Game nights are an excellent social event to mingle with friends and acquaintances. They are a fun and light-hearted activity that can even turn into a consistent and long-term thing. Planning is key for a successful game night. You want to make sure all your guests have fun and a good time all around. In order to do that, there are a few things you can do and make your game night an event to remember.
Define Your Goals
Firstly, think about what you want to achieve with this game night. Do you want this event to be competitive or to just hold a fun and casual get-together? Some healthy competition is fine but if your game night turns into a figurative fight with everyone for themselves, then not everyone will have a good time.
Some groups may like that, which is why you need to think about what you hope to achieve at the end of the night, keeping in mind the people you’ve invited.
Location And Time
The venue for your game night depends on the kind of games you plan on playing. Do you plan on playing a more laid-back and casual sort of game or something more serious? If you plan on inviting mostly friends, family, and acquaintances, then you can simply hold the game night at your house.
The cozy and intimate vibes would put everyone at ease and they will be more likely to have a good time. If there are more newbies on your guest list, consider renting out a room at your local game store.
Guest List And Invites
The most important factor for your game night is the people themselves, your guests. Create your guest list with these factors in mind, the amount of space you have, the kind of games you have, and if the people know each other or not.
Large groups sound great on paper but are hard to organize. Small groups are easier to work with but can limit the kind of games you can play. The last thing you want to do is let your guests feel left out.
In any case, you will need to create invitations. Pictures convey visually which words cannot, which is why a poster is the best thing you can use for this purpose. You can find various resources online that give you poster templates that you can modify and use for this purpose, such as PosterMyWall.
They offer hundreds of game night poster templates that you can choose from and modify according to your needs. The user interface is easy-to-use and you can end up with your required poster in a matter of minutes.
The University of Michigan created a poster to advertise a game night event on campus. The poster catches the eye immediately and informs the target audience about the event instantly.
Game Choice
This is why everyone is getting together, to spend time and have fun playing games. Give your guests some options to choose from but generally, you’ll be making some sort of a decision beforehand.
Board games are always fun to play, such as:
- Monopoly – The classic property trading and financial management game is well known around the world. It is only moderately difficult for new players to learn and can be played by as many as 8 people.
- Catan – This is a fun, competitive, and light-hearted game in which players create settlements and grow them. It is moderately challenging to learn and can be played by as many as 4 people.
- Clue – The game has players solve a murder mystery by deducing information they receive from clues throughout the game. It is fairly easy to learn and can be played by 3 to 6 people.
- Scythe – Set in an alternate 1920s, dieselpunk era, Scythe is a tactical, resource-building competitive board game. Due to its mechanics, it may be challenging for some new players to pick it up. It can be played by as many as 4 players.
- Jackbox Party Pack – The Jackbox is a collection of small video games that are fairly easy to play. Players need only their smartphones to sync up with the Jackbox server and play with the rest of their group. Each game has a different maximum player limit, but usually, it is close to 6 to 8 people.
You can also opt for card games like UNO. Again, it’s good to have a choice. That way if your players get bored with a game, you can always pack up and switch to another one.
Snacks And Drinks
As a host, you’ll be expected to provide some refreshments for your guests. These don’t need to be elaborate meals but some snacks would work well. Potato chips, mozzarella sticks, chicken wings, and even some pizza can work wonderfully coupled with some sodas or beers.
The rule of thumb is to pick easy-to-eat snacks that aren’t messy. The last thing you’d want is to get sauce all over the game pieces.
The goal of any game night event is to have fun. As long as you can accomplish that, your event will be a success. Always remember to break the ice first, get everyone relaxed and comfortable and then break out the game that you plan on playing.
