Party games for friends with no kit needed: 15 easy ideas

The best party games for friends with no kit are the ones you can explain in under a minute: the forbidden word, werewolf, the “if they were…” portrait game or two truths and a lie. At most you need a pen and a few scraps of paper, and here are fifteen ideas, each explained in two sentences.

How do you pick the right game for the night?

Start with the number of people and the energy in the room. Four of you around a coffee table is perfect for word and question games. Ten people in a living room call for team games or bluffing. Early in the evening, open with something short and easy so nobody feels left out.

15 party games that need nothing

1. The forbidden word. One player gets their team to guess a word without saying it, or three related words chosen by the other team. Each word guessed within a minute scores a point.
2. Werewolf. A host secretly hands out the roles of villagers and werewolves, and at night the wolves silently pick a victim. By day everyone argues and votes someone out, until one side wins.
3. Homemade Time’s Up. Everyone writes five famous names on folded slips, then two teams guess them over three rounds. In round one you talk freely, in round two you get one word, and in round three you can only mime.
4. Twenty questions. One player thinks of a person, an object or a place. The others have twenty yes-or-no questions to work it out.
5. The yes-no game. One player fires questions at another, who has to answer without ever saying yes or no. Whoever slips up takes over as questioner.
6. Scattergories, homemade. Pick a letter and everyone writes one word per category (country, name, job, fruit) starting with it. The first to finish shouts stop, and unique answers score more.
7. Two truths and a lie. Each player shares three statements about themselves, one of them false. The others vote for the lie, and you often learn surprising stories.
8. Wink murder. A murderer is chosen in secret and kills players with a wink, the victim collapsing a few seconds later. Everyone else has to catch the killer before they are all gone.
9. Mime chain. The first player mimes a scene to the second, who mimes it to the third without knowing what it was. At the end you compare the original scene with what arrives, and it is rarely the same.
10. Word association. Each player says a word linked to the last one, without pausing for more than three seconds. Anyone who freezes or repeats a word takes a forfeit.
11. The portrait game. One player leaves the room and the others pick someone present. They come back and ask things like “if they were a dish, what would they be?” until they guess who it is.
12. Hum that tune. One player hums a well-known song with their mouth closed, no words. Whoever names it first takes the next turn.
13. One-line story. You build a story together, each person adding a single sentence in turn. Bonus rule: every sentence must start with the last letter of the previous one.
14. Fictionary. One player picks an obscure word and everyone writes a convincing fake definition. All versions are read out with the real one, and everyone votes for the one they believe.
15. Most likely to. Someone reads out a question such as “who is most likely to forget their passport?”. On three, everyone points at someone, and the results are usually hilarious.

How do you keep the mood right?

Switch games before people lose interest, ideally every twenty or thirty minutes. Keep forfeits friendly, something anyone can do without feeling awkward. And always let people skip a turn: a good night is one where everyone stays comfortable.

What if nobody wants to host?

That is usually where things stall: someone has to come up with the questions and keep the pace going. A phone game takes care of it. With the Yes or No game, you pass a single phone around, for 2 to 12 players: 60 questions, 14 forfeits, and no explaining yourself, or you take the forfeit. For something more unpredictable, Spin the bottle turns a bottle on screen and offers 74 questions and dares. Both start without an app or an account.

Frequently asked questions

Which game works best for a big group?
Werewolf, wink murder and homemade Time’s Up all work well with more than eight people, because everyone plays at once.

What should we play when guests don’t know each other?
Two truths and a lie is ideal: everyone shares a little about themselves, with no pressure, and conversations start on their own.

How long does a game last?
Most of these take ten to twenty minutes. Werewolf and Time’s Up can easily fill an hour.

Can we play with just three people?
Yes: twenty questions, the yes-no game, Scattergories, word association and hum that tune all work with three.