Games to play at a social event

1. Board games or bar games
2. Murder mystery
3. Charades
4. Win, lose or draw

Getting people together for social events can be a daunting task. As well as planning the food, the drinks and the music, it is about entertaining your guests. Playing games at birthday parties, hen dos and graduation celebrations is an exciting way for people to get to know each other, relax and have a good time.

The kind of games for social events you choose will depend as much on the guests as on the purpose or theme of the event.

There is a wide range of board games available for every taste and personality. They promote togetherness and teamwork, and work as convenient, enjoyable ice-breakers at any social event. You can find board games themed on particular films or series, aimed at sports or music fans, or pitched at a specific age group. The main types include strategy, trivia, puzzle and roll-and-move games.

Another option is bar games, such as:

• Pool
• Table football
• Arcades
• Ping pong table
• Bar dartboards

For a more elaborate role-playing game, hosts can organise a murder mystery. Before you start, draw up a list of characters and assign a role to each guest as they arrive. Decide which character is the murderer and write a list of clues to help the guests work it out.

Once guests have their characters, let them socialise for a while to get to know each other. The clues are handed out over the course of the game: some must be revealed openly, mentioned casually in different conversations and moments, while others have to stay hidden. Since each guest hears a different combination of clues, each will reach their own conclusion about the case.

Charades is a classic party game where guests silently act out a scene, object, film title, place, phrase, famous person or action. Guests split into two teams and a neutral timekeeper is appointed.

Each team takes turns nominating a player to act out the clues, while the rest try to guess the answer within a set time limit. The team with the most correct answers after a set number of rounds wins. The clues should be written on slips of paper before the game starts.

Before playing Win, Lose or Draw, the host or the guests themselves write a series of items on separate sheets of paper, folded so nobody can see them beforehand.

Once the teams are formed, each one nominates an artist. The artist picks a slip at random and, within a time limit, tries to draw the item on it. The rest of the team has to guess what it is, with the artist unable to speak or use gestures as clues. The team with the most correct answers after several rounds wins.

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