It’s not like college is known to be uneventful by any means, but sometimes, you just run into a lull. Maybe you completed all your class assignments early for once, or you and your friends just ran out of things to do—but whatever the case, it never hurts to have a few games to throw out when you suddenly find yourself bored. Not into board games? No worries. In fact, some of the most surprisingly amusing activities involve practically nothing besides a group of friends who aren’t afraid to be silly with you. Ahead, we’ve rounded up 30 fun games to play that require little more than your own imagination and your favorite crew.
If You Only Have a Smartphone
- Heads Up: This is a game that will elevate the fun of any group gathering. One player holds the phone up to their forehead and the other players try to describe the word displayed. See how many words you can guess!
- Psych!: This smartphone app makes you give wild yet plausible guesses to questions. Potential answers (and the correct one) are displayed on the screen and players try to figure out which one is right.
- Pokemon Go: Bring back the craze of this app and get some fresh air! Download the app and go on a search for the Pokemon in your area.
- Camera Hot Potato: Grab a camera phone, sit around in a close circle, and set a timer on the camera. Pass the phone around by holding it up to your face then passing it along. When the time ends, the camera will take a photo of you. See who has the funniest selfie of the night.
- Bloop: This smartphone game requires you and your playing partner to try to tap as many as the same color tiles as possible
- Freeze Dance: Start up a dance party! See who has the best dance moves (or lack thereof) and make sure you freeze when the music stops. For this game, you’ll need great playlist and a phone or speakers.
- Wikipedia Game: All you need for this game is a phone and access to the internet. Go to wikipedia.com, and have everyone go to a random page. Then have someone pick a word. Once you have your term, each person has to get to the Wikipedia page associated with that word by clicking only on links in Wikipedia. Whoever reaches the page first wins.
If You Only Have a Deck of Cards
- Spoons: To play spoons, you will need a deck of cards and one less spoon than there are players. Give each player four cards, and start the game by picking a card from the deck. If the card matches one of the ones in hand, the player can swap out the card and pass it along to the next player. This continues until a player has collected four of the same rank cards. Then, they’ll try to discreetly grab a spoon before everyone else does. The player who doesn’t grab a spoon is out and the game continues until there is one winner.
- B.S.: This is played by using a deck of cards with the Jokers removed. The dealer should hand out cards to each player until all cards are dealt. The goal of the game is to get rid of all of your cards by going in order of card rank, but you can fib and say you have cards that you don’t. A player can then call your B.S., and if they are right, you take the whole deck of cards in the middle; if they’re wrong, they take the deck.
- Crazy Eights: This game is like Uno, but is played with a normal deck of cards. Each player gets seven cards, and the rest of the deck is put in the middle of the playing surface, placing one card face up next to the deck. Players go in a circle, adding cards to the pile that match the suit or rank of the card facing up. If a player cannot match the face-up card, they must choose cards from the face-down pile until they find a matching card. Eights are like wild cards and can be any suit, rank, or color desired. The first player to get rid of all of their cards wins.
- Snap: This card game uses a full deck of cards. Cards are dealt evenly among players, and when receiving your cards, keep them in a stacked pile face down in front of you. The dealer starts by picking the first card on top of their pile and turns it face up next to the pile and this continues down the line of players. If at any moment two upward-facing cards are the same, the first player to notice should shout “snap!” and take both cards, adding them at the bottom of their pile. When you have no face-down cards left, you’re out. The last player to have the most cards in a pile is the winner.
If You Only Have a Pencil and Paper
- Charades: Separate your group into two teams. Write down things or people on slips of paper and add them into a bowl. A player from team one will go up and choose a slip of paper from the bowl and act out that word to the group without talking or mouthing words. If the team successfully guesses, they get a point. Take turns and see which team wins.
- Pictionary: This is the same concept as charades, but instead of acting out, you draw it. All you need is paper and writing utensils (and a timer if you want to get competitive).
- Tic-Tac-Toe: If you’re really bored, set up a tic-tac-toe tournament and see who’s the most strategic of the group. All you need is paper and enough pens for each person.
- Newlywed Game: This game isn’t just for couples—any group of friends can play. See how well you know your best friend, and sit back to back with each other while answering a list of questions that are being read off to you on a slip of paper. Whoever knew the most wins.
- Who Am I?: Similar to Heads Up, one player will choose a famous or well-known person for you, write the name on a Post-It note, and stick it to your forehead. The players will give you hints and it’s your job to guess who it is.
- Mark Simpson: To play this game, you’ll start by picking a TV or movie character from a bowl. Then, from memory, the player will draw what they think the character looks like on a piece of paper for everyone to guess who it is. See who’s a good artist and who knows their characters best.
- Jeopardy: Bring this television game show to your own house. For this game, create a board with categories written on it. Place Post-it notes on the board with number values written on top and questions written on the back. Players from a team will pick a value under a category to answer the question with it. If answered correctly, the team gets that number of points; if answered incorrectly, the team loses that amount of points. Play until the entire board is answered.
- Single Sentence Game: Create an original story by contributing one sentence at a time. Start by writing one sentence at the top of a piece of paper (it can be about anything). Then, pass it on to the next player, who will have to draw a picture illustrating the sentence. Fold the paper so that the sentence is no longer showing, and then pass it on to the next person, who will have to write a sentence explaining what they think the picture is about. Keep repeating the process until the paper is filled, and then read the sentences aloud for some really good laughs.
- M.A.S.H.: Ready for an instant wave of nostalgia? Play this middle school staple game to “predict” you and your friends’ futures. Label the top of the page “MASH” (that’s mansion, apartment, shack, or house for those for you that need a refresh) and then fill the page with other categories detailing a future life. Think, celebrity significant other, number of children, future car, city of residence…the list goes on! Just make sure you have four options listed for each category! After setting up your MASH page, have your friend pick a number and count your way through the page, crossing off the item you land on every time you reach your magic number. Circle the last option remaining in each category and — there you have it — your *future.*
If You Only Have a Group of Friends
- 20 Questions: Grab a friend or two and learn more about each other. Take turns asking each other a list of 20 questions, being truthful for all of them.
- Heads-Up, Seven-Up: This game will definitely bring you back to elementary school. Players put their heads down and keep their thumbs up. Seven “choosers” go around the room and press one players thumb down. When ready, the “choosers” say, “heads up seven up” and players guess who pressed their thumb down. If correct, the player takes the “choosers” spot.
- Would You Rather?: Find out your friends preferences with this fun questions game. Ask a friend or group a round of questions, such as “Would you rather go on a tropical vacation or a trip to the mountains?” Don’t be afraid to get creative!
- Never Have I Ever: Get a group of friends together and learn about their past. Start out by holding up five or ten fingers. Players go around the circle saying things they’ve never done and if a player has done something, they have to put a finger down.
- Telephone: To play this, one person starts out by telling a sentence to the person next to them. Pass the message down an the last person must say what they were told out loud. See how distorted the original sentence gets.
- Mail Call: Create a circle of friends and put someone in the middle. This person says a rule like, “cross the middle if you love shopping” and everyone who does scrambles to replace a spot in the circle. If you’re left in the middle, you have to be the next person to call out a rule.
- Seven Second Challenge: This challenge is played by giving your friend a task to complete in seven seconds. The friend who completes the most tasks correctly in seven seconds wins the challenge!
- Gobbledygook: Find a friend and tell them to say a random word. Then say the first word that pops into your head and then your friend does the same. Keep it up until you get bored or need to stop to catch your breath from all the laughing.
- Rhyme Time: Start with a word and build on rhyming words. The first person to repeat a word ends the game.
- Laughing Game: Lay down on the floor and have a friend lay their head on your stomach. Create a line of this and have the first person start laughing. Watch the laughter and spread and your mood go up.
Do you have any fun games that you love to play with friends? Let us know in the comments below!
Featured photo by @maesonduhnke.
