Party Word Game Ideas

Mad Libs

• Mad Libs is a classic party game in which you start with a story that has missing words. Have the guests tell you random words to fill in the blanks, which ends up making a wacky story. Mad Libs books come in a variety of themes, so you can find one just right for your party at just about any bookstore, or use a free online site such as WordLibs.com. On the site, select a category, then the story that you want to use. Go around to all the guests and have each give a different word required by the Mad Lib, such as a noun, article of clothing, or past-tense verb. Fill in the words on the site, then click “Create Story.” The site will create the Mad Lib story and you can read it to your guests.

Dictionary

• To play the game of Dictionary, you need one dictionary, and some paper and pencils. You can play with as many people as you want. For the first round, one person serves as the reader. The reader opens a random page in the dictionary and selects a word they’ve never heard of. The reader reads the word aloud to the group. Everyone (but the reader) writes down on a piece of paper what they think the word means. The reader writes down the real definition of the word. Everyone gives their papers to the reader. The reader mixes them up and reads each definition, including the real definition. Everyone then votes on what they think is the real definition. The reader reveals the real definition. After each round, each person who selects the correct meaning gets two points, and each person gets one point for each vote for his fake definition. The reader gets two points if no one votes for the real meaning. The next round continues with another reader. You can play to a specific number of points.

Panic Word/Taboo

• This game is sometimes called Panic Word, but also known as the board game Taboo. To set up the game, write down about 100 different words on index cards (one on each). They can be any words you want, but use ones that people will be able to guess from clues. Mostly nouns or verbs are best. Mix up the cards and put them in a stack. Break up the party guests into two groups, and have each team sit on either side of the cards. Have one player from the first team draw a card. The player gives clues to his teammates to get them to guess the word on the card. Set a timer for one minute. If the team guesses the word correctly, they get one point. If they don’t guess correctly, the other team gets a point. Have the teams alternate picking cards until the cards run out. Total up the points to see which team wins.

Mad Gab

• Mad Gab works by giving you a nonsense phrase. But when you say it over and over, it begins to sound like a real word or phrase. Give the guests a Mad Gab phrase and see who can solve it first. If you don’t want to buy the game, use a free online site to gather different puzzles. Write them down, then click “I Give Up” to see the answer. Read them the puzzles aloud to your party guests.