Party games collection that get everyone excited in a big group
A must-see for organizers who are thinking, “We should play some games” at company gatherings or any large banquet! In this article, we introduce games you can enjoy at banquet tables with big groups.
Even classic, long-loved games can turn into a blast when the drinks and the lineup change.
We also cover team-based games that get everyone fired up with friendly competition.
From staples like quizzes and bingo to sure-fire laughers like drawing and telephone-style games, we’ve gathered plenty—use them as a guide to make your banquet a hit!
Party Games That Liven Up Large Groups (1–10)
Max Number Guessing Game
The maximum-number guessing game, which you can start with just paper and pens, gets more strategic and exciting as the number of participants increases.
Each player secretly writes down any number within a set range, such as 1 to 100, and keeps it hidden from others.
The host then calls out the numbers, and the player who wrote the highest number that no one else chose wins.
Since numbers closer to the upper limit are more likely to overlap, the larger the group, the more strategy and deduction are required.
It’s a simple yet deep game.
Minority Guessing Game
A minority-guess game where the host presents ultimate choices and the players who pick the minority answer win gets more exciting as the number of participants increases, because the outcomes become harder to predict.
It’s not just about deciding winners and losers—those who chose the majority have to actually carry out that choice, so you may end up needing to pick an option you can realistically follow through on, which makes it quite a thrilling game.
However, if you run it at events like welcome parties for new employees, be careful: overly extreme prompts can amount to harassment, so keep everything within the bounds of good judgment.
It takes some finesse, but if it goes well, it’s a sure-fire party game that helps everyone warm up to each other.
What comes to mind when you think of ◯◯?
This is a game where everyone on the team tries to give the same answer to a question.
The prompts are phrased like “When you think of something red to eat?” or “When you think of an anime popular with kids?” The more people on a team, the higher the difficulty and the more fun it gets—perfect for large parties.
The team that matches everyone’s answers the most times wins! If you form teams with people from the same department or the same project, you might discover your team’s true strength.
Even if you don’t succeed, you’ll get to see how others think, which might make your teamwork the next day even smoother!
Rock-paper-scissors tournament
Rock-paper-scissors—a game almost everyone has played since childhood in all sorts of situations—can be started without explaining any rules, making it a great choice for party entertainment.
You can also spice it up with rules that actually get harder the more you’re used to playing to win, such as having the host call out “Make it a tie,” or “Lose on purpose.” Another twist is to have a manager or senior person put up cash from their own wallet and run a last-person-standing round—this creates a different kind of excitement than usual.
It’s a game anyone can join, and with simple rules, it’s perfect for creative tweaks to boost the fun.
Childhood photo guessing game
The more people you have, the more fun it is to ask “Who’s this?”—a guessing game using childhood photos.
Before the party, collect childhood photos of the attendees.
To make the game more challenging, choose pictures where the person’s features aren’t easy to recognize—ideally from when they were quite young.
Then either show the photos one by one or lay them all out at once and have everyone guess whose childhood photo each one is.
The person who guesses the most correctly wins! Their keen eye might even earn them some admiration from the group.
Whether guesses are right or wrong, everyone will be chiming in with “maybe this” and “maybe that,” making for a lively party atmosphere!
Stand-up game
Finger Suma is the game many of us played as kids in the classroom—raising fingers to the chant of “Issē no!” A stand-up game follows essentially the same rules, except participants actually stand up or stay seated, so it’s easy to run.
Unlike using fingers, standing and sitting uses up energy, so depending on the group’s age range, people’s tendencies might become easier to read as the game goes on.
If you have a large group or a small venue, you can switch to raising hands and still have fun.
It’s a simple yet lively game.
Guess who’s drinking game
Isn’t the game where you prepare as many drinks as there are quizmasters, put alcohol in just one of them, and guess who’s drinking it a party game unique to booze-filled gatherings? If the alcohol is originally clear, like sake or shochu, you can just use water for the other drinks, making prep easy.
Of course, it also works to slip an oolong high into a lineup of oolong tea, but stronger alcohol might make the game more exciting.
However, anyone on the quizmaster side who will be drinking should consider their own constitution and condition before participating.