Games to Liven Up the Freshers’ Welcome Party
It’s hard to decide what games to play at a welcome party for new students, isn’t it? Everyone’s meeting for the first time or feeling nervous, and it’s hard to know what will get people excited.
So here, we’ll introduce games that are likely to liven up a new-student welcome party.
We’ve included plenty of games that help you learn everyone’s names and encourage communication.
We’ve focused on games that everyone can enjoy, even those who aren’t comfortable with self-introductions or speaking in front of others.
Most of them don’t require any props, so feel free to give them a try!
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- [For Kids] Popular party games. Fun games that get everyone excited
- Recommended for college students! Punishment game ideas that will make everyone laugh and hype things up
[New Student Welcome] Games to Liven Up the Welcome Party (21–30)
Tasting/Comparative sampling of ○○
A tasting game where participants are blindfolded and guess what kind of food or drink they’re sampling.
You can use teas, potato chips, chocolates, etc.
from different brands and have people guess which brand they’re from.
Or use products like Umaibo or Jagarico that come in many flavors and have people guess the specific flavor—there are lots of ways to play! Brand-by-brand tastings are fairly challenging, but you’d think flavor differences would be easy to tell, right? Surprisingly, without visual cues, it’s harder than you expect! Use your favorite foods and drinks to liven up your welcome event.
Picture shiritori
Picture shiritori: a way to get even closer than with word-only shiritori! In regular shiritori, you take the last letter of the word someone says and connect it to make the next word.
Picture shiritori keeps the same rule but has you draw the word and pass it along.
Even if something is easy to say in words, drawing it so the other person understands makes it a bit tricky.
The receiver also has to figure out what was drawn, so you end up thinking about the other person more than in normal shiritori.
Plus, noticing things like “This person is really good at drawing!” can spark new conversations.
All you need is paper and a pen—let’s use picture shiritori to break the ice and get closer!
Enjoy instantly! “Shingenchi Game”
Choose one person from the players to be the guesser.
The remaining members decide who will be the “epicenter,” then either stand in front of the guesser or form a circle with the guesser at the center.
At the start signal, the epicenter naturally strikes a pose—anything is fine, such as folding their arms, switching their pivot foot, or scratching their head.
The other members, with a slight delay, imitate the epicenter’s pose.
The guesser must observe who started the pose and identify the epicenter.
No Katakana Game
The No-Katakana Game is about explaining something that’s usually written in katakana without using any katakana at all.
In everyday conversation, katakana words just slip out naturally, right? But in this game, you must not use any katakana.
For example, if the prompt is “basketball,” you have to describe basketball without using katakana.
The people listening then guess what you’re describing.
The person explaining may not use katakana words like “ball” or “goal.” Only the guessers are allowed to say the katakana word that is the answer.
It’s surprisingly difficult and really tests your vocabulary—perfect for a showdown between freshmen and upperclassmen!
Word Wolf
A game very similar to Werewolf: Word Wolf.
Each participant is given a prompt, but one person receives a completely different prompt.
Even if you get the different prompt, you won’t know at that moment that yours is different from everyone else’s.
If, through conversation with everyone, you realize you’re the Wolf with a different prompt, you try to blend in and deceive the others.
If you think you have the same citizen prompt as everyone else, you join the discussion while deducing who the Wolf is.
After the conversation ends, everyone votes on who the Wolf is.
If the number of people who correctly vote for the Wolf is greater than the number who vote for a citizen, the citizens win.
If more people vote for a citizen, the Wolf wins.
If you want to enjoy a thrilling welcome event, give it a try!
Rating Check Game
@artbellangenagoya What really gets the guests scratching their heads is… the ranking check game! 😆 Each table dives into lively discussions over the tricky questions… and the excitement keeps going even after the answers are revealed! 🥳 It’s a wonderful touch that really gets conversation flowing at each table. Definitely consider adding it! 🫶🏼#Arver-ange Nagoya#Arverl Ange Nagoya staff#AichiWedding#NagoyaWedding#BrideAndGroomDirection / StagingWeddingWedding production#NewEraWedding#NewWeddingWedding Reception Production#WeddingCakeSurprise#WeddingInvitationMarriage registrationWedding venue#NagoyaWeddingVenue#Nagoya City Wedding VenueWedding ceremony#BrideAndGroomChapel
♬ Athletic Meet “Heaven and Hell” (No Introduction) – Shinonome
We’d like to introduce the “Ranking Check Game,” a perfect party activity to test participants’ discerning eye! The host prepares two options, and players simply choose which one they think is the real deal.
If you’re correct, you stay top-tier; if you’re wrong, your rank drops—a simple yet thrilling set of rules.
Anyone can join, and the unexpected results are sure to spark laughter! It’s great as a team competition too, and the moment you reveal who remained “first-class” at the end is always a highlight.
Give this game a try to instantly liven up your event!
Tasting Game
Kirin, Asahi, Suntory—just hearing those names is irresistible to beer lovers, right? So instead of a sake tasting, how about a beer tasting or even a juice tasting competition to liven things up? Even the same orange juice can taste subtly different depending on the brand.
And that canned coffee you sip without thinking—if you taste it seriously, you’ll find it’s completely different from others.
At a party with lots of dishes, you could even do blindfolded tastings and try to guess the foods—that’s sure to get everyone excited.
If you usually act like a gourmet, make sure not to show any uncool moments!