Party Games

A selection of drawing room games, which can be played with friends without needing to buy or prepare anything special. These saw their peak popularity during the Victorian age, when the upper and middle classes had more leisure time to fill with amusements, but before the invention of the television or anything like the video games we have currently.

These parlour games can still be enjoyed today, and their particular charm is that they encourage more interaction between the group than you might find with video games, while requiring no special purchase of a board and / or cards like with the great selection of board games out now.

  • Wink Murder

    Before the game begins, one person is selected to be the murderer, unknown to any of the other players. The murderer’s job is to kill as many of the other players as possible by making direct eye contact and then winking at them. A player who is winked at must wait five seconds, and then…

  • Who Am I?

    Each player has a post-it note stuck to their forehead with the name of a famous person or character written upon it. They must ask questions of the others players in order to deduce who they are, but the others may only answer “yes” or “no”. For example; “Am I a woman?”“Am I fictional?”“Am I…

  • Smiles

    One person it chosen as ‘it’, and the remaining players spread themselves standing about the room. The chosen person is the only player allowed to smile, and it is their task to make as many of the others smile as possible. They can do anything they like to induce a smile, short of touching the…

  • Memory Tray Game

    Before guests arrive, fill a tray with 25 small household objects — think coins, scissors, thread, jewellery, or anything else small yet distinctive. Once you’re ready, cover the tray with a scarf or a napkin, set it on the coffee table, and give each guest a pen and a piece of paper. Remove the scarf…

  • Mafia

    This game requires a large group of people, divided into two factions; the innocent and the mafia. The innocents should outnumber the mafia at the beginning of the game, although the exact numbers for each team do not matter. It is recommended to have the mafia number a third of the innocents, although there should…

  • Find It!

    One person chooses a small item from the room and shows it to the other players. They all leave the room while the chosen person hides the object. The players are then invited to return and find it! When a player spots the object, they do not indicate where it is, but instead immediately sit…

  • Do You Love Your Neighbour?

    You need a large space for this game, and ideally should tidy breakable decorations away somewhere safe before beginning. Set out chairs in a circle so that there is one chair less than there are players. One person is chosen as ‘it’ and stands in the centre of the circle, while the other players sit…

  • Consequences

    All players need a pen and some paper. The object of the game is to form a short (funny) story by each player writing down the following things: Once all players have written down the first thing (adjective for a man) they fold their paper over to obscure their answer, and then pass the paper…

  • Charades

    One person is chosen to begin, and they must think of a word or phrase to try and act out for the other players. In modern charades the phrase is often the name of a film, book, TV show or computer game, although it can also be the name of an object, or a quote…

  • Blind Man’s Buff

    Before beginning this game, it’s a good idea to move furniture back, and delicate ornaments to safe hiding places. One person is chosen as ‘it’ and blindfolded. The remaining players scatter about the room. After a count of 5, the chosen blind man begins walking (carefully!) about the room, trying to find the other players.…

  • Animal, Vegetable, Mineral

    One person thinks of an object and commits it to memory without telling what it is. The other players take it in turns to ask questions. The person thinking of the object can only reply with the words ‘yes’ or ‘no’. For example; “Is it an animal?”‘Yes.’“Is it a mammal?”‘No.’“Is it a fish?” And so…