Running a better game night
Not lists of games. Notes on the bits that actually decide whether an evening works — who is in the room, what they will put up with, and what to do when half of them hate the game you picked.
· 6 min read
The party games that only work if something is keeping a secret
A living room cannot keep a secret from itself. That is the whole category.
Read· 5 min read
How to run a Ludo night that does not end in an argument
The game is not the problem. The length of it is.
Read· 5 min read
Games to play with your parents that are not awkward
The constraint is not age. It is who has to explain the rules.
Read· 5 min read
What to play when one person in the group is much louder
The answer is not to quiet them down. It is to give them a job.
Read· 5 min read
Never Have I Ever with colleagues, without the HR incident
The game is fine. The default question list is the liability.
Read· 5 min read
What to play in the twenty minutes before dinner is ready
Short is not the property you want. Interruptible is.
Read· 5 min read
Fishbowl is three games, and most groups quit before the third
The third round is the payoff. It is also the one people skip.
Read· 5 min read
Party games that survive somebody leaving halfway through
People arrive late and leave early. Most games treat that as an error.
Read· 5 min read
Games that work for an eight-year-old and a grandparent at once
The property you are looking for is that skill does not compound.
Read· 5 min read
Party games for people who do not want to be the funny one
A surprising number of party games are auditions.
Read· 5 min read
Truth or Dare with adults, without it getting weird
The dare is never the problem. The audience is.
Read· 5 min read
The games you can start without explaining any rules
Every minute spent explaining is a minute the quietest person spends deciding not to play.
Read· 5 min read
How to run a game night for twenty-five people
Above about twelve, you are not running a game night. You are running an event.
Read· 5 min read
One phone passed around, or one each: it changes the game
It sounds like a logistics question. It decides which games are possible.
Read· 6 min read
Why your game night dies at twenty to ten
It is not the games. It is the order you played them in.
Read· 5 min read
Three people is not a small party, it is a different game
Most party games do not degrade gracefully. They stop working at exactly four.
Read· 6 min read
Icebreakers that do not feel like icebreakers
The problem with an icebreaker is that everyone can tell it is one.
Read· 6 min read
Games for people who actually enjoy being lied to
The counterpart to the post about the people who hate this.
Read· 5 min read
Games for a room that does not share a language
Every family gathering has somebody being translated for.
Read· 6 min read
What to actually play at a kitty party
The games are not the problem. The arriving, the talking and the scoring are.
Read· 5 min read
Games for two, when it is just the two of you
Most party games are miserable with two people, and it is worth knowing why.
Read· 6 min read
Free Jackbox alternatives you can start in about a minute
The format is great. The logistics are the bit that goes wrong.
Read· 5 min read
Games like skribbl.io, and when to reach for something else
It is a great hour. It is rarely a great evening.
Read· 6 min read
How to run a quiz night at home without printing anything
The scoring is what ruins it, and the scoring is the easy part to fix.
Read· 5 min read
Games to play when half the group hates social deduction
Some people genuinely do not enjoy being accused of things. Here is what works instead.
Read· 6 min read
How to run a game night on a video call that people enjoy
The failure modes are predictable, which means they are avoidable.
Read