A fun party game... and analysis!

[wudden]

The Mrs and I were brainstorming about what to do to entertain our guests once they arrive at our Halloween party. It was a little unsettling that I've spent MONTHS working on the cemetery which they will essentially walk through in about 60 seconds to get to the party... leaving about 3 hours and 59 minutes of time where its basically any old party. Exaggerated? yes, but you get the idea.

I've been reading through this forum for a while, reading about murder mystery ideas, the tempting fate game, dare games, and well... I don't really think I would get ideal participation. I've shot those three down for the following reasons:

Murder Mystery: Takes too much organization, energy, planning, and focus. I think this would work GREAT if it was the main goal of a party, which we plan to do someday, but piggy-backed on top of a Halloween party in my opinion is a bad idea (at least with our guests). I think people get distracted too easily.

Tempting Fate: This is a cool idea, but I don't think my people would be too into doing whatever we decide that the losers need to do. Even though they know there may be consequences, I can't see these people doing the dares.

Dare Games: Same thing. It may work at some parties with some groups, but no one from my party will go up to a stranger and convince them to let her ride them like a donkey. It just ain't happening.

So onto my game:

I will be printing out labels on my home computer with names of people, places and things related to Halloween. I will have at least one sticker for every person attending the party. A sample of these:

• Dr. Frankenstein
• Jack O' Lantern
• Elvira
• Spiderwebs
• Apple Cider
• Cornstalks

Get the idea?

Well, as guests arrive, they get a sticker with one of these people, places, or things on their back. They will not be able to see the sticker and know what it is they represent.

The rules are quite simple.

• You may only ask YES or NO questions
• You may only ask each person at the party ONE question (IF there are 20 people at the party, excluding yourself, you could potentially ask 20 questions...)
• You only get ONE guess at what you are, so be sure!
• Go to the host to see if you're right and get a prize!

This game seems like a good idea for a couple reasons. It allows people to play at their own pace, AND it gets people talking to others that they may not know.

Any comments? Suggestions?

[Lilly]

That is a great idea...I may just attempt this.

[wudden]

I want to emphasize that the other ideas I shot down aren't bad ideas, just not right for my party with my crowd. I think this gives hosts another option.

[RoxyBlue]

I saw this same party on Venture Brothers!

I think this will be a good icebreaker. People may need to ask more than one question, but it's a good starting point (you can always adjust the rules as you go).

[turtle2778]

This is a nice idea. I think I'll use this on Saturday.

[Revenant]

I think it's brilliant! There's just enough to it to be engaging and interesting, but not so much as to be a bother/commitment. And it doesn't take the players out of circulation from the normal party social activities. Perfect for a party crowd.

[Abby Normal]

great idea ,..gets people mingling!

[Pumpkin5]

I did the exact same thing at my party a few years ago. The "Who Am I Game" I had all the Halloween people, names, characters printed on cardstock bones and as the guests entered my house I had two people there that pinned the bones to the guests backs. It was a fun way to get people who didn't know each other to talk. But I will tell you what the biggest hit was...the karaoke machine we rented for the night. A couple of my guests dressed as the Blues Brothers and after a couple of beers, they did the whole Blues Brother rountine. Everyone took a go at it during the night.

[Peyjenk]

I did the same thing a couple of years ago, and it was a big hit. I just used a package of "Hello My Name Is" stickers and a Sharpie.