A games night is a cheap way to get together with friends to celebrate an event or to just basically have fun. It’s a great tool for social interaction, a fun evening with friends and/or family and makes for some thought-provoking and head-racking game play. So, a games night is basically just a dinner party with games as the entertainment keep these tips in mind for a fun and memorable night of fun and games:
#1. Guest Selection
Blend your social circles together so that you can be guaranteed an awesome and memorable gamenight. Select 6-10 individuals with various personalities for the game night. A little over 10 is alright but more than 15 guests can be overwhelming even though they are divided into teams. It is better to have a mix of ages, backgrounds, personality types and social circles so that you can achieve best results during gaming. Mix your intellectual friends with your party-loving friends and this way, social interaction is encouraged.
#2. Game Selection
The games should be selected according to your intent for the night; do you just want to spend quality time with your friends, have fun or strictly play games. When you have that figured out, then you can proceed to select your games. Unless you really know your guests, the games should be short, easy to understand and should spark some interest in your guests to replay the games or at the very least, want to return for another games night.
There is a wide array of games to select from for a fun games night to suit all interests and abilities, so try not to stick to board games alone, mix it up: board games (Scrabble, Chess, Backgammon, Monopoly), dice games (Zilch, Yahtzee), card games (Solitaire, Hearts, Euchre, Canasta Poker, Mah-jong, Uno, Phase 10, Apples to Apples). Others are: Pictionary, Charades, Boggle, Scattergories, The Logo Game, Balderdash, Trivial Pursuit, The Touch Game, Ticket to Ride and a host of others. Most of these games are very engaging and easy to teach. To spice things up and to also engage your guests more, allow players to create new rules for old, familiar games. Include only games that can be quickly explained to anyone that might be unfamiliar with the rues so that the progress of the night is not slowed down.
#3. Food
The food Selection menu is an essential part of a games night. If you’re on a strict budget, request for your guests to bring their favourite dishes so that everyone gets to have a taste of every meal. If you will not be serving dinner, at least offer beverages and snacks and inform your guests beforehand so that they don’t anticipate a full meal before coming over. Keep food and drinks on a side table so as to avoid spillage of those items all over the game components.
#4. Logistics
Designate a particular time for people to arrive but try to be flexible about it since your guests have different schedules. Ensure that all your guests know the purpose of the evening and are well prepared in that regard. It is also necessary that someone understands all the games to be played so that others can learn from him or her. Set the theme for the evening and decorate your dining room table likewise. To keep track of scoring, allocate points after each game and keep a tally of all the scores, then offer a prize to the winner by the end of the shindig. Allow 30 minutes for a particular game, then 15 minutes for people to mingle before proceeding to another game.
Enjoy the company you have, laugh, make new friends, have fun as you play silly games with your friends and just blow off some steam and you’re well on your way to a memorable evening.