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-based game ideas (1–10) to liven up a party
Pose Matching Game
It’s a “Pose Matching Game” that’s like a mix of charades and telephone.
You look at the given prompt and strike a pose that captures its key feature.
For example, if the prompt is “baseball,” you might pose as a batter, a pitcher, or a catcher—the most iconic pose can differ from person to person, even with the same prompt.
Even when you think, “We’ll definitely match on this one!” you often end up completely mismatched.
It’s a perfect game for lively parties where you want lots of laughs.
Speaking of 〇〇, games
A simple yet exciting “Say 〇〇 Game.” The rules are perfect for a party: each team submits one answer, and the number of matches determines the winner.
Even if “sea creatures” is the prompt and you think of dolphins or whales, there’s no guarantee your teammates will pick the same thing.
The team with the most matching answers wins.
It’s also a fun way to make new discoveries—use this game to liven up your party!
Silent Birthday Game
This is a game where players line up in order from the earliest to the latest birthdays in the year.
However, you must not say your birthday out loud while lining up! In a quiet setting, use gestures to communicate your birthday, and the team that successfully arranges themselves in the correct order wins.
After lining up, it’s also nice to sing a birthday song to those whose birthdays fall in the current month.
Who is the liar?
Everyone eats the same thing and enjoys each other’s reactions, but in fact there’s one person who isn’t eating—someone who’s acting.
It’s a “Who’s the Liar?” game where you guess who’s pretending.
Choosing foods that provoke clear reactions, like wasabi or mustard, will make it even more exciting.
The more people there are, the more suspicious candidates you’ll have, and the harder it gets!
Gesture Telephone Game
When it comes to the game of telephone, the basic rule is to whisper the message to the next person, but this time let’s try communicating with gestures! The more complex the prompt, the more exciting it will be.
It’s also great for team play—try a rule where the team that guesses correctly the fastest wins.
It’s fun not only during the gesture round but also when checking the answers!
Atama-Oshiri Game
The Head-and-Tail Game is a fun activity you can enjoy while moving your body to music, and it’s great for all ages.
As the music plays, the quiz master announces the first letter and the last letter.
Think about what letters go in between and answer.
You earn points based on the number of letters you filled in between.
The player with the highest total score wins! Try adding time limits or making it a team competition to spice up the rules and have even more fun.
It’s a guaranteed crowd-pleaser that tests your thinking and quick-wit skills.
NG Word Showdown
This is an “NG Word Showdown,” where you talk while probing for words you must not say.
Teams pick representatives to compete.
Each player draws a slip of paper with an NG word, holds or sticks it above their head so that others can see it but they cannot.
The goal is to steer the conversation so your opponent says their NG word, while you keep talking without being led into saying yours—even though you don’t know what it is.
It’s a tense, edge-of-your-seat game.
10-second stopwatch challenge
Let me introduce a fun 10-second stopwatch challenge game that thrills you with the tension of trying to hit the exact time.
Prepare a stopwatch, and the person who stops it exactly at 10 seconds wins.
If no one hits exactly 10 seconds, the person closest to 10 seconds wins.
Using a stopwatch app on your phone is recommended.
It can be even more exciting if several people try at the same time, or if you increase the difficulty by changing the target time to 20 or 30 seconds.
Earphone Loud Telephone Game
You know the game Telephone, right? It’s the one where you have to pass a sentence correctly to the next person.
Well, this is a version where you do it while blasting music through headphones: the “Headphones-Blasting Telephone Game.” Because the music drowns out the voice completely, you have to read the speaker’s lips and pass it along.
The audience can only hear the spoken answers, so the ridiculous responses are guaranteed to bring the house down! Will any team manage to pass the message accurately?
No Katakana Hint Quiz
The “No Katakana Hint Quiz” is a game where you deduce katakana answers from hints that contain no katakana.
In everyday conversation, we unconsciously use many katakana words.
Some terms are so commonly known by their katakana names that explaining them in Japanese can become roundabout and unnatural.
In this quiz, the hints are intentionally given without katakana, which leads many players to feel confused by the awkward descriptions and think, “I have no idea what you’re trying to say!” Let’s calmly work through the hints.
