Ahhh, the office party - an awkward meeting with your colleagues that always starts with a mostly boring speech on everyone’s achievements. Then it’s a mandatory game of charades, during which people are mostly preoccupied with imbibing fermented drinks to relieve the tension that eventually leads to one or two embarrassing situations. Even if self-indulgence was well monitored, something shameful may happen anyway. Oh, and if it’s a Christmas office party, double all the emotions and feelings because, you know, everyone’s in a festive mood and usually totally overtired from all the buzz that happens during December.
Now, we know that this scenario of an office party is a bleak one, but there’s always a chance for improvement, even in the direst situations. One way to spice things up is to choose a party game other than charades, and we’ve compiled all the viable options here, so you won’t have to look all around the internet to find them! And although we’re pretty sure that any fun party game at first gets a dozen eye rolls, a few raised eyebrows, and about six displeased groans, once the game is actually on, everyone suddenly forgets about their prejudices and starts to actually enjoy the activities.
And just check out the names of these office party games! There’s the Death Wink, the Grab Tails, and everyone’s beloved Musical Chairs (disclaimer - only suitable if your colleagues are, at best, mildly competitive, otherwise, the fight might get really ferocious real quick). So, scroll on down below to check the full list of office party ideas, and hopefully, this year’s office soiree will be the best one so far!
P.S.: All of them also work perfectly fine if relabeled as holiday party games for the office. Just throw in some candy canes and a Rudolph, and you’re good to go!
#1
Death Wink
Make enough slips of paper so that each participant gets one. Mark all pieces with a "v" meaning victim, excluding two. The other two are identified as "murderer" and "detective". Other players are murdered with a sly wink from the murderer. When a victim is winked at, they "die". The detective searches for the murderer. Once he finds him, the killer becomes the detective and a new killer is selected. Play for as long as the group is having fun.
unknown
Report16points
#2
Truths or Lie
Each participant chooses one truth and two lies about themselves. Players share in turns while seated in a circle facing one another. When someone shares two truths and one lie, the person on their right makes a guess as to which is the lie. If they are right, they continue playing. Otherwise, they are out. This truth-telling game is won by the last person standing.
unknown
Report13points
#3
Baby Picture Guessing Game
Assign everyone to bring a photo of when they were a baby to the office party, and on the day, put everyone's photos on a board. The players must determine which office employee is which baby in the picture. Winner is the one with the most accurate guesses.
unknown
Report13points
#4
Guess Who
Everyone should put their name on a slip of paper, which should then be placed in a box, basket, or bag. Each individual chooses a name and describes the person using words. The others try to figure out who is being described. You can play this as a team game in which players compete to guess the answer the fastest.
unknown
Report12points
#5
Desk Thief
Take one thing from each person's desk, steal it, and then show it off at your party. Now everyone must determine who owns which thing. Wonderful method to lift people's morale.
unknown
Report12points
#6
Office Trivia Quiz
Create equal teams out of the players. Choose a set of trivia questions to pose to your team members, and give one point for each accurate response. The team with the most points at the end of the quiz is the winner.
unknown
Report12points
#7
Office Scavenger Hunt
Give your coworkers a set of cryptic hints and a variety of strange objects to hide throughout the office. The winner of the scavenger hunt is the first individual to find all the things.
unknown
Report12points
#8
Secret Santa
Coworkers choose names from a bowl a week or so before the company party to find out who they need to buy gifts for. Decide a spending limit. Exchange gifts at the office party without revealing who purchased what for whom.
unknown
Report11points
#9
Storytime!
Team up to create a story. Each player in this game writes one sentence, which is then passed to the next player with the goal of creating a bedtime story about the office.
unknown
Report11points
#10
20 Questions
This one should get everyone thinking. Players have just 20 "yes" or "no" questions to determine the thing or person that the game's leader is thinking of.
unknown
Report10points
#11
Name That Tune
Depending on the age range and makeup of the group, select songs that everyone will recognize. Each song is played for five seconds. The winner is the first person to correctly identify the song's name.
unknown
Report9points
#12
Don’t Do It!
One player is assigned the responsibility of giving the other players instructions, such as "stand motionless," "jump on one foot," etc. Each player must act in opposition to the instructions given to them in order to win this game. Someone loses if they don't do the opposite. This game is won by the last man standing.
unknown
Report9points
#13
Christmas Tree Challenge
Each visitor should hold a piece of green construction paper behind their back. The paper is intended to be torn in order to create the shape of a Christmas tree. The finished tree that looks the best wins. If you don't have construction paper, you can have each visitor put their hands behind their backs and design a Christmas tree on blank white paper while they are all blindfolded.
unknown
Report9points
#14
Who Said That
Post-it notes with famous movie quotes on them should first be folded and placed in a bowl. Divide into two teams, start the timer for one minute, and read aloud as many quotes as you can. The team that correctly guesses the most people or characters to say the quote within a minute wins.
unknown
Report9points
#15
Candy Cane Hook
Your group should be divided into two or more teams of eight to 10 people each. Two large bowls filled with a significant number of little, unwrapped candy canes are required. Each team member takes a turn putting a disposable chopstick in their mouth and trying to get it to their group's stocking, basket, or bowl. After each team member has had a turn, the team with the most candy canes wins.
unknown
Report8points
#16
How Many?
Ask visitors to estimate how many of a certain item they can see as they arrive. They cannot count slowly and must instead guess. The closest guess wins.
unknown
Report8points
#17
“Snowball” Fight
Inflate two to three balloons for every player, dividing the total amount of balloons evenly between the two colors. Using painter's or masking tape on the floor or carpet, divide the space where the party will be held in two. Divide your guests into two teams and tell them that their objective is to get all of their team's balloons across the line while keeping the balloons of the other team away. The team with the most balloons on the opposing side at the end of two minutes (or longer if your teams are big) wins.
unknown
Report8points
#18
Guess Which Movie
Make a list of a few well-known movie titles and cut them up. Mix the pieces in a bowl. After pairing everyone, choose the first pair to lead the way. They take a piece of paper out of the bowl and perform the scene from the movie that is written on it. They must do so in silence; no words or sounds are permitted. The movie must be guessed by everyone else. Next, the victor and their companion take their turn, and so on. Once every pair has finished, the game is over.
unknown
Report8points
#19
ABC Challenge
Give each player a pencil and paper. Tell them to write the letters A through Z down the left side in a vertical line. Depending on how challenging the issue is, set the timer for 2 to 3 minutes. Ask participants to come up with a word for each letter. This game is won by the first person to finish their list or the one with the most answers at the end of the agreed period. Pick some themes to make it more difficult.
unknown
Report7points
#20
Wrap It Up Race
Give each player a box to wrap, wrapping paper, tape, scissors, and ribbon. Players must wrap their boxes before you call "Start". When selecting a winner, the box must be completely covered and the neatness of the finished wrapped gift is taken into account. This hectic challenge is won by the first person who completes it first with a well wrapped present.
unknown
Report7points