I’m preparing dinner for a group of friends–we have travelled together but don’t see each other on a regular basis–a reunion of sorts–total of 9 people. I plan a rather casual, " home-cooking" kind of evening. We’ll be trying a new chicken recipe (roasted, spatch-cocked, in a cast-iron skillet) and I’ll make a nice cake for dessert. It’s always a fun evening when this group gathers but I’d like some kind of game or ‘activity’ to follow dinner.
On previous occasions, we’ve played games like Trivial Pursuit and Pictionary–we even pitched horse-shoes on a lovely summer evening!—but I’m at a loss this time. Looking for something to take up 45 minutes to an hour after dinner while we drink a second glass of wine or enjoy an after-dinner drink. Any ideas?
Our family has annual holiday traditions of playing electronic CatchPhrase - works with any size of group. You can play it sitting inside or outside - don’t have to be at a table since you just pass the unit - like hot potato.
Ellen Degeneres’ Head’s Up App on Iphone or Ipad is hysterical! Kind of like an updated Charades. The Accents and Act It Out sections had us on the floor laughing!
Code Names is a ton of fun. A game takes about 15-20 minutes so works great in your time frame (except you could end up playing it the rest of the night…)
Sushi-go now has a party edition which works for larger groups (up to 8). https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/192291/sushi-go-party It’s a lot of fun and hte cards are adorable. If you have a reasonably literate crowd the Dictionary Game is a lot of fun.
Card games might be tricky with 9 people depending on the shape and size of the game table.
Apples to Apples is a card game but it doesn’t really tie you to the table unless it’s your turn to be card master (or whatever the term is). It’s also good in that people can duck in and out of rounds.
Charades is so much fun but it’s an “all in” kind of activity…doesn’t really lend itself to walking around and chatting.
Could you dig out the Wii and have a bowling or golf game going while people drank and chatted. Kind of like electronic horseshoes.
We play with money, and usually have each person bring $3 or $5 in ones to play. When we have 25 people playing we only play with $3; winner takes all! The kids start playing for themselves by the time they are 5, otherwise they play with a parent; the oldest this year was 92. Everyone has a blast and looks forward to playing every year.
They also have Code Pictures which is supposed to be even more fun but I haven’t tried it yet.
The good thing about Code Names is the conversation keeps going as decisions are made. Best for about six people but fun to watch too. And a constant change of teams keeps things really fun.
