{"id":476,"date":"2025-10-31T13:19:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T14:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.capitalskips.com\/?p=476"},"modified":"2025-11-03T12:14:56","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T12:14:56","slug":"party-board-games-to-liven-up-the-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.capitalskips.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/31\/party-board-games-to-liven-up-the-night\/","title":{"rendered":"Party Board Games To Liven Up The Night"},"content":{"rendered":"
Whether they require light strategy, fuel conversations or are just straight nonsense, party board games change the mood of any friend or family gathering. We talked to board game designers and avid players to learn which party board games are guaranteed to liven up the party.<\/p>\n
What Makes a Board Game Great for Parties?<\/h2>\n
\u201cThis is a trick question because \u2018board\u2019 games aren\u2019t good for groups larger than the number of players. Nothing kills a party atmosphere faster than watching somebody else roll dice for an hour,\u201d says Evelyn Martin, brand activation expert at Directionless Creative and party gamer extraordinaire.<\/p>\n
What makes a board game great for parties isn\u2019t the board game itself, but a game that matches your group\u2019s vibe. For instance, the board game you choose for a lively New Year\u2019s party will be different from the game you choose for a strategy game night for four people. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe best party games are easy to explain in under five minutes, get people laughing or talking right away and most importantly, keep everyone involved from start to finish,\u201d says Alex Mackey, co-founder of Lethal Chicken Games, a board game company. \u201cIf a game sidelines players (like Exploding Kittens does once someone\u2019s eliminated), it can stall the party vibe.\u201d In general, party board games should be:<\/p>\n
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Easy to learn<\/li>\n
Quick to set up <\/li>\n
Quick to play<\/li>\n
Able to accommodate a crowd<\/li>\n
Structured so people can come and go without disrupting gameplay<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Top Party Board Games To Try<\/h2>\n
Martin has hosted over 50 game parties at her house and hundreds of group events for her clients, and Mackey designs party games. These are their favorite party games and the ones that Martin has seen liven up groups the most:<\/p>\n
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Catchphrase.<\/strong> The best party game for groups of any size, of any age, is Catchphrase. It\u2019s fast, interactive, vocal (not sitting silently around a board), high energy, different every time, and people can join or leave whenever. \u201cIf you gave me an entire games store, told me I could only keep one party game, I would pick Catchphrase 99\/100 times,\u201d says Martin.<\/li>\n
Jackbox Games, especially the version with Drawful and Fibbage. <\/strong>You play on your TV, and people\u2019s phones are the controllers, so it scales up to let more people play than just the standard four controllers of a video game.<\/li>\n
The Chameleon:<\/strong> This game is all about \u201clighter bluffing and quick laughs,\u201d says Mackey. It\u2019s also quick to learn and easy to play.<\/li>\n
One Night Ultimate Werewolf: <\/strong>This game has fast resets, so no one is stuck waiting for a new game to start, which is great for large groups where people don\u2019t want to commit to a long board game.<\/li>\n
Dumb Questions to Ask Your Friends (Big Potato):<\/strong> \u201cThe questions are hilarious on their own,\u201d says Mackey. This game is the perfect icebreaker for getting a party started.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n