Party Games That Spice Up Your House Drinks Night
A house party where everyone gets together to drink at a friend’s place.
You gather with close friends, catching up on recent events, sharing happy and sad stories, venting about this and that—the conversation never seems to end, right?
But sometimes, it suddenly feels like time has stopped…
At times like that, how about playing a quick game to change up the mood?
In this article, we’ll introduce some lively games that are perfect for house parties.
They’re all games that are fun and exciting even with a small group, so give them a try!
- [From small to large groups] Drinking games recommended for college students
- Games for two people to enjoy. A roundup of party games that liven up drinking gatherings.
- Punishment games that liven up drinking parties and banquets
- Recommended for college students! Punishment game ideas that will make everyone laugh and hype things up
- Punishment games that hype up a group date
- Get the party started! A roundup of perfect playing card games for drinking parties
- A party game that gets everyone excited at home. A fun recreational game.
- Simple but intense! A quick-and-easy penalty game that hypes everyone up
- A fun penalty game recommended for men
- Drinking party crowd-pleasers: party and banquet games
- For Couples: Fun and Exciting Punishment Game Ideas
- [Punishment Game] A collection of romance-themed prompts. Punishment games that get men and women excited
- A fun punishment game recommended for women
Top 10 Party Games to Liven Up Your At-Home Drinking Session
Whose hand is this?
A no-equipment, light, on-the-spot party game you can play while drinking: “Whose Hand Is This?” One person closes their eyes, and someone else touches them—like having their hand felt, their back gently stroked, or their head massaged—so the guesser can’t tell who’s doing the touching.
The goal is to guess whose hand it is.
Even if someone’s hands have distinctive features, things like massages from behind should make it harder.
The person doing the touching shouldn’t speak.
Who knows—someone with an unusual talent might show up and guess them all correctly!
Food Russian roulette
A classic party game that’s always been popular is the food version of Russian roulette, where only one piece is the “hit.” For example, bite-sized cream puffs with just one filled with wasabi, or a delicious-looking pizza with a single slice doused in hellishly hot sauce—foods that look tasty at first glance but have a hidden “jackpot,” or rather, a booby trap mixed in.
If you’re the one who gets it, are you lucky or unlucky? These days, there are even party snacks that come pre-mixed with spicy pieces, so give them a try.
No-Katakana Game
It’s a very simple thing—just not using words written in katakana—yet for some reason this game gets everyone excited.
You often see it on TV variety shows, too.
The rule is to keep the conversation going while completely banning any “katakana words,” including English loanwords and wasei-eigo.
But there are far more katakana words in our everyday speech than we realize, so they just slip out.
And even when they don’t, converting them into purely Japanese expressions makes the conversation sound oddly formal, and that awkwardness is so funny that you can’t help but laugh—that’s the charm of the game.
House Party Hits: Recommended Drinking Games (11–20)
Impostor Party
Let’s all enjoy “Imposter Party,” a variant of the Werewolf game! In this game, you try to find the imposter who only appears to be following a directive but actually didn’t receive one.
First, shuffle one imposter card—with no directive written on it—into the directive cards and deal one card to each participant.
During the time limit, players who received directives should carry them out.
The imposter should act so as not to reveal they’re the imposter.
When time is up, recall everyone’s actions and, without discussion, point to who you think is the imposter.
If the actual imposter receives the most votes, they get a chance at a comeback by guessing someone else’s directive.
If they guess correctly, the imposter wins; if not, they lose.
The Game of Life
The Game of Life is the gold standard of board games that almost everyone has played at least once, right? Many of you probably played it countless times as kids and even had a copy at home.
Did you know there are now many different versions of The Game of Life? In Japan, the first edition was released in 1968, and since 1989 a new series has come out every year.
Collaborations with famous anime and other franchises are also popular.
If someone has one at a house party, it’s sure to spark some nostalgic fun!
Sing-along game
Many people probably feel like singing when they drink.
For those people, we recommend the “Sing-it Game.” It’s a very simple game: when someone says an artist’s name, you have 3 seconds to sing a song by that artist.
You might think it’s easy when popular, well-known artists or bands are named, but answering—and singing—on the spot is surprisingly tricky.
Once you finish singing, immediately pass it to the next person by calling out another artist’s name without hesitation.
If they can’t start singing within 3 seconds, they’re out—time for a penalty game!
Cluster
“Klashter” is a board game that makes clever use of magnetism.
The rules are very simple: players take turns placing magnetic pieces inside a looped string.
However, since the pieces attract each other, if the piece you place sticks to another piece, you’re out.
Because the pieces aren’t all the same size, you’ll need a strategy for which pieces to place where, plus the courage to commit your move while invisible magnetic forces are at play.
Toward the end, available space runs out, tension rises, and it gets really exciting!