14 party games with no supplies

Botticelli

Players

3 to 10

Minutes

15 to 30

Ages

12 and up

You need

Nothing

1. One player thinks of a famous person and says the first letter of their last name, such as M.
2. The others take turns describing someone else with that letter: 'Are you a Spanish painter?'
3. The player must name a match, such as 'No, I am not Joan Miró.' If they cannot, the asker earns one yes-or-no question about the secret person.
4. Use the yes-or-no answers to close in. The player who names the secret person thinks of the next one.

Green glass door

Players

4 to 15

Minutes

10 to 20

Ages

9 and up

You need

Nothing

1. One player who knows the secret says what can go through the green glass door: 'a kitten can, but a cat cannot.'
2. Others offer their own tries, such as 'Can I bring a pillow?' The knower says yes or no.
3. The secret: only words with a double letter pass, like green, glass and door.
4. Players who work it out keep playing without saying the rule aloud, until everyone has it.

The alibi game

Players

5 to 15

Minutes

20 to 30

Ages

12 and up

You need

Nothing

1. Two players are the suspects. The group tells them the crime, such as a cake that went missing at 8 last night.
2. The suspects leave the room for five minutes to agree on a detailed story of where they were together.
3. One suspect comes back, and the group questions them on small details: what they ate, who paid, what the weather was.
4. Then the second suspect is questioned alone with the same questions.
5. Count the answers that do not match. More than five and the suspects are guilty.

Psychiatrist

Players

6 to 15

Minutes

15 to 20

Ages

10 and up

You need

Nothing

1. One player, the psychiatrist, leaves the room.
2. The group agrees on a secret rule for answering questions, such as always answering as the person on your left.
3. The psychiatrist comes back and asks players any questions they like.
4. Everyone answers following the rule. The psychiatrist tries to work out the rule from the answers.
5. Other rules to try: every answer must be untrue, or every answer starts with the last letter of the question.

Wink murder at the table

Players

6 to 15

Minutes

10 to 20

Ages

8 and up

You need

Nothing

1. Everyone closes their eyes. A host who is not playing walks around the table and taps one player's shoulder to make them the winker.
2. Eyes open. Conversation carries on while the winker winks at players one at a time.
3. A player who is winked at waits a moment, then announces that they are out.
4. Anyone can accuse the winker. A wrong accusation puts the accuser out.

Buzz

Players

4 to 20

Minutes

10

Ages

7 and up

You need

Nothing

1. Sit in a circle and count aloud, one number per player: one, two, three.
2. Any number that contains a 7 or divides by 7 is replaced with 'buzz'.
3. A player who says the number, or says buzz by mistake, starts the count again at one.
4. For a harder round, also say 'fizz' for numbers that divide by 5, so 35 becomes 'fizz buzz'.

One-word story

Players

4 to 12

Minutes

10

Ages

6 and up

You need

Nothing

1. Sit in a circle. The first player says one word to start a story, such as 'Yesterday'.
2. Each player adds exactly one word, keeping the sentence making sense.
3. Anyone can end a sentence by saying 'period'.
4. Keep going until the story reaches an ending, then try to retell it together from the start.

Category clap

Players

4 to 12

Minutes

10

Ages

8 and up

You need

Nothing

1. Everyone keeps a steady beat: two slaps on the knees, then two claps.
2. On the claps, the first player names a category, such as fruits.
3. Going around the circle, each player names an item in that category on their two claps.
4. Miss the beat, repeat an item or freeze, and you pick the next category.

Talk for a minute

Players

3 to 12

Minutes

15

Ages

10 and up

You need

A watch or phone to time one minute

1. The group gives a player a topic, such as socks, rain or breakfast.
2. The player talks about it for one minute without long pauses, without repeating a phrase and without drifting off the topic.
3. Anyone who hears a slip can challenge. If the group agrees, the challenger takes over the topic for the time left.
4. Whoever is talking when the minute ends scores a point.

The yes-no ban

Players

3 to 20

Minutes

5 to 10

Ages

7 and up

You need

Nothing

1. One player takes the hot seat.
2. The others fire quick questions for one minute, such as 'Are you sitting down?'
3. The player must answer without saying yes or no, and without nodding or shaking their head.
4. A slip ends their turn. The longest time without a slip wins.

Never have I ever, with fingers

Players

4 to 15

Minutes

10 to 15

Ages

10 and up

You need

Nothing

1. Everyone holds up five fingers.
2. Take turns saying something you have never done, such as 'Never have I ever ridden a horse.'
3. Anyone who has done it folds down a finger. Nobody has to explain.
4. Whoever still has a finger raised at the end wins. Keep statements to light topics like travel, food and hobbies.

Open the material: Never have I ever questions for families

Charades with no cards

Players

4 to 20, in two teams

Minutes

20 to 30

Ages

8 and up

You need

Nothing

1. Split into two teams.
2. Each team whispers a prompt to one player from the other team, such as a film, a song or a job.
3. That player acts it out for their own team without speaking, while the other team counts to 60.
4. Each right guess earns the team a point. Swap until everyone who wants to act has had a turn.

Zip zap boing

Players

6 to 25

Minutes

10

Ages

7 and up

You need

Nothing

1. Stand in a circle. The first player claps toward the person on their left and says 'zip'.
2. Zip passes to the next person along. 'Zap' sends it across the circle to anyone you point at.
3. 'Boing', with both hands up like a wall, bounces the pass back to the sender.
4. A player who hesitates or uses the wrong word sits out for one round, then rejoins.

Guess the leader

Players

8 to 30

Minutes

10 to 15

Ages

6 and up

You need

Nothing

1. One guesser leaves the room. The rest sit in a circle and choose a leader.
2. The leader starts a movement, such as clapping or tapping their knees, and everyone copies it.
3. The guesser comes back and stands in the middle while the leader changes the movement every so often.
4. The guesser has three tries to name the leader. Then the leader becomes the next guesser.