One of the cornerstones of modern boardgaming is the party game. There is no exact definition for party games, but broadly they have higher player counts than most board games, shorter playing times, and focus on players interacting or having a conversation. Starting with a few trailblazers, such as Cards Against Humanity and Dixit, party games have come a long way from uncomfortable family games of Apples to Apples. Players now have a wide variety of games to get a large group engaged.
European design has impacted every corner of boardgaming and party games are no exception. The first popular european party game was Dixit, a visually stunning game about players giving clues associated with illustrations. Dixit’s genius is in the scoring; it’s rulebook barely fills two pages and uses a simple process to score points, however this simple mechanic encourages players to be clever -but not to obscure- with the clues they give each other.
The most recent party game to make a major impact in gaming is Codenames. This Spiel Des Jares winner comes from the famous developer Vlaada Chvatil and has been BoardGameGeek’s top party game since its debut in 2015. Codenames barely needs to be taught, and can be played in 15 minutes. The game features one player giving obscure clues to their teammates, who try to guess the correct words before the other team is able to complete their set of words. A large word pool and variable setup make Codenames a game any size group can play repeatedly. Bonus: there are multiple themes available! The newest one is a Harry Potter version.
The Metagame, this bloggers favorite party game, also has Dixit’s focus on simple, innovative design in a format that will be familiar to many players. The Metagame follows in the footsteps of Cards Against Humanity by using two types of cards, essentially questions and answers. The Metagames makes a difference with its rules, it has six(!) sets of rules for players to choose from, each tailored for different number of players or for different styles of play. Each of these rulesets are brilliantly designed for how different groups may approach the game.
For many people playing party games in large groups are there first introduction to the board game hobby. Recently party games have benefited from a greater focus on design and mechanics that encourage conversation and interaction. Dixit, Codenames, and The Metagame have a home in any collection!
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