56 Fun Indoor & Outdoor Games to Play with Friends

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Find exciting game ideas for any age (including drinking age)
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Looking for a fun new game to play with friends who are in the room with you? We've got suggestions for all age groups, indoors and outdoors, and even for those of you who are old enough to drink. Come with us as we explore 56 board, card, online, and drinking games, and even some classic party games that don't require any equipment at all!

Best Games to Play with Friends

  • Games for All Ages : The Game of Life, Clue, Pictionary, & Ticket to Ride
  • Adult Games : Taboo, Scrabble, What Do You Meme?, and Cards Against Humanity
  • Kids Games : Trouble, Operation, Go Fish, Guess Who?, and Duck Duck Goose
Section 1 of 8:

Indoor Games to Play with Friends

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  1. To play charades , have everyone in your group write down several phrases and titles on slips of paper. Fold the papers up, put them in a bowl, and mix them around. Next, pick someone to go first and have that person draw a slip of paper. They have 30 seconds to act out what's written on the paper without speaking. [1]
    • When a player guesses the right answer, they receive 1 point. The winner is the one with the most points at the end.
  2. 2
    Truth or Dare Truth or Dare is a classic game that can be loads of fun, as long as all the players are respectful of one another. To play, randomly select a person to go first. That person must answer a question from another player or perform a dare. Once they make their choice, they get to ask the player to their left a question and give them a dare if they refuse to answer.
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  3. 3
    Twenty Questions In Twenty Questions , one player thinks of an object, place, thing, or person. The other player (or players) can ask 20 different questions and use the answers to deduce what the first player is thinking of.
  4. Would You Rather? is a conversation party game that forces players to choose between two options. For example, one might ask, "Would you rather eat grass or get slime in your hair?" The person being asked must answer one or the other; they can't say "neither" or "both." It's a fun way to get to know someone and spark titillating debates.
  5. 5
    Never Have I Ever To play Never Have I Ever , ask everyone in your group to hold up all their fingers. Next, have someone read out a "Never have I ever" statement, like "Never have I ever gotten drunk." Players who have performed the stated act before must put down a finger.
    • The game ends when the players decide or when almost all the players have run out of fingers.
  6. 6
    Mr. Freeze During a dinner party or some other gathering of friends, choose one person to be Mr. (or Mrs.) Freeze. At any point in the evening, Mr. Freeze can stop what they're doing and freeze in place, and everyone else should also freeze up as soon as they notice what the first player is doing. [2]
    • The last person to realize they're supposed to remain still is the loser, and Mr. Freeze gets to choose what they lose or which dare they have to perform.
  7. This simple game will teach you new, interesting facts about your friends. To start, say three statements about you out loud – 2 truths and 1 lie . Then, have your friends ask you questions and debate about what the lie is. When they've all made their guesses, reveal the lie and reward those who guessed correctly.
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Section 2 of 8:

Outdoor Games to Play with Friends

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  1. Twister is a great game to play outside on a still day because the mat takes up a lot of room. Spread the mat on your porch or a patch of clean lawn. Next, choose someone to spin the wheel and tell you which colored circles to touch.
    • Any players who fall or fail to touch the right circle are out of the game until only one person remains on the mat – and they're the winner!
  2. 2
    Hot Potato Grab a potato (or a potato-sized object) and get your friends to stand in a circle. Pick someone to start and stop a song you can all hear. While the song is playing, toss the potato from person to person as if it's piping hot. When the music stops, whoever is holding the potato loses!
    • The game continues until all the players have been caught with the potato except one.
  3. 3
    Cornhole Set up cornhole by placing 2 cornhole boards 12–15 ft (3.7–4.6 m) apart for kids and 27 ft (8.2 m) apart for adults. Divide your friend group into 2 teams – one at each cornhole – and give each team 8 beanbags. Have them throw the beanbags into the opposite cornhole board. [3]
    • Each time one lands in the hole, the throwing team scores 3 points. If it lands on the board, they score 1 point. The team with the highest score at the end of all the rounds is the winning group.
  4. To play Ladder toss , set the three-rung ladders at least 25 ft apart (closer for kids). Then, have 2 players stand on either side of one of the ladders and toss their bolos at the other ladder. Every time they wrap a bolo around one of the rungs, they get points. But every time their opponent wraps a bolo on the same rung, they cancel out the points of the first player (and vice versa). [4]
    • The player that reaches 21 points with at least a 2-point lead wins.
  5. 5
    Scavenger Hunt Hide fun objects and unique items all over a specific location, like your backyard. Then give a list of the items along with clues to their whereabouts to your friends. Your friends must find the items and return them to you within a specific time limit. Whoever finds the most objects on the list before the timer goes off wins.
  6. 6
    Hide and Seek As with any traditional game of hide and seek, choose someone to seek and have them close their eyes and count to a high number. Meanwhile, everyone else should find a hiding place. Once the seeker is done counting, they must try to find the other players.
    • Any player that can sneak past the seeker and make it to home base is a winner.
  7. Choose someone to be "it" and set up a boundary to play tag in. Then have all the other players try to run away from the "it" person (while staying within the boundary). Any player who gets tagged loses and becomes "it" themselves!
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Section 3 of 8:

Games for Large Groups

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  1. Pictionary is a team-based game big enough for 16 players. To play, one player draws a card and silently reads the word on it. Then, they must create a drawing that expresses the meaning of the word well enough that their teammates can guess what it is. The team to hit the points goal first or that scores the highest at the end of the rounds wins!
  2. 2
    Telephone In Telephone , one player whispers a message to the person sitting next to them, and then the second person passes it onto the one next to them. The group passes the message along until it reaches the last person in line, who must announce the message out loud. You'll be surprised at how different it sounds from what the first player originally said!
  3. 3
    Telestrations To play Telestrations , the first player draws a picture representing a secret word and then passes the illustration on to the next player. The next player writes down the word they think the picture represents, then passes it on to the third player, who draws a picture they think matches that word. And so on, until every player has had to chance to either guess or draw a word. [5]
  4. In The Resistance: Avalon , you and up to 9 other players go on quests in the legendary Arthurian world of Avalon. But there's a catch: some members of your group are servants of King Arthur's mortal enemy, Mordred! Arthur's knights must attempt to discover who the moles are, while Mordred's minions try to sabotage the quest at every turn. [6]
  5. 5
    JackboxTV JackboxTV is an online hub for large virtual group games, which you can easily join by entering a code on your mobile phone. The games available through the hub range from murder mysteries to scary thrillers to exciting trivia.
  6. 6
    Jenga Jenga is the ultimate test of your balancing abilities. In this game, you construct a tower of 54 carefully stacked blocks. Your goal – and the goal for all the players – is to remove blocks from the tower without causing it to topple. Anyone who causes it to topple is out of the game, and the tower must be rebuilt each time until only one person is left standing.
  7. Trivial Pursuit is the ultimate test of your knowledge of interesting factoids across all subject matter. The Genus edition of the game comes with 6000 cards and allows up to 24 players to compete against one another for the trivia crown.
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Section 4 of 8:

Games for Adults

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  1. Taboo is similar to a game like charades, except each Target Word comes with a list of "taboo" clues the clue-giver can't say when describing it. This throws a wrench into the game and makes it more fun and challenging.
  2. 2
    Scrabble Scrabble is a timeless board game that involves players arranging letter tiles on a board to form words. By placing tiles on special, high-scoring spaces or making longer words, they can earn more points. After the board is as filled as possible, the player with the highest overall score wins.
  3. 3
    What Do You Meme? In What Do You Meme , the players take turns being the Judge for each round. The Judge draws a card with a picture on it and shows it to everyone. Then all the other players choose a caption card from their hand that they think goes with the picture and submit it to the Judge. The Judge decides which caption they like best, and that player adds the picture card to their tally.
    • Whoever has the most cards at the end of the game is the victor.
  4. Cards Against Humanity is similar to What Do You Meme, except instead of selecting captions for a picture, players submit cards that answer a question or fill in a blank phrase on the card drawn by the judge. The original version of this game contains a lot of curse words and innuendos, so it's more appropriate for adults.
  5. 5
    Dirty Words In Dirty Words , each player must roll 23 dice featuring a naughty word on each face. After they roll the dice, the player has 2 minutes to make as many sentences with the words on the top face of each die as they can. They receive 5 points for each die they use and lose 3 for each one they leave out. [7]
  6. 6
    Settlers of Catan Settlers of Catan is a multiplayer board game in which players vie to score the highest number of Victory points. They do so by building cities, settlements, roads, and armies. [8]
    • This is a more complex game that can take 1-2 hours to complete, so pour yourself a glass of wine and get cozy.
  7. Want to go to naughtier places than is appropriate for the original Telestrations game? Try the After Dark version , which comes with adults-only cards full of hilariously lewd clues that you and your friends have to try to draw. Who knows what kooky, dirty results you'll get, but it's sure to keep the atmosphere light and entertaining.
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Section 5 of 8:

Games for All Ages

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  1. The Game of Life is your chance to lead the idyllic life you always wanted or become an abject failure. The fun is in not knowing how it will turn out! Start with a career and a salary and then make your way through buying a house, having children, and retiring in luxury (or not) in your old age.
  2. 2
    Clue Also known as "Cluedo" in Europe, Clue is the ultimate classic mystery board game. Choose between 6 different characters and use the power of deduction to find out who murdered your host, what weapon they used, and what room the deed took place in.
  3. 3
    Sorry! Sorry! is a simple board game that anyone can master! Gather up to 4 players and have each one pick a group of pawns in their desired color. Draw cards and follow the instructions to move your pawns around the board. The first one to get all their pawns to their home space wins!
  4. In Exploding Kittens , players draw cards from a deck until they draw one with a picture of an exploding kitten on it. With that card, the player must withdraw from the game, and it continues until only one player is left. The original game supports 5 players and the Party Pack supports 10.
  5. 5
    Scattergories Scattergories challenges up to 6 players to fill out a list of categories with words or phrases that begin with a specific letter. The list must be completed before the timer runs out, and then whoever filled out the most categories wins. This game will certainly have you putting your thinking cap on!
  6. 6
    Monopoly Monopoly is the classic real estate buying and selling game that has had board game players enthralled since 1935. Gather up to 8 friends, choose your token, and make your way around the board to collect properties and drive your adversaries into bankruptcy.
  7. Play Ticket to Ride and take your friends and family back to the days when trains were the best way to get across country. The first player to connect their train cars between two destinations on the map gameboard wins! It's a lot of fun to play Ticket to Ride whether you're in elementary school or from the school of hard knocks.
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Section 6 of 8:

Games for Kids

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  1. Trouble is similar to Sorry! The objective in playing this game , as in the other, is to move all your pegs around the board and into your home base. It sounds simple enough, but the game can be tricky if you don't get the right dice rolls or if another player sends you back to Start.
  2. 2
    Operation Operation is a challenging game that kids have been playing since 1965. To win, players must use the metal tweezers attached to the board to lift plastic "body parts" out of holes in the board. If the tweezers touch the edges of the holes, the board makes a buzzing sound and lights up, and the next player gets a turn.
    • The player who retrieves the most plastic pieces wins.
  3. 3
    Go Fish In Go Fish , players each receive a hand of picture cards. Their objective is to make matches with all the cards in their hand before the other players. To get matching cards, players must ask each other if they have a specific card. If they don't, the other player has to say, "Go fish," and the first player must draw a card from the deck. [9]
    • The first person to find matches for all their cards and lay them out is the winner.
  4. Guess Who? is a 2-player board game. In it, each player chooses a picture of a person on their board. Then the other player has to ask questions about the character's appearance to see if they can guess it correctly. If they guess it, they win the round.
  5. 5
    Hungry Hungry Hippos Hungry Hungry Hippos is a fast, frantic game. Players each get their own plastic hippo attached to a base. Plastic "marbles" are set in the center of the board, and when the timer starts, each player has to press down on their hippo repeatedly to "gobble up" as many marbles as possible.
    • The player whose hippo inhaled the most marbles is the top hippo!
  6. 6
    Duck, Duck, Goose Duck, Duck, Goose is a game as old as time. To play it, have all your friends sit in a circle. Then choose one person to be "it" and walk behind the players, touch each one on the head, and call them a "duck." When they come to a friend they want to tag, they must yell, "Goose!" The "goose" must get up and chase them.
    • If the first player makes it back to the circle without being tagged, the second person becomes "it."
  7. In Mouse Trap , you and your friends build mouse traps to try to catch each other and compete to be the last mouse standing. It's a wild and crazy game that also teaches important skills like how to build things, logic, and cause and effect. Who knew a game about catching mice could be so fun and educational simultaneously?
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Section 7 of 8:

Drinking Games to Play with Friends

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  1. Beer pong requires two or more groups of players to set up 6-10 cups of beer in a triangle formation at either end of a long table. Each side throws a ping pong ball at the other to try to land it in a cup of beer. When they're successful, the other team must drink the beer from that cup.
  2. 2
    Medusa For this drinking game, fill a shot glass with your preferred alcohol and stand in a circle with your friends. Next, count to three and look at any of the other players. If they look back at you, you must both say, "Medusa!" and drink your shots. The game is won when only the last two people who haven't looked at each other remain.
  3. 3
    Flip Cup In this game, set up a row of beer-filled cups on either side of a long rectangular table and choose a team for each side. Next, have the first players drink all the beer from the first cup in their row, set it on the edge of the table, and then flip it up and over by tapping it on the bottom. The first team to drain all their cups and successfully flip the cups onto the table, open mouths down, wins!
  4. Buzzed is a card game in which each card comes with special drinking instructions. There's no winner and no real end to the game. You can go as long as you want or until you feel that telltale alcohol buzz. [10]
  5. 5
    You Laugh You Drink To start You Laugh You Drink , choose a Joker and have them draw a card and pick a Target. Next, they must do whatever the cards says within 30 seconds and try to get their Target to laugh. [11]
    • If the Target laughs, they must take a sip of alcohol and the Joker gets to keep the card.
    • If they don't laugh, the Joker must sip their drink and hand the card to the Target. Whoever has the most cards by the end of the game is the winner!
  6. 6
    Kings To set up this guzzler of a drinking game, place an empty plastic cup upside down on the table and surround it with facedown cards. Next, draw a card from a shuffled deck. The card you get will dictate how you and your friends will drink. [12]
    • For example, if you draw a 5, all the guys in your group are supposed to drink. If you draw a 6, all the girls should drink.
    • You can find different rules for each card or make up your own, but traditionally, they'll follow these guidelines from Drinking Game Zone .
  7. Straight Face is similar to You Laugh You Drink, but doesn't require any cards. Instead, each player should write down a funny or inappropriate sentence on a slip of paper and fold it up. Next, choose someone to go first. That person must draw a slip of paper and read the sentence out loud. If they or anyone else giggles or laughs, they have to sip an alcoholic drink. [13]
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Section 8 of 8:

Games to Play with Friends Online

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  1. Quiplash is an online game that allows up to 8 players, but can accept votes from up to 10,000 audience members! The way it works is the game asks a question and the players type in whatever answer they want. Then the audience (the non-players) at your party votes on which answer they like the best.
    • Whoever gets the most votes for the answers throughout the game wins!
  2. 2
    Words with Friends Words with Friends is basically Scrabble, but instead of playing it on a physical board, you play it on an app on your phone. You can connect with friends through the app and compete to build high-scoring words. The friend with the highest score when the "board" is full wins the Words with Friends game .
  3. 3
    Among Us In Among Us , friends play as the crew of a spaceship. Some of the crew members are Imposters, and it's up to the rest of the players to discover which ones are allies and which ones are false as they prepare the spaceship to launch. Meanwhile, the Imposters' goal is to kill as many of the real crew members as possible. It's dark but hilarious fun!
  4. 8-Ball Pool is a mobile app and computer game that's completely free and lets you challenge friends and strangers alike to a virtual game of billiards. Whether you have experience with real-life billiards or not doesn't really matter. As long as you can strike balls in the pockets in the game, you're a pro!
  5. 5
    Skribbl Skribbl is almost exactly like Pictionary, except you play it on the computer! In it, players can connect over the internet and select a "drawer." The drawer must pick a word or phrase and draw a picture they think represents it with their mouse. The other players must then guess what the word is based on the drawing.
  6. 6
    Heads Up! Heads Up! is a mobile guessing game with two main players: a guesser and a clue-giver. The guesser opens the Heads Up app, chooses a virtual card deck, and then holds the back of their phone to their forehead so the clue-giver can see the word on the screen. Then the clue-giver gives verbal hints and makes gestures they think will help the guesser get the correct answer.
  7. Download the Pokemon GO app on your mobile device and use it to connect with your friends and collect virtual Pokemon in your neighborhood. You can also travel to your friends' neighborhoods to find even more Pokemon and challenge your buddies to a Trainer battle for bragging rights.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/cubscouts/adventure-resources/bear/Bear%20Roaring%20Laughter%203%20How%20to%20Play%20Charades.pdf
      2. ↑ https://oneshetwoshe.com/group-game-for-parties/
      3. ↑ https://www.wcpss.net/cms/lib/NC01911451/Centricity/Domain/8808/CornholePacket.pdf
      4. ↑ https://youtu.be/M4vMYqGifZc?si=CUS9KAEqPA_Q47Tv&t=65
      5. ↑ https://youtu.be/KdbNkuTV50A?si=Yk0kjmlYRudac8kJ&t=6
      6. ↑ https://youtu.be/rXlK3NZjLGc?si=aEGkYDT7tJOqDbbm&t=17
      7. ↑ https://www.universitygames.com/dirtywords
      8. ↑ https://youtu.be/8Yj0Y3GKE40?si=alqfNOIk2dm8ukHI&t=151
      9. ↑ https://www.playmonster.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/GoFishCard_Rules.pdf
      1. ↑ https://www.officialgamerules.org/card-games/buzzed
      2. ↑ https://youtu.be/QdjsCfIPa70?si=lpdEr0oH02hYU1xG
      3. ↑ https://youtu.be/Tzt9wBLrj-U?si=EBWRxmNAsIM_nZJk&t=6
      4. ↑ https://drinkinggamesbible.com/straight-face-drinking-game/

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