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 (1–10)
Double-Double Fight Game
Baibai Fight Game is a game where players compete to say prompted words in time with a specific rhythm.
The original song is CANDY TUNE’s “Baibai FIGHT!”, and you succeed if you can say the prompts consecutively to the repeating rhythm at the start of the track.
In this version of the game, the prompts are shown as illustrations, so you have to quickly figure out what each picture represents.
Plus, with similar-sounding words like “baito” (part-time job) and “baiku” (motorcycle) appearing in succession, you might end up tripping over your tongue.
It’s tricky, but whether you nail it or not, it always gets the crowd going—a perfect game for parties.
two-person robe (Nininbaori): a comedic act where two people share one kimono-like garment, with the rear person acting as the arms for the front person
When it comes to classic party tricks, the two-person haori act has to be the go-to.
You pair up in twos, and the “proper” way is to cooperate to eat a meal.
The person in front is the one who eats, but the person in back is the one feeding them.
Since the person in back can’t see what’s in front, the food often gets delivered somewhere other than the mouth, which makes it fun to watch.
It’s an easy skit for anyone to recreate and it excites people of all ages, so it’s perfect for gatherings like year-end and New Year parties where many different people come together!
What’s in the box? game
It’s the familiar game from TV shows where you put your hand into a box and guess what’s inside.
All you basically need is a box.
Get creative with what you put inside! Slime or a scrubbing brush—things that feel surprising the moment you touch them—work great.
You could also make a large box that a person can get into and turn it into a game of guessing who’s inside; that sounds like fun, too.
Bingo Tournament
When it comes to entertainment for large gatherings, you can’t go wrong with bingo! Beyond the excitement of winning prizes, bingo is great because it can keep going even while participants chat with each other.
It’s also a big help for organizers—once the prizes are prepared, the day-of is easy to run.
The key to making bingo exciting really comes down to the prizes, so be sure to choose them with participants’ preferences in mind.
These days, you don’t even need a bingo machine—there are smartphone apps that make it super convenient!
Pedometer Game
It’s a game where players compete to see who can shake a pedometer the most.
The location on the body where the pedometer must be attached is specified.
Follow the instructions, put it on, and move your body as much as you can within the time limit to try to rack up more counts than anyone else.
The fun part of this game is that each person wears the pedometer in a different spot, so participants end up moving in all kinds of ways.
Someone with it on their hand will swing their arms, someone with it on their foot will run, and someone with it on their waist might look like they’re dancing.
Caption this photo!
You know that bit you often see on TV comedy shows—‘Caption This’? It’s a pretty high-bar party game where you look at an image on screen and come up with a witty one-liner or a clever title that makes people laugh.
Doing it off the cuff seems incredibly tough, but what if you pick the photos in advance and prep your material? Put in the work so you don’t bomb—polish it up and show off your sharp sense of humor!
Food Russian roulette
Hide mustard or wasabi in just one cream puff, takoyaki, gyoza, etc., to create a single “loser” bite.
If you’re in a small group, eat in turn; if you’re in a large group, eat all at once, and have fun reacting to whoever gets the unlucky one! It could also be fun to turn it into a game where you guess who ate the “bad” one.