With New Year's Eve just around the corner, it's time to start thinking about party games! Whether you're hosting a big bash or a small gathering, these games will help ring in the new year with fun and laughter. From classic party games like cornhole and charades to more unique options like "Minute to Win it," there's something for everyone. So gather your friends and family, break out the champagne, and get ready for some fun!
How to Host the Best New Years Eve Party
There's no better way to ring in the new year than by hosting your own new years eve party! And what better way to add some extra excitement and fun to the party than by incorporating some fun games? Whatever games you choose to play, your guests are sure to have a blast! Take a look below at some of our favorite options.
Balloon Drop
This is a classic New Year's Eve game that is sure to get everyone laughing. All you need is a bunch of balloons and some streamers. Hang the balloons from the ceiling and let the kids try to pop as many as they can. They'll have a blast trying to catch all the confetti that falls out!
If you want to get creative, don't just hang the balloons from the ceiling, but hide them around the house. Put them in hard to reach places (if the kids are older, or if adults are participating too) or fill them with prizes. This is a pretty simple and easy game to set up and play so it tops our list. The cleanup isn't so fun though, so be warned!
Scavenger Hunt
This is a great game for both kids and adults. Hide small prizes around the house or yard and give everyone a list of things to find. The first person to find all the items on the list wins!
Weather and temperature will determine if this is an indoor-only game or if you can hide things outside as well, so use your judgement. Everyone knows how scavenger hunts work, but they're often forgotten as party games so we had to include them on the list.
Minute to Win It
This is a hilarious game that will have everyone on their feet cheering. The object of the game is to complete simple tasks in under one minute. There are tons of different challenges you can do, so get creative!
This was a TV show, so you can check out some episodes before your party to get some ideas, but they typically required some serious setup or supplies. There's a board game version too that may be a good place to start. Otherwise you can make up your own simple tasks to have your guests try. The internet will be your friend when looking for "minute to win it games."
Charades
This classic party game is always a hit. Get everyone divided into teams and take turns acting out movies, TV shows, songs, etc. The first team to guess correctly gets a point!
A great take on charades is a game of many names. We learned it as "fish bowl" but it's been called many things. Here's the deal. Everyone gets the same number of paper scraps, much like charades. Write down pretty much anything you want - people, things, places, whatever. Everyone puts their folded pieces of paper in the fish bowl.
Make two teams, and the goal is to get your team to guess the thing on the piece of paper you pull. If they guess correctly and you still have time left (say, one minute per turn) you get another piece of paper out of the bowl and repeat the process. Here's the difference with charades, though. This game has 3 rounds.
Round 1 you can get your team to guess the thing by talking. You can't spell it out, and you can't say any of the words that appear on the piece of paper, but everything else is fair game. Go through the WHOLE bowl like this, keep score for each team, and then put all the papers back in the bowl.
Round 2 you can only ACT out what's on the paper - no talking at all. Once you get through all the papers, put them back in the bowl.
Round 3 you only get to say ONE WORD to your team, so pick a good one. No acting, just a single, lonely, word. Once you get through the papers this third time, the game is over.
This game is fun because if you pay attention to how everyone described the things in the first round, or how they acted them out in the second round, you can come up with some super helpful and great single-word clues by the third round. But you've got to pay attention!
Whichever team has the most points over the course of the three rounds wins.
Cornhole
Cornhole is a classic game that is perfect for New Year's Eve parties. It's easy to learn how to play, and everyone can get involved. Plus, it's a lot of fun!
How to Play: Cornhole is a two or four player game in which each player takes turns throwing bags at a board. The object of the game is to score points by landing your bag on one of the cornhole boards and having it stay on, or by getting your bag through the hole in the board. Remember, bags can go directly into the hole OR they can be knocked/pushed in by your bags or your opponents bags during that turn of play.
Once one side as thrown all of their bags you need to count up all the points. Remember, only one person or team can score on any given round, so you must subtract the scores for that round. If team one scored 6 points and team two scored 2 points, then team one gets 4 points for that round. So while cornhole is a great team game, it's also important to complete against your single opponent during each round, scoring more than they score so your team can pick up the point difference.
Now the elephant in the room is that a lot of the country is COLD when it's New Years Eve, and cornhole is less fun when you're freezing. So here are our suggestions:
- Move somewhere warmer.
- Get some of those restaurant-like heaters outside, or get a bonfire going. A SAFE bonfire...
- Play inside
Beer Pong
If you're bringing these two things together - drinking, and a group of people - you'll likely end up paying pong at some point. It's a super fun game to watch and play, it doesn't take a lot of equipment, almost everyone knows the rules (more on that in a minute), and it's the quintessential party game. Here's how we recommend incorporating it in your NYE party.
Decide on the Rules
While everyone knows the basic rules for beer pong, there are definitely some variations depending on when you learned to play the game, and where in the country (or world I suppose) you learned to play.
Make sure everyone has a clear understand of your "house rules" so there are no arguments over what is a rule and what is just something you made up! We recommend keeping it relatively simple because when it comes to rules for drinking games, less is more. Stick to the core rules. You sink it they drink it. Both players sink a shot they get both balls back for another turn. Bounces are worth two cups, but the ball can be swatted away after the bounce. And it can be as simple as that. After all, you're at a party and you're drinking - you'll be fine with just those rules!
Set Up the Playing Area
Get your old school table out, or if you're fancy bring out the "adult money" table you acquired in your late 20's that you don't use nearly as often as you thought you would. Get the cups, get a bunch of pong balls, including some extra. Get a nice white board up in the area for a turn list or a tournament bracket. You know the drill; let's not pretend this is the first time you setup a pong tournament.
Get Supplies
There aren't a whole lot of supplies necessarily for this, which is why it's so great. Get your playing surface (folding table, a door you pulled off your roommates wall, or *gasp* an actual table!) and set it up with some space around it.
Get all your cups out, including some extras. And here's where you should decide if you're playing with beer in the cups like a bunch of dirty college animals, or if you're filling cups with water but letting people drink from their own cups. The question is "are you a pong purist?" which demands you put the terrible cheap beer in the cups, so the ball that's been on the floor and in people's hands and rolling under couches goes into the cup you're drinking from, or are you bringing some civility to this beautiful game and letting water cups take all the gross crap from the floor you didn't have time to vacuum before the party and trust in your friends to drink when they're supposed to out of their own drinks?
So, table and cups so far. Great start. Get your drinks. Throw a bunch of pong balls in an extra cup. Get a roll of paper towels out because someone is going to get all excited and try to swat a bounce out of the air and just bear-claw all of the cups off the table.
That's really it though, for supplies. Easy.
Start Playing
Once everyone is ready, start playing! Whether you're doing simple team vs team matches for fun or running a tournament bracket, everyone will have a blast.
Plan Your New Years Eve Party Today
These are only a few of the many party game ideas you can have for New Year's Eve. With the right planning, your party will be a hit! No matter what games you choose to play, make sure you have plenty of food and drinks for your guests. And most importantly, don't forget the cornhole!
New Years is a time to celebrate with family and friends, and what better way to do that then by playing some party games? Custom cornhole and beer pong are two classics that are always sure to get people excited and engaged. So break out the boards and balls, fill up those Solo cups, and get ready. No matter what you do, just make sure you ring in 2024 with lots of laughter and good cheer. Happy New Year!