Recommended games and activities for five people
We’re introducing games and activities you can play with five people!
Whether it’s the number of close friends you hang out with or the size of a group you’re assigned on a field trip, we’ve gathered recommended games for those times when you’ve got a team of five and aren’t sure what to play.
There are options that use items like cards, smartphones, or game consoles, as well as ones you can enjoy with no equipment at all.
They’re perfect not only when you get together with friends, but also for filling small pockets of free time.
Use the games and activities we introduce as a reference, and have fun playing together as a group of five!
- Games you can play with just conversation. Classic and popular activities you can enjoy without any props!
- [Play Right Away!] Exciting Recreation Games Recommended for Elementary School Students
- Fun activities for junior high school students. Recreation games.
- Games and activities everyone can enjoy together. A collection of fun play ideas.
- Recreation Ideas That Truly Excite High School Students! A Fun Collection of Activities
- Brain-teasing game roundup
- Kill time while waiting or stuck in traffic! A roundup of games four people can play
- A simple and fun co-op game that enhances teamwork
- Recommended for upper elementary grades! Exciting indoor recreation and games
- [For University Students] A Roundup of Fun Games and Recreational Activities
- Indoor Games for Small Groups: Exciting Recreational Activities
- Team-based recreational activities for adults that are fun even with large groups
- [Simple Games] Recommended Indoor Recreational Activities for Adults
Recommended games and activities for 5 people (11–20)
Limited Shiritori
Shiritori is the game where you take the last letter of a word and connect it to a new word that starts with that letter.
If you just keep linking words simply, it can feel like it has no end.
By adding rules to shiritori and adjusting the difficulty, you can make the game feel more finite and exciting.
Common rules include choosing a theme or setting a fixed word length.
You can also think of various additional rules, such as time limits or changing which letter you take, so combining different rules could make for a fun way to play.
Jenga
When you head out to a small leisure park in the suburbs, don’t you sometimes come across a giant Jenga set? It’s made of soft material, so it doesn’t hurt much if it hits you, but it’s still thrilling when something that big starts to topple.
If you’ve got a group of five close friends, why not have some fun with Jenga? “Jenga” means “to build” in Swahili, and the trick to making it exciting is stacking the blocks in a way that will stump the next player.
You can also spice things up by setting NG words—like banning English—and playing with those rules!
skull
This is a board game said to have originated in the United States, where you can enjoy advanced psychological battles.
Each player has three flower cards and one skull card, and they take turns placing either type face down in front of them.
On your turn, you can also declare a challenge: you announce how many flower cards you believe you can reveal from the cards on the table, first flipping your own cards and then flipping other players’ cards.
If a skull appears before you reach the declared number, you fail.
It’s a game where it’s crucial to set up situations that let you succeed on your own challenges while using bluffing and tactics to prevent your opponents from succeeding.
NG word game
Say this and you’re punished! The NG Word Game is a super simple game where you lose if you accidentally say your assigned forbidden word during conversation.
The keywords chosen by people you usually talk with tend to hit where it hurts.
If someone who knows your catchphrases picks the word, you might say it right at the start without a second thought.
When a battle of wits unfolds as everyone tries to draw out the NG words, the competition for the penalty will get even more exciting!
Nanjamonja
Have you heard of the game “Nanjamonja,” a party favorite that gets both adults and kids hooked? You flip quirky, cute character cards and give each one a nickname.
Everyone has to remember the nicknames people come up with, and when a character appears again, the first person to call out its name gets the card.
In the end, the player with the most cards wins.
Use your memory and quirky wordplay to liven things up and have fun with everyone!
Magical Banana
It’s a game called Magical Banana that was hugely popular on TV during the Heisei era.
First, you decide who starts with rock-paper-scissors, then keep a rhythm with claps.
You say associative words like, “When you say banana, you think fruit; when you say fruit, you think delicious,” and so on.
The person who fails to answer smoothly loses.
It’s a simple, safe, and exciting game that transcends generations, so if you haven’t tried it yet, give it a go this New Year’s holiday!
Recommended games and activities for 5 people (21–30)
Without Katakana
We use katakana for many names in daily life.
Katakana is familiar, but let’s try playing without using it.
First, show items that have katakana names and have people describe them without using katakana.
For example, for “pen,” someone might answer, “something you write with that isn’t a pencil.” It’s a game where you shift your thinking a bit, describe the given topic without using katakana, and have others guess.
If the topic is “game,” you could describe it as “something where you use your fingertips to control characters on the screen.” From there, everyone tries to guess the topic together.
Explaining with your current vocabulary makes for a good brain exercise.
