21 party games for teens

Mafia

Players

7 to 20

Minutes

20 to 45

Ages

12 and up

You need

A narrator and a deck of playing cards: two black aces for the mafia, the red king for the detective, the red queen for the doctor, and number cards for everyone else

1. The narrator deals one card face down to each player. With more than 12 players, add a third mafia card, such as a black king.
2. At night, all players shut their eyes. The mafia silently choose a player to knock out, the doctor chooses someone to protect, and the detective points at a player and gets a thumbs up or down from the narrator.
3. When everyone opens their eyes, the narrator says who was knocked out, unless the doctor protected them. That player stays to watch in silence.
4. Everyone argues and votes to remove one suspect, who shows their card.
5. The town wins when every mafia player is gone. The mafia win when they equal the number of other players still in.

Fishbowl

Players

6 to 20, in 2 teams

Minutes

30 to 45

Ages

12 and up

You need

Paper slips, pens, a bowl and a one-minute timer

1. Each player writes four names on slips, such as famous people, characters or things everyone knows, and folds them into the bowl.
2. First round, talking: in one minute, the clue giver gets teammates through as many slips as they can, describing each without saying any word on it.
3. Second round, one word: every slip goes back in the bowl, and each clue is limited to a single word.
4. Third round, silent: the same slips once more, this time mimed without a sound.
5. The team with the most slips over the three rounds wins.

Forehead guessing

Players

4 to 12

Minutes

15 to 20

Ages

12 and up

You need

A phone showing a word generator, or a stack of word cards

1. One player holds the phone or a card against their forehead without looking at the word.
2. The others give clues, act it out or hum, without saying the word.
3. The guesser has one minute to get as many words as possible and can skip any word.
4. Pass the phone on and compare scores after everyone has had a turn.

Open the material: Drawing game word generator

Drawing telephone

Players

5 to 12

Minutes

15 to 20

Ages

12 and up

You need

A pen for each player, and a stack of small sheets for each player with one sheet per person in the game

1. Each player writes an odd little phrase on their top sheet, such as 'a cat running for class president'.
2. Stacks move one seat to the left. The new holder reads the phrase, tucks that sheet under the pile, and sketches the phrase on the fresh sheet.
3. Stacks move left again. Now the holder sees only the sketch, tucks it under, and writes a caption for what it seems to show.
4. Captions and sketches take turns until every stack is back with the player who started it.
5. Owners flip through their stacks for the room, from the first phrase to the last caption.

Psychiatrist (guess the rule)

Players

6 to 15

Minutes

15 to 20

Ages

13 and up

You need

Nothing

1. Send one player, the psychiatrist, out of earshot.
2. The group agrees on a secret rule for answering, such as 'answer as if you were the person on your left'.
3. The psychiatrist comes back and asks anyone questions, such as 'What did you have for breakfast?'
4. If someone answers against the rule, everyone shouts 'Psychiatrist!' and changes seats.
5. The psychiatrist wins by guessing the rule. The player whose answer gave it away goes next.

Contact

Players

5 to 12

Minutes

15 to 30

Ages

13 and up

You need

Nothing

1. The keeper picks a secret word and reveals only its first letter, such as E.
2. Any guesser gives a clue to a different word that starts with the letters shown: 'Is it a very large gray animal?'
3. If another guesser thinks they know it, they call 'Contact', and both count to three and say the word together.
4. If they say the same word before the keeper names it ('It's not elephant'), the keeper must reveal the next letter.
5. The player who guesses the secret word becomes the next keeper.

Spoons

Players

4 to 10

Minutes

10 to 20

Ages

10 and up

You need

Playing cards, and a pile of spoons with one fewer spoon than there are players

1. Deal four cards each and set the spoons in a pile where everyone can reach them.
2. The dealer draws from the deck and passes one card to the left. Everyone passes a card on at the same time, always holding four.
3. Collect four cards of one rank and you may slip a spoon off the pile. When others notice, it is a scramble.
4. The player left without a spoon takes the next letter of S-P-O-O-N.
5. Spell the whole word and you are out. Spoons are grabbed from the pile only, never out of a hand.

Clean truth or dare

Players

4 to 12

Minutes

20 to 30

Ages

12 and up

You need

A list of truths and dares

1. Players take turns choosing truth or dare, and the group reads one from the list.
2. Every dare happens in the room, and nothing is filmed or posted unless the player says yes.
3. Anyone can pass a truth or a dare without giving a reason, or swap it for another.
4. No dares with food challenges, heights or anything that could hurt.

Open the material: Truth or dare questions for groups

Would you rather debates

Players

4 to 20

Minutes

15 to 20

Ages

12 and up

You need

Would you rather questions written for teens

1. Read a question. Players move to one side of the room for each choice.
2. Each side gets 30 seconds to argue its case.
3. Anyone convinced by the other side can walk over.
4. The side with more people at the end scores a point for that question.

Open the material: Would you rather questions for teens

Never have I ever, clean version

Players

4 to 15

Minutes

15

Ages

12 and up

You need

A list of statements

1. Each player starts with five fingers raised.
2. Take turns reading a statement, such as 'Never have I ever fallen asleep in a movie theater.'
3. Anyone who has done it puts a finger down. Nobody has to explain.
4. Whoever keeps a finger raised the longest wins. Stick to funny, harmless statements.

Open the material: Never have I ever questions for families

Most likely to

Players

5 to 15

Minutes

10 to 15

Ages

12 and up

You need

A list of prompts

1. Read a prompt, such as 'Who is most likely to forget their own birthday party?'
2. On three, everyone points at one person.
3. The person with the most fingers pointing at them can accept the title or hand it on with a reason.
4. Keep prompts kind. Nobody should be the target of a joke they did not choose.

Open the material: Most likely to questions for groups

Two truths and a lie

Players

4 to 15

Minutes

15

Ages

12 and up

You need

Nothing

1. A player says three things about themselves: two true, one invented.
2. Everyone else votes on the lie.
3. Each player who spotted it scores a point, and the teller scores a point for everyone they fooled.
4. Share only what you are happy for the group to know.

Open the material: Two truths and a lie ideas

Sardines

Players

6 to 20

Minutes

20 to 30

Ages

10 and up

You need

A house or yard, with the off-limits rooms made clear

1. The hider gets a 60-second head start while the rest wait in one room.
2. Everyone searches alone. A player who finds the hider squeezes in quietly beside them.
3. The hiding group grows until one seeker is left alone.
4. The last seeker hides first in the next round.
5. Play with the lights low if you like, but keep stairs lit.

Flashlight tag

Players

6 to 20

Minutes

20 to 30

Ages

10 and up

You need

A flashlight, a dark yard with known edges, and a base such as a tree

1. The seeker stays at the base with eyes shut, counting to 30, while everyone scatters.
2. The seeker walks the yard and shines the flashlight on anyone they find, calling their name.
3. A hider lit up by the beam and correctly named walks to the base.
4. Hidden players can sneak back and touch the base to free everyone there.
5. The first player caught becomes the next seeker.

Balloon stomp

Players

6 to 20

Minutes

5 to 10

Ages

10 and up

You need

A balloon and a piece of string for each player, and a clear floor or lawn

1. Each player ties a balloon to one ankle on about a foot of string.
2. On 'Go', players try to stomp on everyone else's balloons while protecting their own.
3. A player whose balloon pops steps out and watches.
4. The final unpopped balloon wins. Play in shoes, and move furniture out of the way first.

Photo scavenger hunt

Players

6 to 24, in teams of 3 or 4

Minutes

30 to 60

Ages

13 and up

You need

A list of photos to take and a phone for each team

1. Write 15 to 20 photos to take, such as 'the team in a human pyramid' or 'someone holding something older than all of you'.
2. Give each photo a point value and set a return time.
3. Teams stay together, stay inside an agreed area and take no photos of strangers.
4. Back at base, each team shows its photos and adds up the points.

Without a printer: Send the list to each team's phone.

Open the material: Printable scavenger hunt checklist

Ninja

Players

4 to 12

Minutes

10

Ages

12 and up

You need

Room to stand in a circle

1. Everyone stands in a circle, bows, and jumps into a ninja pose.
2. On a turn, a player makes one quick move to tap another player's hand, then freezes.
3. The target may make one move to dodge, then freezes too.
4. A hand that gets tapped goes behind the back. Lose both hands and you are out.
5. The last ninja standing wins. Taps are light and on the hand only.

Teen trivia

Players

4 to 20, in teams

Minutes

20 to 30

Ages

13 and up

You need

A set of trivia questions, pens, and one answer sheet for each team

1. Teams of three or four pick a team name.
2. Read three rounds of ten questions, and teams keep their answers to themselves.
3. Sheets go to a neighboring team for marking after each round.
4. Give the winners first pick of the snacks or of the next game.

Song intro quiz

Players

4 to 20, in teams

Minutes

20

Ages

12 and up

You need

A speaker, a playlist of songs the group knows, and paper

1. Before the party, ask each guest to add two songs to the playlist so the music fits the group.
2. Play just the opening five seconds of a track.
3. Teams write down the title and the artist.
4. Score a point for each. Play a longer clip if nobody gets it.

Blind taste test

Players

4 to 12

Minutes

15 to 20

Ages

12 and up

You need

Eight to ten foods in numbered cups, a blindfold, and paper

1. Ask about food allergies before you shop, and leave out anything a guest cannot eat.
2. Fill numbered cups with small tastes, such as different chips, fruits or juices.
3. Each player tastes blindfolded, or with eyes shut, and says a guess while a friend writes it down.
4. Whoever names the most tastes correctly wins.

Lip-sync battle

Players

4 to 16, solo or in pairs

Minutes

20 to 40

Ages

12 and up

You need

A speaker, a phone to play the songs, and dress-up props

1. Each act picks a song and has ten minutes to plan moves and find props.
2. Acts perform one at a time, mouthing the words to the recording.
3. Everyone else scores each act from 1 to 5 on paper.
4. Players who would rather not perform can judge or run the music.