April 28, 2026

Trust me, nobody wants to be at a hangout where everybody’s face is glued to their phone. And if you're the planner or the one in charge of the games, it's on you to make sure that doesn't happen. So if I were you, I'd put any of these eight games on my next game list.

This one is perfect for the beginning of the hangout when everyone is still being awkward and overly polite. Each person gets a card with a grid on it. Every square has a trait written in it, something like "has lived in more than one country" or "speaks three languages." You walk around the room finding people who match the squares and they sign their name in. One person per square so you actually have to keep moving and keep talking. The first person to fill all rows shouts “bingo”. By the time someone shouts bingo, the room feels completely different from when you started.

You will need: Printed bingo cards with traits, pens.

Now don't the name fool you into thinking this is a children's game. You simply put your buddies in a circle with one fewer chairs than people and have them dance around it. Once the music stops, everybody has to scramble to grab a chair. Whoever is left without a chair is out of the game. This one gets pretty loud and even personal sometimes. But hey, that's the whole point, right?

You will need: Chairs, a playlist, someone on the aux.

Split your group into two teams. One person acts out a word or phrase without talking or mouthing it, no pointing at things in the room at all. Their team has sixty seconds to figure it out. To spice things up, make sure the prompts are very random. You can use celebrities, movies, inside jokes, whatever fits the room. The person who cannot act to save their life is always the most entertaining one up there.

You will need: Prompts on paper or a charades app, a timer.

For this game, everyone writes down three things about themselves, two real and one made up, and reads them out like they are all equally true. The group has to figure out which one is the lie. The trick is making your lie so boring that it sounds real and your truths so unhinged that nobody believes them. You will find out things about people you have known for years and wonder how it never came up before.

You will need: Paper and pens, or just good memory.

For this, one person picks a word in their head and starts giving clues. It could be a rhyme, a definition, whatever comes to mind. Everyone else is just shouting guesses until someone gets it right and then that person is up next. It sounds lowkey but the moment someone picks an obscure word and starts giving terrible clues, the whole room loses it. So you have to trust the process for this one.

You will need: Nothing. Literally just people.

For this game, someone throws out two options and everyone has to pick one. The fun part is that there is no skipping allowed, no "it depends." Everyone has to pick one option and then defend it. To make the most of it, make sure the options are really hard choices. Make people genuinely uncomfortable with the choice. For example, “Would you rather have smelly feet or an itchy nose for a week?” The defending is where the game actually lives because that is when you find out how people's brains work.

You will need: A list of questions or just make them up as you go.

For this one, the host calls out a letter and everyone races to hit a buzzer. Whoever rings in first has to name a song with that letter and then sing it right there. If they go blank, they are out. To make it more fun, you can include that the loser has to either take a ketchup shot or do a turkey dance…anything that makes people not want to lose. Honestly, watching someone confidently belt a half remembered chorus at full volume with zero shame is one of the funniest things you will ever see at a hangout.

You will need: A bell or buzzer, a host with a list of letters.

Everyone stands in the middle of the room and the referee starts calling out directions. Left, right, left, left, right. Everyone has to move to whichever side gets called and if you hesitate or go the wrong way, you are out. It always sounds easy until the referee speeds up and your body just stops listening to your brain. The last person standing wins and honestly watching people crumble under the pressure of left and right is where the fun is.

You will need: An open space and a referee who loves chaos.

Pick three or four of these games and your hangout will definitely be more interactive than the last. The best part of these games is that they're very customisable and so you can adjust the rules to suit the personality of your group. If you want more tips on how to spice up your next group hangout, check out some of our previous posts here.