Any time is an occasion to invite our inner kid to play. Make any night special with game night!

As we continue to practice social distancing, game night can be for close family or a few friends to enjoy this summer and ongoing. For COVID-19 safety precautions, follow CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Hosting Gatherings or Cookouts recommendations. Also, check out ways to reduce risk when Seeing Friends Inside and Eating Outside.

Kick start a game night to remember with the following entertainment ideas.

1. Pick a start time to allow enough time for games. You’ll need to consider who your guests are when setting a time: Most likely, if your guests are parents, afternoon is better than evening. On the other hand, if your game crowd is younger, single and without kids partying until the am may be just fine!

2. Food of course! Games and snacks are a pair. Have a variety of savory and sweet appetizers and snacks. Consider bringing out different snacks every half hour or every hour (depending on the total time frame of the event) instead of all at once to satisfy the food binges throughout the party.

3. Have a new game or two! New activities, even if the game is not a hit, will preserve the novelty of game night.

4. For a guestlist over 7 consider multiple game stations so that people can choose the game they are most interested in and rotate. This can give guests the opportunity to mingle more or get a break from certain people as needed too.

5. Don’t go overboard – select 3-5 games. Realistically, you’ll only get through a couple of games so save yourself some time and energy and keep it simple.

6. Have guests vote on games ahead of time via text or social media/evite. Don’t include the new game in this poll – keep that as your game night surprise. Let your guests know the final options so everyone knows what to expect.

7. Start with less intense/personal games (e.g., 5-second Rule) especially if guests are new to one another. Save Monopoly for the family or never😉 There are some fun and interesting conversational games (e.g., So Cards, 20 Questions, Would You Rather?) that can give game night a good start too!

Though one needs no particular reason for a game night, events such as anniversary, graduation, and bachelor/bachelorette parties are always fun with games. Follow the above rules to take your Game Night to the next level and win over your guests!

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*Coming soon: Adorn’s related blog, part of our Twin Blog Series “5 Fun Game Night Ideas for All Ages”.