There are hundreds of games that you can play at a party, say anything from beer pong, quarters, to Cards Against Humanity. For those who wish to play games like Cards Against Humanity, here’s a list of games for you to try.
The co-creator of Cards Against Humanity, Ben Hantoot stated that the game drew inspiration from other games such as Balderdash, Charades, and Magic: The Gathering.
If keeping your guests and yourself entertained at parties has always been a huge question mark for you, you are in for some luck! You have just found a solution to your party game dilemma.
Luckily for you, there is an array of party games that are easily available in the market. You would know them better if you have played Cards Against Humanity. This game is suitable for almost all ages and keeps its players completely engrossed and highly entertained.
Following are some games like Cards Against Humanity that you can play at home with your family and friends during holidays, parties, or lazy days at home.
Games Like Cards Against Humanity
Say Anything
Say Anything has won the BoardGameGeek 2008 Party Game of the Year award and an Origins Award in the year 2009 for the Best Party Game of the Year. This is a widely produced party game.
How to Play
In Say Anything, the players have the freedom to make up their own answer for the questions asked. This is how the game goes―there will be a Judge for each round. This Judge will draw a card and ask a question from it. The questions are silly and simple.
For Example:
➥ What’s the worst movie ever?
Once a question is asked, the rest of the players write down an answer that they think the judge will pick. The answers can be made up, viz.
➥ Chick-flick with Hitler in a pink tutu, etc.
Once everyone’s answers are unveiled, the judge secretly chooses an answer, while the rest of the players bet with tokens on answers that they think the judge has chosen. The player receives a point for each correctly answered bet, and the game continues. You can set a number of rounds to give this never-ending game an appropriate end.
Apples to Apples
Apples to Apples was chosen as Mensa Select by the Mensa International in the year 1999. It was also named the Party Game of the Year and received the National Parenting Center’s seal of approval in the same year.
How to Play
A different judge is chosen for each round, and each player is dealt with red apple cards. On each card, there is a gerund, adjective, noun, or noun phrase printed. The judge shuffles the green cards and flips over one card. The rest of the players pick a card that best matches the green card and place it face-down. The judge then flips the cards open and chooses the best one―the best card that describes the green card. The person who submitted the card wins the round, collects the green card, and becomes the next judge for the next round. Everyone except the previous judge draws a new card and continues the game.
For Example:
➥ Green Card says Cute
➥ Other players put down cards that say: Baby, Chair, House, Cotton Candy
➥ The judge may choose Baby.
Dixit
Dixit means ‘he/she said in Latin.’ It is a great game to play with children and adults alike. The game has beautiful, oversized illustrated cards. The players turn storytellers and create a story with the cards that they are dealt with. This game was so loved that it won the Spiel des Jahres awards in 2010. Several iOS apps have been specially made, taking this game to a whole new level.
How to Play
Here, the judge is replaced by a storyteller who narrates the story and guides it along the way. The storyteller calls out a phrase or a word that matches the image on his/her card. Then, each player chooses a card that closely matches the phrase. Once that is done, the players guess the card that the storyteller has seen. The correctly guessed storyteller’s card helps to move the story ahead. The trick is to not make the story too difficult or highly predictable. The game ends when the deck is empty.
Snake Oil
Just as the name and the unique box of cards comes in the suggests, this game is filled with utter fooleries, which happens to be the highlight of the game.
How to Play
The players take the role of a salesman trying to sell ridiculous products to the rest of the players. Everyone is dealt with 6 cards. Each card has a word printed on them, such as socks, cage, shell, giggles, desire, etc. One player draws a customer card, which gives him a role, viz., priest, diva, sorority girl, lifeguard, spy, last person on earth, etc. Each player has to put two of their cards together and form a new and weird product, which they have to sell to the customer. The sellers have 30 seconds to pitch their product. Once all the pitches are done, the customer decides a winner and gives the salesman the customer card as payment. The game ends when each player has a customer card.
For Example:
➥ Soap Spear
➥ Fart Silence
➥ Murder Cream
➥ Beard Carpet
The Resistance: Avalon
This is a game for those who like to play role-playing games. It pits the forces of good and evil against each other. Though this game is played in a group, it is a strategic stand-alone game.
How to Play
In the beginning of the game, the players are handed loyalty cards that inform the players whether they are good or bad along with a unique character. These characters can be used at the player’s discretion. In The Resistance: Avalon, the players of the game are Knights of the Round Table, loyal to King Arthur, except one. Turn by turn, the players must complete a quest with the help of the other players. The evil one has to deter the players from their quest. A pass allows the game to go ahead while a fail changes the fate of the game. A fail means to turn a pass and a new player picks a team. Five consecutive fails ends the game, and the evil triumphs over the good. Knights are handed the pass and fail cards as the game progresses.
Wits & Wagers
Wits & Wagers is created by the makers of Say Anything. It is quite similar to that game and is based more on trivia and involves a little bluffing. An Xbox Live adaptation was released in 2008 of the same game. It has also won 20 awards including the Mensa Select awards, the Board Games Geek 2007 Party Game of the Year, and Games Magazine in the same year.
How to Play
A trivia question is asked in each round, and the game is played in 7 rounds. Each player gives a numerical answer to the trivia question. Players place their written answer of the trivia question on a betting mat and bet on an answer that they think is right or closest. The judge chooses an appropriate answer based on the odds on the board. The player with the most chips at the end of each round wins the round, and the player with the most chips after the seventh question wins the game.
Beyond Balderdash
Beyond Balderdash is an extension of the original Balderdash board game that tests the player’s bluffing skills. The objective is to come up the most outlandish definitions, facts, or explanations.
How to Play
The board is set and each player gets a token to put on the ‘Start’ block. Then every player rolls the die. The person to get the highest number on the dice begins; he is also known as ‘Dasher’. The Dasher takes a card from the pack and chooses a category. Each player has to make up a description for the chosen card.
For Example:
➥ If the chosen word is ‘People’, players can make up stories about the famous person, and so on.
They write it down on a piece of paper. As they write, the Dasher writes down the correct definition from the card. He/she collects the answers, assigns marks, and reads out the answers aloud. The rest of the players vote on the answers that are believed to be the correct answer.
The correct chosen definition helps to move a block ahead in the game. If the correct definition is chosen, the player moves 2 blocks ahead. The Dasher moves forward by 3 if no one guesses the answer. If the player has written the correct definition, he/she too moves ahead by 3 blocks. This definition is not read out along with the others, but kept aside by the Dasher. If more than 1 person gets the answer correctly, the round is canceled; however, both players move ahead by 3 points. The game goes on till one of the players reaches the finish block.
Deck Around
Deck Around is a hilarious game for one and all, even though it falls in the ‘word game’ category. It is easy to learn, fast, there is little to no waiting time, no one goes out of the game, and it is fun to watch and play.
How to Play
The players select a person to be a moderator for the first round. The moderator selects a card from the deck, which is not shared with the other players. Each card has two words of which one will be used for the round. This word will be read out aloud and spelled.
The rest of the players will write a made-up definition of the word. The objective is to convince the rest of the players that it is the real definition, without letting them know which answer is correct. The moderator writes down the real definition from the card on to a paper. Everyone writes their name along with the initials on the answer paper and returns it to the moderator. These answers are read out loud, along with the real definition. The players vote for their favorite definition. The correct definition earns 2 points, the writer of the fabricated definition receives 1 point, while the moderator gets a 0. The one to get most points, wins.
Time’s Up: Title Recall
If you have enjoyed Taboo and Charades, this game is an amalgamation of these two games. This game is quick, hilarious, creative, and fun for all ages. The box comes with around 432 cards and a 30-second timer―and truly that’s all you need to have oodles of fun.
How to Play
It begins with splitting the players into groups. The game is set into 3 rounds of 30 seconds per group, in every round. The idea is to describe the title to the partner. If it is guessed correctly, the player gets to keep the card and they move on to the next card. The remaining deck is passed on to the next team. Once everyone has got their turn, round one is complete. Now this is where it gets tricky.
➥ Round 1: The player describes the title as he/she likes.
➥ Round 2: The player can say only 1 word to describe the word.
➥ Round 3: The player can’t say anything at all. Only enactment is allowed.
Telestrations
Telestrations is an award-winning game that allows the players to draw and guess at the same time. It is considered to be a modern twist to the classic telephone game.
How to Play Telestrations
Each player starts with an erasable sketch book, a marker for it, a wipe cloth, and a word card. The timer is set for a few seconds and everyone gets to sketch. The players pass their book clockwise. The players take a look at the previously sketched image and guess what it can be. The timer is set again. Then they draw what they see. This goes on till everyone has their sketch book returned and the word is revealed. Once the player has finished sketching or guessing, they simply flip to the next blank page.
The above-mentioned games are close alternatives to Cards Against Humanity, which are not only fun but also creative and hilarious, catering to a mixed group of people, irrespective of their age. They also work well as icebreakers for any party.