The best and most fun games to play at home with friends

It's very common for you to be at home with friends and not know what to do, so having a list of games to play at home is always a good idea.

This has happened to everyone; you and your friends surely meant to go out but, in the end, you got lazy and you decided to stay at home, but you also can't think of any games to play to pass the time. It could also be the case where you have organised a house party and you want to look up some games to play in a group, or that you simply want to make note of some new ideas for games to play when you're bored.

Some ErasmusU users have already proposed some games, such as Ring of Fire (also written about here). In any case, if you don't fancy playing this or if you have something else in mind, here is a list of games to play at home, whether they be games to play in pairs, games to play with friends, games to get the party started or fun games for those nights when you don't fancy going out.

Games to keep you entertained at parties

Beer Pong

If beer pong isn't the most popular drinking game among universities, then it must come close. It is an essential part of every Erasmus party and for good reason! Because it is a simple game to organise, but it can be very competitive and fun. You only need some empty plastic cups and a ping-pong ball to throw into them.

You need to place six cups, half-full with the drink of your choice, at the edge of the table in the same arrangement as they would be in for bowling. From the other side of the table, you have to try to throw the ball into one of the cups, which your opponent will then have to drink. It gets more fun every turn!

Tresure Hunt

If you are the host of the party and you have time to plan something, a treasure hunt is one of the most fun group games that you can play. It's about, obviously, finding "treasure" (whatever that might be) around the house and working out a series of clues that you give to your guests to help them find it. The good thing about this game is that you can personalise it completely, from the treasure to the clues that you want to give, so it is a good option for a special celebration with friends.

Make-up

If you have a good collection of make-up, this is one of the most fun games to play in a pair. It's very simple: first, make two piles of paper. On the sheets of paper from one pile, write the steps to follow for a full-face of make-up (face, lips, eyelids... ) and on the pieces of paper from the other pile, write the products that you use as make-up (lipstick, eyeshadow, highlighter... ). Fold the sheets of paper so that you cannot see what is written. In turn, each person has to take a piece of paper from each pile and paint the area of the face written on the paper that they picked up with the product written on the other piece of paper (for example, paint your eyebrows with highlighter) until you have a complete "full-face" of make-up. You might get a little messy and you'll end up with your face covered in lipstick, but it's a lot of fun!

Pictionary

If you're looking for games to play as a family, this is the ideal one. You can buy the official board game, but the home-made version is much cheaper and just as fun: you only need a notebook, some pencils and some pieces of paper. If you have time, you can write on the paper the things that you have to draw (the more there are, the better), or you can do it at the same party, with the rest of the guests.

In turns, each person chooses a paper and has to try to make the others guess what they have chosen exclusively with their drawings. No talking allowed! Ah, and there is a time limit. Use a timer on your phone to set the time limit.

Fun card drinking games

Card drinking games are, probably, the games that you play with friends that have the most variety possible. Although there are hundreds and thousands of different possibilities, here are a few suggestions of fun card games that are not so well known.

President

This is not a game to play in large groups: you need a minimum of four players, but if you are in a group of more than ten, for example, then it could get quite complicated.

First of all, you need to establish the "punishment": basically, what and how much you will make the losers drink.

The cards are shuffled and dealt (face down) to all players. Every card has its own value (later on is a list with the points). The game consists of taking turns putting one (or two, or three, of the same number) card on the table, and the rest of the players have to throw one card (or more) of the same value or higher until that nobody can play something higher, at which point a new round begins and a new hand is dealt, starting with the last one that put down a card.

Let's say, for example, that somebody puts down two fives. The next player can only put down two cards if they are of the same or higher value to the five, and if they cannot, they have to miss their turn.

The objective is to be the first one without any cards to become the "president". The second person to get rid of all their cards becomes the "vicepresident". The rest of the people will simply be neutral, apart from the last player, who will be known as "scum" and the penultimate player, who will be "high-scum".

Why are the names important? The two losers have to drink. Furthermore, in the following game, the "scum" has to give their two best cards to the "president", who will exchange them for the two worst cards they have. In the same way, the "high-scum" has to give their best card (only one) to the "vicepresident", who exchanges it for their worst card, to make things more interesting. It seems a little complicated at first but, when you take it easy, it will soon become one of your favorite games for passing the time.

Value of the cards:

• The black 3s are the cards with the lowest value and then as the number increases so does the value (up to Ace).
• A red 3 is the card with the highest value
• A 2 is a wild card: it can be whichever card you want it to be (though it is not superior to a red 3
• A 2 is used to clear a round: if it suits you to start a new turn but people keep throwing cards, you can throw some when its your turn and then you start with the cards you want to put on the table.

Bridge

Place the cards face down forming a line (or a bridge) on the table, leaving the first of all the cards face up. The first person has to say out loud if they think that the next card will be higher or lower in value than the one that is faced up, and then turn it over to check. If you're right, you're free, and it's the next person's turn. If you're wrong, you have to drink and repeat your turn!

The good thing about card games is that, for the most part, they can be adapted to the number of people in your group: they can easily change from games for large groups to three-person games, and some of them can even be adapted to be played in pairs. If you're on your own... there aren't that many card games apart from Solitaire!

Other drinking games for groups (games for three or more people)

Picolo

Picolo is a mobile app with a free trial version. The app itself will tell you what you have to do, but, in a nutshell, you have to enter the names of all the players that are going to participate and the app will give everyone challenges and rules. For example, it could order somebody to only talk in rhymes, or make those who don't have a tattoo drink two shots. The only bad thing is that the free version is a bit limited, but there is enough for a night or two with friends!

Bottle tops (another version of Paranoia)

If somebody in your group has opened a bottle of beer or soft drink and you have the bottle lid, you will already have everything you need to play this game.

The idea is to sit in a circle, for example around a table. The person who starts has to whisper in the ear to the friend on their right a question about the others, for example “who do you like most out of all of us here? " That person has to give the bottle top to the chosen person (without saying what the question was), who then has to throw the bottle top into the air and see how it lands. If it falls to the right, the question is said aloud; if it falls backwards, the person who has been asked has to drink, but their secret will not be discovered. What would you prefer?

By the way, now it would be time to ask the person to whom you had given the bottle top a question.

Flippy cup

Do you want to play a quick game with your friends? Then this is perfect.

You need to have two teams. Everyone puts a plastic cup upside down on the edge of the table, leaving part of the base over the edge. The game consists of each person (taking it in turns) having to knock the part of the cup that overhangs the table upwards to try to flip the cup the right way up. Have you ever tried flipping a bottle in the air so that it lands the right way up? It's similar to that. Every member of the team has to take it in turns, and the team that takes the longest has to drink. It will put you on the edge of your seat from the tension!

Board games for adolescents

Not every game has to be centred around drinking, right? There are many options of games to play with friends without a focus on alcohol, particularly good for the younger generations.

Monopoly

Who hasn't ever played this board game? The good thing is that, nowadays, there is a mountain of versions with different themes, so you can always find the one that you find most entertaining. The more people, the better.

Party&Co

Maybe this is not as well known as Monopoly, but it is one of the most entertaining group games there is. They are also made in different versions: for adults, with music and cinematic themes... you just have to choose which one you like best!

Trivial Pursuit

A classic among classics, this is another game that has been reinvented over time. Though, you do need to have enough general knowledge to play well, but if your group of friends and you are very competitive then you will surely end up playing nonstop.

Games to pass the time in big groups

Toilet

Very easy to understand: All cards are placed face down, forming a circle (or a toilet, depending on how you see it). The first person has to say "one", pick up a card and throw it into the centre. The second says "two" and throws another, and so on and so forth until all the cards are gone.

Here's the trick: if a person picks up a card whose number matches with the one they said, they take all the cards in the centre of the "toilet"! When its their turn again, instead of flipping a circle card, they have to throw in one of their own, and so on until they get rid of them all (if they don't collect them all again! ). As you might have guessed, the last person to get rid of all the cards in their hand loses.

Whispers

Who didn't play this when they were young? It turns out that it doesn't have to be only in the category of games to play with children, but it can also be fun for older people as well.

Simply put, the group has to get into a line. The first person has to think of a phrase (the more convoluted, the better! ) and whisper it to the person next to them, who will pass it on to the next person, and so on until you get to the last person, who will have to say the phrase out loud. It seems silly, but it's the classic games that will end up making you laugh a lot.

Entertaining games without any equipment

There is nothing more typical of a night spent at home with friends than having forgotten cards and all the board games that you had meant to bring. No need to worry, you can play these games with your friends without any necessary equipment, and so you can be sure that you'll never be left without anything to do.

Charades

Surely everyone knows this game: you think of an action, animal person place... and you try to make your friends guess what it is using only gestures.

You can tweak it in many ways to make it more entertaining: you can make it thematic (for example, only characters from a certain series or movie can be chosen/ interpreted), or set a very tight time limit.

Truth or dare

Who hasn't played this game at least once? But just in case you've been living under a rock and you don't know what happens, you have to choose if you want your friends to ask you a question (often uncomfortable), or to give you a dare (also most likely to be uncomfortable) if you don't want to answer the question. The possibilities are practically infinite, which is why it is one of the games we have most often played to pass the time from since we were children. Just be careful to not go too far with your friends!

Don't forget!

If you're looking for accommodation, we can help you. ErasmusU offers hundreds of options to choose from regarding living spaces: rooms, studios, university residences and flats. All so that you can find your perfect home online, even before you arrive to your chosen city. para que puedas encontrar tu hogar perfecto online, incluso antes de llegar a la ciudad.

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