Party Whammy

Party games and activities: questions and answers

Find answers about choosing games, running them and changing plans if something isn't working. This page covers children's parties, teen nights and family gatherings, with sections for quick games, crafts, theme parties and holiday printables. Pick the question closest to your situation.

Cards and wooden game pieces on a low table, with a basket and ball nearby.

Questions to start with

Choose games that fit your guests and space

Start here if you don't know what to plan yet. These answers help you choose games by age, group size, room, outdoor space, prep time and how outgoing your guests are, including guests with different abilities.

Start by counting the people who will actually play, not everyone invited. With a larger group, choose a game everyone plays at once or split into teams so nobody waits long for a turn. This guide to party games that work for your group size helps you check ideas against your numbers and space.

Before you change seating, reach or rules for a guest, ask them or their family which games and ways of taking a turn they prefer. This guide to adapting party games for guests with different abilities starts with that conversation and then covers practical changes to the setup.

Keep games fair and fix them when they stall

For problems during the party: games getting too competitive, picking teams and prizes, a child upset about losing, a game that isn't working, or a gap in the schedule you need to fill.

Many arguments start because nobody knows when the game ends. Before you play, announce how many turns or rounds there are, give everyone the same number and say how the game finishes. This guide to keeping party games from getting too competitive covers scoring and ties in more detail.

Fair rules help before the game, but a child who is already upset needs a different response. Offer a break or another way to join, such as watching or drawing at the table for a while. This guide to handling a child upset about losing covers helping them rejoin later.

How to play question, word and guessing games

Rules and tips for classic group games. Several answers explain how to play with friends, family, coworkers or mixed ages without putting anyone on the spot.

Some question games let everyone answer together. In Never Have I Ever, players respond by raising hands, and explaining is optional. This guide to playing Never Have I Ever with friends, family or coworkers explains the pass rule and notes that the clean family list is meant for ages 10 and up.

Two useful formats to compare: in some question games everyone answers the same choice together, which puts less attention on one person; in others, players take individual turns answering. Other games ask about experiences, voting for someone or mixing answers with actions. To weigh these against your guests, see which question game to choose for your group.

Run hunts, game parties, gift swaps and road-trip games

How to run specific kinds of games: scavenger and treasure hunts, escape-room and mystery parties, Minute-to-Win-It and mummy-wrap games, board-game and video-game parties, photo-booth activities, pinata alternatives, gift-exchange games, and games passengers can play on a road trip.

Road-trip games are for passengers only, and the driver stays out of them. Spoken games can be played while the car is moving. Anything with paper, drawing or a screen is best saved for a stop. These games passengers can play on a road trip work on the agreement that anyone can pass and any game can end early.

Check the boxes before you choose games: look at the player counts, playing times and how much table space each one needs. Set up seats and learn the rules ahead of time. This guide to hosting a board-game party also suggests putting out a game for arriving guests and keeping a short backup nearby.

Run a craft, baking or making activity

Practical help with craft stations, decorating, cooking, slime, science and painting, so guests have something to make. Some answers also cover sending finished projects home.

Slime is one making activity with an early decision to make: will guests make slime themselves, or play with portions you prepared? Making it together means testing the recipe in advance and giving everyone their own workspace. This guide to running a slime-making party covers both approaches.

Plan activities for a theme party

Use these if your party already has a theme, such as an arcade, Dungeons & Dragons, sports, a spa night, a movie, music or karaoke, or a toddler bubble party.

Toddlers play best with their caregivers nearby, and not every child has to join at the same moment. Short turns let children come and go. This guide to hosting a bubble party for toddlers also includes dry breaks, such as playing a familiar song and copying one simple movement together.

Games for holidays and family gatherings

Activity ideas for Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Fourth of July, Mother's Day and family reunions, when children and adults spend the day together.

When children and adults spend the day together, choose games around reading ability, room size and what your family enjoys. Christmas or general winter play is one example. These games for a family Christmas or winter gathering include seated choices and ways for children who can't read yet to join in.

Print party, birthday and holiday games and crafts

How to print and set up general party games and printables, birthday picture bingo, and holiday bingo cards, matching cards, word games, placemats and craft templates for New Year's Eve, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Printing a bingo game means more than the player cards. You also need matching caller cards and something to mark squares with. The instructions for preparing birthday picture bingo cards suggest a board for each player or pair, plus two spares.