Games to Liven Up Your 2026 Graduation Party and Thank-You Banquet
After the graduation ceremony, many schools might hold parties or thank-you gatherings.
And if you’re the organizer, you might be struggling to choose games or activities for entertainment, right? Since it’s a special graduation party, you’ll want to make it a wonderful and fun time that everyone will remember.
In this article, we’ll introduce a variety of ideas—from games related to school life to activities that get large groups excited.
We’ve also prepared plenty that let you look back on memories, so please use them as a reference!
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- Let's Make Memories! Fun Icebreaker Activities Recommended for High School Farewell Parties
- Games that liven up elementary school thank-you parties! A collection of ideas that both children and adults can enjoy
[2026] Games to Liven Up Graduation Parties and Thank-You Banquets (1–10)
Pedometer Game
It’s a game where you attach a pedometer somewhere on your body and move around, and the person with the highest count within the time limit wins.
Pedometers normally count the number of steps you take, but since you can’t actually walk in the game, you’ll need to march in place or move your body to rack up more counts.
How you move will change depending on where you attach the pedometer, so if everyone places it in different spots, each person’s movements will have their own flair—and that should make it more entertaining for the spectators, too.
NG word game
Here’s an NG-word game everyone can enjoy at the thank-you gathering or party after the graduation ceremony.
It requires no special preparation and has no complicated rules, so the excitement ramps up quickly.
It’s more fun with a large group.
Each person writes down an NG (forbidden) word they come up with and holds it up so everyone can see.
You then talk based on a theme, and the goal is to steer others into saying their own NG words during the conversation.
If you say your own NG word while talking, you lose.
Enjoy the thrill of probing each other in a heart-pounding conversation game!
Guess the anime from the quote
A “Guess the Anime from the Quote” quiz that challenges you to name the series from iconic lines! Among anime’s memorable quotes, there are countless phrases so striking they’re compiled into “best quotes” collections.
Turn those lines into a quiz, and your party is sure to be a hit! Many quotes resonate with students stepping onto a new stage after graduation and with teachers sending off their pupils, so you might even have a few touching moments.
Presenting the quotes through videos or slides will liven up the atmosphere at the venue even more.
[2026] Party Games to Liven Up Graduation Parties and Thank-You Banquets (11–20)
Outro Quiz
This is a quiz where you listen only to the outro—the ending section of a song—and try to guess the title.
Unlike the intro, which you hear more often, this tests whether you’ve really listened to each track all the way through.
Even if you’ve never heard the full song, someone with a good ear might come up with the answer from the vibe or rhythm.
Think carefully about how long to play the outro and how to provide hints—such as bits of song information—so people can enjoy the feeling of arriving at an answer.
Speaking of 〇〇, games
It’s a game where you split into teams and try to align your answers to a given theme.
With broad, simple prompts like “When you think of ___” (e.g., “animals popular with kids”), you check whether your team’s thinking is in sync.
Since it’s hard to match answers without discussing them outright, the recommended approach is to talk things through to organize each other’s thoughts while avoiding actually saying the answer.
Watching people carefully steer the conversation with vague wording so the answer doesn’t slip out is another fun part of the game.
Games of all ages and places
The “Kokon Tozai” game is all about speaking words that match a theme in rhythm and passing it along! Since it requires no props or preparation, it’s great as a filler between performances or for small pockets of downtime.
The rules are very simple: keep the tempo with handclaps or similar and answer quickly; anyone who can’t keep the rhythm or gets stuck is out.
The simplicity also means you can skip lengthy explanations.
Preparing several themes in advance on slips of paper and drawing them like a lottery could make it even more exciting.
Bingo Relay
This is a game where you place cones on a grid and race to complete a line faster than the opposing team.
Run to the grid, place a cone, then return to your team to pass the turn to the next person, taking turns to place cones.
The key is not only to complete your own team’s line, but also to place cones to prevent the other team from completing theirs.
For more strategic excitement, you can set a longer line length to complete.
Remember the bonds you’ve built, focus on your running speed and team coordination, and seize victory for your team.