What Is a Fun Game for Teens?

Know any card games, like Pitch or Gut?

Hats.

It’s kind of a passive game you play whilst doing other things. It’s great for large gatherings, like family holiday parties or birthday parties.

First: Collect some hats. Normal hats, silly hats, giant sombreros and plastic princess tiaras. As each person comes in, give them a hat and tell them to put it on.

After everyone’s arrived, let them all know the rules:

Choose someone to be “it”. You can give them a cool name, like The Grand Poobah of Hat Game Leadership.

At some point during the course of events, the Grand Poobah will remove the hat from his head. Nonchalantly. Don’t mention anything to anyone. Just do it.

Everyone else: When you notice the Grand Poobah has removed his hat, remove yours. Again, don’t spread the word.

The last person dense enough to not have realised that no one else is still wearing their rice-paddy hat, Cleopatra wig, or fedora, has to do a forfeit. The Grand Poobah chooses the forfeit – maybe he has to tell an embarrassing story about himself, or answer a single question truthfully, or perform a silly stunt.

Then the game begins again, with the loser of the first round as the Grand Poobah.

@Adirondackwannabe I know several card games like crazy eights, B.S., Go Fish, and War.

@Seek That sounds really fun! I will have to try that.

Gut is Three card stud. Pitch is a bit more complicated. I’m thinking they’re not what you’re looking for.

@Adirondackwannabe I am looking for simple and fun games. Its pretty hard to get a room full of teens to listen to instructions and follow them.

Yeah, you’re right. I’ll think on it some more.

“Scenes from a Hat” is a blast.

I don’t know if you’ve ever watched Whose Line Is It, Anyway?”

Anyway, again, as people arrive, give them a few scraps of paper (index cards cut in half work well) and a pen, and ask them to write funny situations – “Things you don’t want to hear from the next bathroom stall” – then fold the card in half again and drop it in a hat.

When everyone’s there, clear a performance space, and have someone draw the scenes and read them aloud. Then whoever thinks of a good one jumps up and acts it out.

This is hard to describe in words. Here’s a youtube video of a game of Scenes from a Hat.

We used to play it all the time in drama club when I was in high school. It’s a blast.

Here is a Tumbler that’s just a list of possible Scenes, so you can seed the Hat a little.

The reddit thread is better than the Tumblr, actually.

There’s a game, (I haven’t played in years, so I don’t know the name) where you write down famous names on a card and tape them to people’s back. The point of the game is to guess the name on your own back by asking people questions.

Musical chairs.

Who am I?

Write the names of famous people on a large pieces of paper. One name per paper. When your guests arrive tape a paper to their back (use tape that won’t harm their clothing). Then they ask people at the party yes or no questions to figure out who they are (who is taped to their back). Questions like: Am I still alive? Male or female? Singer? Actress? Am I a real person? Cartoon? A politician? Blonde? Brunette? Anything to help you narrow it down. Like 20 questions.

You can ask your parents to write them up if you want to be a mystery person too.

I just saw @zenvelo answered the exact same game I described.

“What’s your favourite scary movie?”
Spin the bottle
Any of Jigsaw’s “games” would be, err…interesting
Pass the parcel at a taliban party, tick…tick…tick, “no, you have it”

Freestyle street fighting. Tournament or Royal Rumble.

Purple elephants,
(it can be anything), but everyone asks questions and the only thing you can answer is purple elephants or anything you want to say but it has to be funny. it turns out like this…
What is your favourite food? – Purple elephants
Who is you favourite T.V personality? Purple elephants,
but get creative

@Seek that sounds like fun, yep, got to try it

@zenvelo it’s called celebrity heads, and you can also put a sticky note on their head

Perhaps Werewolf (or one of it’s many variants, such as mafia). Does require following directions but it’s pretty simple.

^ Werewolf is awesome. I’ve done a Battlestar Galactica version as well, online. It is great if your crowd is smart.

Spin-the-Bottle?