The 10 Best Party Games for Adults to Upgrade Your Next Social Gathering
Still playing charades at your game nights? BOOO! Kick things up a notch with our pick of the best party games for adults, from the laugh-out-loud to the seriously strategic. There’s something for everyone in our roundup (but, you know, maybe don’t play some of the filthier ones with your mom). So, bring out the wine, gather around (in-person or virtually) and get ready to have some fun.
1. CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY
This raunchy card game will have you rolling on the floor with laughter as participants try to outdo each other with inappropriateness. Each round, one player asks a fill-in-the-blank question from a black card (think: “What’s making things awkward in the sauna?” or “What is Batman’s guilty pleasure?”) and then the other players answer with their funniest white card. The player then acts as a judge and picks their favorite answer. Dubbed “the party game for horrible people,” this cult game is guaranteed to garner a lot of laughs. (Note: This one is definitely for mature audiences only—and by “mature,” we don’t mean your Great Aunt Mildred.)
2. Never Have I Ever
You probably remember playing this game in your teenage bedroom. Now you can continue the hilarity (and embarrassment) well into adulthood. Which one of your friends has spent a night in jail? Or angrily thrown a drink in someone’s face? Find out things you never knew about your friends in this game where you use cards to discover your crew’s deepest, darkest secrets. Hanging out with your mom friends? Shake things up with the “parenting pack.”
3. WHAT DO YOU MEME?
Are you that person who always floods the group chat with memes? Is your dream to one day go viral? (Hey, no judgment.) This is the game for you. In this pop-culture card game, the idea is to compete with your friends and family over who can create the funniest memes. Here’s how it works: One person places a photo card up on the easel and the other players use their (typically lewd) caption cards to complete the meme. The person with the funniest meme wins the round.
4. No Chill
No Chill is a kickback/party game made to separate the freaks from the lames. This game include 6 games in 1: Dare, Truth, Most Likely, Never Have I Ever, Would You Rather, & 5 Words Or Less. Wear multiple layers of clothes, bring your Chapstick, & get the shots ready because No Chill is a game you can't play without being PUNISHED. Win by having the most points or lose while getting stripped, drunk, spanked, or even worse. With 90 cards included in this game you can play over and over again because everyone will have their own different answers and experiences. Find out how wild your friends are and have the night of your life.
5. THE VOTING GAME
How well do you really know your friends? In this risqué pick, players are asked to vote on the “most likely” candidates for a number of hilarious scenarios. For example: Who would you ask for help if you needed to leave the country? Who could win a drag show? Who snoops through their significant other’s phone on a regular basis? Consider this the ultimate party game test of your friendship.
6. TELESTRATIONS AFTER DARK
Imagine a game of Telephone but instead of whispering (and misconstruing) different phrases, players draw them instead. Confused? We’ll explain. Each player has their own wipe-off sketchbook and a secret word that they have to draw. Once they’ve done their best doodle, they pass their sketchbook along to get the next person’s pictorial guess. This continues until the image has made it full circle and you can see just how wrong and weird things have gone along the way. This game is especially great when you’ve got dinner waiting in the oven since each round only takes 15 minutes. For this “after-dark” version, expect adult humor, so don’t accidentally play it with your younger cousins.
7. EXPLODING KITTENS
The family-friendly edition of this game was the most-backed project in Kickstarter history, but this version is definitely not suitable for playing with your grandma. It’s basically a strategic take on Russian roulette where the goal is to avoid drawing the Exploding Kitten card, thereby ending the game. So, how do you do that, you ask? By using Defuse Cards (like laser pointers and kitten yoga) to distract the kittens or other game-shifting cards (like skipping your turn).
8. BAD PEOPLE
Similar to The Voting Game, this party activity will reveal what your friends actually think about you. Players take turns reading a question card aloud and then vote on who fits the descriptor. With question cards like, “Who gets paid too much for what they do?" and “Most likely to become a drug mule at some point in their life?” this is a game for close friends, only.
9.THE HOT SEAT
Ever wanted to be on a TV game show? Well, here’s the next best thing. Find out which one of your friends knows you the best in this fun game. To play, one person sits in the “the hot seat” each round and has to answer questions about themselves (like What will my gravestone say? or What has the power to make me instantly horny?). The other players also have to answer the same question as if they were the person in the hot seat, and then try to guess the correct response. Note: This game is not recommended for those who have something to hide.
10. UNSTABLE UNICORNS
Dubbed as “a strategic card game that will destroy your friendships...but in a good way,” this one’s recommended for ages 14 and up and can accommodate up to eight players. The first person to build an army of seven unicorns wins but you might have to betray your friends and family to get there. Want to take things up a notch? Check out the NSFW expansion pack.