Are you having a family dinner? Or are you hosting a dinner party, and other arrangements apart from the games have been made? Well, there could be multiple reasons you are busy looking out for games to play at the dinner table, but let’s not divert there. After all – dinner is a sacred time, and in the words of Julia Child, a noted cooking icon – “…dinner is a time when everyone should be happy and relaxed.” Why wait? Dinner’s getting cold – you better scroll!
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What games to play at the dinner table?
You are at the dinner table, so all games that require consistent movements are negated. Figure out games that you will be able to sit down and enjoy while you are eating up the delicious dishes delivered before you!
The regular dinner nights –
Dining with family can get relatively mundane (make sure your parents don’t read it). It is why – Stuart Brown, associated with National Institute For Play – recommends: playing at dinner promotes both creative and social skills. Here’s the list –
#1. Switching Cards
There’s no game funnier than miming, and if you do it properly – regular dinner nights can turn into winners!! This is one of the games to play at the dinner table, and you can mimic any of the family members without getting into their wrong books (it’s family, after all).
How to play? Write down the names of the members who are present at the dinner table on chits of paper and put them into a bowl. Shuffle it. Now ask everyone to pick up a chit. Make sure nobody picks up their own name. Once everyone has a chit with the name of another family member, they will have to switch their places with that person. Done? Here comes the mimicking part, where you have to act like that person. Oh!! What a laugh riot that would be!!
If that sounds boring, you could always replace your family members with cast members of your favorite show or some childhood cartoon character.
#2. Charades
One of the most prominent games to play at the dinner table is dumb charades. Almost everyone in the group knows the tricks and treats, and there’s not much you have to teach.
How to play? Make paper chits with clues and put them in a bowl. Shuffle it. Divide the teams into two and ask everyone to pick up a chit. While they enact their piece, the members of the opposite team will keep quiet while his team tries guessing. The timer is set! You click it – you win, you don’t – you lose!!
#3. Taboo
Card games are always fun, especially when it comes to playing with family. As taboo as it may sound, this card game is quite tough to handle if you are not good with guesses!!
How to play? Write down clues on cards and shuffle the deck of cards. From there, you have to pull out a card and check the clue. Once you know what’s written on it, you will have to give out clues (indirectly) for the other players to guess it.
So, what’s the difference that makes this game trickier than others? The fact that you cannot, in any manner, steer somewhere closer to the clue. If you do that, you lose!!
You can play the game in the one vs others format or even in the teams’ format.
#4. Who Am I?
If you think this is similar to the miming game, then let’s tell you – it is not! Also, one can derive maximum fun from playing in larger groups (extended family dinners, perhaps) when they choose this option for their dinner games.
How to play? Get yourself a pack of post-it notes and a pen. Write down the name of the characters all of you plan to emote and shuffle them in a bowl. Ask someone else to pick one and stick it to your forehead or your back.
As you sit down for dinner or go around post-dinner playing the game, the people around you will keep dropping hints about the character which you are carrying. You have to catch the clues and give the answer within the time limit. Here the clues may be directly given, or if the players want to make it difficult – they can also twist the clues.
These are some of the games that work well when you are at family dinners. It is time to explore the list of those games to play at the dinner table when you are in a large gathering.
Which games suit party dinners?
When you are at a dinner party, you must plan games while keeping other people’s likings in mind. Agreed? Here’s how –
#1. Two Truths and A Lie
When you are at a party, you are bound to have some fun!! A bit of drinking and a couple of lies doesn’t hurt much. So here it is –
How to play? Sit down in a circle and set up the drinks before you. Now take turns! One person will say two truths and one lie about himself or herself. The following person sitting will have to guess which is a lie. If they guess it right – the first player drinks a shot. If they get it wrong – they pick up a shot. In this way, the game is carried on.
Not an alcohol person? Change your shot to cola, and continue having fun!
#2. Never Have I Ever
Surprised?? This is an all-time favorite game, but you did not imagine it could be included in the list of games to play at the dinner table? Well – that’s the charm of this game.
How to play? Again this is a drinking game (for those who don’t prefer their alcohol, any other beverage would work just fine). While the players sit in a circle, one player states something they have never done before. The others – if they have done it, agree.
While the one who has not done it simply takes a shot. The one who takes the maximum number of shots is the loser, while the one who takes the minimal number of shots is the winner!!
#3. Would You Rather
How does it feel when you keep playing a question game in rounds? We’ll tell you how! This is a perfect game that starts with a query and ends with an answer – while players take time to frame queries and figure out the answers to the same.
How to play? Start by asking the question to the person next to you – Would You Rather…finish the question and check what the person replies. If they have a reply, you can move on with the following query to the other players – to all in a row.
There is another way to do it. You ask a question; the other person answers – now, the second person comes up with a question for the third person to answer. This continues in the clockwise direction.
Once everyone is done answering in the clockwise direction, you can kickstart the game in an anticlockwise direction. To date – this is one of the most chosen games to play at the dinner table, especially when you have a group gathered.
#4. Murder Mystery
Does it sound gory? It isn’t be assured!! On the contrary – it is one of the best dinner games you can play. All you need here is a murder mystery kit at your disposal.
How to play? The party kit has a host of characters, and you must earmark each player with a specific character. Now the player enacts their part while the other participants try to guess the murderer.
If you are a fan of whodunnits? This is the dinner game to check out!!
How about a moment of gratitude?
You have a plethora of games to play at the dinner table. But what if you want time to talk your heart out after you are done with them? There’s no better place than the dinner table (whether you are at a regular family dinner or at a friend’s place) to share some snippets of the day or life in general.
If you are in no mood for a game, you can always sit down and speak two words of gratitude. You can speak of the good and not-so-good things that happened to you over the day. An alternative to playing games, this will help release your day’s stress, and that too, in the proper manner.
Wrapping up
That was quite an exhaustive list of the games to play at the dinner table. How did you like this content? If you want to add more games, leave a comment below. Check out this space for more exciting content!
