Simple yet exciting! Recommended games and activities for year-end parties
Many of you probably attend several year-end parties—at work, with friends, and in your neighborhood—every year, right?
Looking back on the past year and chatting with colleagues and friends makes for a great time.
And the entertainment games—like bingo and quizzes—might be part of the fun, too.
But when you’re in charge of the entertainment, it can be hard to decide what games to play.
Ideally, you want something simple that everyone can enjoy and get excited about.
In this article, we’ll introduce classic games that meet those needs!
Once you’ve decided on the games for this year’s year-end party, don’t forget to prepare the prizes!
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Simple yet exciting! Recommended games and activities for year-end parties (91–100)
hop beer
It’s a game that uses props modeled after a beer bottle and caps.
You throw the number of caps shown on the dice at a powerful magnet attached to the base, and whoever uses up their caps first wins.
Because you have to throw toward a target, in lively situations like year-end parties, control may suffer and the game might take longer.
It’s recommended to set distances and rules that keep participants comfortable.
Since it’s a game that requires concentration, it might also help bring overly excited participants back to a calmer state.
The culprit dances
The mystery card game where you search for the person holding the Culprit card is called “The Culprit is Dancin’.” It’s quick to pick up and gets everyone excited, so it’s perfect for year-end parties with coworkers or friends! There are cards like First Discoverer, Alibi, Witness, and Deal, letting you enjoy the atmosphere of stepping into a mystery drama or novel.
If you have about 3 to 8 people at your year-end party, everyone—from adults to kids—can have a lively good time! Be sure to check it out.
Team Competition Bingo
How about turning the classic bingo game into a team competition? As usual, you mark off numbers on your card, and you get bingo when you complete a line vertically, horizontally, or diagonally… but you don’t win just by being the first to finish.
For example, you can set a rule like “the round ends when three people at the table get bingo,” which removes the “it’s over as soon as I win” scenario and keeps everyone on the edge of their seat until the end.
Whether you snag a lavish prize comes down to luck—let’s all cheer and groan together with every number that’s called!
Swat-and-Helmet Rock-Paper-Scissors
With simple rules that anyone of any age can enjoy—where the winner of rock-paper-scissors hits the opponent’s head and the loser guards with a helmet or similar—this is “Hit, Wear, Rock-Paper-Scissors!” Even though it only adds “hit” and “defend” to the rock-paper-scissors everyone knows, once you try it, split-second decisions are surprisingly tough.
You end up hitting each other, or both taking a defensive stance at the same time, and while the players are dead serious, the audience is in stitches! It’s the perfect entertainment to liven up year-end and New Year parties, don’t you think?
Blind juice tasting contest
Some people may plan to hold a year-end party at home where everyone brings their own drinks.
If so, here’s a fun idea to try: the “Clear Juice Tasting Championship.” In recent years, there have been more and more clear juices.
Buy several kinds and try to guess the flavors without looking at the packaging.
This is perfect because anyone—young or old—can participate, making it great if you have kids.
If you give it a try, you’ll need plenty of clear cups, so be sure to prepare them.
As a variation, you can also do it with coffee or cola.
My view of the world
A masterpiece of word-based games released in Germany is “My View of the World.” A Japanese translation was also released in 2015, so some of you may have played it.
It’s great for playing with family and friends at year-end parties! The dealer (parent player) plays a prompt card with a blank, and the other players choose a word from their hand that they think fits the blank.
The dealer then picks their favorite from the submissions.
The player who submitted the chosen card scores points! It’s a game that lets you enjoy quirky word combinations, so players of all ages can have a lively, fun time.
In conclusion
We’ve introduced plenty of classic, easy-to-play games that really get everyone excited.
Since many of them are simple to set up, have fun playing them together! That said, avoid forcing everyone to participate or preparing harsh penalties—keep the mood friendly and relaxed.
Also, having prizes will make things even more exciting, so be sure to prepare some if you can.