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FDQ: What Is the Best Party Game?

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You’re at a party, and someone suggests a game. That person brings out…Trivial Pursuit, an occasion that might merit the “Nooooooooooo!” edited into the Star Wars Blu-ray. (Too soon?) This, or similar situations, sparks today’s FDQ: what is a good alternate party game suggestion? Or, really, what is the best party game? Answer in the comments!

@FarmerLenny answers:
Call me old-fashioned, but I might suggest a game of Pit. Pit is riotous fun for players, is easy to learn, and even though players typically start out underwhelmed, by the end of the night they are laughing hysterically. Another good option is Wits & Wagers, the trivia game for people who don’t know anything. I love bidding/betting games, and playing with whiteboards, so this is another favorite. I also enjoy The Game of Things, though I’ve never played the official version. More recently, The Resistance has gone to the top of my go-to list as well. There are plenty of other options. All this to say: friends don’t let friends play Apples to Apples.

@Futurewolfie answers:
I haven’t played a lot of party games recently. I enjoy Apples to Apples, but it can be pretty exclusionary. I’ve never played Wits & Wagers (I know, a travesty!). Of games I’ve played, The Resistance is pretty high on the list but has a limited number of players (ten sounds high…until you’re actually at an actual party…). Catch Phrase usually works well with all ages and skill levels (I have some great memories of my 85-year-old grandma). The Great Dalmuti is a pretty enjoyable card game with large groups, and you can play a variant of it (President or Scum, anyone?) with a normal deck of playing cards. Pit is good if your people don’t mind a lot of yelling…at least where my family comes from. I can’t imagine a quiet game of Pit, anyways.

I'll try anything once, but my favorite games are generally middleweight Euros.

Discussion5 Comments

  1. @Futurewolfie, I used to play Pit with ASL majors at college, and we would sometimes play silent Pit. It was fun, but I like the boisterous racket of the original Pit better.

  2. The newest party game to which our group has been introduced is Dicey Curves by Matt Worden (Matt’s pretty active on Twitter if you want to find him). It’s a fun little racing game that supports up to 8 and has a high level of customization (i.e. you can create your own track with the cards or flip them over randomly).

    I never really got into Wits and Wagers to be honest; I don’t think it’s a bad game per se… just not one that grabs me.

    We’ve had the most success with Time’s Up and Cards Against Humanity, though I’d only suggest the latter if your group has a sick, dark, twisted sense of humor.

  3. Robert: I’ve only played Dixit once, but it was pretty great. It seems, though, like it might be a “right-kind-of-group” game. That is, it’s best if you’re playing with creative people. Also, my wife and the others we were playing with thought the paintings were creepy. But the game is creative and fun–I recommend it.

  4. Games & Grub: Dicey Curves does look like fun, and I’ve been wanting to try Time’s Up. One of these days. So many games to try, so little time (or, more accurately, so little allowance…).

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