Friends game night

[akafred]

What are the best actual games?

I'm thinking we hire a babysitter to let the kids play outside until dark and then come in and do their own game night upstairs in the play room while the parents have grown up game night downstairs in the living room, grab a couple pizzas and have everyone bring something to share. That way the kids have fun and the parents don't have to each hire a sitter. Probably gather around 6, games to go 6:30-8:30ish? Only problem is the damn barky dog and only having an invisible fence.

[waverly]

I think probably if you have a variety of games and people can pick or based on personality. Games for kids or adults?

For adults we like Exploding Kittens and Cards against Humanities. We also played I think it was Apples to Apples. I remember playing Taboo and it was fun for a group.

Kid games are maybe a bit harder if you have a wide variety of ages.

[2chatter]

We did classic kids games after dark at family camp with kids ages 4-14. Ghost in the graveyard was the most popular, followed by sardines.

The best games IMHO are no kids on property - like Cards Against Humanity. For clean we enjoy Cataan and Ticket to Ride.

[akafred]

You can't really hear anything that is happening in the playroom from the living room if the door is shut, so as long as the babysitter does a good job keeping the kids engaged in their games and movies etc, it should be ok to do some PG-13 or R stuff.

I don't find Exploding Kittens to be very fun. Like at all. Have never played CAH (but always wanted to). I enjoy SuperFight for a few rounds at least. In my head I want to cook up a mystery somehow. Like a surprise mystery where I deal everyone a card with a note on it that tells them where to go get a secret clue and then come together to solve it. Is that nuts? Probably?

[shakinros]

I would be thrilled if someone presented me a mystery game like that. Sounds super fun.

For grownups, we like Pit. It’s a stock trading game (kind of) but lots of yelling and you get to ring a bell every round. Rules can be learned in 10 seconds.

[erinshelley21]

Cards against humanity is so much fun and I also love What The Meme. It's basically the same concept as CAH but easier in a way.

I prefer to not have to think during games at this stage in my life and prefer games that I can play with a few drinks. Those 2 happen to be more fun after a few beverages too haha.

[akafred]

SuperFight could be really good for the secret mystery. You give out 3 white cards that say just a few words (like "The Hulk") and 3 black cards. Then you give them an extra black card they HAVE to play. I think we could slip a card with a note written on it in their stack. "Don't say anything. When this round is over, excuse yourself and go to the pantry and retrieve some chips." Meanwhile we put our Halloween skeleton in the pantry with a clue in his mouth. That kind of thing. Then they all come together and put the clues together to solve a mystery. Too hokey?

I don't think our friends will drink more than a glass of wine or two. There is a mix of conservative and free thinkers (not talking politics) and a mix of people in the neighborhood who could walk and people who will need to drive.

[rere]

+1 Cards Against Humanity. We also have a lot of fun with couples bunco. It gives everyone a chance to interact. The guys get confused and yell "Yatzee" and "Bingo " , but we drink a bit though.

[sandandsea]

Mar 25, 2018 6:12:43 GMT -5 shakinros said:

For grownups, we like Pit. It’s a stock trading game (kind of) but lots of yelling and you get to ring a bell every round. Rules can be learned in 10 seconds.

Pit is so fun! But loud! My dad hates it because of that but I grew up in a farming family and Pit was a go to.

Ticket to ride is fun. Pictionary and cranium are fun traditional games.
Our family favorite now is Takeoff where you race airplanes around the world.

[sandandsea]

My family also likes Dutch Blitz.

[waverly]

We have the not safe for work Exploding Kittens so we mostly just giggled at the cards. I wouldn't say the game itself is that thrilling. CAH is probably more fun.

[twinmomma]

Dominion is fun. It's kind of like Magic the Gathering, but no one has to pre-build a deck and you don't have to know the ins and outs of the game to play. Definitely skews to a more nerdy crowd though.

For something silly and easy, the Oregon Trail game is fun. Silly nostalgia more than a game you have to think about. The Super Mario one is dumb. Don't waste your money.

We also love Cards Against Humanity.

And another super fun game, if it's the right crowd, is Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes. You print out a bomb diffusing manual and one person sits at a laptop with the "bomb" up on the screen. (The directions actually say that person should sit in a blanket tent for that part. Usually this depends on how many drinks in we are.) Person with the laptop has to explain what they see on the bomb and everyone else uses the manual to explain back how to shut it off before the timer runs out. It's a lot of tricky riddles to figure out which wire to cut, which button to press, etc... Super fun! And it works well with a big group, since you can divide and conquer the pieces of the manual.

[kimberlybb]

I also love Cards Against Humanity, Exploding Kittens, Ticket to Ride, and Balderdash.