Fear not! The Week is at your rescue, with fun games that can entertain any number of people!
Modified Scattergories
We have all grown up playing name-place-animal-thing at the back benches, hiding it below our bags while the teacher writes on the blackboard. But why restrict it to name, place, animal, and thing? There are so many fun categories of things, which is what the original game, Scattergories, is made of. It has ten or more different sheets, each of which has different categories of things like "things that are cold," "things you find in your wallet," "things eaten in the mornings." Oh, you get the idea!
Make your own fun list in collaboration with your friends and siblings, and play with a new list every time! You can look up the Scattergories cards online (which you will find aplenty) for inspiration.
Draw from words
Arm each participant with pen and paper. Have one person give a description of an object. For example, if you're thinking of a glass, you may say "draw a cylinder with a circle at the top and bottom." It's amazing how many people will get such simple directions wrong, and come up with the most hilarious versions of what you described! Whoever makes the drawing closest to your idea wins, and the next person gets to do the description.
Twenty questions
This game is most often played between two people, but it's even more fun in a big group. Arrange everyone in a circle, and have each write something on a piece of paper. It can be anything, from the name of your favorite actor to the feeling you get when you wake up too late for work. Tape the piece of paper to the person sitting on your right, and give them a hint about what it is: an actor / a feeling. Now, that person has to figure out what you wrote. They can ask one question, and the answer can only be either yes or no. No hints allowed thereafter. Then it's the turn of the next person to ask. Go round in circles, and the first person to guess the word wins. But it's still fun to play until the last person guesses.
Dumb charades
We have all played dumb charades where we guess the name of a movie. But why should it be limited to movies? This game offers infinite possibilities when you realize that you can act out anything you want. Act out that strange neighbor with a distinctive voice and see how many others find it just as distinctive. Or act out feelings, ideas, places, or anything in the world.
Beer pong
This game is often played with alcohol, but it can work just as well with non-alcoholic drinks, even plain water. The trick, after all, is to make the other person drink more than you. For this game, you'll need a table, some cups, and a tennis ball. Arrange ten cups each on two sides of a table. Fill all the cups with the drink of your choice. Take the tennis ball (and this is very important – make sure it's clean) and throw it at the opposition's arrangement from across the table. If the ball lands inside a glass, the other team must drink it, and you get to hit again. If not, pass the ball on to the other side. This game can be played between two individuals or between teams.
Secret Santa
You don't have to wait for Christmas to give and receive gifts. Any day, if you have enough time to plan for a gathering, is enough time to have fun with gifts. Set a budget for your guests: something very reasonable, like Rs. 100. Tell them to get a gift each, wrapped so that no one can see what it is. Assemble all the gifts at one place, and randomly assign each guest a number. Each guest gets to go and pick a gift from the pile according to the serial order. Since the budget is limited, it is fun to see what each person can do with a limited budget.
Two truths and a lie
This game offers a great way to know each other, since it reveals things about each player. One player says three things, two of which are true and one is a lie. Other players are allowed to ask questions about all the three statements. The person can lie about his original lie, but must answer other questions truthfully. The point is to find out which of the statements is a lie. Players take turn making statements.
With ideas like these, you will never have to resort to Chinese Whisper or Chess at gatherings. These entertaining games give you great ways to bond, with strangers and friends alike, and have fun in the process!
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