A game night with your friends can be a great way to get back in touch with your childhood and reconnect with loved ones and friends. People have used various games and activities to bring fun to social situations for centuries. Though dinner and a movie can also be fun, the one-sidedness of watching a movie doesn’t allow people to talk and socialize like playing a game allows. The next time you and your friends want to have a great time but going out for a drink or a movie doesn’t sound exactly like what you want to do, why not plan an adult game night and stay in for the night? Here’s how you do it!
Guests– For this perfect adult game night, I’m going to suggest having all the guests being your adult friends. If you have siblings that are approximately your age and live nearby, invite them along, too. Having a nice mixture of single people and couples will be a good idea. You could even pair singles together to promote socialization between your single friends. You never know: some saucy couples could result from you playing matchmaker during your game night.
Invitations– Depending on whether you have a main game around which you are concentrating your game night, you could have invitations that have a theme. Being that the days of using snail mail to get the word out on a party are long gone, it might be a good idea to use email invites. If I were having a party where one of the main games is Hangman, I’d make the invitation its own Hangman game where the phrase “Games and cocktails at Helena’s, Saturday at 8PM” or something along those lines. Then, regardless of whether they get the answer, make sure they get the message and ask for an RSVP so that you know how many people you’ll need to accommodate.
Food- For any game night, finger foods and buffet-style dining are better than a formal sit-down dinner so that the activities are kept going instead of having to pause to eat. I suggest shrimp and cocktail sauce, warm pita wedges and humus, a vegetable platter, cold cuts and sliced bread, sesame chicken skewers, mini pizzas; whatever your specialty in the way of party foods, go with it. It may also be advantageous to get some good desserts and/or coffee; maybe go to a local bakery and get some mini éclairs and brownie bites or have an ice cream sundae bar where people make their own sundaes.
Music– Just like with any party, you really want the music to act as background to the main event of socializing with friends. You really have to look your friends to figure out the most appropriate music for the crowd. Perhaps some light jazz or swing music. Perhaps creating a playlist for your MP3 player with enough songs to where it doesn’t seem like the same songs are repeating over and over. Also, make sure that the source of the music is close at hand in case the music needs to be silenced or turned down during a game.
Cocktails and Beverages- Like with any party, it’s probably good to let people decide whatever drinks they want. Definitely provide a few staples like a few different kinds of beer, white wine and red wine. It’s a great idea to also having one featured cocktail for the night. Maybe make up your own and name it something appropriate for the game night. For instance, continuing with the Hangman theme, maybe create the “Hangman’s Martini” or “Hangman’s Noose”- just have fun with it!
games– It’s a good idea to have a variety of different games like card games, word games, picture games and even board games. Clue is always a great game as are Pictionary and Charades. What’s great is the number of possibilities is growing every day; game systems like Wii and Rock Band have some great games that are user friendly for most players making it a great option for Game Night.
