Staff Picks | Back to School

College Party Games

Soon enough, the temperatures will fall and the leaves will change, bringing back one of the most highly anticipated seasons of the year... Back to School!

Once you graduate high school, you graduate to a new tier of school supplies – back-breaking textbooks, mismatched tupperware... and board games galore!

There's no better way to get to know your classmates and make lasting memories than at a dorm game night, or a mid-study session play break!

Below, we've listed some of our favorite party games guaranteed to start your collegiate career off with fun at the forefront! 

Just One

Recent winner of the Spiel Des Jahres Board Game of the Year award (an award granted to games such as Ticket to Ride, Settlers of Catan, Codenames, and many more) Just One is posed to dethrone Codenames as the reigning champion of board games! 

One of our absolute favorite games at Twenty Sided (seriously, we’re all obsessed) Just One is a simple, but addictive cooperative guessing game. Work together to get your friends to guess the secret word, but choose a word that no one else will choose or else your hint will be disqualified! 

Monikers

When you need a break from studying but don’t want to lose your momentum, play a game of Monikers, a self described “dumb game that respects your intelligence.”

Monikers, a game similar to parlor games like Celebrities or Salad Bowl, consists of three phases. The first round, you’ll each pull cards and take sixty seconds describing the word until someone guesses it. Once you’ve gone through all the cards, you’ll take the same cards and describe them again, only this time in one word, and then silently act them out in the third phase! It may sound simple but when you have words like “ginger” and “Donald Trump” the clue “orange” may not be specific enough. 

Simple and small, it’s a perfect game to throw into your backpack and take along to study sessions and parties!

Spank the Yeti

Amplify your games of Would You Rather with Spank the Yeti! 

Each round, a player matches up three Action Cards (with actions such as “dumpster hump” “joust” and “make out with”) to three Object Cards (such as “Tarzan” “a coked-out unicorn” and “a swarm of bees”) to create hilariously awful scenarios. Then everyone tries to guess which horrible match they’d take over the others. 

Break the ice and get wacky! You get to know people quickly once you know they’d “Netflix and Chill With” a “self-hating zombie”. 

And for the nerds that are loud and proud, add the Geek Pack to your games to mix in geeky references and blank cards with your own horrendous combos!

Night Forest

Once the pressures of exams began to wear off, slow things down and reconnect with the people who have kept you sane. Night Forest is a unique experience for those looking to do some soul searching with groups of close friends.

An intimate game of self discovery, Night Forest sends you and at least four other people off with a candle and a card. On each card is a prompt to inspire you to consider a related memory. Wander as you reflect on the prompt, and once you cross someone’s path, you'll both share your memories. Once you have, exchange cards and continue on your path of reflection. Once you get your original card back, blow out your candle and end the game.

A more somber and meditative game than the others, Night Forest is an excellent tradition to establish with the friends you plan to keep for life.

Privacy

Or break the ice with a more impish, and more invasive, game! Privacy breaks down walls between friends and invites cheeky conversations!

In Privacy, pull provocative cards that ask those burning, inappropriate questions you’ve always wanted to ask. Each of you will honestly and anonymously cast a “yes” or “no” vote and then guess how many yes answers your friend group has cast! Whether you own up or let your friends wonder, Privacy is a great way to bring a group of friends together… complete with nervous, suspicious laughter. 

Pitch Deck

For the business students in the dorm, Pitch Deck gives you salesman practice while causing hilarity.

Each round, you’ll match a Pitch Card to the Judge’s Company Card. Each player then pitches their idea to the judge who chooses the best (or most ridiculous) idea! How do you pitch “Jurassic Park” for “lonely, confused men” or "Tinder" for “Russian oligarchs.” It doesn’t have to make sense as long as you can sell it!

Pitch Deck is similar to Cards Against Humanity, using simple but familiar mechanics with a twist to provide sidesplitting fun!

Sneaky Cards 1 and 2

Spread kindness around campus with Sneaky Cards!

Sneaky Cards turns you into an agent of good, sending you on missions to spread joy! Missions include leaving cards in particular locations, high-fiving or taking selfies with strangers, or finding someone wearing the same shoes you are! Once you complete your task, you give the card to your “target” and they now take up the mission for themselves.

The best part is that you can register your deck and track your cards! Enjoy watching the ripple effects of your good deeds spread across campus!

Written by Johnni Medina