About Office Party Games

The key to a successful party may very well be the games the guests get to play. This is because office parties can be daunting and awkward, especially when all the guests don't know each other or when the bosses are present, requiring demure behavior. Party games can be a great way to keep everybody engaged and break the ice.

Identification

The easiest and most effective way to plan office party games is to throw a theme party. Themes don't have to be complicated (something general like "movies" or "the '70s" is enough), but they will help unify the celebration and make it easier to plan games. Having prizes to give out will also increase the chances of everybody participating, even if the prizes themselves are simple things like candles and appointment books.

Considerations

Scavenger hunts are a great way to break the ice during office parties, especially if many of the people involved don't know each other. There should be a person in charge of setting up teams (or drawing names out of a bag to put teams together) and hiding the clues around the office. A variation of the game is to give each team a list of items to look for (such as two books, one pink item, a chair, a calendar) and then let them go look for them. The winner is the team that collects all the items first.

Potential

One-liner games are a good choice for smaller parties. To play it, the person in charge must write down on slips of paper famous sentences said in movies or songs, such as "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine" (Casablanca) or "Yo, Adrian!" (Rocky). Then at the party, individuals or teams can draw a slip and venture an answer. If they win, they get to keep the slip. In the end, the person or team with the most correct answers wins.

Expert Insight

Sometimes, classic games are easier, especially when you have a mix of ages and backgrounds in the party. Choose classics such as charades, Pictionary or even musical chairs. During the holidays, a white elephant exchange might be a good idea, where participants get a chance to steal gifts from each other, sometimes resulting in fun tugs-of-war over a single item.

Fun Fact

A game that works well in offices where people still don't know each other well is Liar, Liar. Depending on the size of the party, you can create teams or have people work individually to jot down five statements about themselves, three of which should be true and two false. Then, slips of paper are exchanged (having more than two groups makes the whole thing more fun) and people in the other group must guess which ones are the lies. The team that gets the most correct guesses wins.