Drinking party crowd-pleasers: party and banquet games
A lot of people are probably thinking about simple games to play at banquets, right?
Whether it’s a wedding after-party, a New Year’s party, a year-end party, or a welcome/farewell party, having a game that helps everyone bond and adds a touch of flair to the event makes it more fun.
That said, it can be hard to choose a game for a banquet with multiple participants, since there are so many considerations, don’t you think?
So in this article, we’ll introduce banquet games you can enjoy in a variety of situations!
We’ve picked out a wide range—from timeless classics to slightly unique games—so please use this as a reference.
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Drinking-Party Hits: Banquet and Party Games (11–20)
Ranking Check
Famous for Masatoshi Hamada’s “Results announcement!” catchphrase, “Geinōjin Kakuzuke Check” is a quiz variety show where you guess which of A or B is the higher-end option.
Many people probably watch it during the New Year holidays.
So how about trying a “Kakuzuke Check” at your next drinking party? The themes could be alcohol, snacks, clothes, musical instruments, and more—just thinking about it brings up tons of ideas.
If you make it so that whoever guesses correctly gets the item that was used in the question as a prize, it could get even more exciting.
Yamanote Line game
The Yamanote Line Game is a classic staple at banquets and drinking parties.
It’s a simple game where players take turns saying words that fit a given theme to a set rhythm.
As long as you come up with a theme, you don’t need any props, so it’s a super convenient activity you can do on the spot.
Because it’s a thinking game, it’s guaranteed to liven things up when played at a drinking party where everyone’s a bit tipsy.
Azuki Bean Carrying Race with Chopsticks
The more careful you try to be, the more your fingertips tremble—so turn it into a show with an Azuki Bean Chopstick Race! It’s a casual game anyone can join, regardless of age.
All you do is move azuki beans from one plate to another with chopsticks.
You can compete on how fast someone can empty a plate, or make it a relay team match to see which team can transport the most beans.
You can even add fun twists to the equipment, like using giant chopsticks.
If you’re confident in your chopstick skills, be sure to join and soak up everyone’s admiration!
Intro Quiz
Try the classic party game: the Intro Quiz! It’s that game where you listen only to the very beginning of a song and guess the title.
The best thing about this game is that you can tailor the questions to the age group of the people gathered.
Whether it’s a class reunion or an office party, you can check the attendees in advance, making it easy for everyone to join in.
You could also narrow it down by genre, like anime songs or movie themes.
Wishing you all a great time together!
Oolong Shotgun
Prepare oolong tea in shot glasses for everyone.
Put a bitter tea in just one of them, and whoever ends up drinking it loses.
It’s like a drink version of Russian roulette.
Besides using the kind of bitter tea you’d see as a punishment on variety shows, there are plenty of other ways to customize it.
Stand-up game
Say a number out loud and stand up at the same time.
For example, if you say “3” and exactly three people stand, you’re safe; if two or fewer stand, or more than three stand, you’re out.
Repeat this, and the last person remaining loses.
Think of it as a full-body version of the finger-counting game (Yubisuma).
It seems like the game gets harder with more people.
Smartphone Typing Competition
These days, it’s no exaggeration to say that almost everyone has a smartphone.
Let’s use those smartphones to try a quick and easy “typing race” you can do anytime, anywhere! It’s a game where you type a given passage perfectly, word for word, without any mistakes.
The difficulty changes depending on the length of the passage.
Everyone types the same passage and competes to see who can get the fastest time.
Ping-Pong Ball Blowing Game
Put many ping-pong balls in a bowl and blow on them to expel them out of the bowl.
The more ping-pong balls there are, the harder it gets and the more lung capacity you’ll need.
I think it’ll be more exciting if you set a penalty game for the loser.
Pose Matching Game
This is a game where you try to strike the same pose in response to a given prompt.
For example, if the prompt is “What comes to mind when you hear swimming?”, you express swimming with a gesture—but is it breaststroke, freestyle, or butterfly? If your poses match, you get it right.
Body Clock Game
Let’s play the “internal body clock game,” which feels amazing when you nail it! Start a stopwatch and, without looking at the screen, stop it when you think the target time has passed.
Around 10 seconds is easy, but 1 minute or 3 minutes gets pretty tough.
If you go over, you’re out—compete to see how close you can get to the target time without exceeding it.