Like most post-college 20-somethings, I enjoyed the bar-hopping nightlife scene for a few years after I graduated. Many young adults coming out of college are single, finally making their own income, and just looking for a good time.
As we grow older and settle down into serious relationships, get married, and even have kids, our preferences for what constitutes a rockin’ Friday night seem to shift. While a loud, dark club blaring the latest hip hop music was once high on my list of weekend to-do activities, now it seems I would rather snuggle up with my honey, a movie, and a sweet glass of wine on a Friday night.
Enter: adult game night. Of course I still want to socialize with my friends on the weekends, I just don’t want to do it shouting at the top of my lungs as I get bumped into at the average rate of 2 strangers per minute.
Game night in my group of friends has started to become a regular occurrence over the past couple years. My friends and I generally rotate houses and each host/hostess will provide an array of appetizers and drinks. We usually sit around and have a few drinks and chat for about an hour before getting down to business on the board games.
After being out of the board-game scene for a good 10+ years, I completely forgot how much fun they can be. We all find ourselves doubling over with laughter at some point during the night (alcohol may also be a factor here).
The days of Trouble and CandyLand are long gone in the much-improved board-game industry. Some of our newer favorites are:
- Loaded Questions: this game is hilarious. Each person has to answer a (usually funny-answer-provoking) question and then one person guesses who had what answer. Towards the end of the game, people start coming up with pretty interesting answers!
- Apples to Apples: similar to Loaded Questions, but one person picks the answer that they would have answered with. Also ranks high in the “LOL” category
- Scattegories: an oldie but a goodie!
- Scene-It: some of our favorites are “The Office” and the pop culture editions. I can’t get enough Michael Scott on Thursday nights, so Scene-It is my perfect weekend fix.
- Poker/Texas Hold ‘Em: you can never go wrong hussling your pals with a good, old-fashioned poker game!
I recently picked up the new “Loaded Questions: On The Go” for a weekend trip that Lloyd and I took with some friends this summer. It was just as hilarious as the regular version and perfect for long, boring trips in the car! It also came in a cute little compact case so it was easy to stash in a suitcase or overnight bag.
I know our game night tradition will keep going strong as we get older and as each of our lives continue to change. What it really comes down to is having a good time with my circle of friends versus a room full of strangers (on the cheap, too!). Game night is the perfect solution for those of us in our late-twenties that just can’t party like we used to.
Do you have game nights with your friends? What are your favorite games to play?
Oh man – I really, really wish I lived in Kansas City and was your friend right now! =D
I LOVE – LOVE – LOVE board games and game nights. My friends in San Diego (when I lived there) would do it on a regular basis, but I haven’t found people here in the Midwest who enjoy it as much as I do.
Mr Cousin’s sister and brother-in-law do play games though, so the two times we’ve visited them we’ve played “Wise and Otherwise”. It is pretty fun and creative.
I also like “Apples to Apples”, “Cranium” is always a blast, and if you’re willing to suffer through the complicated rules “Teams of Enemies” is a blast!
We would play old school Trivial Pursuit as well – I picked up a children’s edition from 1980 in a thrift store for $4 – and it is HILARIOUS to play because all of the questions are obviously gears towards Canadian youth – which made it hilariously fun to play. =)
I don’t know that I was ever in that “hang out at a bar” mindset. I always wind up (a) getting stepped on (b) getting pushed or (c) getting someone’s drink spilled one me. Supernotfun.
Can I suggest Girl Talk for a girl’s only board game night? We played it at a friend’s bachlorette weekend and it was HILARIOUS. Especially since some of the girls in the group were already married.
I just had a game night with Scattegories. It also included Wine and the game got pretty funny as the night/glasses went on.
I do like to stay in, but I still want to go out from time to time. I just love to dance! And doing that home, alone, just isn’t right. LOL.
I wish we had game night. We do have game night when we go up to my husband’s parents house once a year. We play Shanghi Rummy. It only takes 40 cents in nickels. 🙂 But it is so much fun!
Someone just got us started on Apples to Apples. That is hilarious.
How fun, game night… maybe I should start one. 🙂
Sounds fun! My ex’s neighbors used to host a game night. What about dinner parties where a menu is created and everyone helps? My ex hosted a few and they were pretty fun!
OOOH, scattergories! GREAT fun! I’m not a huge fan of socialising at bars and clubs either haha, kind of over it and I’ve rarely ever done it. Also, (A question of) Scruples is a hilarious game if you have it in the States!
I love game night with a passion! We play different games with different people. With my family its usually Yahtzee, Skipbo or Uno. With my friends family its always Cranium which is mega fun. It’s great to get together, have some cheap drinks, yummy apps and play a fun game.
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