Best Party Games for the Holidays
I admit it – “party games” aren’t generally my jam. I am happier playing in a 1 vs. 1 match of nearly any sort. When I do play beyond 2 – 4 players tends to be the top end, and the games are often a bit more strategic in nature. Usually I find that there is too much downtime between players when the player count gets higher and that is a turn off for me. The exception being card games which in general move at a faster rate across the board.
That said – as of late, I fancy a good party game. I’m in a spot now where I am trying to bring new people into the hobby – so finding the right game, for the right group of people is key. Most of the players I play with now aren’t ‘hard core’ gamers. The games need to be light, breezy, and accessible to a wide breadth of players.
Party games tend to make up that mix.
So what makes the Best Party Games? Here are a few guidelines when I select a party game. Especially for “non-gamers”
- Player count above 5. You’ve probably heard the saying that one is alone, two is company, and three is a crowd. – but if I’m looking for a fun frockling party – we are going to want more bodies than that.
- Easy Rules – If I can’t get the game off and running in less than 10 minutes – I don’t want it. Because these are party games, I’m going to have extra people around the table. I need to get those people engaged as quick as I can.
- Short – I have found that some of the best party games are generally short in nature – almost still within that 10 minute time frame before either the next round or the next game. I am also looking for a short downtime between turns as well. No downtime in this party.
- People over Mechanics – Part in parcel with easy rules – the fun should really come from the experiences generated solely from the players – not the cleverness of the game.
So with that here is what I think you can get to the table in relative short order
6 Nimmt!/Take 5
If you have a group of people that already enjoy play card games or have a fondness for numbers (weird) – then 6 Nimmit fills a good spot. Easy to learn, quick to play, full of laughs. Each turn you are placing a card down with hopes that it will be able to fit on to the board/table that has VERY limited spots per row. IF your number is too high (or in some cases too low) – you are going to take some cow heads. And in 6 Nimmt! – cowheads are the one thing you don’t want.
The game itself plays between 2 and 10 people. If I’m being honest – playing this as a two-player is a non-starter for me. There are way better card games for just two people (Battle Line, Lost Cities, Pinata) and playing all the way to 10, will be just a bit to crazy. The game starts to work pretty well at 4, and works really good between 5 and 7. At 8 it starts to get a bit squirrely and I just don’t want to bother with 9 or 10 – I’d probably look for a different party game at that point.
Each round you pick one card out of your hand to play – as well as everyone else. With one giant reveal, you begin to start placing the cards down in ascending order. The placement in one of 4 rows, each holding only 5 cards, simply depends on your card number in relation to the cards on the table. Can you play a card hoping to be just close enough in rank to make it into an available spot, if it works out – you won’t have to take a WHOLE ROW of bull heads – or do you play it safe, play a card that you know will have to take on points – but you get to plan how many you’ll take. The game is all about being able to plan/guess where your card might land. If you don’t have a spot to land – you end up taking all points in that row.
A great great time – especially for those card players in your life. With it’s small size and small price tag – you really can’t go wrong.
Just One
What 6 Nimmt! does for the “numbers” people you know – the game Just One is for the people good with words.
One of the reasons it is well suited for parties is the fact that it is a cooperative game. Everyone wins or loses together. Though with Just One – scoring is almost just an afterthought. It really is just a chance to sit around and share some laughs. Let me explain.
In the game each person will receive a small dry erase board and pen. On each round wIthin the group, there will be one guesser and then everyone else are clue givers. The round starts with the guesser averting their eyes while everyone else will look at the “Key Word” that you want the appointed guesser to guess.
Now, everyone will write down a single word on their board that they will reveal to the guesser, in hopes of them guessing the single word. There are some pretty basic rules to follow about what kind of clue you can give – but they are easy to understand and fairly intuitive.
The interesting part of the game is this. Once everyone has written down their clues – they are collectively reviewed first before the guesser sees them. If there are any duplicate clues – those duplicates are removed. Duplications also include words from the same word family. – ie “fast” and “faster” would be removed or even “prince” and “princess” would be removed if they showed up together.
It is funny because now you’ll find people won’t give what would appear to be a very obvious clue because they are worried that they will duplicate someone else and have their clue removed. It can end up leaving the guesser struggling to interpret now vague clues to find the right keyword, or; because words word eliminate, only having a couple clues to use instead of a multitude to find the correct key word.
Its great fun, so fast to teach and play, and since there aren’t any true scoring parameters – players can move in and out of the game as they want to play.
Rollick
The nice thing about this game is that it has actually been out for quite some time – you might actually already have this game on your shelf and you may have- quick go check! If not, you can find it here.
Rollick is essentially charades “dumbed down”. The game is played in teams. The team will be broken down each round into a team of “actors” and then a guesser. I suppose if you were so inclined you could have multiple guesses to one “actor” as well. Though personally I think the game works MUCH better if you keep the actors as more than one person.
Take a clue like “Rodeo” – With one actor you might have one person attempting to act out a bull ride – however it becomes much more easy (not to mention HILARIOUS) if you have two or more people attempting to act this out. One could be the bull/horse – the other the rider. Or perhaps a pair acts out being roped, or two acting out barrel racing. The hilarity just seems to increase the more actors involved.
It is family friendly – none of the clues are risque anything like that. Now the acting out on the other hand – well – to each their own.
There is somewhat of a barrier to entry in that everyone needs to be able to read. We’ve played this with our 1st grade son, and you have to whisper into their ear so they know the clue. Not a deal breaker – just be aware.
I found this game works at larger numbers – and when the numbers don’t break evenly between teams it is ok. Sometimes we’d take a person who wasn’t keen on acting – and just let them be “permanent guesser” for each side. That seems to work well also for those not interested in acting out charades.
A great game that can be as long or as short as you like.
Werewolf
A game of social deduction that has been around for quite some time. In nerdy gaming circles this would be called a semi-cooperative game or one against many. The werewolf(s) vs. the villagers – let me explain.
The game starts with each person picking a secret role. I won’t get into the specifics of each role. Since it is a secret draw – nobody really knows what side everybody else is on. Several of the roles that are drawn afford you a special ability – for instance you maybe able to switch roles around amongst players, you might look at another’s players card, if you are a werewolf, you’ll see any other werewolves working with you – or you might not get to do anything at all.
Using an integrated app that narrates the night phase – each player will get to do what their particular power is. The app is so good, and from my perspective necessary – it gives step by step instructions on what to do for each special role. It reduces the teach time and really does spell out what each person gets to do (or not do).
After the night phase is completed, and all the special little powers have happened – the real fun begins – the day phase.
During the day phase, the group has exactly 5 minutes to determine who are the werewolves. A rapid discussion will happen with people revealing (not always honestly) what they did during night phase and what little bits of information they may have. You can say anything you want – you just can’t look at your facedown card during the round. The werewolves will be attempting to deflect attention from themselves and cast doubt on the intentions of the other players.
At the end of 5 minutes, it goes into a 5 second countdown. At the conclusion of the countdown everyone will point to whom they want to vote as the werewolf(s). The person with the majority of the votes pointed at them is deemed the werewolf. Everyone reveals their card in front of them. If the true werewolf was correctly identified – the villagers win the round. If anyone else, other than a werewolf, garners the majority of votes – the werewolves win.
From experience I can tell you that your first play will be a little clumsy – but at the conclusion the roles and flow becomes very very clear on what to do. With rounds literally being only around 6 minutes long – you can quickly move into that 2nd, 3rd, and 4th round and have a much smoother experience.
The game isn’t about the score – but the hilarity of accusations, and the reasons behind them. Its fun to see who can pull of that level of deception as a werewolf, and also fun to see who can be the best detective and figure out who really is who. The only criticism I have about the game is that you can’t really pick what role you want to be. It can be a drag if you keep pulling the same role each turn, especially if you are constantly the “dumb” villager (no night actions) or constantly having to be the werewolf.
Other than that it is a great game for a large crowd with low learning overhead. Make sure you have a large table, with some elbow room. During the night phase you don’t want to be bumping into people as you are moving cards around. The app provides some background music as well which is important because even the rustling of chairs/cards during the night phase could give out hidden information.
The game quite literally plays in 6 minutes each round.