New Year party games that get everyone excited: a fun collection of ideas from classics to DIY
When it comes to New Year’s, it’s a special time spent with family and relatives.
Osechi dishes and New Year’s money are exciting, but having games everyone can play instantly livens up the gathering.
In this article, we’ll introduce game ideas perfect for the New Year.
From classic New Year’s games and easy DIY activities to popular board games and active play, these are all things people of all ages can enjoy! As the new year begins, why not put down your phones and spend some fun time laughing together?
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New Year’s party games that bring the excitement: a fun collection of ideas from classics to DIY (41–50)
The Perfect Match Game
The “Perfect Match Game” is a game where you keep adding answers to numerical questions until you reach a preset target number, and the first to hit that number wins.
It’s guaranteed to get lively when you split a large group into teams! The larger the target number, the more exciting it gets.
Restricting the types of questions allowed will increase the difficulty.
Give it a try with everyone!
Gesture Game
A gesture game that puts your expressive skills to the test! Act out the given theme with your body and compete to see how many others can guess.
Expressing something using only body movements without making a sound is surprisingly difficult! Plus, even with the same theme, the way people express or interpret it can differ by generation or gender.
During New Year’s gatherings with family and relatives, those differences can make the game even more exciting.
Stock up on plenty of themes that everyone from adults to kids can understand—like animals, foods, and anime characters!
Hyakunin Isshu
Hyakunin Isshu is said to have become established as a New Year’s pastime since the Edo period.
The rules are simple: a waka poem written on an illustrated card is read aloud, and players compete to grab the matching card that contains only the poem’s second half.
The more poems you have memorized, the faster you can take the cards, making it a game that fosters learning as you play.
Beef Tongue Game
The brain-teasing Gyū-Tan game is perfect for groups, where concentration and memory are key.
Players sit in a circle and say “Gyū” out loud; for the “tan” part, they clap without speaking.
Pay special attention because the final “tan” comes consecutively.
After one round, move to the second and third rounds, increasing the number of “tan” claps at the end by one each time.
As the rounds progress, the number of “tan” claps grows, so remember the count carefully and try not to make mistakes.
Once you get used to it, keeping a brisk tempo can make the game even more exciting.
tycoon
When it comes to card games, Daifugō is a classic favorite.
Players take turns laying down cards stronger than the one currently on the table from the hand they were dealt.
The first person to run out of cards becomes the ‘Daifugō’ (Grand Millionaire)! Interestingly, in the Kansai region it’s often called Daifugō, while in the Kanto region it’s more commonly known as Daihinmin (Grand Pauper), and the rules can vary by region.
So when a big group gets together, people may be surprised by the differences.
If you’re planning to play over the New Year holidays, it might be a good idea to agree on the rules beforehand.
Grab-and-pick game
@100yenshoplove This instead of a New Year’s gift!
♬ High Speed – Evoke Music
Speaking of New Year’s, kids always look forward to otoshidama, right? Here’s a grab-and-win game you can play as part of giving out otoshidama.
All you need are toy erasers from the 100-yen shop, a fishbowl, and some coins.
Mix the toy erasers and coins in the fishbowl, then let the kids grab whatever they can! The erasers get in the way, so it’s harder than it looks and really exciting.
Afterward, everyone can count the coins they grabbed and have fun comparing.
You can buy a fishbowl at a 100-yen shop, but you can also substitute other containers—feel free to get creative.
UNO
UNO is the classic card game.
The rules are simple: you just play cards in turn that match in color or number.
The key, however, lies in the cards with words instead of numbers.
If you make good use of the action cards—like ones that make the next player draw cards, skip their turn, or reverse the order—things are sure to get exciting.
Ohajiki game “Zabuton”
Ohajiki is one of the classic New Year’s games in Japan.
There are many ways to play with ohajiki, but here we’ll introduce a game called “Zabuton.” First, prepare about 30 to 50 ohajiki pieces and place them on a soft cloth or towel.
Each player takes some ohajiki in their palm, tosses them into the air, and tries to catch them on the back of their hand.
If several pieces land on the back of the hand, toss them again and this time catch them with your palm—but before you toss, declare how many you plan to catch.
If you successfully catch the number you declared, you get to keep those pieces!
Fluffy Fish Catch
Fluffy Fish Catch is a game the whole family can enjoy with small children.
Little fish float up into the air, fluttering softly.
It’s a simple game where you scoop them up with a net.
However, the fish flutter more than you’d expect, making it surprisingly tricky.
The air outlet is about 140 cm high, so for older kids and adults, it might be fun to add a handicap—like sitting down or lying down—when competing.
Lyrics hijacking game
It’s a game I really want you to try when music lovers get together.
It’s like shiritori, but with song lyrics.
You start by finding a song that contains the same word as a word in the lyrics of the song currently being sung, and when that word comes up, you jump in and start singing your song.
There was a similar game called a “Riff-Off” in the coming-of-age a cappella film Pitch Perfect, and it’s the same idea.
It’s hilarious, and you can get endlessly particular about how smoothly and stylishly you can connect songs.