NEW YEAR’S PARTY GAMES YOU HAVE TO TRY THIS YEAR
There is nothing like a New Year’s party to end the year right and start the new one with a BANG! We’ve compiled a list of 50 fun New Year’s Eve party game ideas to help make the night perfect.
We want you to enjoy all the New Year fun, so we’ve divided up the games into categories to make your browsing even easier.
Table of Contents
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Don’t worry. There’s a little something for everyone! Are you just itching to get started?! Then let’s do this …
10 NYE GAMES PERFECT FOR FAMILIES
1. Countdown Bags – Get some paper bags and fill them with fun things for you and your guests to open every hour of the night. This is a fun New Year’s game for all ages!
2. Slide Under the Broom – This is a straightforward game that is so fun for kids and will have everybody giggling.
3. Picture Scavenger Hunt – Print pictures you’ve taken with your family throughout the year; hide them all over your house, and send your family on a hunt to find them all. What a cute way to look back on the year you had!
4. Family Guess Who – Get a game of Guess Who and replace the game pieces with pictures of your family. Guests at your party can take turns playing this fun and personalized game!
5. New Year’s Tree – Why not turn your Christmas tree into a New Year’s tree? Your kids will love popping the balloons to find different New Year’s prizes all the way until midnight!
6. New Year’s Ball Game – Not much to look at, lots of fun to play! The best part about this is you can personalize it to the age of your family or guests.
7. M&M Straw Game – This is a fun and silly game to play at your New Year’s party! Get some straws, bowls, and most importantly, M&M’s, and get ready for a fun competition!
8. Balloon Pop Countdown – This is another fun version of a midnight countdown. Fill some balloons with papers with different activities and games, and pop the balloons every hour until midnight!
9. Family Photo Trivia – Another fun and unique game to look back on the year you’ve had.
10. 20 Questions – Add a fun New Year’s twist to this well-known, beloved game!!
10 FUN NYE GAMES FOR KIDS
11. Marshmallow Poppers – Combine some cheap and easy supplies with some mini marshmallows, and your kids will be entertained all night long.
12. Eat a Donut Off a String – Honestly, I’m always looking for any excuse to eat a donut. Why not make it a whole game for your New Year’s party?
13. New Year’s Eve Bingo – This adorable Bingo game is fun for all ages and something you can play all night long!
14. Fizz Countdown – Work your way into the new year with this exciting science project-turned game! Assign a time that you’ll be creating the concoction, and have fun seeing the kids’ reactions when it explodes.
15. Bubble Jump – Let your inner child loose for the night and do what we all want to do with bubble wrap—make some noise!
16. Rolling Around the Clock – You’ll need some dice and paper clocks to play this game. The first person to 12:00 wins (have a look at the website for more instructions). This is a fun and easy New Year’s game for the children.
17. Marshmallow Game – A fun sensory game that helps kids with fine motor skills, too.
18. Balloon Stomp – This game can get loud and crazy, but it’s sure to be a blast!! Just don’t get worn out before midnight!
19. Popcorn Olympics – Such a unique idea for building your whole night around a simple and versatile theme.
20. Don’t Eat Pete – This game is our go-to when the kids want a treat, and I want those treats to last more than 10 seconds! Plus, it’s easy for toddlers and is sure to have everyone giggling. Turn some classics into New Year’s Eve Games and you can play all night!
10 HILARIOUS NYE GAMES FOR ADULTS
21. Guess the Resolution – This game is a fun way to share your resolutions and learn what your guests are planning for the New Year. It also works as an easy ice breaker for guests who may not know each other.
22. Two Resolutions and a Lie – A fun holiday twist on a classic! Simply have everyone reveal two real resolutions and one lie, and everyone guesses which one is the lie!
23. White Elephant – Give the classic white elephant a New Year’s twist by aiming every gift at helping with a New Year’s Resolution. Visit the site for more details about this fun idea.
24. Kisses Countdown – Race against the clock in this cute New Year’s game! Get all your kisses in the correct cups before the countdown is over!
25. The Name Game – Combining the fun of Taboo and Charades … what more can you want? Trust me, you’re going to want to read the instructions for the 4 fun rounds of this game.
26. The Shaving Game – If this photo doesn’t convince you, I don’t know what will! Cover balloons in shaving cream and have guests try to shave them without popping them. So much fun if you don’t mind getting a little messy.
27. Fly Banana – For guests who don’t mind looking a little crazy, this is the perfect game. Give Fly Banana a try, and you’ll be laughing your heads off all night.
28. Minute to Win it Games – There are so many varieties of great Minute to Win it games. Peruse through a couple different sites to pick your favorite games to play at your New Year’s Eve party! For another option, check out OUR awesome Win it in a Minute group date night.
29. Trash Can – Circle up your guests and put a large (but CLEAN!) garbage can in the middle. The objective is for the group to pull one person so that they fall into the garbage can. If you fall in, is that a bad omen for the coming year?
30. Mafia – This is one of those great New Year’s Eve games to play with a small group of people that can be played again and again. Plus, all you need are your guests and some paper!
10 EPIC NEW YEAR’S EVE GAMES FOR COUPLES
31. Loaded Questions – How well do you know your spouse? This fun New Year’s game will show you how close you are to your spouse by answering some loaded questions!
32. 2 Truths and a Lie – Tell 2 truths and 1 lie, and make it extra challenging by trying to stump your own spouse.
33. Truth or Dare Jenga – Have a fantastic time with this exciting and hilariously fun game made just for couples! You will be rolling around with laughter by the end.
34. Cut the Flour – Another fun game if you don’t mind getting a little messy—and for a cute twist, whenever someone ends up with a flour face, they have to kiss their spouse. This game is perfect for some couple’s New Year fun.
35. If the Shoe Fits – Play this fun date night game for your New Year’s bash and see how well you really know your spouse!
36. Take a Guess – Another game where you guess who made the resolution. This is a perfect game for your New Year’s Eve celebration!
37. Steal the Bacon – A wild game that might have you crashing before the clock strikes twelve. This game is fun for spouse vs. spouse!
38. Date Night Show – If you like Jimmy Fallon and his silly ways, then this is the perfect New Year’s Eve game for you and your guests to play! This one promises tons of fun and laughter!
39. New Year’s Reminisce Game – These easy printables are meant to direct the questions to help you and your guests reminisce on the last year.
40. Printable Reflection Game – Another fun printable game that doubles as an easy ice breaker for the beginning of the night.
10 CRAZY FUN NYE GAMES FOR GROUPS
41. Trivia Games – Trivia games are so much fun to play in big groups. A fun questionnaire like this is perfect for your bash this year!
42. Candy Bar Game – Get ready to laugh your socks off with some candy bars, dress-up clothes, a fork, and a knife! Sounds interesting? You don’t know the half of it! Be sure to put this game in your New Year’s plans!
43. Name Game – A sort of twist on charades, this is a fun game to get people talking and laughing.
44. Find Your Other Half – This is a super fun game for a big group of couples. Write down the names of celebrity couples (George & Martha Washington, Alfalfa and Darla, Jim and Pam) and tape one name on each player’s back. Everyone then goes around asking questions, trying to figure out who they are and then trying to find their other half.
45. Paper Plate Game – Have your New Year’s guests put a paper plate on top of their heads and draw a picture following your instructions (it can be anything you want). Then devise a point system for those who can draw and follow your instructions the best.
46. News Headline Charades – This fun game is perfect for looking back at the past year! Find a few funny headlines from the year, put them on a slip of paper, and have your guests act them out. What a great way to remember some of the highlights of the year!
47. This or That – Create a spider web of yarn with this fantastic game! Sit in a circle and pick sticks that have questions written on them. As the questions are answered, the web is created by throwing yarn across the circle. By the end of the game, you should have a massive web and know a lot more about each other!
48. Four on the Couch – Have fun with this fun twist of the game Memory for your New Year’s party. This party game is sure to keep everyone captivated and poised to see who has the best memory!
49. Karaoke Sing Off – Find some of the most popular songs of the year and have a little karaoke fun! Give prizes for the best singer, the best performance, the best duet … you get the picture, right?!
50. Never Have I Ever – This game is fun in large groups, and you definitely learn a lot about others while playing.
OTHER AMAZING NEW YEAR’S PARTY RESOURCES
Want something a little more cozy this year? Check out our Fabulous New Year’s Resolutions Date or send the old year out and welcome in the new one with this New Year’s Eve Love Quote.
You’ll also want to check out these additional awesome resources for your NYE party while you’re here!
New Year’s Eve Win It in a Minute Games
Go out and have some new year fun and start the year off right!
Okay we will definitely be trying out some of these games this year! Now that we have a baby at home, we need fun things to keep us entertained while staying in!
We LOVE the countdown bags- we use them every year!
I see that you have included my post about the Name Game in your amazing New Year’s Eve games! That is so sweet of you. Thanks so much.
I hope you’ll have a fun-filled New Year’s Eve!
Warmest regards,
Nina
Nina- We are glad to use your awesome game idea! What a blast! Thanks so much for your comment and hope your New Year’s was great!
Thanks so much for letting us include one of your ideas here! I loved your site and we’ll definitely be trying that game this year!
So many fun ideas! #1 is my fav!! We did that last year and had a blast! XO