Hello Friend,

I’ve noticed that ‘Party Games’ can have a ‘marmite effect’. People either love them or hate them… or they think they do. Some party games require players to be clever or funny, perhaps even with everyone watching. So, it’s no wonder that the mere suggestion of playing a party game can provoke a flurry of people leaving the table, suddenly remembering important things they have to do. But of course, that’s not the whole story.

So what is a party game? Well, Board Game Geek says: “Party games are games that encourage social interaction. They generally have easy setups and simple rules, and they can accommodate large groups of people and play in a short amount of time.” What’s so divisive about that? Well, nothing. That’s the point.

You can enjoy party games even if you don’t enjoy parties. I suppose that is obvious, but I wonder if the name is partly responsible for its negative connotation for some people? Maybe a party is a place where you feel anxious or uncomfortable and you think a party game may evoke the same sort of emotion? 

I’m certainly not a party person. I turn almost every invitation down (not that I get many these days). But there are party games that I love. My latest favourite is So Clover - where players try to find words that connect two others and then decode the connections that other people have made. 

I think that there’s probably a party game to suit everyone. So tell me, is this your experience? What’s your ‘go to’ party game and has anyone ever run away when you’ve suggested you play it?