25 GAMES FOR LARGE GROUPS FOR 20+ PLAYERS


games for large groups

Most games are only suitable for up to 6 to 10 players. So, if you are hosting a board game party and have a massive group of friends, you’ll, unfortunately, have a smaller pool of games to choose from. That said, there are still plenty of awesome board games and card games to play with big groups of people. Let’s take a look at 25 of my top picks for games to play with large groups!

CARD/BOARD GAMES FOR LARGE GROUPS

Looking for some super fun card games or board games to play in a large group? These are the games you’ve got to have in your collection!

1. WEREWOLF

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Werewolf is a super fun and extremely popular deception game that you can play with up to 10 players. That said, there are several expansions and other editions that can make the game playable with far more people. For example, the Ultimate Werewolf Extreme edition is playable with up to 25 players, making it one of the best games for large groups and massive parties! 

Werewolf is a hidden role game in which each character is assigned a role. The goal of the game is to find and kill the werewolf, or if you are a werewolf, avoid being caught. Some roles in the game have unique powers that can help the group determine which players are werewolves.

2. CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY

Cards Against Humanity
  • A party game for horrible people.
  • Comes with 500 white cards and 100 black cards for eternal replayability.
  • Includes a booklet of sensible game rules and preposterous alternate rules.

Cards Against Humanity is one of my favorite party games of all time. It is simple, entertaining, and will have you and your friends rolling on the floor laughing in no time! Better yet, you can play Cards Against Humanity with an unlimited number of people. Officially, the game supports around 20 players, but there are no hard rules on how many people can participate.

Cards Against Humanity lives up to its name. It’s a game where players play cards with crazy, vulgar, and borderline offensive content in an attempt to form the most ridiculous sentences or phrases. If you are looking for a super easy adults-only card game, this is a perfect choice.

3. GIANT JENGA

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Obviously, you can play Jenga with normal-sized blocks, but having 20+ people crowd around a tiny tower of Jenga to play can get pretty claustrophobic. The best solution to this issue is to play Giant Jenga instead! Don’t worry; the rules are the same. The only thing different about this game is that the Jenga blocks are much bigger than what you may be used to. This makes the game so much more fun to play as the tower falling is much more dramatic and louder, making it a perfect game to play for a large group.

In this game, you simply take turns removing a block from the tower and then placing the block on the top. If you make the tower fall, you lose!

If you want to, you can even turn Giant Jenga into a super fun drinking game for everyone to enjoy! Here are the rules for Drunk Jenga if you’d like to learn how to set up and play this game.

4. WHAT DO YOU MEME?

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One of my personal favorite games to play when in a large group is What Do You Meme. This party card game involves creating hilarious memes, and who doesn’t want to do that? The best part is that you can even make your own personalized expansion pack, making this card game perfect for a large group of 20+ people.

What Do You Meme is made up of photo cards and caption cards. One player draws a random photo card, and the rest of the players need to make a meme by matching that photo card with a caption card in their hand. The best meme wins the point! And the player with the most photo cards at the end of the game wins.

5. GARTIC PHONE

GARCTIC PHONE gameplay

If you’re a huge fan of games like Chinese Whisper or Paper Telephone, Gartic Phone is the perfect game to play in a large group. In fact, this is one of those games that is more fun the more people play. And the best thing is that you don’t need any materials in order to play this game. All players simply need a smartphone with an internet connection, and you’re good to go!

This game involves every player writing a random phrase of their choice. Then, when time is up, that phrase gets passed onto the next player who needs to draw the phrase. Then, that drawing is passed onto the next player who needs to describe and write the phrase. And so on. Every player writes and draws as all the original phrases get inevitably messed up after each turn.

6. TABOO

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Ready to play a game filled with laughter and pure frustration? Taboo is a classic card game played around the world for a reason. While you may have probably already played this game with smaller groups, did you know that you can easily play Taboo with an even larger group if you want to? I know, officially, the game makers state that you can play with up to 10 players, but playing with up to 20 players or more is totally fine since you’ll divide into teams anyway!

In this game, a player grabs a card, which contains a guess word and taboo words. The player must try to get their team to guess the word without using any of the taboo words. This is much harder than it seems!

7. PICTIONARY

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If you want to put your drawing skills to the test, one of the best games to play is Pictionary. This is another team game that will involve your group splitting into two equal teams. Once you’ve set the two teams up, gear up and get ready to bring out your competitive side with this game!

In this super fun board game you can also play with kids, each team will need a pad of paper, a pencil, and a pawn. According to where the pawn is on the game board, a player on the team must pick a specific card and sketch the prompt. The player must sketch without using any letters or symbols, and the rest of the team must try to guess it within 1 minute. Eventually, the first team to finish the game board wins!

8. HOT SEAT

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Looking for a hilarious card game you can play with a large group of friends or family members? Try Hot Seat! This is the best game to play that will really force you to get to know everybody at a much deeper level than you would have ever thought possible! If you really like this game, don’t worry; there are plenty of expansions you can add to the pack. You can even add your own questions if you want.

In each round of the game, players simply take turns being in the “Hot Seat” where they must draw a card and ask the question written on there. All the other players must try their best to answer the question pretending to be the player on the Hot Seat. Then, read all the answers out loud and try to guess which of the answers was actually written by the person in the Hot Seat!

DIY GAMES FOR LARGE GROUPS

The above games are super fun to play in a large group, but if you don’t have the necessary materials on hand, they can be harder to play. This is where these DIY games come in. You don’t need any materials (or only basic materials) to play these games, but they’re just as fun!

9. WINK MURDER

wink murder

One of the best games for large groups is Wink Murder. This game is a classic for both kids and adults camps and retreats for a reason. Wink Murder requires absolutely no setup. You just need to make sure everybody sits around in a circle, and that’s it!

Once everyone is sitting in the circle and facing each other, it’s time to start the game. Then, everyone should close their eyes, and the moderator can pick a murderer by tapping on their shoulder. Then, once the murderer is picked, the game begins! The goal? Try to find the murderer before the murderer winks at you!

10. CAPTURE THE FLAG

capture the flag

A super classic outdoor game that everyone loves to play for a reason is Capture the Flag. In this game, you divide the entire group into two or four teams with the goal of capturing the other team’s flag. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, you’ll have to capture the flag or flags without getting tagged by the other team!

In Capture the Flag, everyone will be running around chaotically while trying their best to capture a flag. Once a flag is captured, that team is out, so make sure to protect your flag as best you can!

11. IN THE NATURE OF THE ADVERB

in the nature of the adverb

A game you’ve likely never played but I highly recommend playing in a large group is In the Nature of the Adverb. You don’t need any materials to play this game – just some creativity in the brain to make the game so much more fun. This is a great game to practice some vocabulary as well, especially if you’ve got some kids of English-learners as a part of the group. Ready to get playing?

One player moves away from the group so that they cannot see or hear the other players. Then, the other players must decide on an adverb that the player must guess. This can be anything from poetically, funnily, clumsily, or lazily. Then, bring the player back, and that player can now ask any player in the group to perform any action “in the nature of the adverb.” The player keeps asking players to perform any action until they are able to guess the adverb.

12. CHARADES

Of course, any list filled with the best games for large groups isn’t complete without a mention of Charades. After all, Charades is the epitome of a great game for large groups since anyone can join in at any point in the game. You can either play Charades as an individual game or as a team game – up to you!

In Charades, players simply take turns miming a phrase or word. They cannot make any noise! The first person to correctly guess the phrase or word wins the round.

13. SCAVENGER HUNT

scavenger hunt

If you want to play Scavenger Hunt, you will need to do some prepping beforehand, but it’s totally worth the effort! Everyone will enjoy this game, especially if you’ve got some pretty awesome prizes scattered throughout the whole game.

Setting up is important when it comes to organizing a Scavenger Hunt. Simply hide certain objects around a designated area and write clues to lead the players to these objects. You can even write clues that lead to other clues to add another level of difficulty! Each hidden object should also include a clue that leads to the next object, and so on.

Then, simply let everyone loose and give each team or individual a starting clue to get started. The first player or team to find everything wins!

14. STEAL THE BACON

The objective of Steal the Bacon? Well… you’re going to have to steal the bacon, of course! The bacon in this game refers to a bean bag, ball, or any object of your choosing. This game is sure to get everyone’s competitive side out! Expect plenty of running, screaming, and pure joy.

Divide the group into two teams, set up boundary lines, and place the “bacon” in between the two teams to get started. Each player on each team should be assigned a number as well. Then, when ready, the moderator calls a random number. The player assigned this number on each team runs toward the bacon to grab it and bring it back to their side of the boundary without getting tagged by the other team!

15. TUG OF WAR

Another super classic outdoor game you should absolutely play at any large gathering is Tug of War. This game is best played if you have an even number of players. But if you don’t, simply take turns to act as the moderator. To play Tug of War, you’re simply going to need a rope of some sort.

Tug of War is another team game, so divide everyone into two even teams, then get pulling! The team that manages to pull the rope past the designated center point wins the game and is officially recognized as the stronger group.

16. RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT

red light green light

Have you watched Squid Game? Who hasn’t at least heard of it? A really fun outdoor game that you should play if you have a rather large group wanting to be entertained out in the open is Red Light, Green Light. And don’t worry; there’s no need to prep anything beforehand. Just pick one person to be “it” or the Stop Light and just get started!

The Stop Light stands on one end of the field while everyone lines up behind the Start Line. Then, the Stop Light turns their back toward the group and says, “Green Light.” All players rush toward the Stop Light. At any point, however, the Stop Light may turn around and say, “Red Light.” If anyone moves on the Red Light, the Stop Light may make them return to the Start Line. The first person to tag the Stop Light wins and is the next Stop Light!

17. ROCK PAPER SCISSORS TOURNAMENT

rock paper scissors

Why not turn your standard Rock Paper Scissors game into a super entertaining tournament-style game? Who knew Rock Paper Scissors could be so fun? Anybody of any age can take part in this tournament. Plus, it’s all about luck, so you never know who may win!

To play, everyone simply walks around playing Rock, Paper, Scissors with anyone they come across. If you win, you continue to go against yet another player. But if you lose, you become a fan of the winner and must tug along behind them, cheering them on. This continues until there are only two players left! And at this point, everyone should loudly cheer on their player, as there can only be one winner!

DRINKING GAMES FOR LARGE GROUPS

There are various games you can play in a large group, but if you’re a group of adults, you could also play a drinking game to keep things interesting! Here are my favorite drinking games for large groups.

18. FUZZY DUCK

FUZZY DUCK gameplay

Fuzzy Duck is a hilarious tongue twister game that becomes more entertaining the more you play and the more you drink. This is the perfect drinking game to play if you have many players you need to keep entertained at the party. And don’t be fooled by the simplicity of the game, as it can be surprisingly confusing!

Everyone sits in a circle to play Fuzzy Duck. Start with the first player saying “fuzzy duck,” then the player to the left must either say the same phrase as the previous player or change the direction of play by saying, “Does he?” If you change the direction of play, you also change the phrase to “ducky fuzz!” Continue until someone messes up – this person must take a drink or a shot as punishment.

19. DRUNK, STONED, OR STUPID

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A super awesome drinking card game you should play at any part is Drunk, Stoned, or Stupid. You will really get to know your friends on a deeper level with this drinking game. However, if you’re not too familiar with everyone in the group, you don’t have to dive into the deep end immediately! You can also play with some “nicer” rules until you warm up.

In Drunk, Stoned, and Stupid, a player draws a card from the deck and reads it out loud. This player is the Judge. Then, everyone else must decide who that card applies to, arguing and debating out loud. The Judge makes the final call, and that person gets the card and earns -1 point.

20. NEVER HAVE I EVER

never have i ever

Of course, if I had to list some of the best drinking games for a large group, I would be crazy not to add Never Have I Ever to the list! This is one of those drinking games that becomes way more entertaining the more people play. After all, the more brains there are racking for some creative things they’ve never done, the more crazy things you’ll hear and learn about each other!

Start with 10 fingers. Then, players go around a circle saying one thing they have never done. If a person in the group has done it, they must put a finger down and take a drink! Try to be the last person standing with fingers remaining.

21. PIZZA BOX

One of my all-time favorite drinking games I like to play when there’s a large group of people is Pizza Box. The name of the game comes from the fact that this game is generally played on an empty pizza box, but any large surface you can draw on with a marker will do! On top of a large drawing surface and a marker, you’ll need a coin to flip onto the surface. Once you’ve got these materials, you’re good to go.

Everyone must write their name on their pizza box and circle it. Then, take turns flipping a coin onto the box. If the coin lands on a name, that person must drink. If the coin lands on an empty space, the player must write a new rule on that empty space. And if the coin lands outside of the box, the player must take a drink!

22. MOST LIKELY

Most Likely overview

One of the best ice-breaker drinking games you can play is Most Likely. This is one of those drinking games where you’ll come out knowing what everybody thinks of you by the end of it. So, don’t play this game if you’re likely to be offended by assumptions people make about you at first glance!

In Most Likely, everyone should be facing each other in a circle, either sitting or standing. Then, one player starts the game by asking a question formatted in this manner: Who is most likely to… ? An example would be: Who is most likely to hook up with someone in this circle? Then, at the count of three, everyone points at someone in the circle!

23. MOVIE DRINKING GAME

Movie Drinking Games

Instead of simply playing a game, if you are also hosting a movie night, I highly recommend playing a movie drinking game of some sort! Simply make sure you’ve got enough drinks ready to play the game, as you’ll be drinking beer after beer while watching a movie.

Head over to our list of the best movie drinking games to find a movie to watch and their drinking rules. For example, if you are watching Mean Girls, drink whenever someone gossips about Regina George, someone says “Fetch,” and when someone calls Karen stupid.

24. SIP, SIP, SHOT

sip sip shot

Looking for a super fun and adult equivalent to Duck, Duck, Goose? Sip, Sip, Shot is just as fun and easy, while still allowing you to get drunk. In this game, just like the childhood original, you will be chasing around your friends in a circle, so get ready to work up a sweat! Since the more people, the better, when it comes to this game, get everyone to join in!

Everyone should sit in a circle with one player standing up. The player standing is “it” and must go around the circle, tapping on people’s heads, saying “sip” at every tap. Every player whose head is tapped when “it” says “sip” must take a sip of their drink!

When “it” wants, they may say “shot” instead of “sip.” When this happens, that player must stand up and chase “it” and try to tag them before they can sit down on their seat!

25. ATTACHED AT THE HIP

While you can play Attached at the Hip with as many players as you want, the key is to have an even number of players. This is a great ice-breaker drinking game that will really get you to cooperate and work together with your partner. The trick is to do that while probably already a little bit tipsy!

In this game, everyone will be attached to their partner by a random body part chosen by a slip of paper. Then, the pairs must try to complete a list of tasks while remaining attached at that body part at all times! If the pair cannot complete a task or becomes unattached, they are out of the game and must finish their drink!

Mia Kim
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