Short answer
Codenames is the party game to own if you only own one. It scales from six people to a crowded room and teaches in a couple of minutes. For five to seven people who'd rather not compete, Just One. For a group that likes to argue, Wavelength. For a big crowd that's had a drink or two, Monikers.
Quick picks
The eight games
All eight work with people who don't play board games, and none needs a table covered in pieces. We left out games that rely on shock-humor cards. They're fun once and then sit on the shelf.
01
Codenames
Twenty-five words go out in a grid. Each team has a spymaster who sees a secret key showing which words belong to their team, which belong to the other side, and which one is the assassin. The spymaster gives a single word and a number, such as "ocean, 3", and their team tries to touch the right words. Hit the other team's word and you've helped them. Hit the assassin and you lose on the spot. Everyone else can debate out loud, and that debate is where the laughs come from. Codenames won the Spiel des Jahres in 2016.
Why it works at a party
- Two teams of any size, so latecomers just join a side
- Rules fit in two sentences
- Clue-giving reveals how your friends think, which is the real entertainment
Think twice if
- Spymasters can take ages over a clue, so agree on a sand timer
- Thin with three or four people: you need two teams
02
Just One
Each round, one player is the guesser and everyone else writes a single-word clue for the secret word. Any clues that are the same get cancelled before the guesser sees them. That one rule changes everything: the obvious clue is the one most likely to vanish, so people start second-guessing each other in ways that are funny to watch. It's quieter than most games here, which makes it a good opener before the louder ones come out. Just One won the Spiel des Jahres in 2019.
Why it works at a party
- No teams and no losers: the group chases one shared score
- Easy to drop into mid-game
- Silent clue-writing keeps loud players from dominating
Think twice if
- Tops out at seven players
- With only three, cancelled clues can leave the guesser with nothing
03
Wavelength
Each card has two opposites on it, such as "overrated" and "underrated". One player secretly sees where a target sits on the dial between them, then gives a clue that should land in the same spot. Their team talks it through and turns the dial. The other team then guesses whether the real target is to the left or right. A clue like "pineapple on pizza" for overrated versus underrated can eat five minutes of shouting. It's the best game here for finding out what your friends really think.
Why it works at a party
- Rounds turn into friendly arguments about where things belong
- Works from small groups to a dozen
- The plastic dial is a great prop to pass around
Think twice if
- Needs players happy to argue a point
- The 30–45 minute length is long for a quick filler
04
Decrypto
Each team has four secret keywords, numbered one to four. Every round, one player draws a three-digit code and gives a clue for each digit, so their team can work out the code. The catch is that the other team hears every clue too. Over several rounds they start to guess your keywords and intercept your codes. Two intercepts and they win, two misreadings by your own team and you lose. Clue-givers have to stay clear to teammates and murky to everyone else. It's a step up from Codenames for a group that likes words.
Why it works at a party
- Rewards clever clues more than any game on this list
- Two teams, so it handles a crowd
- Gets tenser each round as the other team learns your patterns
Think twice if
- The scoring takes a round to understand
- Casual guests may prefer something lighter
05
Telestrations
It's the old telephone game with sketchbooks. You write a word, pass your book, and the next person draws it. The next guesses what the drawing shows, the next draws that guess, and so on around the table. When books come home, you flip through and see how "lighthouse" turned into "a sad giraffe". There's a way to score it, but most groups don't bother. The fun is in the pages, and the reveal works just as well with eight people as with four.
Why it works at a party
- Terrible artists are the best part
- Everyone plays every round at once
- The reveal at the end of each round gets the biggest laughs on this list
Think twice if
- Needs at least four people
- The scoring is optional, so competitive groups may find it aimless
06
Hues and Cues
The board is a big grid of color squares. The cue giver picks one and gives a one-word clue, like "avocado". Everyone places a cone on the shade they think it is. Then the cue giver adds a second, two-word clue and players place a second cone. Points go to the closest guesses, and the cue giver scores for guesses that land near the target. It sounds simple, but you'll find out quickly that nobody agrees on what "salmon" looks like.
Why it works at a party
- No words to spell and no drawing
- Teenagers and grandparents compete on even terms
- Plays up to ten
Think twice if
- Color-blind players may struggle on some shades
- Quieter than the games above it
07
Skull
Each player has four coasters: three flowers and one skull. Everyone puts a coaster face down, then players either add another or start bidding on how many flowers they can flip in a row. The highest bidder has to flip all of their own coasters first, then pick from other players' stacks. Turn up a skull and you lose a coaster for good. Win two challenges and you win the game. It's about reading the person across from you, and it gets funnier the better you know them.
Why it works at a party
- Pure poker-face bluffing with almost no rules
- Fits in a pocket
- Short games, so people swap in and out
Think twice if
- Stops at six players
- Quiet players can get bullied out of bids
08
Monikers
Teams race through the same stack of cards three times. In the first round you can say anything except the name on the card. In the second you get one word. In the third you can only act it out. Because it's the same deck all three times, a ridiculous clue from round one becomes the shortcut in round two and a mime in round three. By the end, the room has its own private language. It's the loudest game here and the one people talk about the next day.
Why it works at a party
- Handles up to 20 people
- Running jokes build across the three rounds
- Each card carries a short description, so nobody is stuck on a name they've never heard
Think twice if
- The box says 17+, and some cards earn it
- Best after the group has warmed up a little
Pick by group size
Headcount kills more party games than anything else. A team game with four people has nobody to argue with. A bluffing game with eight has too long between turns. Here's how each game plays at each group size. "No" means the size is outside the range on the box.
| Game | 3–4 people | 5–7 people | 8+ people | Box range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Codenames | OK | Good | Best | 2–8+ |
| Just One | OK | Best | No | 3–7 |
| Wavelength | Good | Best | Good | 2–12 |
| Decrypto | OK | Good | Best | 3–8 |
| Telestrations | No | Good | Best | 4–8 |
| Hues and Cues | Good | Best | Good | 3–10 |
| Skull | Good | Best | No | 3–6 |
| Monikers | No | Good | Best | 4–20 |
Short version: for three or four, play Wavelength, Hues and Cues or Skull. For five to seven, almost anything here works, and Just One is the safest. For eight or more, use Codenames, Telestrations or Monikers. If it's just two of you, these aren't the right games: our 2-player list and couples guide are built for that.
Side-by-side table
| Game | Players | Time | Age | Complexity | Mode |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Codenames | 2–8+ | 15 min | 14+ | 1/5 | Team |
| Just One | 3–7 | 20 min | 8+ | 1/5 | Co-op |
| Wavelength | 2–12 | 30–45 min | 14+ | 1/5 | Team |
| Decrypto | 3–8 | 15–45 min | 12+ | 2/5 | Team |
| Telestrations | 4–8 | 30 min | 12+ | 1/5 | Party |
| Hues and Cues | 3–10 | 30 min | 8+ | 1/5 | Party |
| Skull | 3–6 | 15–45 min | 10+ | 1/5 | Competitive |
| Monikers | 4–20 | 30–60 min | 17+ | 1/5 | Team |
How we chose
Each game had to teach in under five minutes, work with people who have never played a modern board game, and hold up when the group is chatting and only half paying attention. We wanted different kinds of fun on the list: words, drawing, bluffing, guessing and acting. A host can then pick by mood, not just by headcount, and keep two or three on the shelf that never feel like the same game twice. Player counts, play times and ages come from the publisher's box listing. The complexity score is our own 1–5 rating, explained on our method page. Kids at the party? Our family games guide has picks that suit a mixed-age crowd.
Questions
What's the best party game for a large group?
Monikers, which handles up to 20 people. Codenames also works with a big crowd, since you can split everyone into two large teams.
What's a good party game for adults who don't play board games?
Just One or Codenames. Both explain in a minute and need no strategy experience. See our list of games for non-gamers for more.
Which party games are fine with teenagers?
Everything here except Monikers, which is marked 17+. Hues and Cues is rated 8+, so it also works if younger siblings join in.
What's a cheap party game?
Skull and Codenames are both small boxes. Our games under $25 list has more.
Corin Ashdown is the pen name of the editor who writes and checks every guide on Vorbelutrioperbir. How we write and check guides.