties, classrooms, and just a simple game night!
Pick your categories – Halloween Jeopardy, Christmas Jeopardy, baby shower Jeopardy, or even bridal shower Jeopardy! All the questions and answers are done for you so all you have to do is play!
4 – Price is Right
This game inspired by the price is right will have players trying to guess the price is items. If they’re wrong, they lose the money in their bank and the one who has the most money left after all the items are priced wins. We’ve done both a Christmas price is right game, a Thanksgiving price is right game, and a baby shower price is right – just choose items that match your theme and play!
5 – Deal or No Deal
What better way to celebrate someone’s birthday than by letting them try their hand at an at home version of the game show Deal or No Deal? Let them choose numbers on the board to try and win big and let everyone else watch and play along – it’s just as fun to watch as it is to play! You can see exactly how to play this one in our Easter version of deal or no deal – cash or hatch! Just play without the Easter eggs!
6 – Punch Game
Create a punch game uses plastic cups and tissue paper to play this Price is Right inspired game where players have to punch a cup to win prizes! It’s super simple and so fun that our videos of playing our Halloween punch game and our Christmas punch game went viral with thousands of people playing them around the world!
Why do people love it so much? Because you never know what you are going to get and the element of surprise is always a winner!
7 – Minute to Win It
Players have to compete to complete any of these minute to win it games in under a minute! Have an entire minute to win it competition by splitting into teams or let everyone play on their own to try and be the first to complete the task! All of the games use simple things you probably have around the house – and this one is always hilarious to play!
Or try these minute to win it games for groups specifically if you have a big group!
8 – Let’s Make A Deal
This fun Let’s Make a Deal game is like a simplified version of the classic game show that was always on right before The Price is Right! Players get the chance to choose a gift card, an envelope, or a gift – dealing all the way through the game!
Dice Party Games for Adults
Grab some dice and play on these party games – they’re easy to setup because they typically just include dice and something else, and they’re always a hit!
9 – Double Down
Players go around the circle rolling dice, one at a time. After each roll, they have to decide if they want to stay in the circle to try and win more or leave and keep their winnings. If at any point a number gets rolled a second time (before all six numbers are rolled), whoever is in the circle loses everything. This risk and reward double down dice game is one of my favorites!
10 – Lucky Roller
This game is similar to bunko that you’re competing head to head against other people and rotate based on if you win or lose! Fill six cups with coins or poker chips (cup 1 = 1 coin, cup 2 = 2 coins and so on) and number each of the cups.
To play, players take turns rolling one six-sided die. If they roll a cup that hasn’t been rolled yet, they take whatever coins are in that cup. If they roll a cup that has been rolled already, the round is over and they give their collected coins to their opponent. Just like in bunco, winner stays and loser rotates down a pair. After a certain number of rounds the person has collected the most coins win.
This one is really fun with groups, especially as an alternative to bunco or Yahtzee! Here is the full set of lucky roller game instructions.
11 – Saran Wrap Game
You may think that a saran wrap game is just for kids, but that just means you haven’t seen adults furiously ripping through layers of saran wrap to try and win gift cards and other prizes! And if you’ve never done a saran wrap game at all, the basic idea is that you wrap a bunch of prizes into a saran wrap ball then people roll dice trying to get a certain number for the chance to unwrap the ball and prizes inside.
Our saran wrap game is even better than the other ones out there because we’ve added challenge cards that you might find along with the prizes, making it even harder to unwrap the ball!
12 – Ponies
This horse racing game is one of my all-time favorite party games. We’ve played at family reunions, book retreats, and most of our family game nights. Each round everyone gets assigned to horses (through random cards) that they’re cheering on and every round you just don’t know who is going to win! I didn’t include many of my favorite board games in this post but this one is too good to not include! It’s one of the best adult games out there, especially when you put something on the line!
13 – Left Right Center
You’ve probably played LRC before where everyone rolls dice and they pass coins (or money) around the circle based on if they roll a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. It’s one of our favorites so much that we’ve created numerous variations of it including one of the best birthday party games, a dice gift exchange, a lucky dice game, and a chase the rainbow game.
Word Games for an adult game night
If you like games that require thinking, these adult party games might be right up your alley. They include guessing words, giving word clues, and really anything else having to do with words!
14 – Danger Word
This game is one I saw on Ellen’s Games of Games back in the day, and it’s always hilarious. Split into teams of two and show one player on each team a word and an associated danger word (e.g., Queen, danger word Princess). They have to alternate giving clues to their team to try to get them to guess the word on the card without guessing the danger word.
Here are full instructions how to play danger words and if you want printable cards? We have those for all sorts of categories like Christmas danger words, Harry Potter danger words, and Thanksgiving danger words!
15 – Drop A Hint
In this game, one person guesses while the other three people work together to get their teammate to guess a word, each person saying one word at a time. To setup the game, create a set of word cards or use this free sample list and split into teams of four. The words should be easy to describe if you were playing something like Catch Phrase.
Then to play, the group of three people on the team look at a word card and have to take turns saying one word clues that describe the word to the person guessing, going around in a circle. For example if the word was pumpkin, teammate #1 might say orange, teammate #2 might say Halloween, teammate #3 might say squash.
Teammates continue to give one word hints in the same order (1, 2, 3) to the guesser until the guesser makes a guess. The guesser has ONE guess to get the right word. If they guess the wrong word, the team moves onto the next word. Keep going for two minutes to see how many words your team can guess (each word is a point), then switch teams. Keep going until everyone on each team has had a chance to be the guesser then total up points for each team, most points wins!
Pop Culture Party Games
If your group is into pop culture, these games would be a perfect addition to your next party! They’re all focused on celebrities, movies, songs, and more!
16 – Name That Flick
This game is like the game show Name that Tune except you’re naming movies instead! Split into two teams then have one player from each team come to the front of the room. Show them both the name of the movie and have one of the players say how many words they need to use to get their team to guess the movie title (here’s a list of movies to start with). Then the other team can decide if they want to try to get their team to guess it in less words. Keep going until one player passes.
Then to play, the player who won the bid has to give their team the number of words they said to describe the movie. If their team guesses it in that many words, they win a point. If not, the other team wins a point. Keep going until one team reaches 10 points.
17 – Celebrity
This game is played in three rounds and is one of the funniest games ever! To start, have everyone write down 5-10 celebrities (that most people will know) on slips of paper. Someone not playing should go through and remove any duplicates.
Split into teams and and explain that the game is played in three rounds where one person from the team will go through and get their team to guess as many celebrities as possible (like charades) within a set time limit. They’ll draw one name, give their clues, and once their team guesses, they’ll choose another name. Keep going until the time limit is up.
- Round 1 – Players must describe the celebrity using only words. They can say anything they want (other than the name) but only words, no acting.
- Round 2 – Players have to act out the celebrity, no words.
- Round 3 – Players must say only one word to describe the celebrity. Once they pick the word, they’re stuck with it until the team guesses the correct celebrity.
Each round, play until all of the celebrities have been guessed. Then put them back in the bowl and start the next round. Each celebrity guessed correctly is worth one point and the team with the most points at the end of the three rounds wins.
18 – Sporcle
You can play this either as individuals or in teams. Choose a handful of categories (make up your own or download a list of categories here) and have everyone playing stand up at the front of the room.
Tell everyone the category and starting with the first person in line, have them name something in that category within 5 seconds. Then the next person goes. If they can’t or say something already named, they’re out. Keep playing through that category until only one person is left – they win a point.
Repeat with as many categories as you want and the person/team with the most points at the end wins!
Tip!
Make sure the categories are factual (e.g., Jane Austen books) versus subjective (books I love) so that they actually have to come up with something.
19 – Would you Rather
Ask questions to the entire group like would you rather eat a hot dog with mustard and onions every day for the rest of your life or brush your teeth with pickle flavored toothpaste and see what people answer. We have a bunch of pop culture themed would you rather questions like Marvel Would you Rather, Disney would you rather, Star Wars would you rather, and Harry Potter would you rather questions you can use for your pop culture friends!
20 – Spot the Slip-Up
In this game, players will have to try to be the first to pick out “which one doesn’t belong” from a list of words in a given category! If they get it right, they keep playing. If not, they’re out! You can use this free category list or create your own – just make sure each list has items that fall into that category AND items that don’t. You’ll need at least one category list per person playing.
Tip!
It’s better if you can come up with ones that might seem like they fit the list but don’t. So your Taylor Swift song list might look like this once you’re done:
- Shake It Off
- The Black Dog
- Love Letter (not a song)
- Blank Space
- I Knew You Were Too Tall (not a song)
Split your group into two teams and put a soft object of some sort in between the two teams. Tell teams the category and start reading out the items on the list. As soon as someone hears something that doesn’t fit in the category they have to grab the item and name the slip-up.
If they get it correct, they choose someone from the other team to be out. If they get it wrong, they’re out. Move to the next category and play again with just the players remaining. Keep playing until only one team has players left and they win.
21 – Pick the Lie
This variation on the classic two truths and a lie game will have players trying to go through statements about popular things (Star Wars characters, historical figures, etc.) and picking which of the three is false. And the best part? We came up with all of the truths and lies because that’s the worst part of the original game!
Musical Party Games for Adults
Have a group of adults who likes music (I mean, really who doesn’t…)? Try one of these musical party games that are designed for adults with playlists from the past 50 years! These are some of the most interactive adult games!
22 – Name that Tune
See who can guess the name of a song first! This is one of my all-time favorite games and there are a number of ways you can play, but I’ve included our favorites below. Check out this post if you’re looking for basic instructions on how to play name that tune game.
- Classic Name That Tune Game – split into two teams. Create a playlist of music that people will know but maybe not the most popular music ever. Then play a song over a speaker and whichever team guesses the song title (and/or artist) wins a point for their team.
- Name that Tune Game Show – if you want to go nostalgic and play like the classic name that tune game show, have players go head to head to decide how many notes they need to hear to guess a song. The person who goes the lowest gets that many notes played and has to guess the song to win a point.
- Sing a Song – print out a list of popular songs (similar to how you would for charades) and players have to sing the song to get their team to guess it. This works best for popular songs like in this Christmas name that tune game.
- How Do You Doo – instead of playing songs, have a player sing a song (here’s a list of songs to get you started) using only the word “doo” to the teams and the first team to guess the correct word wins a point.
- Animal Style Name that Tune – this is one of my favorite musical party games! Have a player put on headphones and play them a song through the headphones that teams can’t hear. The player has to sing the song in an animal style they choose (dog = woof, cat = meow, cow = moo) to try and get their team to guess the song they’re listening to!
- Lyrical Standoff – see who can guess the song from just a lyric. You can either use a printable game that’s already created like this Halloween name that tune game OR print out famous lyrics and read those out for people to guess the song.
23 – Music Bingo
Skip regular bingo and play music bingo instead! It’s a fun combination of name that tune and bingo that has a bonus of getting the chance to listen to some great music! This music bingo game includes tons of free printable bingo cards plus playlists for both adults and teens! Or try Christmas music bingo if you want something more holiday specific!
Classic Party Games for adults
These party games are classic for a reason – they’re always fun! Add these to some of the most popular board games for adults and your game night is all set!
24 – Charades
Charades is a classic for a reason. Split into two teams and a player from the first team has to try and act out a word to get their team to guess it. Switch teams and have the other team do the same. You can either use generic charade words or do something more specific like Thanksgiving charades, Christmas charades, or even Harry Potter charades.
Don’t want to play classic charades? Try one of these alternatives instead – same idea but with a twist!
- Reverse charades – instead of having one person act out the word, have one person be the guesser and everyone else has to act out the word together.
- Character charades – this is a version of our Halloween charades game where you not only have to choose a word to act out but you have to do it in some sort of assigned character (like a witch).
- Movie charades – make your words famous characters in movies or TV shows and teams have to guess the movie the character is from instead of the character!
- Musical Charades – have the guesser wear noise cancelling headphones, then play a song for the rest of the group. They have to act out the song to have their teammate guess it!
- Racing charades – both teams play the same word at the same time and the team that guesses it first wins the point!
- Round robin charades – charades meets telephone! One person acts out the word, the next person acts out what they think it is, and so on until you get to the actual guesser. Keep the teams small, like three people.
If you love charades…
Check out all of our printable charades word lists. There’s something for most holidays (perfect for classroom parties), tons of movies (hello Star Wars), and more!
25 – Pictionary
Grab some pencils, papers, and pictionary word games (I’ve included lists below) then have players try to guess what’s on the card while their team guesses to score points. This classic drawing game is always a hit, especially when people can’t draw well!
You can download free printable pictionary lists for any of these topics below or use the charade word lists above!
26 – Bingo
Young and old alike love playing bingo because you just never know who is going to win! Pull numbers or images out of a bowl and see if anyone has it on their cards – first one to get five in a row matched wins. It’s even more fun if you add in some of the variations I explained in this Christmas bingo game with things like biggest loser, take a friend, and more!
We have hundreds of printable bingo cards you can download with everything from fall bingo to birthday bingo and even our super popular Super Bowl commercial bingo!
Other Adult Party Games
Some games just don’t fit into a category like the ones above. These are the other games that are still super fun but just don’t fit into a specific box.
27 – Stack Attack
Teams compete to answer trivia questions (can use anything from Christmas trivia to Star Wars trivia) in order to fill in rows in a Connect Four game. The team that finishes the row wins the prize or points associated with that row! Get all the stack attack rules.
28 – I Wish
One player reads an “I wish” statement (get printable examples in our Thanksgiving wishes game or have people make up their own) and everyone has to vote on which of four options they’d vote for. For example, I wish I had enough money to buy (1) a boat (2) a private jet (3) a beach house (4) Taylor Swift concert tickets. Whoever matches the majority vote wins a point – first person to ten points wins.
29 – Roll a Reward
Create lines in a room with prizes associated with them like we did in our pumpkin rolling game. Have players roll something that’s not a ball (so it wobbles or doesn’t roll normal) down the lines trying to get it to stop by the prize they want. Wherever it stops is what they win. This one is fun because everyone always likes winning prizes – but the prizes aren’t guaranteed in this one!
30 – Spin to Win
Make this risk and reward game by simply filling a 5-section lazy susan with prizes in four of the sections and something bad in the other one. Players take turns spinning the spinner and if it lands on a prize they win the prize. They can keep getting back in line and spinning until they want but if they ever land on the bad section, they lose everything.
We’ve done a Halloween version of this called Oogie Boogie wheel of fun and a Don’t Eat Santa version for Christmas – it’s always a lot of fun!
Watch the Party Games in Action
Want to see some of these games in action? Check out the video below or on YouTube here.
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