How to Host an Adult Game Night

Last weekend we decided to host a fun night of games, good food, and overall nostalgia. Game night does not have to be over complicated. It should be a space where your guests can relax and have a good time. In this article, I will share a few tips from our last game night, along with some decor and design inspo.

Location & Space

For game night, I recommend selecting a space that allows your guests to move around freely. This can be by utilizing multiple rooms in your home or renting out a larger space such as a club house.

Invitations

To get your guests excited about game night, why not send them a digital game invitation? Make sure the date, time, and location are clear on the invitation. 1-2 days prior to the event, it’s also helpful send a reminder to your guests, which will also allow you to have a final headcount.

Set Up Multiple Tables & Game Stations

I’ve seen some people have their game night centered around one or two games. But I think it’s more fun to have multiple options for your guests to choose from. This way, as guests start to arrive, they can start to play at will right away whether there are two, three, four or more players. We decided to set up multiple game stations with different types of games. Some of these included:

• Board Game Tables
• Chess / Checkers Table
• Jenga Table
• Connect 4 Table
• Spades & Bid Whist Tables
• Uno Table
• Spoons Table
• Phase 10 Table

Signs & Game Rules

I found it was helpful for our guests to have game signs at each table with a small explanation of game rules for those who have not played a particular game before. This also lessens confusion for guests if there are different game options available.

Provide Game Supplies For Each Table

If some of your games require scores to be taken, be sure to have pens and paper available at each table so it’s easy for your guests to take score of their fun memories.

Provide Hand Sanitizer

Since the outbreak of COVID, many of us more than ever are aware of how often we cleanse our hands. For each of the game tables, I recommend providing a mini hand sanitizer bottle or incorporating the sanitizer bottle into any decor.

Appetizers & Food

For our game night, we decided to have finger foods that could be enjoyed at the beginning and last throughout the night. Some of these items included chips & dip, bacon wrapped jalapeño poppers, cheese and charcuterie board, and fruit. For food throughout the evening, I would base the menu off of your guests. Since it’s summer time, we decided to throw some good eats on the grill. However, you could also opt for a more casual evening by serving finger foods throughout the night. For each of our food stations, we provided small signs so guest would know what each dish was.

Drinks & Alcohol

It’s important to have a variety of drinks available for guests to choose from at your game night. I typically estimate around two bottles of water per guest, sodas, juices, teas, wine and alcohol. I’ve also found it convenient to have pre-made punches available for guests so they can simply pour what they like and get back to their games.

Music

Music sets the tone for any evening. If you’re planning a party, I say select a playlist that’s best for your guests. This may mean curating a playlist that has a multiple genres to be enjoyed by all, or a playlist that’s more background music.

Decorations

Decor for game night can be optional in my opinion, but I think adding a few creative touches really adds to the overall excitement for the night. We ordered a few game themed cups off of Amazon for our guests, balloons, party themed table covers. For an extra flare of creativity, buying a few games of Twister and using these mats as table covers can really make your decor pop as well.

Game Over Party Favors

Mosts guests do not expect party favors when they attend a game night. Since this was our first time getting all of our friends together after the pandemic, we wanted to create special little thank you gifts for our guests to take home. We ordered this cute dice boxes off of Amazon and placed a deck of cards, miniature Rubik’s Cubes, candy, and a fun fidget toy.

My Favorite Amazon Buys To Plan This Party: