With the winter season approaching and the colder temperatures already here, let’s face it: staying in is a million times more enticing right now. And just because you’re not going out as often doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice having fun. I’ll admit, though, that I was a bit wary of the impact it could have on my social life.
That was, of course, until I realized that I could just invite my friends over to my place for a number of activities including ladies’ game night. I did some brainstorming and came up with a few great ideas for how to mix things up during the chillier season that with little to no cost other than the snacks and drinks you’ll need to accompany your gaming sessions!
Poker
Given poker’s crazy rise in popularity over the past decade, chances are that at least one of your friends has at least a passing idea of how to play the most well-known version: Texas Hold’Em. If not, it’s extremely easy to learn the rules‚Äîyou can view them here and even print them out to share before the night‚Äîand it makes for one of the most flat-out fun and social games. The idea of trying to make (and maintain!) the best poker face (shout out to Lady Gaga) will no doubt lead to some good jokes and, of course, plenty of bragging once someone takes the pot. Also, before the game even starts, make sure you have plenty of poker-friendly snacks and drinks available. I’m talkin’ beer, pretzels, salted nuts, and, well basically anything salty.
Bingo
I know what you’re thinking: “Aren’t we all a lil’ young to be playing bingo?” Well, no, you’re not, because the game has become incredibly popular among the younger crowds. It’s a passive, laid-back, and social game‚Äîmeaning you’ll be able to have fun without interrupting conversations or trying too hard to follow along. Not only that, but you can make it even more engaging by coming up with your own set of bingo rules. Instead of doing the typical 5 x 5 sheet or something like that, you can design a custom card with different words and concepts of your choosing.
But if that sounds like too much work and you just want to get down to business, you and your friends could bring their iPads or similar devices to play bingo online. You can all get set up at Betfair Bingo and either play together, against each other, or pass around the tablet for each new round. And in between rounds, you can even get in a few extra non-bingo games if you can’t wait that long.
Board Games
Everyone has at least one board game lying around in her closet, be it Scattergories, Operation, Scrabble, or something else. So what better time than now to dust them off and give ’em a go with your friends? If the gathering is smaller, a game like Operation or Scrabble is just fine because they’re made for just a few players. But if you decide to have more than a handful of people over, that’s fine too. You can have stations set up for the different games. Scattergories or a game like it‚Äîsuch as the always-fun Apples to Apples‚Äîis the way to go if you want everyone involved, though.
You can also just play your own board game-like activities, like “Never Have I Ever.” In case you’re unfamiliar with this one, it’s pretty simple. You all hold up three fingers and everyone takes turns saying things that they have never done. If this sounds like it could potentially end with people revealing too much about themselves, just stick to the actual board games or one of my other suggestions.