The Best Party Games by Group Size

By Jim Markus · Published September 28, 2026

Usually the best party games are fun to watch even for people who aren’t playing. My top three favorites are Werewolf, Charades, and Fibbage… in that order.

For those with smaller groups, my top three choices for parlor games are Mao, Inhuman Conditions, and Encore.

And when I talk about party games, I’m talking about games played at a party. Some of these are events in themselves. Others are background events that draw attention.

Very rarely are these set up for universal attention. People come and go. Guests can play, or they can watch. And remember that not every game you play at a party is a party game.

Jump to the game finder

What Makes a Good Party Game

The most important thing: is the game exciting to view and watch and play as a guest at the party, or is it more focused on the competition?

If a player or a person at the party is more interested in winning the competition, it may not be a great party game.

One of the best ways to figure out if you’re talking about a party game: is it easy to learn? Can everyone at the party play if they want to?

And like all the best party games, they’re more fun when you have the right people playing.

The Best Party Games for Two Players and Small Groups

Some of my favorite small party games are just board games and card games that play well in front of an audience. A party game that is eight people or fewer is just as valid.

Inhuman Conditions (two players)

I’m a huge fan of Inhuman Conditions, which is just two players. It’s engaging as a player, but it’s also fascinating to watch as an audience member.

That’s true for Mao, too. And it’s true for campfire games like Chubby Bunny.

Encore (2 to 8 players)

Despite my fear of singing in public, Encore is one of my favorite party games. We played with a group of eight people a few months ago and, while I intended only to watch, I ended up having a good time singing songs with my team.

I was hesitant to play Encore, but it turned out to be such a fun game.

Quiplash and Fibbage (up to eight players, plus an audience)

Games in the Jackbox Party Packs include the option for viewers, non-player guests, to engage with the games.

Even if they’re not the ones directly participating, they can vote for their favorite answer. They can engage with the television, which makes a lot of Jackbox Party Packs exceptionally good for party games.

Some of my favorite Jackbox games include Quiplash, all versions of these, and Fibbage, all versions of these. Those are up to eight players of people actively participating in the games, but there is no limit to the number of people watching and engaging with those on their phones, including voting for their favorites and then jumping in to the next round.

These are very quick games. You can usually play these in fifteen minutes or less, and then more people from the party can hop in, which means that they can be running all night.

Mao (especially for 5 to 15 players)

One of my favorite party games is a card game that I played a lot back in college. It’s called Mao, and the fun thing about Mao is that it’s built on an oral tradition. Mao is an incredible party game, especially for groups of 5 to 15 people, and it can be played with even more people. It just gets chaotic after you get past, say, 12.

The Best Party Games for Large Groups

My top three choices for large-group party games are Werewolf, Charades, and Fibbage. When I’m talking about large groups for party games, I’m usually talking about games that can work with more than eight people. If you have nine or 10 or 12 or 30 or 50, those are large groups for parties.

Werewolf

Werewolf is also called Mafia. It is probably the most well-known social deduction game I’ve ever encountered, and it’s wildly popular. I’ve talked about Werewolf at length in the best social deduction games by group size.

Charades

Charades is probably one of the most well-known party games ever devised. You really just need a minimum of four people, but you can commonly play this with up to 20 people. And like a lot of party games, it just gets more wild and absurd as you add more people to it.

Fibbage

If you’re looking for a party game for a large group of people and you have access to AV equipment, just a television and people having their phones, for example, or a computer and people having access to their phones, Quiplash and Fibbage from Jackbox are top recommendations.

Party Games for Kids and Families

If we’re looking at kids’ party games for large groups, definitely worth consideration is Red Light, Green Light. This I played in my own childhood. I’ve heard this called Statues as well. It’s an exceptional party game, especially for kids.

Charades is an all-ages game. Taboo has been around forever, and it works for pretty much any age.

There are also family versions of Cards Against Humanity that play with a little bit more family-friendly terms and jokes rather than the more adult-oriented cards that came with the original set.

Do You Need a Host for a Party Game?

If you were playing a game of charades, one of the best parts about it is that you don’t need one person to facilitate that game for you. If you were playing a game like a trivia game, you’ll want a moderator, someone to host and ask the questions and determine whether an answer is valid or not.

One thing to consider for game mechanics for party games is whether or not you need a host. That should be one key factor in determining what kind of game you want to run.

How Much Party Games Cost

Some of my favorite party games are free. A lot of the ones I’ve talked about here don’t cost anything. It doesn’t cost anything to play charades. If you’ve got a deck of cards, Mao is free.

There are games that do cost money, but if one person in the group already has them, it’s a pretty minimal price. Or if you’re splitting the cost amongst a group of people, it doesn’t cost much. Games like the ones made by Jackbox are good examples of this.

You can buy a Jackbox game, even a party pack, for about $25. They were $24.99 last I checked on Steam, and you can get them on PlayStation and Xbox as well.

Can You Play Party Games Online?

Jackbox is almost a party in itself, and I remember back during the pandemic, we did Jackbox on Discord. We played remotely on a Discord server, and it was just as fun. Really good way to get people together, even when they physically couldn’t come together.

Party Games Aren’t Icebreakers

One of the biggest mistakes I see people make when they’re trying to host a party game is getting it confused with an icebreaker. A good party game is engaging to multiple people at once, and it doesn’t shine a light on someone’s personal life more than they might want.

So games like Two Truths and a Lie get a bad reputation because they tend to be office games where people get to know each other in kind of a forced social interaction, and those are usually not as good of a choice for a party game as something where people can come in and out as they choose.

People will get more comfortable, and that ice will break for new players when there’s something more engaging going on. That’s what makes even watching a game like Quiplash or Fibbage more engaging and often a better icebreaker than games like Two Truths and a Lie.

Party Games, Parlor Games, and Parlor Larps

A parlor game is a party game that is a little bit smaller than some of the largest party games.

When I make games, sometimes I make them specifically for play in a small place. I like games where you’re getting up from the table and talking when you are playing as a character, and Crypt Kickers is a good example of the kind of game that I like playing and designing. It’s free. My newer games, like The Elderflower Inn, are more traditional parlor larps.

Find a Party Game

We have an Amazon affiliate relationship. If you make a purchase through one of these links, we may get a small commission at no cost to you.

More from Autumnal Games

• Party games for large groups, for nine players or more
• Christmas party games
• Parlor games, classic and modern games for a single room
• The best social deduction games by group size
• Crypt Kickers, a free parlor larp
• Browse all our games, or warm up with a free puzzle

Jim Markus

Jim makes games and events that invite people to embrace a shared fiction.