Ideas for team-based games to enliven a party
When you’re put in charge of a company drinking party or banquet, the biggest headache is often the entertainment and performances, isn’t it?
In particular, coming up with games that everyone can enjoy together can be quite a challenge.
So in this article, we’ll introduce a wide range of games that are easy for everyone to join, as well as group-versus-group games you can enjoy in teams!
With a little twist, even classic games can be transformed into plans that instantly liven up the venue!
Be sure to check out these team-based games that will energize any banquet.
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Team-competition game ideas (51–60) to liven up a party
Candle relay
How about trying a “candle relay,” where you pass a candle to the next person and the team that reaches the goal fastest wins? If you rush, the wind will blow out the flame, so you have to hurry yet pass it carefully—a slightly nerve‑wracking game.
But when played in a dark venue, it creates a nice atmosphere and can really liven things up.
Birthday line
It’s a game where you derive answers using only gestures, helping build participants’ trust and understanding.
Express your birthday through gestures and line everyone up in order of their birthdays.
Since numbers can be shown with hand shapes, conveying your birthday itself should be fairly easy.
We recommend setting a time limit or competing by team speed to encourage smooth communication.
Once everyone gets used to gesturing, you can change the prompts—such as “height” or “the most expensive recent purchase”—to adjust the difficulty and keep things lively.
Spinning Glasses Speed-Drinking Showdown
Have you ever seen those straws shaped like glasses at variety shops? Let’s try a speed-drinking contest using them! You can use any drink, but ones with a dark color make it more exciting because you can clearly see the liquid move through the straw.
It seems easy, but the straw is longer than you’d expect, so it actually takes more lung capacity than you think.
Pedometer Rapid-Shake Showdown
A pedometer that tells you how many steps you’ve walked in a day—the kind you attach to your waist.
This game uses that pedometer: hold it in your hand and shake it as hard as you can to see how high a count you can get within the time limit.
Holding and shaking it by hand is fine, but since that’s ordinary, it’s also fun to try attaching it to your head or foot.
The unusual movements you don’t normally make are hilarious and really liven things up.
Two-person hane-ori showdown
Nininbaori is a classic staple for skits and performances.
You often see it on variety shows, too.
Two people wear a single outfit: the person in front shows their face, and the person in back puts their hands through the sleeves.
In that state, they eat food and so on.
Just the fact that the person in back can’t see makes the movements incredibly funny.
It could also be great to try a team-versus-team makeup challenge!
back telegram
There’s a game like telephone where you see if a message can be conveyed accurately.
This version, called ‘Back Telegraph,’ doesn’t use spoken words—you write on the person’s back to pass the message along.
Each team gives a prompt to the first person, who then writes that prompt on the back of the person in front.
This continues down the line to see if the message reaches the last person correctly.
The longer the prompt, the higher the difficulty.
The Perfect Match Game
The game where you ask the other team questions and try to land exactly on a preset number is called the “Spot-On Game.” If the number is too small, the game ends quickly, so it’s best to pick a larger target like 100,000 or 1,000,000.
Split into two teams, decide who goes first, and take turns asking the other side questions.
Come up with questions that help you get closer to the target number, such as: “How much did living alone cost you?” “What’s the most expensive gift you’ve given a girlfriend?” “How many followers do you have on Twitter?” Hitting the number exactly might be tough, so it should still be plenty exciting if the team closest to the target number wins in the end.
Quiz: Let’s Aim for the Sweet Spot!
Challenge the popular board game “Quiz Ii-Sen Ikimashow!” Answer numbers for prompts like “What’s the probability you’ll confess to your crush?” or “How long do you simmer a slow-cooked curry?” The game’s key twist: the winner is the one closest to the middle—the average.
That means it turns into a mind game, reading what numbers others will put down.
Since it’s a table-vs-table match, you start by finding the middle number within your own group.
You’ll get a sense of the other team’s personalities, and it might spark conversation afterward!
How many questions can you get right on the quiz?
It’s not an ordinary quiz—it’s a game where the quiz taker becomes part of the quiz.
Each team selects a “contestant” to answer questions.
Then quiz questions are asked, and the contestant answers them.
However, before answering, each team predicts how many questions their own contestant will get right.
The team whose prediction is correct wins the game.
Balloon Tape Peeling Game
It’s a game where strips of tape are stuck onto a fully inflated balloon, and players take turns carefully peeling the tape off one by one without popping the balloon.
While it’s typically played as an individual competition, you can also make it a table-versus-table match by having each person peel one piece of tape from a balloon and compete on how many successful peels they achieve.
If a balloon pops, the loud noise can heighten the lively party atmosphere.
Adding a time limit for peeling the tape introduces the challenge of being both careful and quick, making the game even more exciting.