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Games to Liven Up Your 2026 Graduation Party and Thank-You Banquet

Games to Liven Up Your 2026 Graduation Party and Thank-You Banquet
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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!

[2026] Games to Liven Up Graduation Parties and Thank-You Banquets (1–10)

Where is this? Quiz

[Quiz] Can you guess the place just from photos!? A big reveal of the members’ memorable pictures!! [Instagrammable]
Where is this? Quiz

Let’s try a “Where is this?” quiz using photos.

It’s a game where you guess the location from pictures alone, but even if you’ve been there before, the name doesn’t always come to mind, so it can be surprisingly hard to answer.

If you’re doing it at a graduation party or thank-you banquet, it’s a great idea to pick places and photos that everyone shares memories of, like field trip spots or school trip destinations.

Just projecting funny photos with classmates on a screen will liven things up, and having prizes ready for the quiz winners will make it even more fun.

Katakana Ban Quiz

Hilarious LOL—No-English Quiz! Without using any loanwords, University of Tokyo students unleashed a barrage of bizarre remarks through quizzes and chatter hahaha
Katakana Ban Quiz

A simple yet exciting “No English” quiz! It’s a game where, during conversation, you’re not allowed to use loanwords written in katakana.

You might think, “That sounds easy!” but we actually use katakana words all the time without noticing.

Words like “OK,” “bye-bye,” “sign,” “task,” and “stress” all have to be converted into Japanese when you want to use them, which really makes you think.

If you’re looking for a game that sparks laughter, give it a try.

Overthinking it leads to weird Japanese, which makes it even funnier!

A game where you guess someone from a part of their face

I tried to guess TWICE members just from their mouths, but it was way too hard. #TWICE #kpop
A game where you guess someone from a part of their face

It’s a game where you show a photo of a body part and have people guess who it is.

It seems like it tests how much you usually look at and know about that person.

The photos can be of celebrities or participants at a graduation party—both are fine! It’s best to take and present parts like the mouth, eyes, or eyebrows—features that seem recognizable but aren’t too obvious.

However, if the pool of possible answers is too broad, no one will get it right, so be sure to give hints that narrow it down.

Picking unexpected people—like a teacher or a historical figure—could also make the game more exciting.

Drawing Telephone Game

SixTONES – Drawing Telephone Game: Who’s the Master Artist!?
Drawing Telephone Game

The “drawing telephone game,” where you pass the given theme to the next person through a picture, is a perfect party game that can reveal some outrageous talents—for better or worse! A prompt that’s no big deal for someone who likes drawing and is used to it can be extremely difficult for people who aren’t good at drawing or don’t draw often.

The more they think about it, the further the picture strays from the real thing… That said, what matters in this game is that the last person guesses the answer, so even if the drawing isn’t great, there’s a chance it’ll get across if it captures the key features! More than raw drawing skill, flexible thinking might be what decides the winner.

Perfectly Choo-Choo

[Banquet/Party Game] Blindfold Drink: Perfect Chu-Chu!
Perfectly Choo-Choo

Set a “drink up to here” line on a glass and, while blindfolded, see if you can drink to exactly that line—Pittari Choo-Choo! It’s a party game that’s easy to get everyone excited about, and you get tasty juice too.

For the blindfold, we recommend a fun, quirky eye mask.

That way, even though the challenger is dead serious, it looks hilarious to the audience and everyone can enjoy it together.

If no one hits it exactly, the person closest to the line wins.

You can easily set the line using a rubber band.

Tongue Twister Challenge

Can you say it? Ultra Tongue Twisters: Kenta Otani’s tongue-twister bit has Kamaitachi and a big-hearted CEO cracking up! 😂 Is the outrageous tip going to be spent on… teeth!? | Kamaitachi’s Yamauchi & Hamaya MC “Zeniitachi,” airing every Monday at 11:00 PM on ABEMA.
Tongue Twister Challenge

A tongue twister is a tricky phrase you say quickly that makes you feel like you might bite your tongue.

Classics include “Nama-mugi, nama-gome, nama-tamago” and “Ao-makigami, aka-makigami, ki-makigami.” It’s impressive if you can say a tongue twister without stumbling even once, but since everyone knows the classics, some people worry it won’t be very exciting even if they nail it.

In those moments, funny tongue twisters are recommended.

Think up and perform lines that make people chuckle when they imagine the situation behind the tongue twister.

It’s also a good idea to write the tongue twister on a flip card and show it—this makes the joke easier to understand and serves as a safety net in case you don’t deliver it perfectly.

Memory game

There was an insanely good person when we played a memory game lol
Memory game

The memory game is similar to a memory-based shiritori.

Participants take turns naming one sheet of construction paper from those set on the table, each a different color.

However, when responding, they must recite all previously named colors starting from the first one.

In other words, if the first player names “blue,” the second player points to the blue sheet before naming another color.

As the game progresses, the list of colors grows, putting everyone’s memory to the test.

Anyone who gets the order wrong is out, and the person who continues without making a mistake until the end wins.

You can enjoy this game with items other than construction paper as well—try using mementos or photos of the participants.