Top 10 games to play with friends in college

When I think of playing a game, a traditional board game like Clue or Monopoly comes to mind — ones that I grew up playing with my family. While I am a huge proponent of these classic choices, games are definitely not my first idea of how to spend a lively night with my college friends. Therefore, when my friend suggested hosting a game night, I was expecting to see the table full with those same games I grew up with, making for a relatively lackluster night.

To my surprise, she introduced a spread of games that I had never heard of. They were easy to play and generated a ton of laughter for everyone, and I’ve since been inspired to incorporate games into my social situation more frequently. From board games, to card games, to games that are perfectly suited for on-the-go, hopefully the list below can encourage you to introduce — or reintroduce — these activities into your friend group’s functions

1. Rummikub

Rummikub combines elements of rummy and mahjong, with the goal to get rid of all tiles by forming sets and runs. Now, you may recognize this name from that box in your grandparents’ old game collection and be understandably curious as to how it ended up making a comeback. I would have agreed, until I found myself seated around a table, participating in a friend’s "Rummikub night.” Despite initial apprehension, I can now confidently report that this game makes for a ton of fun. With its simple concept, Rummikub is perfect for a smaller group of friends who want to relax with an engaging activity on a night in.

2. Tipsy Land

As I mentioned earlier, my roommate was gifted top-notch college games for Christmas. Lucky for me, this new collection includes Tipsy Land. And no, I don’t mean just drinking while moving down the colored path to reach King Kandy’s castle on your childhood Candyland board. Instead, there is now a legit game called Tipsy Land, which features a board with spaces such as “Shot or Dare” or “Lowest Phone Battery Drinks.” If you opt to stay sober, you can also play the game with any drink of your choice, and there are some more wholesome spaces like “Text Your Mom You Love Her” to land on as well.

3. Guess Who … campus character edition

I originally saw this idea on social media and couldn’t wait for my friends and I to spend a hilarious night giggling over our mutual campus characters. Essentially, Guess Who? is a two-player board game where each asks and answers “yes” or “no” questions in order to guess the other player's character. However, instead of guessing a lifeless cartoon figure, I prefer to guess my ex-situationship or the chemistry TA who everyone is crushing on. To personalize your board, replace the existing cards with print-out photos of your chosen characters. With all of the ways you can rehash the iconic characters who roam Grounds, this game is a universal fan-favorite.

4. Telestrations

I was introduced to this modern Telephone-adjacent by my aunt over Thanksgiving, but have since discovered that my college friends also enjoy it. In Telestrations, players draw a card, illustrate what it says on a whiteboard and then pass it to another player to guess what has been drawn. Then, the board is passed to the next player, who illustrates a new picture based on that guess. This pattern repeats a few times, and typically, the final drawing is totally different from the original word, especially when players lack artistic ability. For instance, I once drew the word “dog,” and the last player guessed the picture to be an arm.

5. Cards Against Humanity

This card game was the first “party” game I was introduced to in high school, and it remains a foolproof choice to bring out when hosting a group of 10 to 15 people. In Cards Against Humanity, players compete to create the funniest fill-in-the-blank statements using risqué words. While I probably wouldn’t suggest playing with your parents due to potentially blush-inducing content, this game is perfect for college students seeking a night filled with laughter. Additionally, it doesn’t require participants to delve into anything too personal, making it a relatively safe choice for people you are not all that close with.

6. For the Girls

For the Girls was a favorite of my high school friend group, and it has transitioned seamlessly to college. To play, participants spin the wheel and follow the instructions on the corresponding card. The five categories that the card could fall under range from “Give this card to the player that would have a one night stand” to “Keep this card if you agree to prank call your grandma and claim to be in jail.” With these prompts, For the Girls will bring out endless laughter and shocking revelations. Although seriously needing to be renamed — as it is definitely unisex — this game is a foolproof pipeline to top-tier entertainment.

7. Jenga … dare edition

Jenga was a household staple for me growing up, but I couldn’t picture the block-removing activity being played in college. That was, until my friend told me about this fun twist. In this version, each block contains a dare written by you and your friends, such as “Call your ex” or “Post a Snapchat filter selfie on Instagram”. If your unlucky pull of a block resulted in the tower tumbling down, then you must carry out the dare. If your group seeks to make things interesting, I suggest you try this game — at your own risk, though, if your dares are anything like mine.

8. Charades … but make it college

An ideal spontaneous group activity, Charades is the widely-known, tried-and-true party game where players act out a word or phrase without speaking and their teammates try to guess what it is. While you may be used to acting out more PG scenarios when playing with your family, incorporating more college-related themes with your friends will take this classic to the next level. Some of the more appropriate ones I’ve witnessed include my friend acting as a fraternity pledge while their partner acts as Doorlist. Whether you use Charades to get the party going or wrap up a relaxed night in, Charades never misses.

9. Heads Up

A game that can be played anywhere, with anyone, the Heads Up game in the App Store is a great option. Similar to Charades, a word pops up on a phone held over the guessing player’s head, and they get 60 seconds to guess the correct word based on the clues given to them. I often see people playing this while waiting in long lines, such as roller coasters at an amusement park. While the University may not have any roller coasters to wait for, the lines outside of the bars — and Canes — on a Friday night can be just as long. Don’t worry, Heads Up is “fracket” friendly.

10. Wavelength

As discussed above, it is likely that you and your friends have found yourselves victims of a Friday night Trin line. Or, maybe you’ve needed to fill the silence during a long road trip. Wavelength could be your solution to erase boredom and generate giggles anytime, anywhere. To play this game, participants select one guesser, leaving the others to choose a number between one and 10 — 10 being the best. The guesser then gives each person a specific category and individually asks them to offer something within it that they would rank at that chosen number, for example, a fast-food restaurant. Based on the answers given, the guesser determines which number the others are describing. When it comes to games that make time fly by in every on-the-go circumstance, I definitely rank Wavelength a 10.

Top 10 games to play with friends in college

From a night in with your closest friends to pregaming the bar, a game is always the right answer to get the party started

Local Savings

Comments

Virginia baseball has an ace up its sleeve and in its bullpen — Dean Kampschror

Shots fired reported on 900 block of Page Street

EDITORIAL: Carla Williams deserves her seat at the table

Vision BBQ is barbecue bliss

Virginia’s vaunted defense, the foundation of its system, is out to sea