Having friends and family over and don't know how to keep them entertained? There's no faster way to fix "boring" than by turning to party games. No matter what one plays on – PC, console, or mobile – these games are sure to keep guests happy until the night is over. With the right selection of games, no one is going to want to leave. These are our picks for the best party games to play with friends and family!
Jackbox Party Pack
The Jackbox Party Pack is a series of party games from Jackbox Games that started in 2014 and has released new games on a yearly basis since.
- Platforms
- PC, Xbox, Switch, Mobile
- Supports lots of players
- Players can join using just their phones
- Wide variety of games has something for everyone
- Low barrier to entry
- Not technically challenging
- Closer to mainstream party games than video games
The Jackbox Party Pack has some of the easiest games to play, especially with a mix of family members who may or may not know that Nintendo is in fact not a system in and of itself. All of the Jackbox games are super fun, but each iteration offers a unique set of games based on talking, trivia, drawing, and more. For instance, The Wheel of Enormous Proportions in Party Pack 8 offers easier trivia than Party Pack 2 and 6's Trivia Murder Party, while Drawful can be tackled by almost anyone.
Regardless of which pack is played (or if all of them are), it's a great time for grandma, the kids, and everyone in between. Only one person needs to host using almost any device, and most phones or tablets can be used to play along. Plus, non-players can join in the audience to simply vote for their favorite players, often giving them points in the process. This party game is one of the best options for families, friends, and even conventions or other special events!
Nintendo Switch Sports
Nintendo Switch Sports was released in 2022 and is the latest entry in the Wii Sports sub-series, despite not having "Wii" in the title.
- Competitive play is great for family and friends
- Wide variety of sports are easy and fun for everyone
- Encourages players to be more active while gaming
- Online play allows for more competition in bigger lobbies
- Only up to 4 couch co-op players
- Most games can be won without moving much
Like its predecessors, Nintendo Switch Sports supports in-person multiplayer, making it easy to compete against friends and family. The games are still as quick and easy as with Wii Sports, featuring games like tennis and bowling. This time around, however, there are some games that promise unique challenges and new experiences, such as the Chambara sword fighting.
Again, the mass appeal of these short, competitive games means that everyone will want to have a chance to dethrone the reigning champ, whether that person is a favorite aunt or a long-time family friend. Even once everyone goes home, players can continue the fun with the new online mode!
Mario Party Superstars
Mario Party Superstars is a party video game released for the Nintendo Switch. It is the 12th installment in the series and the second on the Switch. Mario Party levels the playing field with fun little games sandwiched between luck-based rounds on the iconic game boards. There are five remade boards from the original trilogy from Nintendo 64 and 100 minigames from previous titles in the series.
- Platforms
- Switch
- Publishers
- Nintendo
- Iconic characters and level design
- Low barrier to entry is great for all ages
- Lots of mini games available
- Brings back fan-favorite boards and games
- Very luck based
- Not many game boards to choose from
Mario Party games are the perfect way to distract kids of all ages without letting them get crushed by their elders. The luck element, like Bowser redistributing wealth or a special tile causing two players to swap coins, make it easy for players to catch up and even win against players that are performing well in the mini-games.
However, Mario Party Superstars manages to do this without making it feel like the mini-games are useless or boring. In fact, most of the mini-games are hilarious, challenging, and most importantly, a blast! On top of this, the colorful and imaginative game boards are great at keeping kids fully engaged throughout each turn. It can even help young readers through the use of iconography and simple words.
Overcooked! All You Can Eat
Finally, everything fans love about Overcooked has been blended into one delicious game! Overcooked!, Overcooked! 2, and all of the DLC for these games are available in one convenient package. Play with friends through couch co-op or online and serve up some meals to save the day and defeat the enemies of the Onion King and his BFF, Kevin the dog!Team 17 made a number of improvements, from speeding up background processes to adding seven new levels and three new chefs! With over 200 levels to cook through, players can prove their friendship as things heat up more than ever before!
- Franchise
- Overcooked
- ESRB
- E For Everyone due to Mild Cartoon Violence
- Platforms
- PS4|5, Xbox One/Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, Steam
- Lots of fun for up to four players on couch co-op
- Completely cross-platform
- Story offers plenty of comedy
- Includes new levels, chefs, and other improvements
- Deceptively simple controls are wonky on purpose
- High risk of arguments breaking out
The basic cooking game has kept players on their toes by putting them in kitchens with moving parts and even hazardous falls through two games and multiple DLC packs. Now, with Overcooked! All You Can Eat, players have access to all the previous games and DLC, plus seven new levels and three new chefs! Ideal for close friends or siblings, it's highly likely that it will end in a lot of shouting and laughter as everyone inevitably fails to properly control their chef.
Overcooked's best feature is how it brings back holiday memories of couch co-op challenges we faced with our favorite people. It also helps that the controls are extremely simple, so even for siblings that may not have picked up a controller in recent years, the gameplay will be about as easy for them as it is for more experienced gamers.
Mario Kart 8
Mario Kart 8 is the latest release in the long-running Mario Kart series. The modern installment features a wide array of characters and has seen updates over the years to bring new racers and a variety of new courses to the title.
- Franchise
- Mario Kart
- Released
- May 30, 2014
- ESRB
- E for Everyone: Comic Mischief
- Platforms
- Nintendo Switch
- A huge variety of characters and tracks to choose from
- Fun Racing Game Mechanics
- Can Get Pretty Competitive
Just about everyone is familiar with Mario Kart thanks to its long history of success and accessibility. With a wealth of tracks both old and new, nostalgia can meet the modern age when playing Mario Kart 8 with friends and family. The racing itself is very easy compared to more realistic racing games, making it a cinch for new players to join in on the fun. For players that already own the game, picking up the DLC tracks will make everyone smile – unless, of course, your secret skill is falling off Rainbow Road!
Finally, for gamers who are always ready to give it their best, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the newest installment in the classic fighting game series and a fantastic party game choice. Although it isn't ideal for mixed company, a room full of gamers will have a blast as they enter melee after melee. Plus, with a robust story mode and various challenge levels, it's easy to join forces with friends to conquer every opponent and win every trophy!
Gathering with loved ones is always a blast, no matter what events are going on. Put aside an evening for hanging out and having a blast together with these party games that will keep the festivities alive until the sun rises the next morning!
Keep Talking And Noboby Explodes
You’re alone in a room with a bomb. Your friends, the “Experts”, have the manual needed to defuse it. But there’s a catch: the Experts can’t see the bomb, so everyone will need to talk it out – fast!
Put your puzzle-solving and communication skills to the test as you and your friends race to defuse bombs quickly before time runs out!
- Platforms
- Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, VR, PC, MacOS, iOS, Android
- Unique puzzle game concept
- Works well with a variety of party sizes
- Can get frustrating
- Not many different modes to play
Ever thought, "I can definitely defuse a bomb, especially when I have my best friends telling me the instructions clearly and coherently"? Well, with Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, gamers can find that out. But let's just say that when that time starts ticking down, every puzzle seems a lot harder, and one's friends start to get louder and louder.
Despite the stress this game may cause, it is a perfect party game, especially for those groups that don't really want to sit down and play a video game. There will be one or two people who are defusing the bomb, and the rest will be reading through the instructions to help solve the puzzles.
WarioWare: Get It Together!
Take on over 200 quick and quirky micro games—lightning-fast mini-games filled with frantic fun—solo or with a friend! From assembling a robot to pulling out a statue’s armpit hair, the WarioWare: Get It Together! game is a comedic, cooperative micro game mashup.
- Platforms
- Quick and fun "micro" games
- Anyone can pick up and play
- Gets a bit repetitive
WarioWare doesn't have the same widespread love that Mario Party has, but in Game ZXC's opinion, it should. Since the first one was released for the Game Boy Advance, this series has been a great place to go for wacky and weird mini-games. WarioWare: Get It Together! continues that trend spectacularly.
This game works excellently as a solo or party game. Admittedly, it is way more fun as a party game, though. There are 200 mini-games that players have to beat to help Wario with his latest scheme that goes horribly wrong. For parties, we recommend passing the controller around after each mini-game is either completed or failed, trying to beat the levels. Do be warned: players get a limited number of lives in each level, so losing means starting the whole level over.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a fast-paced fighting game developed by Bandai Namco. It features over 70 characters from various video game franchises, each with unique abilities and fighting styles. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate sees the return of iconic fighters like Mario, Link, Samus, Donkey Kong, and more, while simultaneously adding a slew of new characters and DLC releases.
- Franchise
- Super Smash Bros.
- ESRB
- E for Everyone: Cartoon Violence, Comic Mischief, Suggestive Themes
- Released
- December 7, 2018
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer , Local Multiplayer
- Lots of fun for up to eight players on couch co-op
- Plenty of iconic characters to choose from
- Basic controls are easy to learn
- Great for a variety of skill levels
- Can be intimidating for non-gamers
- Needs lots of extra Joy-Cons for a full party
Similar to Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros. is an instantly recognizable game that even many non-gamers are familiar with. Although some professional gamers may disagree, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is easy to jump into and have fun.
Players who haven’t touched a controller in years will likely be able to play well with a quick tutorial or enjoy simply button-mashing to sow chaos. Often, inexperienced guests can have fun acting as unpredictable obstacles for more experienced players or leveling the playing field among a mix of young and old family members. Plus, the huge roster is filled with iconic characters that will satisfy most people with even a cursory interest in Nintendo.
Of course, experienced players will have tons of fun breaking out this classic brawler, especially by customizing the game through the menus with house rules such as no smash balls or only speed-increasing items. Although some fighting games can get somewhat heated, the colorful and cartoonish setting of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tends to help cooler heads prevail, keeping family and friend time a happy affair.
How to Choose a Good Party Game
Keeping everyone entertained during family get-togethers can sometimes seem like an impossible task, while with friends there’s often a lot of pressure to make it worth everyone’s time to show up. With party games, it’s easy to get things started, keep things going, or close out the night with some excitement. But how exactly does one choose the right game? Which party games are the best and why?
In general, players should consider three key elements to determine whether that party game is suitable for their group:
Number of People
How many people will be arriving at the party? How many people will want to play party games? Knowing this will let players figure out if there should be rounds to a game or if it’s up to just a few gamers to entertain spectators. It also allows people to know whether to ask others to bring extra controllers or if they need to set up a separate space for the guests who want to play.
For example, if the party game of choice is Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, hosts will likely need to ask guests to bring their Joy-Cons with them. On the other hand, a game of Jackbox requires guests to have nothing but a smartphone or tablet and can accommodate a larger number of players overall.
Difficulty Level
How much gaming does each guest do? Easier games are much more approachable to kids and non-gamers, though for parties without kids, hosts shouldn’t pick a party game that’s too easy. For groups with a wide variety of skill levels, more recognizable titles such as Mario Kart or Switch Sports would be best. Grandparents likely know how golf is played and could probably give the kids a run for their money in Switch Sports, even if those kids have never really interacted with golf before.
At the same time, adults hanging out probably don’t want to play games made for children, regardless of whether they’ve gamed recently. More challenging games with simple controls, such as Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes are perfect for a mix of gaming and non-gaming adults. Further, for parties where guests are planning on getting inebriated, more frustrating games like Overcooked might not be the best choice.
Length of Each Game
Game rounds can vary from a few minutes to over an hour, regardless of whether there’s a party going on. Depending on the other planned activities, the length of each round of a party game may or may not be ideal. Cookouts usually have a lot of downtime for those not enamored by the grill, so longer games like Mario Party can be started without fear of interruption. Alternatively, general hangouts are usually best suited to quick games that can be stopped and started in under 10 minutes, like a single mini-game in WarioWare or a quick round of Quiplash in Jackbox.
Using quick games to entertain leaves plenty of room for new activities to be started according to the whims of the party. Playing longer games is better for keeping groups busy while waiting for the next event to begin.
FAQ
Q: What kind of party games should I get for a big party?
When considering what games to get for a big group, consider what is fun to watch and also fun to play. If you're getting a game for a group setting, odds are there will be some that only watch the game being played, which is why games that are fun to watch are just as important as games that are fun for party members to play.
Q: How long should rounds be in a party game?
Round length can vary, but a good party game has rounds that last no longer than ten minutes. That way, as many people as possible can take their turn with the game.