Party Games for Adults: Ice Breakers, Parlor Games, and Party Tips That Will Make Your Guests Flip

by Lillian Berson Frankel, Godfrey Frankel, Doug Anderson (Illustrations)

Adults like to play too—and these sophisticated games are for after the kids go to bed. Perfect for parties, clubs, and other gatherings, they’re great for breaking the ice, getting guests acquainted, and keeping everyone happy. Choose from more than 100 types, including puzzlers, mental games, active amusements, games for bachelors, and even some sedate ones. In “Vicious Circle” the host uses a rope to tie the wrists of both a man and a woman together: the goal is for the two to free themselves. Soon they’re flailing—and enjoying the start of a beautiful friendship. “Avoid that Letter” keeps conversations from getting into a rut. Or have an energetic “Book Relay,” with volumes balanced on your head. They’re all fun!

Genres: Nonfiction, How To

128 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2007

Reviews

[寿理 宮本 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have sworn this book was printed in the 1960s, but it not only refers to using the internet but also for a "mindreading game" having a person claim to have predicted the outcome of the 2004 U.S. Presidential election.

So, it's manufactured nostalgia, in a way.

The trouble is, it's not terribly interesting as a result, to the point I quit reading halfway through and just skimmed the titles of the rest. The most interesting idea was a "murder mystery" game, but the details were so vague, it didn't seem that fun after all. Except for the two things mentioned above, it really reads straight out of the 1960s, with party games for complete strangers* than adults,** necessarily. Some are just "Charades but with your actual job" (impossible in this age of specialised desk jockey roles) or "Bingo but with the names of people at the party." I'd give it a 2.5 but that's not allowed, so I literally picked from 2 and 3 at random. Definitely NOT one of the other values—I don't like it, but it actually has some value that saves it from being literal trash. More like "Party Games for Extroverts" or "Party Games for That Company Holiday Party They Made You Plan."

Recommended if you get roped into planning a party where the attendees won't already have a shared interest to hold everyone's attention. Probably my problem, all the parties I *choose* to attend are small enough and interest-focused enough that this book isn't helpful.

*The "Icebreakers" in particular makes me think of old-timey parties where you'd invite co-workers and their spouses, or neighbourhood block parties, or anywhere where you'd have well more than ten people who may not know half of the other invitees, while here I had picked up the book with the idea of would there be any fun games for our small group of four to five close friends (nope, but we "make do" with actual fun activities like GOOD board games, no Monopoly trash).

**There ARE a couple of games/party ideas that are borderline sexual harassment:
- "Face to Face": players put the named body part against their partner's body part (do I need to explain this?)
- "Come As You Are": invite people over the phone and insist they come to the party exactly in whatever clothing they're wearing that instant—rather than risk streaking, it might cause more people to stop answering the phone entirely!

[Matthew · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm always looking for new games to play with people. This book is not helpful, with lots of old, dull games that are less interesting than the games most creative folks could make up on the spot.

There was one interesting sounding game, with a terrible name, though.

[Tori · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this would be a good book for family night's or parties with friends but didn't have anything I thought was overly exciting.

[Allie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good and old time-y, not great.