great party games

Balderdash.

Balderdash evolved from a game called Dictionary where you and your friends would try to define words nobody has ever heard of. Today's version has even more fun catergories. What was Herman Hunclkebuck's claim to fame? Did he invent something, set a world record. What is the plot to Murder in the Moonlight? In Balderdash all you need to do is convince everyone that your answer is the true one. Play it and find a creative streak you didn't even know you had.

Apples to Apples

Apples to Apples is a great game because there isn't really a limit on the number of people that can play and it is very simple to explain. One person has a card that's an adjective like annoying and everyone else is playing with nouns including famous people. What's the most annoying: Britney Spears, A haunted House, The United Nations, or Robin Williams? Find out with Apples to Apples. There are also expansion packs and a kids version.

Scattergories
You have one letter 12 catergories and 3 minutes. How many things can you think up that start with that letter. Try to be original because duplicates get crossed off.

Twister
The classic way to see just how uncoordinated your friends are. I am out after the first spin.

Outburst
This one is good if you have a lot of people. Every card has a topic and a bunch of answers. Each team tries to guess what's on the card by yelling stuff out. The premise is basic but it's fun.

Cranium
If you don't have enough room for a lot of games get Cranium because it basically stole the ideas from classic party games and rolled them into one. Data head is trivia. In Creative Cat you play pictionary, and eyes closed pictionary or you get to play with funky smelling clay. Word worm includes spelling games and Star Performer includes charades, and humming. The humming is the hardest one in my opinion.

Taboo
This one is a classic you have probably played at some point. You try to get your team to guess the answer without saying any of the banned words. For example Try to get someone to guess bowling without saying pins, alley, lane, sport, or shoes. There is also an out of print version called Celebrity Taboo.

Scene it DVD Game
This adds a new spin on movie trivia by including movie clips within the game.
Catchphrase

Mad Gab
You say this weird gobblygook phrase over and over until it sounds like a normal word or phrase. It's harder and more fun than it sounds.

Guesstures
Fast paced charades with a time limiting card eating machine.

Trivial Pursuit
This is the classic with tons of variations. Just make sure you don't pull out the old blue one you have had since 1982 at your next party. Nobody likes answering movie questions about some forgotten 1979 made for TV movie starring Margot Kidder, Meridith Baxter Burney and Alan Alda, splurge for a newer funner version ok.

Pictionary
Another one of the classics. Just draw fast and try to get your team to guess what it is.
True Colors
This one works best at an intimate party where you know everybody. You vote on who you think best fits an attribute on a card and it's a good if sometimes scary way to see what your friends think of you. I usually play it where if you get a card that is way too humiliating you can pick a different one because you don't want to lose your friends over a silly game.

Jenga
The classic tower stacking game.

Zobmondo would you rather
This one pairs 2 gross things and you have to choose the lesser of 2 evils.

Encore
This is a music game where teams think up songs and lyrics that include a certain word like love or dance. It's a great choice if you have musical friends.

Inklings
You write down hints on a wipe off board and try to get your teammates to guess the answer. The shorter the hint the more points you get. This used to be a part of the scattergories, guesstures, taboo line up of game but was discontinued even though its more fun than some of those. I don't know why but it might have been because the pens dried up. Get a new set of wipe off pens if you get this game.

Chauvinist Pigs
This is a battle of the sexes game where the girls try to answer guy questions and the guys try to answer female questions. It's fun but all the female questions seem to be about sewing and I know nothing about sewing.

Songburst
Before there were TV shows like The Singing Bee and Don't forget the Lyrics there was Songburst a home game where you try to remember all the lyrics to a song. There are 3 versions 50s/60s country, and 70s/80s. 70s/80s is the most sought after.

Four letter Frenzy
This game is a take off of spoons. In it you try to spell a word out and when you do take a beanbag. Don't be the last one to grab. It's better than basic spoons because there are catergories and letters so you are trying to form words while you keep an eye on the bags.

Hedbandz
This is a silly but fun game like the classic car trip game 20 questions. You wear either a who am I, what am I, or where am I on your head and try to guess what is on the card.

Times to Remember
This is a fun game where you try to guess what year a particular event happened. You have a disc filled with years and plastic frames that span up to 7 years. The object is to be the first to get rid of your plastic frames. This game is from the early 90s so really young people might not like it. I recommend it for fans of the 50's through the late 80s early 90s.

Picture Picture.
This is like scattergories but with pictures. It's best for small parties or ones where you break up and play different games since you all need to see the same picture.

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