Entertainment ideas for year-end and New Year parties: games everyone can enjoy together
Are you struggling to decide on entertainment to liven up your year-end or New Year’s party? Bingo and karaoke are classics, but having games that make everyone smile can really boost the energy of the event.
If the rules are simple, easy to prepare, and anyone can join right away, it keeps things light for everyone.
In this article, we’ve gathered a wealth of ideas—from acts that instantly lift the mood to a wide variety of games that work regardless of group size.
You’ll find everything from show-stopping performances to conversation-sparking mind games and energizing activities that get people moving—plenty of variety to keep everyone engaged!
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Entertainment ideas for year-end and New Year parties: Group-pleasing game ideas (41–50)
Tsumu-Tsumu Zabuton (stackable floor cushion)
It’s a game where you stack zabuton cushions as high as possible and compete to see how many cushions you can ultimately kneel on in seiza.
Instead of sitting on the stacked cushions, you jump while staying in the seiza position and slip a cushion into the gap beneath you.
As the number of cushions increases, the seat becomes unstable, and even if you manage the jump, you may fail the landing.
The key is how neatly you can stack the cushions, so try syncing up as a pair—counting together with a “Ready, set!”—and take on the challenge in unison.
Shake Shake Kaki-no-Tane Championship
We’d like to introduce a game that uses “Kaki no Tane,” a snack well-known as a staple treat and drinking companion.
Prepare a plastic bottle packed full of Kaki no Tane.
Participants take turns shaking the bottle to pour Kaki no Tane onto a plate.
The time limit is 5 seconds, so once 5 seconds are up, pass the bottle to the next person.
When everyone has had a turn, count the Kaki no Tane; the person with the highest number wins.
They look like they’ll come out easily, but they don’t come out as quickly as you’d think.
Since it’s a game where you’ll want time to think about the best shaking technique to get more pieces out, going later in the order might give you an advantage!
Stand-up game
The phrasing varies by region, but it’s essentially a body-based version of the game known as “Yubi-suma.” Participants form a circle and decide the order with rock-paper-scissors or similar.
Starting with the first person, each player calls out any number they like.
At the exact moment the number is called, everyone—including the caller—chooses to either stand or sit.
If the called number matches the number of people standing, it’s a success! The successful player is out, and the remaining players continue the game.
If you prepare a penalty for the last person left, the competition is likely to get even more exciting!
High & Low
Let me introduce a card game called High & Low.
Use a standard 52-card deck, excluding the jokers.
Deal the cards evenly to two players to form their personal draw piles.
One player becomes the dealer and flips the top card of their pile face up in the center.
The other player then places one card face down in the center and declares whether their card will be higher or lower than the dealer’s card.
Aces are the lowest and Kings are the highest.
If the declaration is correct, the player takes both cards as their won cards.
Players take turns being the dealer and repeating the declarations; the player with the most won cards at the end wins.
If the declaration is wrong, or if the two cards have the same rank so neither higher nor lower can be decided, set those cards aside as discards.
lip-sync karaoke
It’s an idea where you lip-sync to a song with vocals so it looks like you’re singing.
Voice imitation can be hard for many people, but this way you don’t have to actually sing, so it should be easier to try.
Put real effort into your costume, movements, and the facial expressions you’d make while singing, and show it off.
Also, if you tell the audience in advance that it’s lip-syncing, you might get even more laughs.
Make sure to perform with the contrast to lip-syncing in mind—gazing at the audience as if you’re talking to them, making big movements during the hype parts, and so on.
One-Leg Rope Sumo
First, participants pair up, face each other, and stand on one leg.
Once both ends of the two strings are held—one end in each person’s hand—the game begins! Pull the strings to throw your opponent off balance.
This game may be more about timing than strength.
Watch your opponent closely and move the string accordingly.
Loosening your grip right when your opponent pulls could also be an effective tactic.
Choose a spacious, obstacle-free area and have fun while staying safe.
Paper Balloon Battle
In this game, you wear a headband with a paper balloon attached and hit each other with bats.
The bats are soft, vinyl ones, so there’s no need to worry about injuries.
To keep things fair, please play against someone of a similar height.
Take aim, swing your bat, and try to pop the other person’s paper balloon first! You can probably get all the equipment at a 100-yen shop, but if you search for “paper balloon battle,” you’ll also find similar products sold as sets.