Punishment games that liven up company drinking parties and banquets
Having a lineup of penalty games ready for company drinking parties, banquets, or entertainment segments can really liven things up.
That said, if the penalties are too harsh, no one will laugh, and it can be hard to come up with ones that are just the right level of difficulty.
In this article, we’ll introduce fun penalty games that are sure to be a hit even at company gatherings!
We’ve compiled a wide range—from classic penalties to ones that are perfect for the smartphone era—so please use them as inspiration!
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Lively Punishment Games for Company Drinking Parties and Banquets (11–20)
Change the internal chat icon
A punishment game that’s currently popular at drinking parties is to change someone’s icon on the company chat app—like Slack or Chatwork—to a weird photo.
It’s pretty surprising when their icon suddenly turns into something strange that isn’t them.
The cute idea is that they have to keep that odd icon for a set period of time.
It might be hilariously over-the-top if, for example, someone who usually has a neat and cute female icon suddenly switches to a super macho man’s photo.
Russian drink
It’s no exaggeration to call this the ultimate game: you have to chug a punishment drink made with disgustingly bad ingredients mixed together, like Death Sauce and bitter wormwood tea.
Of course, Death Sauce is a bit too intense, so I think you can substitute it with a normally bad-tasting drink instead.
kissy face
It’s really embarrassing to show a kissy face in front of people, isn’t it? Even the viewers end up feeling a bit bashful.
Which means it’s perfect as a penalty game, too.
You might even see your usually serious boss making that kind of expression—who would’ve thought!?
A cappella karaoke
Let me introduce a fun penalty game that livens up company karaoke outings.
Turn off the backing track and sing a cappella while reading the lyrics.
Since karaoke is all about the instrumental track, this really puts your singing ability to the test.
Just ride the vibe and power through it!
Eat insects
In fact, highly nutritious insects are eaten on a daily basis in some countries! In Japan, insect eating isn’t very popular yet, so it’s a great idea for a forfeit or penalty game.
If you’re confronted with the realistic appearance of insects, your appetite will probably disappear.
Crickets, caterpillars, and other insects where the shape is clearly visible might make the penalty more exciting.
It’s not good to force anyone to eat them, but if they do, it’ll definitely be a memorable experience!
Say your strengths
Strengths are usually pointed out by others, and we rarely declare them ourselves.
This is a slightly embarrassing penalty game where you boldly proclaim your own strengths.
If you declare a strength and people around you start to question it, the embarrassment ramps up even more—so everyone should listen as earnestly as possible.
Besides the version where you think up your own strengths with an emphasis on the embarrassment factor, it’s also fun to play it as a game of rephrasing your weaknesses to sound like strengths.
drink a bad-tasting drink
Let’s try a drink with a strange flavor that seems like it was developed solely for punishment games, the kind that spreads an inexplicable taste throughout your mouth.
The farther the flavor is from something you’d normally “drink”—like “natto flavor” or “salted-fermented seafood flavor”—the stronger the sense of revulsion you feel just from the packaging.
The fact that you can’t even imagine the taste is a big part of the appeal, so using a simple game like roulette to quickly decide who drinks makes it easy to understand.
Besides expressing “gross” with your whole body, it’s also fun to have people do a food report to describe exactly what it tastes like to everyone else.
If they can’t convey the flavor clearly, make them take another sip—raise the stakes and crank up the excitement.
Expose the secret
Everyone has secrets they don’t want others to know.
But when you work together at a company for a long time, others may notice them without you realizing it.
The penalty game we’re introducing this time involves exposing those secrets.
Even if it’s not a big secret, quirky habits could make it fun, too.
A thank-you call to my parents
It’s hard to say whether it really counts as a punishment game, but how about calling your parents and telling them how grateful you are? Of course it’s embarrassing, but after the call, what lingers might be less the feeling of having done a dare and more a sense of being moved.
How do you refer to your boyfriend/girlfriend or partner? And how are you addressed by them?
Let’s have them reveal the names they only use with each other as a penalty game! The classic is dropping honorifics and calling each other by name, but sometimes they actually use “-chan” or “-kun,” or even special nicknames no one else knows.
For some people, that’s something they really don’t want others to find out, so it’s perfect for a penalty game! If there’s a couple there, you could have them call each other that way, too.
It might be embarrassing for them, but for everyone else it’s a penalty game that shares a little happiness around!
